Peach is the cream of 9 Ball!

Blackpool's Daryl Peach has pocketed the 2007 World Pool Championship after a nail-biting 17-15 win over Roberto Gomez.

2007 WPC

No UK player has previously reached beyond the Last 16

It could have been an all Blackpool final. Karl Boyes lost in the semi-finals

The Araneta Coliseum - where the tournament was staged - hosted the 'Thriller in Manila' between Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier.

Daryl Peach on winning World Pool Championship!

The 35 year old was crowned World Champion after an epic battle with Gomez which was 9 Ball's answer to the 1985 World Snooker final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis.

Peach - who has never got beyond the Last 64 previously - said: "It was just the most amazing match I've ever been involved in. In the end all I could think about was keeping my head still and making one shot at a time.

"It's unbelievable! It's just starting to sink in what I've achieved."

The final attracted the biggest crowd in the sport's history with over 5000 spectators and was billed as 'Superman v Lex Luther' - as local favourite Gomez's nickname is Superman.

Almost all of the crowd were behind the Filipino and Peach showed nerves of steel to come back from 15-12 and run the last five racks especially as some of his supporters were clapping Peach's mistakes.

Peach said: "It was hostile at times but I tried to just block it out and play my own game."

Neither player managed to hit the type of form they produced on their route to the final but the drama more than made up for it.

After blowing an early 8-3 lead, Peach stayed close to Gomez, with neither ever being more than two racks ahead.

"You never really think you are going to win the World Championship."

Daryl Peach

Gomez, 29, opened up a three rack lead though when he ran out the 27th rack and was just two racks from the World crown. The Filipino seemed to have got over his nerves and finally looked like the player that had bulldozed his way into the final.

However, Peach refused to be beaten and he finished the victor of a tremendous safety battle in the 28th rack which proved the turning point of the match.

Peach - who practices in Rileys Blackpool - ran out from the break in the next to level the scores.

Both players missed at 15-15 before Peach had his chance to close out the rack. He was always out of position but left himself a horrible shot on the 9 ball which failed to drop after a table length bank.

It was a relatively straight forward 9 for Gomez but he looked terrified as he reluctantly walked to the table to take his shot. The pressure of the expectant crowd was too much and he threw his cue at it. The pure pressure miss will no doubt haunt Gomez for the rest of his life - but Peach sprung out of his seat grateful of getting back to the table. He sank the 9 to reach the hill.

Peach closed out the match with a banked 1 ball into the centre pocket to set up his match-winning run-out.

He said: "I haven't got the most ability and there are lots of players with more talent than me but I just used my head and tried to focus on what I've got.

"It was probably the worst match I've played since the start of the tournament and the pressure for both of us was immense.

"I always knew I had a strong mind and the will to win.

"You never really think you are going to win the World Championship. I dreamt it but when it comes around you have to grab it with both hands and luckily I did exactly that."

Peach who picks up $100, 000 for the win dedicated his win to fiancee Lesley, baby daughter Ellie and his mum and dad who were all on tenterhooks back in the UK.

Blackpool boys take on the World

Blackpool has two players hoping to make their big break this weekend in the World 9 Ball Pool Championships in the Philippines. Karl Boyes joins Daryl Peach in the 128 man line-up after winning a qualifying spot in Holland.

The Draw

Group 12 - Karl Boyes
Play starts 4 November:
Mika Immonen (FIN)
Leevan Corteza (PHI)
C. Chang Pei-wei (TPE)
D. Tyler Edey (CAN)
E. Jeremy Jones (USA)
Karl Boyes (ENG)
Goren Mladenovic (SER)
Fahad Mohammadi (QAT)

Group 16 - Daryl Peach

Niels Feijen (NED)
Daryl Peach (UK)
Rodolfo Luat (PHI)
Dharminder Singh Lilly (IND)
E. Charles Bryant (USA)
F. Toh Lian Han (SIN)
G. Matjaz Erculj (SLO)
H. Roberto Gomez (PHI)

Peach received an automatic invitation in the $400,000 2007 World Championships courtesy of his number 3 ranking on the prestigious Eurotour.

Boyes came through a 61 strong field at the European qualifiers in Holland to book his spot in pool's premier event.

Peach is somewhat of a veteran of the big stage in 9 Ball - he won the European Masters back in 1995 and this year realised his ambition of winning a Eurotour event - the German Open.

Boyes is a relative newcomer in comparison having switched from English 8 Ball Pool to play on the IPT's American 8 Ball tour less than two years ago.

Peach and Boyes currently stand at 17 and 19 respectfully on the suspended IPT so Boyes has turned his hand to 9 Ball.

The Championships promoted by Matchroom will be his first trip to the Philippines - which is pretty much the capital of the sport.

Twenty four year old Boyes said: "It's a massive win for me - it's the biggest event in pool and it's in Manila. I watched it all on telly last year - so I'm really pleased to be actually in it this year!"

He added: "I've still got a lot to learn but there's no greater place on earth to learn than out there."

• World 9 Ball Pool Championships, 3-11 November

Groups Announced For IPT World Open Championships

The International Pool Tour announces the official player groupings for the IPT World Open 8-Ball Championship. The tournament starts Sunday, September 3, 2006 at 10am in Reno, Nevada at the Grand Sierra Resort.

This historic event boasts the biggest prize fund in the history of the sport. $3,000,000 is the total prize purse, and the winner of the tournament will win an historic $500,000!

Here are the official groupings:

Group 8:

Peach, Daryl
Lohtander, Marko
Jones, Samuel
Eberle, Max
Kutcher, John

Peach provides double celebration for Davis

Blackpool's Daryl Peach and partner Steve Davis - who was celebrating his 49th birthday - survived a tough opening clash with Korea to progress to the second round of the World Cup of Pool in Newport.

Peach and Davis beat Korea 9-6 and now have a day off before they take on the winner of the USA and Singapore on Thursday at 7pm.

The World Cup of Pool features 32 teams from across the globe with the Philippines favourite to lift the title with their partnership of pool legends - Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante.

The new event is promoted by Matchroom boosts a $250,000 prize fund and has a unique scotch doubles format which means each team take alternate shots each visit.

While Peach - who has been ranked UK number one for the last three seasons - and Steve Davis make up the England B squad, England A comprises of Ronnie O'Sullivan and Raj Hundal.

They take to the table against Spain's David Alcaide and Rafael Guzman on Wednesday 23 August at 7pm.

Peach pockets IPT Tour Card

The IPT offers the largest guaranteed prize money in the history of pool - with a purse of $5 million in the first year.

It has been set up by US media mogul Kevin Trudeau - who has promised all players on the tour in 2007 $100,000 in prize money. If they don't make in table earnings he has pledged to write them a personal cheque for the difference. Therefore, Peach's tour card should propel his earnings somewhat. He is used to picking up less than £1500 for winning a UK Pro event.

Peach beat Japan's Goh Takami 10-4 in the final to clinch his spot on the tour - which boasts 150 of the world's top cue talents including snooker professionals Ronnie O'Sullivan and Jimmy White.

Peach has dominated the UK 9 Ball rankings for the past decade but he failed to get his IPT application in on time - forcing him to slug it out in the five qualifying tournaments for a place on the IPT.

The first four were staged in the US followed by the European event this weekend. Peach missed the opening qualifier but played from event two in Atlanta. He ran six successive racks against Manchester's Tony Crosby who now resides in Florida in his opening match.

He received free entries to the remaining qualifiers - a stiff $2000 per tournament - for the feat.

Although he didn't make it through the USA events - he secured the final available spot in Wert's House of Billiards Club. In the past, he said the Wert club tables didn't suit his game - but after bagging his tour card there it looks likely he has a new favourite club!

Interview with Daryl 'Dazzler' Peach by Dave Quinlan

For those that are not familiar with the name Daryl 'Dazzler' Peach, this year may change all of that. This former Mosconi Cup player has been laying the opposition to waste this year at almost every event he has entered, both nationally and on the international stage. Not only that, he has proven his intestinal fortitude by being the first 'name' player in the country to make the change over to the British Professional Pool Players Association.

In 2004 Daryl has earned a reputation amongst fellow competitors for being friendly and approachable off the table, but very intense and focussed on it. We here at 9ballpool.co.uk thought we would grab Daryl (while he was off the table!) for a few questions about himself and his opinions. Some of the answers prove very interesting to say the least!

1. You are having quite a year in 2004: 2 BPPPA tour wins, a Eurotour final, a WPC spot, and now an 8 ball world championship spot. What do you attribute your success this year to?

There are three reasons for my recent success:

(a) Joining the BPPPA has given me a new lease on life. I didn't like what was going on with the other tour and my game was going stale.

(b) I'm practicing more now because of my newfound appetite.

(c) The top reason is this: I've finally found my true game and my comfort zone, in other words, I've found what works best for me.

2. You have been playing pool professionally for at least 10 years. What originally gave you the desire and drive to be a professional pool player?

9 years actually! As you probably know, I was a pro snooker player but wasn't earning enough money even though I had reached 173 in the world. Then a friend of mine introduced me to 9-ball, and the first 3 ranking tournaments I entered I won! This encouraged me to give up snooker and take pool seriously because I knew I had a talent for this game.

3. Compare the pool scene today to the pool scene 10 years ago when you were just getting started? Well if you mean in the UK alone, its growing constantly. Now with Ted Bristow in charge of our governing body, I'm positive the game is going to rise to another level. He is one determined character!

4. Where do you see the game going in the next 5 years? As I've said above, I'm sure Ted and the BPPPA are gonna raise the profile of 9-ball in the UK, and I hope I can do my bit by showing the overseas players that were not here just to make the numbers up.

5. What equipment are you using currently?

My equipment is as follows:

Playing cue: Custom Viking butt with predator 314 shaft.

Jump Break: Oliver Stopps Mega-Hammer.

Cue case: Viking 2 and 4

6. How do you practice? Do you just match up with other players, do drills, play different games?

I don't want sound cocky, but where I live I don't think there is the calibre of player to practice with that would benefit me at all. I have drills -some I have made up, and some I have seen elsewhere. I also play a lot of straight pool because I feel its good for practicing your concentration amongst other things.

7. Who, in your opinion, was the greatest ever to pick up a cue (snooker, pool, whatever)?

Snooker: Ronnie O'Sullivan

Pool: Efren Reyes

Overall: Efren because I saw him play Jimmy White and Ronnie O'Sullivan 6 years ago, at snooker best of 5 for £100 each if I remember rightly: he beat both of them with his pool cue, and he made 3 centuries!! Now that's special.

8. Are there any players rising through the ranks in the UK whose game has caught your eye?

Yes, a few come to mind. David Walsh has got an old head on young shoulders, as has Kevin Hew. Another player that is improving fast is Gareth Esprit.

9. You play all the different games at world-class level. What is your favourite game to play?

My favourite game has to be Golf (only kidding). 9-ball without a doubt, I think it suits my style of play and I like the speed of the game.

10. How important do you feel that gambling is to becoming a great player?

Any of the top players will tell you the same thing and that is this: Tournament play and gambling play are two totally different games. There are players in the States that'll beat you up bad for money, but wont stand a chance against you in a tournament, it's all about your comfort zone.

Daryl agreed to do this interview even though he was in the middle of preparations for two World Championship events. A massive thank you must go to him for taking the time out to answer these questions during one of the busiest times in his career.