Eklent Kaci
Four days of 8-ball fireworks on tap as the third leg of the World Pool Series gets underway at Steinway Billiards in Queens Wednesday.
New York City is always a lot of fun in summertime. And for fans of the very best in professional pool, the action in the Big Apple is about to get even more exciting.
The third leg of the The World Pool Series(WPS)begins on Wednesday morning here in New York City with the RYO Rack Classic Championship breaking off at Steinway Billiards Café in Astoria, Queens, New York City. The event has attracted a field of 64 players who will be competing for a $10,000 first prize.
If the third event is anything like the first two, fans are in for plenty of surprises, along with the usual top standard of play that comes with having the best pool players in the world slugging it out in the same venue. One hallmark of the new tour so far is the plethora of young talent that has shone through. At the first WPS event in January, the Mollinari Players Championship, 23 year old Russian Ruslan Chinakov took the crown with a thoroughly dominating run through the field. Then in April at the Aramith Masters, unknown 18 year old Albanian high school student Klenti Kaci shocked the pool world by capturing his biggest title to date.
The brand new tour, the brainchild of multi-world champion Darren Appleton, features four tournaments played throughout 2017. 8-ball will be the game of choice throughout the year, with several rule changes designed to toughen up the world’s most widely played cue sport, and test the world’s best players to the limits of their creativity and ability to handle pressure.
The all-star cast, a who’s who of pool greats and others looking make their mark, will play double elimination 8-ball, race to 9 through the round of 32. From there all matches will become single elimination best of three sets, race to six, similar to tennis.
A unique feature that has already generated many thrilling finishes at the World Pool Series is the use of the shootout to decide matches that have come down to a one rack decider. Similar to the shootout in soccer, the shootout will require players to try and pot long and difficult shots on the 8-ball. Each player will have five chances on the 8-ball and the player with the most points wins the match and moves on.
[photo id=46805|align=right]The RYO Rack Classic will also be the first time fans get to see world famous pool and snooker referee Michaela Tabb take control of the action. The Scottish born Tabb, who is the first woman to ever referee a final of the World Snooker Championship and the World Pool Championship, is now the head referee for the World Pool Series.
Fans around the world will also be able to watch the World Pool Series absolutely free on the device of their choice through social media giant Unilad. Unilad first partnered with the WPS back in April for the Aramith Masters and the results were simply astounding. Over four million viewers from around the globe tuned in to watch parts or all of the tournament live right from their Facebook feeds, with high definition pictures provided by High Rock Productions.
Players also don’t have to worry about being sent home without even getting warmed up, as once again a second-chance Challenge event will be held alongside the RYO Rack Classic Championship. The Simonis Challenge will be open to players up to the final 32 of the main tournament.
The third event of the World Pool Series, The RYO Rack Classic, is being held at Steinway Billiards in Astoria, Queens, New York City from July 12-15, 2017. The World Pool Series is sponsored by RYO Rack, Aramith, Molinari, Predator, Cheqio, Iwan Simonis, Kamui, Billiards Digest, Cuescore, Ultimate Team Gear, and High Rock Productions.
The World Pool Series is on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/worldpoolseries/
Tickets are now available for the third leg of the World Pool Series, The RYO Rack Classic, which takes place July 12-15, 2017 at Steinway Billiards, Astoria, Queens, New York City.
Tickets can also be purchased online through Ticketspice here:
