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6th - 16th August 2008
2008 European Pool Championships
European Junior 9 Ball Champion Phil wins Gold at the European Pool Championships
Full Report to Follow
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Photo : EPBF/IPBF Bethan Sage
Sunday 17th August
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11th - 13th July 2008
GB9 Scarborough Pro Cup - Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Phil has regained his position at the top of the British professional rankings after reaching the final of the Scarborough Pro Cup this weekend.
Now on a mark of 22, Phil is 4 points ahead of nearest rival Darren Appleton.
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This weekend 'Rileys Scarborough' were hosts of the fourth GB9 Event. The beautiful new club opened 2 years ago and is situated
in the heart of the bustling town centre, just a few minutes walk from the stunning North Yorkshire coastline.
The Pro Cup event, exclusively for the 32 elite players on the tour, was won by current world champion Daryl Peach, culminating
in an 11-4 win over Phil in the final.
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For Phil, the earlier rounds held a few tense moments, most notable being the incredibly close 9-8 success over Lee Rigby. Going into
the quarter-finals Phil was up against consistent player James Kay, who, on their last meeting had beaten Phil 9-7. But this time
Phil turned the tables, gaining a 9-7 victory before heading on to the semi-finals. Phil had an impressive run through the semi,
playing faultlessly against highly rated Kevin Uzzell to win 9-4.
However, it was world champion Daryl Peach who stamped his authority in the final with a competent 11-4 victory, taking the trophy and the title.
Reflecting on his performance after the match Phil was a little disappointed with the way he played "The Z9 clothed table we used in
the final was alot faster than the table I played on in the semi. I took a bit of time to adjust and found myself over-running a few
shots. But you just can't do that when playing against someone like Daryl so I have no excuses. He's a brilliant player and I have
to be at the very top of my game to get anywhere near beating him!"
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Phil lines up a shot in an earlier round, before meeting Daryl Peach in the final
Eventual winner, Daryl Peach
Tuesday 15th July
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Sunday 6th July 2008
US Open Qualifier - Glasgow, Scotland
S.A.P.P.A's annual qualifying tournament to send a player to the US Open 9-Ball Championships in Chesapeake, Virginia, USA took place on 6th July
at Q Club in Glasgow, Scotland. Although this qualifier was primarily a Scots promoted event, all entrants were welcomed.
The field of players came from all over Scotland, along with a few from England, but it was eventually an English victory with
Phil taking the coveted top prize.
Upon reaching the quarter-finals stage, Phil played a decisive 9-3 victory over Greg Alexander, who himself had beaten top favourites
Jayson Shaw and Michael Valentine in earlier rounds. Moving into the semis, Phil then defeated Mark Boyle 9-6 before taking the final
with a dramatic 10-7 win over professional snooker player, Fraser Patrick.
Phil is now the recipient of a fabulous trip to the
US Open 9-Ball Championships
in Virginia, with his flight, hotel and $600 entry fee all paid for by the SAPPA organisation. The US Open is the longest run and arguably
the most prestigious 9-Ball event in the world. It is to be held at the beautiful Chesapeake Conference Centre in Chesapeake, Virginia, with
a field of 256 players and a $250,000 total prizefund.
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Monday 7th July
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Saturday 21st June 2008
2008 Barnsley 9 Ball Open Tournament
Phil "The Locomotive" Burford,
the former Under 18 Junior UK Champion, has won The Barnsley Nine Ball Open with a stunning 10-9 victory over the two-time English
8-Ball World Champion Chris Melling.
The youngster from Darlington appeared to tear through the single elimination stages of the event with a very strong performance
producing some very one-sided results in his favour, but without doubt the toughest match was the final, going to a tense hill-hill
deciding rack.
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Photo : Damian Overton
Phil Burford and Chris Melling shake hands before the final
Results Table
Sunday 22nd June
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30th May - 1st June 2008
The GB9 London Classic Pro Cup - Wealdstone, London
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Phil started well in the GB9 Pro Cup event this weekend with a 9-4 win over Andy Worthington, followed by a close 9-8 victory against Lee Rigby.
He found James Kay in good form however, in the quarter-final, eventually losing 9-7 after a tight match. This time the Pro Cup Trophy went to
Yorkshireman Darren Appleton who beat fellow former English Pool player Karl Boyes 11-7 in the final.
The challenge Cup final was a battle between Londoners David Walsh and Andy Nicholson.
It was Walsh who finally triumphed with a competent 11-5 victory to take the trophy and the title.
Imran Majid has done the unthinkable and won the main event for the third time in a row.
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Tuesday 3rd June
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28th - 31st March 2008
The GB9 Southern Classic Pro Cup - Croydon, Surrey
128 of the UKs finest 9-ball players descended on Croydon this weekend as Britains biggest and best 9-ball pool tour hit
London for the second tour event of the season.
Looking like a European list of 9-ball superstars, the Pro Division entries included the
reigning World 9-Ball Champion, Daryl Peach; European No.1, Mark Gray; UK No.1, Imran Majid;
Scottish No.1, Pat Holtz; Irish No.1, Paddy McGloughlin, snooker hotshot and current French Open champion, Tony Drago,
previous World Pool Masters Champion, Raj Hundal, and English pool legends Darren Appleton and Chris Melling.
Phil had another impressive run reaching the semi final after a nail-biting 9-8 win over Darren Appleton,
a victory that has earned him the number one position in the
UK Professional Rankings.
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Tuesday 1st April
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Sunday 24th February 2008
SAPPA Tour Event 6 - Kirkcaldy, Scotland
Phil rises to Scottish Challenge, making the FINAL along with Jayson Shaw.
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It was a busy weekend at Styx, Kirkcaldy when the SAPPA Tour held the finals of the
2008 Scottish American 8-Ball Masters and the sixth Tour Event of the 2007/08 season.
Sunday saw 62 players turning up to play in SAPPA Tour Event 6. In the end, Jayson Shaw made it two Tour Event wins in a row by
beating Darlington's Phil Burford by 10 racks to 5 after an exciting day's 9 Ball. Burford, the best Junior player in the UK at the moment,
beat Andy Morris 8-2 in the last 16, Paul McGowan 8-3 in the Quarter Finals and Michael Valentine 9 racks to 7 in the Semis.
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Shaw, in the meantime,
had just as tough a route to the final beating Stevie Capaldi 8-5, Ian Mackintosh 8-4 and Chris Cowie 9 racks to 1. In the end, Shaw was
too strong for Burford, taking the final and the £400 first prize.
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S.A.P.P.A Scottish American pool players Association - Friday 29th February
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1st - 3rd February 2008
The GB9 Midlands Pro Cup Classic - Solihull, Birmingham
This weekend saw the first tournament of Britain's new official professional 9-ball pool tour, the Midlands Classic. The Pro Cup,
comprising the elite top 32 UK professionals, was held in the stylish Rileys Pool & Snooker Club at Solihull, Birmingham. Amongst the
players was reigning World Champion Daryl Peach, along with Euro Tour champions, and several Mosconi Cup players.
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Phil played superbly throughout the tournament, overcoming World Semi-Finalist Karl Boyes and reigning World Champion Daryl Peach,
eventually losing to Imran Majid in the final.
After making it through to the quarter-finals Phil found himself up against world champion, Daryl Peach.
Initially Phil racked up an impressive 6-1 lead, but a couple of dry breaks mid-match helped Peach edge
back, taking the score to 6-5. Handling the pressure well, Phil calmly ran out the next rack as did Peach, the score now 7-6.
Still totally focused, Phil held on to take the last two racks and win decisively, 9 racks to 6.
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Phil met world number 3, Karl Boyes, in the semi-finals, who had previously come through the quarters with a 9-6 victory
over number 1 Euro Tour player, Mark Gray.
It was a close game, both players showing excellent positional play and potting expertise, ending with Phil running out his last rack to win 9-7.
Watch this match on CueSport tv
With putting every effort into reaching the final Phil was ultimately feeling the pressure. Starting strongly by taking a 1-0 lead
Phil was happy enough, but given the late hour his tiredness was beginning to show and Phil eventually suffered an 11-4 deficit at the hands
of Imran Majid. Watch this match on CueSport tv
"Imran is a great player" said Phil "he just didn't miss! But for me, beating Daryl was special, he's the player I admire most. Now I feel I don't need to fear anyone!"
Tuesday 5th February
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1st January 2008
GB9 Announces Players for the 2008 Season
GB9 provides a professionally run American pool tour throughout Great Britain specialising in the 9 ball discipline.
On launching the tour in November 2008 a staggering level of interest was received with applications to join the 96
player tour reaching over 140 within a few days of the initial announcement. The tour was therefore extended to 128
players, 32 Pro and 96 Challenge Division, to accommodate the maximum number possible given the format, strict time
schedule and size of venues available.
48 players applied to join the Pro Division for which there were only 32 places available. Consequently
the GB9 Tour Committee had the task of selecting the best 32 players with the remainder being offered a place on the
Challenge Division. Phil is delighted to be one of the players selected for the much sought after 32 Pro Division places.
Tour players include some of the worlds very best, including the current World Champion Daryl Peach and the current
European Number 1 Mark Gray amongst a host of other big names in the sport such as Mosconi Cup player Imran Majid,
Raj Hundal, Darren Appleton and 2007 World Championship semi-finalist Karl Boyes.
- Wednesday 2nd January
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