CueSport TV - The Blog

Happy New Year, this is my first post of 2010 and I have been looking forward to this year for some time. It is going to be a huge year in the development of Cuesport TV.

Our first event of the new year will take place this Saturday (16th January) and ironically like last year we open up with a £10,000 per man WEPF World Rules challenge match.

In terms of profile however, this one could not get much bigger. Gareth Potts, a three-time former World Champion will take on former European Champion Oly Bale.

The match is a race-to-30 frames and can only be watched at Cuesport TV. A subscription will be required in order to view this match and what a match it is expected to be.

Nobody hides the fact that both Gareth and Oly do not get on, the match has come about through a very good run of results from Oly against Gareth. Over the past two season he has beaten the Stoke-on-trent potter numerous times in short race tournament formats.

This will be a more difficult task and many people see Gareth as the pre-match favourite due to the longer race and pressure of the situation. In my eyes it will be close and I would be surprised if both players do not reach 20 racks. I am not going to call it and sit on the fence though!

All of this will of course go ahead weather permitting, travelling from Stoke for Gareth could be a major problem and likewise if there is snow in Yeovil then it may be difficult for fans and ourselves to get there.

The coverage kicks off at 5:30pm and the match is due to start at around 6:30pm. Prepare for a long night in front of your PC, MAC or laptop!

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Many of you may well know that it is time for the second ‘episode’ of the Oracle Super Tour. This new tour, born out of the Gangsters Grand Prix, features some of the world’s best 8-ball pool players, including World Champion Gareth Potts & former World Champion Chris Melling.

Why do these player participate? Simply due to the prize money on offer, £44,000 across the four event series, with £3,400 to each event winner (events 1-3) and £9,400 to the winner of the final event in November.

A lot of tournaments in the UK do struggle for numbers but it shows when you combine a guaranteed prize fund with an interesting handicap system (Pro players give up to a 4 start in a best-of-15 frame match!) the players will turn out. This tour has a full list of 128 players signed up in advance, with a few more waiting in the wings should spots become available.

Credit for the success has to go to Keith Brewer and Oracle Hotel Refurbishments Ltd, one for Keith bringing a sponsor of this size on board and two for Oracle having the vision and confidence to put money into what is still a fringe sport.

CueSport TV came on board late in the day, I have personally known Keith for a number of years, and  offered our services to the tour which they gladly accepted. This is part of our vision as a company, there is no hiding the fact that we are in this business to make money however, I always have the best interests of the sport in the back of my mind when I do anything.

The first event (from our point of view) was a dissapointment as we could not broadcast live, it is these live events that are going to lay solid foundations for the sport and give it a worldwide audience. Every month CueSport TV receives viewers from 110 different countries worldwide, these come from some very obscure places but they sit and watch for long periods of time. There is no other broadcaster or network that can allow users/viewers to dive in and try something of this nature for free.

The more countries that continue viewing this sport the more chance there is of the game progressing on a world stage.

The second most popular viewing country from the list is the USA, a country that plays 8-ball but not the game that we play. I have had conversations with a number of US viewers over the game of English 8-ball and they are all positive. Especially once you explain that the pockets are like snooker pockets and you play on a slow napped cloth. They do not realise how difficult the game is to play until you explain the nuances. I am not suggesting for one minute that the UK game is going to take over the world, but what could and should happen is that the game is given more respect from players all over the globe.

You can watch the Oracle Super Tour Live this weekend (6th/7th Sept) only at CueSport TV.

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