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10,000 reasons to enter English Open
11:38am Wednesday 18th June 2008

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By Richard Bakes »

The Paul Hunter English Open will once again take place at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds this summer, with the host club providing the £10,000 prize fund.

The tournament was named in memory of Paul last year and was a huge success, with top amateur Matthew Couch from Scunthorpe winning the competition, beating then World No 7 Neil Robertson 6-5 in a classic final.

This year’s event is played between Sunday, July 27 and Sunday, August 3, with initial group stages on a round-robin basis.

Group matches will be the best of seven frames, with 64 players progressing to the knock-out phase, where best of seven will be played up to the final – which is best of 11.

The competition is open to any player, professional or amateur, with the top 31 players, plus Couch, seeded in the group stages.

Entry fees are £60 for EASB members and £75 for non-members, with £5 from each entry being donated to the Paul Hunter Foundation – a charity established by his widow Lindsey to introduce disabled and underprivileged children to snooker.

As members of the EASB, the Bradford & District Billiards & Snooker Assoc-iation can forward entries at a cost of £60 per player and anyone requiring an entry form, or further information, should contact me on 01274-882763.

The Northern will also be hosting the World Professional Billiard Championships on July 23-27.

Spectators are welcome, with free entry on July 23-25, after which entry will be £5 on the 26 and £10 on the 27. Tickets are available from the Northern Snooker Centre (0113-243 3015).

Bradford’s Moorhouse Shield, in its Centenary season, is reaching the closing stages, with Lilycroft WMC defeating Clayton Liberals in their recent semi-final.

They now await the winner of Undercliffe Cricket Club and Clayton Rugby.

English Amateur Champion David Grace from Leeds has added the European Amateur championship to his name, defeating England Captain Craig Steadman 6-5 in the final and ensuring qualification to the main tour next season.

Five of the 16 amateurs who have qualified have come from our region, with Grace joining clubmates Peter Lines and Kuldesh Johal, together with the Bradford pair of Simon Bedford and Wayne Cooper.

http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/3169700.10_000_reasons_to_enter_English_Open/