It has to be said that the first ever 10-Ball event played on the GB 9 Ball Tour was a success. The consensus amongst the players was that it was great to be involved in something different and a bit of a break from 9-ball which can tend to get a bit stale.
From my point of view it is also good to see the tour trying different things with many plans for next year already being discussed to keep the playing numbers high and keep the tour fresh.
I was talking to both Craig Osborne (who commentated with me on the main event final) and Arfan Dad via Twitter about the major benefits of playing 10-ball. Both players feel that the call-shot rule in the game not only eliminates some of the luck inherent in 9-ball but also means that come the end of the tournament the best player on the day will prevail.
On this occasion the cream certainly did rise to the top with Jayson Shaw winning the Pro Cup title, Phil Burford completing a unique treble in the Challenge Cup (He is the first player to have won a title in the Main event, Pro Cup and the Challenge Cup events) and of course that stalwart of British pool Daryl Peach lifting another main event title. Peach had come from behind in his matches against Damian Massey (trailed 4-0), Arfan Dad (trailed 4-1) and in his quarter final saw Mark Gray miss a routine 9-ball that really would have been for the match. He then topped it off with a win from 9-5 down against Shaun Storry in the final only to win 10-9, it was almost destiny from a player that never lies down and never believes he is beaten!
It would be great to here from some from some of the players invloved at the weekend with regards to the format, rules and discilpine of 10-ball, please use the comments or hit me up on Twitter (@cuesporttv).
