The latest installment of action from the Ultimate Pool Professional and Challenger Series’ takes place across the long weekend of the 17th-19th September live on FreeSports TV and via ultimatepool.tv.
Potts and Lambert Make Debuts in Pro Event 3
Four-time World Champion Gareth Potts will make his eagerly anticipated return to the smaller table with a mouthwatering clash against current World Blackball Champion Scott Gillespie.
It will be Potts’ first major competitive English 8-ball match in over seven years. During that time, he has established himself as a big star out in the Far East, claiming a trio of World Chinese 8-Ball Masters crowns.
Another very well-known 8-ball name stepping up to the Ultimate Pool stage for the first time is France’s former European Champion Christophe Lambert.
Widely acknowledged as continental Europe’s top player for many years on the 7 by 4 table, ‘I Robot’ will face another European Champion in the form of Ireland’s Stevie Dempsey – a semi-finalist in Pro Event 1 last month.
The winner of that first pro event of the season and a £10,000 top prize – Northern Ireland’s Declan Brennan – plays current Maltese national champion Lydan Debono.
Aussie ace and Pro Event 2 champion Jake McCartney will also look to build on fine success when he crosses cues with Rob Chilton in round one. Chilton was the only player to have reached the last eight of both pro events at the opening series stop.
Other standout ties include reigning six-time World Champion Michael Hill meeting former World Masters winner Neil Raybone in the preliminary round. It will be Raybone’s first taste of the Pro Series having missed out last month. The winner will play Greg Batten in round one.
Recent Ultimate Pool Masters winner Phil Harrison will be up against current World Over-50s champion Dylan Leary, meanwhile Ultimate Pool Champions League winner and Pro Event 1 runner-up Chris Melling will be involved in an all-former world champion affair with Carl Morris.
Pro Event 4
In the slightly shorter format Pro Event 4, Potts will be on preliminary round duty as he faces former European Champion Karl Sutton.
In the first round, there is an all-Northern Irish match-up between Brennan and four-time World Ladies Champion Emma Cunningham, whilst there’ll be plenty tuning in to watch Lambert challenge Melling.
Hill was eliminated by Shaun Storry in Pro Event 1 last month after an extraordinary 6-reds shootout showdown, and ‘The Machine’ will have the opportunity to extract some revenge when they share the baize again this time around.
Popular Ballarat cueist McCartney’s first assignment in this event will be former World Champion John Roe – McCartney defeated him on his way to his triumph some five weeks ago. Shane Thompson – runner-up to the Australian in that live televised final – will be involved in a Westcountry derby with Batten.
A total of £36,000 is up for grabs across both professional events throughout the long weekend.
Challenger Series Continues
Action also continues on the 128-player Challenger Series, for which the stakes have been raised with the recent exciting news that the top eight players from this year’s end-of-season rankings list will earn automatic promotion to the Professional Series in 2022.
Open to all 8-ball amateur players, a further £22,800 will be on offer across the three days at the Players Pool and Snooker Lounge in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Event 1 winner Adam Bassoo – who also reached the semi-finals in Event 2 – has already established a handy lead at the top of the rankings. He will look to strengthen his position there but has a tough test up first when he meets Darren McVicar in Event 3. In Event 4 he plays Pat McNally.
Eddie Barker was the other event winner on the Challenger Series last month. The experienced cueman has Ronan Fay and Rob Holt in the first rounds of Events 3 and 4 respectively.
TV and Livestream Schedule – How to Watch
Wherever you are in the world, don’t miss a ball of the Professional Series action.
Those in the UK can watch live television coverage of the main arena table on FreeSports TV (Freeview HD channel 64, Sky HD channel 422, Virgin HD 553, TalkTalk 64, BT Vision channel 64 and also available on the FreeSports Player)
For those outside of the UK, you can watch the main arena table via ultimatepool.tv
All worldwide viewers can watch live coverage of two livestream tables away from the main arena. These tables will feature professional matches not shown on TV, with Pro Event 4 almost exclusively on this platform.
You can purchase an Events 3 and 4 Pass for just £4.99 or a Pro Series Season Pass (access to events 3-8) for only £13.49 here.
Please note: If you are in the UK and purchase the livestream, you will not be able to access the main table whilst it is live on FreeSports TV.
