Matchroom Sport will be making 18 x o­ne hour programmes of the League and even though there is no Polish TV coverage, the success of the event in Warsaw over the years means that it was a natural choice to stage the event.

The format is simple with each player playing the others o­nce with two points for a win and o­ne for a 5 – 5  draw. At the end of the league section, the top four players will contest the race-to-8-racks semi-finals and that will be followed by the final.

Commented Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn, “Once again we are heading to Warsaw and I know how much the Polish public enjoy watching the very best pool players in the world.

“The crowds in Poland have always been great from the first time we came here and we are looking forward to seeing even more in 2003.

“We’ve brought three new faces to the event this time including the new World Pool Champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany and Tony Drago who is the fastest player to ever hold a cue.

“Anyone of the six players can win this event and the Matchroom team are o­nce again very excited at the prospect of coming over to Warsaw. “

Tickets for the six sessions of the World Pool League will be available from FEEDBACK and ATIKA and are free for all sessions except the Saturday night and Sunday night.

2003 World Pool League - Tickets

The World Pool League is played over six sessions over three days and tickets for the event are priced as follows:

Day 1  Fri 25 October   14.00  10 zl   19.30  20 zl

Day 2 Sat 26 October    14.00  10 zl     19.30   20 zl

Day 3  Sun 27 October   14.00             10 zl19.30  20 zl

They can be obtained from:   Feedback – 22 842 0838

  Atika – 22 863 7815

2003 World Pool League – Format

• This year the World Pool League consists of six players who play each other o­nce, making a total of 15 matches in the group stages.

• Each match is played over 10 racks. All racks to be played with alternate breaks.

• Two points will be awarded for each match won and o­ne point for a 5 - 5 draw.

• At the completion of the League section, the four players will advance into the play-offs and the bottom two will be eliminated from the event.

• In the event of two players finishing o­n the same number of points the player scoring the most racks overall will take the higher position. If there is still a tie, then the result of their respective match will determine the position.

• In the semi-finals, the player who finishes top of the group will face the player who finishes fourth and the player who finishes second will meet the player who finishes third. The matches will be a race to 8 racks, winner breaks.

• The two semi-final winners then compete to decide the 2003 World Pool League Champion in a race to 8, winner break match.

• Dates -  October 24 – 26 2003

Day 1    14.00   3 matches19.30    3 matches

Day 2  14.00    3 matches     19.30   3 matches

Day 3  14.00              3 matches19.30   2 semi final matches and final

• Venue -  SGGW – Aula Kolumnowa, ul. Rakowiecka 26/30

• TV -   18 matches (18 x 1 hour programmes) - 15 League matches Top 4 Play-Offs -  2 x Semi Finals & 1  Final

  2003 World Pool League - The Players

Efren Reyes     Philippines

Thorsten Hohmann   Germany

Tony Drago    Malta

Hui-kai Hsia    Taiwan

Rodney Morris     U S A

Oliver Ortmann   Germany

 The 2002 World Pool League - The Matches 

Date   Time   Match    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Fri Oct 24   2.00 pm     Oliver Ortmann v Thorsten Hohmann 

      Hui-kai Hsia v Tony Drago

      Rodney Morris v Efren Reyes

Fri Oct 24   7.30 pm     Hui-kai Hsia v Thorsten Hohmann

         Tony Drago v Efren Reyes

      Oliver Ortmann v Rodney Morris-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sat Oct 25   2.00 pm   Efren Reyes v Thorsten Hohmann

      Tony Drago v Rodney Morris

              Hui-kai Hsia v Oliver Ortmann

Sat Oct 25   7.30 pm    Tony Drago v Thorsten Hohmann            Oliver Ortmann v Efren Reyes

      Hui-kai Hsia v Rodney Morris-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sun Oct 26   2.00 pm  Tony Drago v Oliver Ortmann

      Hui-kai Hsia v Efren Reyes 

      Rodney Morris v Thorsten Hohmann

Sun Oct 26  7.30 pm    Play-Offs - Semi Final 1

     Play-Offs - Semi Final 2

                Play-Offs - Final  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Efren Reyes – Philippines

Age -    49

Based -   Angeles City, Philippines

Nickname -  ‘Bata’ and ‘The Magician’

Hobbies -  Chess, movies

Years Playing -  Started playing for money in 1984

Achievements - 1999 World Pool Champion, 1994 US Open Champion, World Pool League Champion 2001 & 2002, winner 2003 Mid-Atlantic Championship, winner San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour Championship, Manila, 2003 Las Vegas 9-Ball Open Champion.

Reyes is something of a living legend in his home country of the Philippines where he is o­ne of their highest profile sportsmen. His 1999 World Championship victory live o­n TV, elevated pool into the major league and saw Reyes become a national celebrity, starring in TV adverts for San Miguel Beer and McDonalds among others. Now 49 years-old, Efren’s talent shows no signs of abating. Although some say he is not the player he o­nce was, he is still o­ne of the top players in the world and is a regular tournament winner in the highest class. A big win last year of $50,000 in the USA showed that when there is big money o­n the table, Reyes comes into his own. Despite his success, Reyes remains as modest as ever and is a highly popular figure among his fellow professionals.

Tony Drago – Malta

Age -    38

Based -   London, England and Valletta, Malta

Nickname -  ‘Tornado’

Hobbies -  Having fun

Years Playing -  18 years, 9-Ball for 7

Achievements - 2003 World Pool Masters Champion, Bronze medallist at 2003 World Pool Championship, Winner 1997 China Snooker Masters Invitational, First ever 147 break in the B&H Qualifiers.

Although better known as a snooker player, Tony is also a 9-Ball pool fanatic and plays in as many tournaments as he can. An unbelievable run at the 2003 World Pool Championship saw the good-natured man from Malta go all the way to the semi-finals. Despite being unfancied, that performance put Drago right up there as a pool player. He followed that up by winning the World Pool Masters against a field of 16 of the best to cement his reputation. As in snooker, Drago’s style is quick-fire, and when he is o­n a roll he can break and run out a rack in less than a minute! Prior to this summer, Tony had o­ne or two major scalps to his name; he KO’d Bustamante from the 2001 World Championships. Brimming with confidence, Tony has now moved to from pool danger man to a serious contender.

Thorsten Hohmann – Germany

Age -    24

Based -   Fulda, Germany

Nickname -  ‘The Hitman’

Hobbies -  Sports, swimming, music

Years Playing -  Many years, just turned full-time pro

Achievements - 2003 World Pool Champion, Winner IBC Tour Stop, May 02, 3rd Place Final IBC World Rankings, 02, 2nd Euro Tour events, June 03, many German and European titles.

On the  evening of Sunday 20th July 2003, Thorsten Hohmann became pool’s overnight sensation as took the 2003 World Pool Championship as a rank outsider. Over the past decade German pool has been dominated by Ralf Souquet and Oliver Ortmann, but now the name of Thorsten Hohmann can stand along side them. Thorsten showed good form last year in international events and a five year spell in the sports division of the German Army honed his skills to a sharp edge. Now he is a ‘name’ and the invites to the big tournaments will surely follow. The question maybe is whether Hohmann is a ‘flash in the pan’ but anyone who witnessed his exploits in Cardiff in July would very much doubt that. This is Thorsten’s first World Pool League appearance and he could be a good bet to go all the way to the final.

Oliver Ortmann – Germany

Age -    35

Based -   Hamburg

Nickname -  ‘The Machine’

Hobbies -  Music, Swimming

Years Playing -  15 years a professional

Achievements - Reigning European 9-Ball Champion, 1995 WPA World Pool Champion, over 250 tournament wins including multi European and German titles. Captain of the winning 1995 and 2002 European Mosconi Cup teams.

A stalwart of the European pool scene, Ortmann has won just about everything the game has to offer. He first emerged in 1989, when as an unknown 22 year-old, he beat legend Steve Mizerak to win the US Open Straight Pool Championship. From there the die was cast and Oliver’s winning career was in motion. Ortmann gains his World Pool League spot by o­nce again winning the European 9-Ball Championship – amazingly the 6th time he has won it. He also holds the record of along with Ralf Souquet of twelve career wins o­n the highly competitive Euro Tour. The crowning moment for Ortmann last year was at the Mosconi Cup, where he put in a superb performance both as captain and player to help lift the trophy for Europe for the first time since 1995.   

Hui-kai Hsia – Chinese Taipei

Age -    28

Based -   Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Nickname -  ‘The Assassin’

Hobbies -  Jogging and reading

Years Playing -  14 years

Achievements - Two times World Junior Pool Champion, 2003 Asian Champion, 3rd Place San Miguel Asian Tour in Singapore,  2003 World Pool Championship Quarter-Finalist, 2003 World Pool Masters Runner-up

Twice the World Junior Pool Champion, Hsia has been o­ne of the top players in the world for the best part of a decade. This year he reached the quarter-finals of the World Pool Championship with a string of fine performances including a 9 – 0 thrashing of World Snooker Champion Mark Williams. Inexplicably, Hsia was not nominated by his home country and had to win through in the event’s tough qualifying tournament. He followed that up with a great run in August’s World Pool Masters where he made it to the final o­nly to be beaten by Tony Drago. Away from pool Hsia is married and has an 1 year old son. This is Hsia’s first attempt at the World Pool League and he should prove highly dangerous. 

Rodney Morris – USA

Age -    32

Based -   Hawaii, USA

Nickname -  ‘Rocket’

Hobbies -  Surfing

Years Playing -  13 years

Achievements - 1996 US Open Champion, 2001 Sands Regency Champion, Runner-up 2003 Brunswick Pro Players Championship, Runner-up 2002 Glass City Open

Wearing his trade-mark Hawaiian shirts, Rocket Rodney burst o­nto the pool scene in 1996 when he beat Efren Reyes to take the US Open title, which at the time was the biggest prize in world pool. Just when he was gaining the momentum to take him into the top flight, Morris hit some legal problems that saw him take a four year break from the game. Nobody really thought he could regain his position but he won virtually his first tournament back – the 2001 Sands Regency. Since then Morris has established himself as o­ne of the top four US players and he will be making his Mosconi Cup debut this December in Las Vegas. 

 2003 World Pool League – The Prize-Fund

 Champion     $15,000

 Runner-Up     $ 10,000

 Beaten Semi-Finalists    $  8,000 ( x 2 )

 5th Place in Group    $ 5,000

 6th Place in Group    $ 4,000

       ______ TOTAL      $50,000 

 2003 World Pool League – Previous Winners

2002 Efren Reyes (Phi)  9 – 4  Earl Strickland (USA)

2001 Efren Reyes (Phi)  9 – 5  Steve Davis (Eng)

2000 Steve Knight (Eng)  7 – 1 Francisco Bustamante (Phi)

1999 Jim Rempe (USA)  9 – 6  Efren Reyes (Phi)

1998 Jim Rempe (USA) 9 – 7  Fabio Petroni (Ita)

  How To Play American 9-Ball  Pool  

• 9-Ball Pool is simple to follow and is the most exciting as well as most popular cue sport in the world.

• The game is played o­n a big table – 2.75m x 1.37m - and uses the traditional multi-coloured pool balls numbered o­ne to nine.

• The colours run as follows 1 - yellow, 2 - blue, 3 - red, 4 - pink, 5 - orange, 6 - green, 7 - brown, 8 - black, 9 - yellow stripe.

• The balls are racked in a diamond with the 1-ball being at the front, the 9-ball in the centre and the other balls placed in a random order.

• The breaking player then crashes his opening shot into the pack making sure he hits the 1-ball first and that at least four balls hit the cushions. It’s possible to win a rack off the break if the 9-ball drops into a pocket.

• The object of the game is to win the rack by pocketing the 9-ball. You must always play the lowest numbered ball o­n the table and victory may be gained by clearing the balls in sequence or sinking the 9-ball via a plant or cannon - called a combination shot in pool .

• A player may clear balls 1 – 8, playing his best pool. However, if he misses the 9-ball and leaves it resting in the jaws of a pocket, his opponent can then step up, knock it in and take the rack. That is the agony and ecstasy of 9-Ball Pool!

• As in other cue sports, there are foul shots which are heavily penalised. After a foul, the  incoming player can pick the ball up and place it anywhere he likes. This is called ‘ ball in hand'.

• At least o­ne ball must hit the cushion during the course of a shot and that makes safety play extremely difficult with o­nly the highest precision shots staying out of trouble.  2003 World Pool League – The Sponsors

Simonis  ( Cloth )Matchroom Sport and Simonis already enjoy a long-standing relationship that dates back over a decade and the prestigious Belgian company are suppliers to Matchroom Sports’ entire roster of pool events. Simonis 860 cloth covers the tables at the World Pool Championship, the Mosconi Cup, the World Pool Masters and the World Pool League. Founded over 300 years ago in the city of Verviers, Simonis cloth stands today as the benchmark to which all billiard cloths aspire. Suppliers to major tournaments all over the world, Simonis technicians are constantly improving the quality of its cloth to maintain its position as the world’s finest . Contact:iwansimonis@iwansimonis.com

Brunswick Billiards  ( Tables )Brunswick Billiards are the official table suppliers to all Matchroom Sport pool events, a relationship which began at the 1998 Mosconi Cup. and the Gold Crown IV table, in use at the  World Championship, is the choice of professionals the world over. With a tradition of quality that spans over a century and a half, Brunswick Billiards is a legendary name in the billiard industry.  A division of the Brunswick Corporation, Brunswick Billiards is headquartered in Bristol, Wisconsin and is a marketer and manufacturer of a complete line of premier billiard tables, table lights, cues, cue racks, and accessories.   Contact: info@brunblrds.com

Aramith  ( Balls )For several decades, Belgian Aramith Billiard Balls have had a legendary reputation for outstanding endurance, performance and uncompromising quality. That is why they are the balls used at the  World Pool Championship. Made by Saluc, Aramith’s excellence is the result of a high-tech process that combines that combines the unmatched characteristics of phenolic resin with fine Belgian craftsmanship. Their consistently reliable performance guarantees razor-sharp precision. Their exceptionally long product life offers the table owner the lowest ball cost o­n an annual basis. That is how Aramith for almost half a century gained its legendary reputation as signature for true and unrivalled qualityContact: info@aramith.com

Predator  ( Cues )Predator is pleased to get involved with Matchroom Sport to help promote and grow the sport. Since its creation in 1992, and thanks to the constant research effort put into the understanding of pool cue performance dynamics, Predator strives to stimulate the sport and help pool players improve their game by being at the cutting edge of pool cue performance. Currently over 50% of the top 40 US male professionals use Predator technology ( UPA Rankings – June 03 ).  Contact: info@predatorcues.com  Matchroom Sport 

Matchroom Sport have established themselves over the years as o­ne of the world's leading independent producers of televised sport. Starting with snooker in the 1980's, Matchroom developed into Europe's largest boxing promoter within a short space of time and have been responsible for over 200 world championship shows to date. In addition, Matchroom are also the biggest producers in the world of American pool and are also dominant in the fields of tenpin bowling, championship fishing, snooker  and darts. Recent additions to the Matchroom Sport roster include the PGA Europro Tour golf and Poker Million.  All in all Matchroom Sport are responsible for over 600 hours of original television programming per year and annually Matchroom Sport programmes are seen in over 100 countries around the world.

Matchroom Sport produced their first pool tournament in the summer of 1993 and are now the world’s biggest producers of televised pool with an annual roster of five events broadcasting for over 

The World Pool League. Now entering into its fifth successful year, the League has reverted to its original format this year of six players. Won in ’98 and ’99 by Jim Rempe, in ’00 by Steve Knight and for the last year two years by Filipino legend Efren Reyes, the League is broadcast throughout the world as 18 x 1 hour programmes. It is shown in the UK, China, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America as well as throughout Asia o­n the ESPN-Star network.  

The World Pool Championship. Pool’s premier event, the World Championship features 128 players from over 40 countries doing battle over nine days for a $300,000 prize-fund. Held for the past five years in Cardiff, Wales, the World Championship is broadcast live in the UK, Canada and across the Far-East. In addition it is aired as 9 x 2 hour programmes across Europe, South Africa, Australia, USA and New Zealand.

The World Pool Masters. This year, this event was held in August in Holland – the first time the Masters has been staged outside of the UK. It features a field of 16 select players from across the globe. Played over three days, the total prize-fund is US$62.000. The Masters was broadcast live o­n RTL5 in Holland and also syndicated throughout the world as 15 x 1 hour programmes.

The Mosconi Cup. Since its inception in 1994, the Mosconi Cup has gone from strength to strength. With four days of live coverage o­n Sky Sports in the UK, it features two teams from America and Europe potting for supremacy in a series of singles and doubles matches. After nine years in the UK, the 2003 Mosconi Cup will be taking place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas!

The World Pool Trickshots. There are six players and each does a 12 minute routine of trickshots to entertain a packed crowd. At the conclusion a panel of expert judges vote for the winner. Regularly won by Poland’s Bogdan Wolkowski, the World Pool Trickshots is broadcast across the globe.

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