We are back.
The IPA, the official governing body for Professional pool in the United Kingdom, are bringing their tour to Bournemouth this coming weekend from Friday the 8th to Sunday the 10th of October at the Carrington House Hotel.
With each event more popular than the last, we have over 200 players taking part with the usual trophies (and prize money) up for grabs for the Professional, Open, Amateur, and Ladies events, with the best matches live streamed via the IPA YouTube channel, before we welcome back the BBC for out next two tournaments from the Isle Of Man, followed by the World Championships from Bradford.
We are also welcoming back our bookmaker partners with, I am told, Corals, Ladbrokes Betfred, and Bet365 all switched on to the popularity of the IPA tour, and it will be interesting to see how their odds fluctuate on the Professional matches from hour to hour and day to day as the big-name players either play well, or fall by the wayside.
With pretty much all of the best players in the World in action it really is a thankless task to try and second guess the winners but a job is a job, and I will have a go at the very least, and without the usual boring reasoning behind it.
English Professional – Tom Cousins – when his monster break is going well he is close to unplayable, and hopefully that will be the case over the weekend. Naturally, the draw needs to pan out in his favour, and like any other player at this level he cannot afford a lapse in concentration, but he rarely if ever looks rattled, and that can only be of benefit here.
English Open – Marc Farnsworth looks back to something like his best having won the first two Open titles of the season, and could be the first palyer since Clint I’Anson in 2017 to make it three I in a row. His recent form must be a worry to all his rivals and he looks all set to dominate the 2021 tour as things stand. Sods Law suggests he will win the Pro and not the Open knowing my luck, but if he continues in his recent form he will surely go deep in both competitions.
English Amateur – Adam Bassoo -the Amateurs are even harder to call as we all know to our cost by now, but if consistency is rewarded then we will get a good run out of Adam. His form so far on tour has been exemplary and he comfortably heads the current rankings and another win is a question of when not if for this future IPA pool professional.
English Ladies – After “daring” to go against Kerry Griffiths last time I am back on her side here. She is improving faster than any other player I know and is a real force to reckon with in the Ladies game. Not exactly an outsider, but in with every chance of a second season success here in Bournemouth.
So, to conclude we are back and bigger and better than before as the IPA takes the game of pool from strength to strength. Hours and hours of top-quality competitive pool live streamed direct to you and with a list of bookmaker’s odds to choose from for those who fancy backing their favourite player – tune in or miss out!
@ipapool