Leeds Snooker League Captain Mark Ball is happy to be enjoying within the inaugural League Championships 2024 this weekend on the Landywood Snooker Membership.
Ball, who was a former participant director of the English Partnership for Snooker and Billiards, admits that though there are extra novice occasions for individuals to play in, there are nonetheless solely a handful of golf equipment across the nation and there must be extra.
He mentioned: “I assume while I used to be performing participant director for the EPSB a couple of years in the past, I do suppose there’s nonetheless issues with funding and making certain amenities are bettering! There’s solely 2/3 prime quality venues all through the nation. In my view, there needs to be extra.”
18 groups have been entered into the occasion with the primary qualifiers for the occasion being held this weekend.
Nevertheless, this can be a comparatively low quantity contemplating there seems to be a good few snooker leagues throughout the UK. Why wasn’t there extra entries ultimately?
It is going to be held for the primary time on the Landywood Snooker Membership this yr.
The celebrated Championship is geared toward all snooker leagues throughout the nation and can present incredible weekends of snooker, with camaraderie and enjoyable mixed with an enormous prize with a minimal prize fund of £3,550 to be received throughout the occasion.
The second qualifiers shall be in Could with the Grand Finals in June.
Ball, 47, who has performed within the Leeds League for nearly 30 years, added: “We now have two groups representing the Leeds Billiards and Snooker Organisation. I’m the Captain of a group of 5 (plus 2 reserves play, however they received’t be enjoying this weekend) Leeds 1 enjoying within the first qualifying occasion this weekend.”
He mentioned that Leeds stand an excellent probability of going far within the match.
Ball mentioned of this match that it was the primary of its type, however there is the same match that’s held annually on the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds.
He personally doesn’t consider that guidelines or codecs in snooker want altering. (We disagree there).
“Guidelines are wonderful. Full foul and miss rule!”
When requested if he thought that snooker was artistic sufficient to develop into an Olympic sport once more, he mentioned: “Undecided it’s an Olympic sport in my view!”
SnookerZone’s Chris Gaynor believes that if snooker desires to be an Olympic sport, it must be extra interesting and artistic in its format and guidelines to not simply obtain the X-Issue however to reward the creativity and expertise of the people who take part.
Possibly that’s why some sports activities will not be Olympic sports activities but.
Nationwide qualifiers
- 13-14 April 2024 – this weekend
- 4-5 Could 2024
Grand Finals Weekend
The 18 confirmed embrace some good title leagues.
- Leeds Billiards Snooker Organisation
- Gloucester Snooker League
- The Byfleet League
- Nottingham Snooker
- Ormskirk and District Novice Snooker League
- Malcolm Acaster Snooker League
- Aldridge and District Snooker League
- Warrington Snooker League
- West Wiltshire and District Snooker League
- Yeovil and District Snooker League
Kelvin Jones, the Byfleet League Chairman, whom we’ve interviewed many instances on this web site, and had information articles within the papers on Woking groups C & B for The League, mentioned this of their getting into the League Championship and provisional group which possibly topic to vary: “It’s a 7-person squad. Paul Bunyard is Captain and is deciding on a group of accessible gamers. It consists of to date, Snoo, 900’s Matt Ford, Andrew Vernon, Paul Morrison, a former Shootout winner, and Peter Butler, who this web site talked about within the paper the Woking Information when he received the Woking C title together with his colleagues, and in addition made a excessive break in that season of 63. Peter Butler went onto make a century and has been introduced on to interchange initially Labeeb Ahmed. (Final time of talking…)
Jones added: “We now have many gamers within the League which can be worthy to be in a League’s greatest group. I’m anticipating powerful opposition because the prize cash is engaging. In the event that they play effectively, they might go far within the match. They are going to strive their greatest, which, for me, is sufficient.”
Refurb of a beautiful @GreenBaize_ GBL cue tonight.
You already know the drill by now:
Strip down
Dents eliminated
Grain stuffed
Re completed
Oiled
Waxed@CenturyCueTips G1Got here up phenomenally effectively with the assistance of some @tips_legends grain filler and a few cue Dr wizardry. #lovesnooker pic.twitter.com/6BGjDa5LQU
— Chris Hart (@chrishart1974) March 21, 2024
From the EPSB web site: The provisional format for the occasion shall be as follows:
- A minimal of 32 groups will compete in group phases to qualify for the Grand Finals weekend.
- Every match shall be performed over 5 frames, with some extent scored for every body received.
- Every group shall be made up of 5 gamers, with a most of 1 skilled participant who will give an 18-points begin when competing in opposition to an novice. Every group shall be permitted to call two reserve gamers
- Every participant should have performed a minimum of two matches for his or her league in the course of the present season.
- The place doable, groups from the identical league shall be drawn aside in the course of the qualification stage.
There are lots of Snooker Leagues throughout the nation each massive and small and anybody wishing to affix a league or contemplating it, ought to pop into their native social membership/s of their areas if there are ones, or a “massive” “snooker” membership if there’s one in your space, and enquire about the potential for becoming a member of or at the start, play some league gamers and see whether it is for you. You might be doing these individuals a favor, NOT the opposite means round.
No gamers, no leagues!
Due to the WPBSA/EPSB for his or her updates to SnookerZone over the previous few weeks…
And to Kelvin Jones and Mark Ball for the feedback…
Good luck to these competing within the first qualifiers this weekend.
Along with the above, free entry into the 2025 English Novice Championship shall be awarded to every member of the profitable group, plus the participant who makes the match excessive break and the ‘MVP’ from the qualifying stage.