Gerardo Martino Named As New Barcelona Manager

Argentine Gerardo Martino will be the fourth Argentine to take the helm for the first team in Barcelona's history. Born in Rosario, Argentina in November 20, 1962, Martino, better known by his nickname "Tata" has a long history in South American Football. Before coming to the Liga BBVA in Spain, he capped his latest stint with Newell's Old Boys by winning the 2013 Torneo Final.

Tata will be taking the place of Tito Villanova who replaced Pep Guardiola in April 2012.  Villanova has been battling cancer and anounced in July 2013 after only a year of service that he will be resigning from his post as first team manager.

The new manager's contract will last for two years and the club is currently finalizing the contract signing and presentation ceremony. 

2013 World Cup of Pool- England B is Peach and Melling

WITH THE home nation allowed two teams in the forthcoming World Cup of Pool, the second England side will comprise 2007 World Pool Champion Daryl Peach and Chris Melling, last year’s Mosconi Cup MVP.

They will be joining England A - Darren Appleton and Karl Boyes – in the 32 team draw for the $250,000 team event which is now entering its eighth year. Taking place for the first time in England, the World Cup will be staged at the York Hall in London, where the Mosconi Cup has taken place on eight raucous occasions.

Commented Daryl Peach, “It's great to be back where I belong, in the World Cup of Pool, especially being alongside Chris Melling.”

Peach, who played in the inaugural World Cup with Steve Davis in 2006, came close in 2008 with Mark Gray when they finished runners-up to the USA in Rotterdam.

“Both Chris and I have our eyes firmly set on going one step further this year. There are lots of other great teams with great partnerships too, but being on home soil, at the legendary York Hall will separate the men from the boys! Let’s get it on!”

Melling, who competed in the last two World Cups in the Philippines, said; “I'm really pleased to be invited once again to the World Cup, and like Daryl I think we have a great chance of winning this event.

“To have the World Cup in our own country is brilliant for UK fans and I'm sure with their help, both teams have a real chance of going all the way.”

With a host of world superstars descending on London for the event, more announcements will be made over shortly.

The 2013 World Cup of Pool runs from 17 – 22 September and takes place at the York Hall, London. All tickets are available from www.seetickets.com (Search ‘World Cup of Pool’)

The 2013 World Cup of Pool  is delighted to work with our valued suppliers – Official Cloth: Iwan Simonis; Official Balls: Super Aramith; Official Cue: Predator.

Luke Riches, Matchroom Sport: luke.riches@matchroom.com 

2013 World Cup of Pool Appleton and Boyes are England A

WITH THE World Cup of Pool taking place in England for the first time in the eight year history of the event, established international stars Darren Appleton and Karl Boyes will be making up the England A team for their assault on the most prestigious title in team pool.

World No.1 Appleton, who represented England in the World Cup in 2009, ‘11 and ’12, is the reigning World 9 Ball champion as well as back-to-back winner of the 2010 and ’11 US Open.

“I’m delighted to finally be playing with Karl and the main reasons are that we have a great record playing doubles and winning money matches in Philippines”, said Appleton.

“We also played great when we won World Team Championships and we’ve also played some doubles in English 8 ball.

“We gel together which is very important, and he listens to his captain! To be in the York Hall will be awesome and myself and Karl have got some great memories from the 2010 Mosconi Cup when we both played well and won our doubles.

“It's going to be carnage and England A or B are going to be tough to beat and I for one can't wait. I’m convinced this is the year England finally triumphs.”

Blackpool-based Boyes will be making his second appearance in the event having partnered Daryl Peach in 2010 when the England side were ignominiously dumped out of the competition by France.

“I am very happy to have been invited me back to play in the World Cup of Pool,” said the 2010 World 8 Ball Champion.

“In my eyes Matchroom sports events are the pinnacle of our sport and when I don't play in them I find it hard to concentrate all year round. So to be back with an opportunity and with my long time friend Darren has given me the boost I needed.

“I feel myself and Darren could well be the first English team to pick up the title. When you have the best two players from England playing with each other, it's a dangerous combo and the other teams will know this,” he added.

England B will be announced next week as well as other stars from the world of pool who will be competing in the event.

The 2013 World Cup of Pool runs from 17 – 22 September and takes place at the York Hall, London. All tickets are available from www.seetickets.com (Search ‘World Cup of Pool’)

The 2013 World Cup of Pool  is delighted to work with our valued suppliers – Official Cloth: Iwan Simonis; Official Balls: Super Aramith; Official Cue: Predator.
Luke Riches, Matchroom Sport: luke.riches@matchroom.com

Notes: Matchroom Sport are one of the world’s leading producers of televised sport and are responsible for over 1,000 hours of original programming across a range of sports. Based in the UK and chaired by charismatic founder Barry Hearn, World Cup of Pool is one of a stable of pool events that include the World Pool Masters and the Mosconi Cup.

2013 World Cup of Pool- Teams Named for London Showdown

THE WORLD CUP OF POOL will be making its long-awaited debut in London as pocket billiards’ premier international team event goes to the York Hall from 17-22 September for its thrilling eighth edition.

There are a total of 32 teams competing with 31 nations represented – host nation England has two sides in the event. The defending champions are Finland as Mika Immonen and Petri Makkonen and they will be looking to become the first team ever to retain the title.

Once again the total prize fund is US$250,000 with $60,000 going to the eventual champions. Tickets for the six day extravaganza are available from www.seetickets.com (search ‘World Cup of Pool’).

Played over six days, there are two sessions a day – afternoon and evening -  and the format is straight knock-out single elimination.

The Teams

Europe (17)
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England A, England B, Finland, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Qualifier 1, Qualifier 2

Rest of World (4)
Australia, Canada, Kuwait, USA

Asia (11)
China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand

All players will be named over the coming two weeks.


The 2013 World Cup of Pool has its cloth supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith. Official Cue is Predator.

Luke Riches, Matchroom Sport: luke.riches@matchroom.com

Notes: Matchroom Sport are one of the world’s leading producers of televised sport and are responsible for over 1,000 hours of original programming across a range of sports. Based in the UK and chaired by charismatic founder Barry Hearn, the World Cup of Pool is one of a stable of pool events that include the World Pool Masters and the Mosconi Cup.

Spanish La Liga 2013/14 Season Preview

The football season is about to kick off once again and as usual, there were several interesting developments that took place during the off season. The Spanish League which claims to be the best football league in the world had some noteworthy events:

1. Jose Mourinho left Real Madrid- "The Special One" has decided to prematurely leave the Bernabeu in favor of a return to his previous club Chelsea despite a previous falling out with team owner Roman Abramovich. A very optimistic start to the Mourinho-Madrid partnership ended in a very mediocre 3-year spell where the team failed to win the Champions League and won only one major competition per year (2010-Copa del Rey, 2011-La Liga, 2012-Super Cup). Rumors are circulating that Real Madrid Captain Iker Casillas who was injured for most of the 2012-2013 season had a hand in Mourinho's departure. He will be replaced by Carlo Ancelottiwho has won the Champions League with AC Milan twice and will hopefully be able to bring in "la decima".

2. Barcelona signs Brazilian superstar Neymar- With all the major European teams scrambling for his services, Neymar decided to go with FC Barcelona with the intention of backing up Lionel Messi, or at least that's what he's been saying in interviews. Neymar showed his prowess in the 3-0 annihilation of the Spanish national team by Brazil in the Confederations Cup finals but it remains to be seen how much of an impact he will make in a team already full of superstars.

3. Relegated teams: 1. Mallorca, 2. Deportivo La Coruna, 3. Real Zaragoza

4. Promoted teams: 1. Elche, 2. Villareal, 3. Almeria

5. Cristiano Ronaldo stays at Real Madrid- All season long rumors about Ronaldo's "unhappiness" has been fueling speculations that he will opt for a transfer at the end of the season. In the end, He decided to stay with the dramatic declaration of wanting to retire at Madrid.

6. David Villa signs with Atletico Madrid- You win some, you lose some. Neymar signs with Barcelona but they lose one of the prominent names in their roster to Atletico Madrid. It was known that other teams such as Tottenham were interested in Villa but in the end, an agreement has been reached for him to move to the capital and join Atletico Madrid.

I know all the news is about Real Madrid and Barcelona, but frankly, nothing juicy hardly happens with everyone else hehe.

Here's the list of the first round match-ups which will be played on August 17-19:




View the entire season calendar here:
http://www.ligabbva.com/3175_calendario/index.html

Queens Cup Brings the Greatest Rivalry of Women's Pool

Chicago, IL - The wait is over. In November of this year, the world's greatest women players will be showcased like never before in an event that Dragon Promotions has been working on for nearly 2 years. It will be East versus West as Dragon Promotions is thrilled to announce its newest event creation, The Queens Cup!

The Queens Cup will be the very first time that the best women in the West will take on the best women in Asia in a dramatic format that will take 3 days to determine the outcome. Four women will be selected from Europe and the USA while another four women will be selected to represent Asia. The format will be versatile including 4-on-4s , Triples, Doubles, and Singles matches. Each team will have to play every which way possible and strategy will be crucial. The first team to reach 10 match wins will be victorious. All matches will be 10-Ball.

Renowned writer and publisher of Billiards Digest and Bowler's Journal, Mike Panozzo says, "The women's game really emerged when European players joined the U.S. Players on the WPBA Tour. Now the game is dominated by the talented Asian stars. Will a combination of American and European players be enough to topple the powerful Asians? Not sure, but it should be a lot of fun watching them pull together as a team to try."



"This is a pool fan's dream come true. To get all the best women together and settle which side has the best players has been an argument for the past few years", said Cindy Lee, CEO of Dragon Promotions. "Producing the Women's World 10-Ball the past four years we have seen two Asian World Champions and two western World Champions. Four different players from four different countries. This event will help settle which side is stronger once and for all. At least for a year!"

"We wanted this to be the ultimate test for the women. So we created the best format we could invent using 10-Ball in a versatile format. The rules cater to the top professionals including a forced hard break rule.  There won't be any room for excuses or fluff, just plain, hardnosed pool action. Every woman in the Queens Cup will have to bring their A+ game", explains Charlie Williams.

Most of the players have already been contracted and will be announced soon. But the one player that will be announced now is the selection of the Captain of the West Team. And that is , of course, the world #1, Ms.Kelly Fisher of England.

"I was absolutely thrilled when I first heard this event was going to take place! This is something very different and unique. The dynamics are really great and could really draw big media attention to women's pool. I feel the Queens Cup could really, really grow into a huge event," says Kelly Fisher. Kelly is a Two-Times World Champion and is considered to be the most dominant women's player in the world currently. 

Stay tuned for more exciting news and follow the event on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thequeenscup  

2013 World Cup of Pool Event set for London debut

AFTER FOUR years in Manila and two in Rotterdam, the eighth annual World Cup of Pool will be making a welcome return to UK shores when it takes place at the historic York Hall, Bethnal Green in London from 17th to 22nd September.

Following on from last year’s victory in the Philippines, the Finnish pair of Mika Immonen and Petri Makkonen will back to defend their title at a venue that has gained a place in pool folklore following a 16 year association with the Mosconi Cup.

With 32 two-player teams representing 31 countries chasing the lion’s share of the $250,000 prize fund, there will be plenty of teams in with a shout. That will include two from the home country who will sure to be well supported in the East London pocket billiards mecca.

The event will be played to a single elimination format over six days with two sessions a day. In addition to the home nation and defending champions, all of the strongest countries in world pool will be sending teams and that includes the Philippines, Holland, Germany, China, the USA and Taiwan.

 Promoters Matchroom Sport will be building the exact same arena as that used at the Mosconi Cup and will be looking to generate a similar atmosphere as the tournament progresses.

Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn said, “After six years on the road, we thought the time was right to bring the World Cup back to the UK and with its Mosconi Cup connotations, the York Hall seemed the perfect choice for a venue.

“Being in London, it will give teams as well as fans the opportunity to sample this wonderful city and we will be hoping for massive crowds throughout the week.

“Aside from all the big guns, the World Cup has had its fair share of lesser nations go all out for glory – Poland last year, and Thailand in 2011 almost managed to pull off famous victories.

“All in all this will be a feast of top class pool that no European cue sports fan can afford to miss!” he added.

Tickets will be on sale shortly via www.seetickets.com


The World Cup of Pool will carry a $250,000 prize fund including $60,000 for the champions. The event will be produced by Matchroom Sport Television who will be making 31 x 1 hour programmes of the tournament for international syndication.

The 2013 World Cup of Pool has its cloth supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith.

Luke Riches, Matchroom Sport: luke.riches@matchroom.com

Notes: Matchroom Sport are one of the world’s leading producers of televised sport and are responsible for over 1,000 hours of original programming across a range of sports. Based in the UK and chaired by charismatic founder Barry Hearn, the World Cup of Pool is one of a stable of pool events that include the World Pool Masters and the Mosconi Cup.