Darren Appleton
Darren Appleton (born 8 February 1978 in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England) is a British pool (pocket billiards) player, nicknamed "Dynamite".[1] He won the first WPA World Ten-ball Championship in 2008 against Wu Chia-ching, the former world champion in both nine-ball and eight-ball from Taiwan.[2] With the victory, he became the second male player from Britain to win a world championship after Daryl Peach who won the world nine-ball title a year earlier.
Appleton, who started playing pool at age 12,[3] is the world ranked no. 1 player in British-style eight-ball pool.[3] In 2006, he joined the International Pool Tour's standardised eight-ball competition. That year, he also won the Straight Pool Challenge at the Derby City Classic.
On 5 October 2008, Appleton claimed an upset victory in the inaugural WPA World Ten-ball Championship over Wu Chia-ching, 13–11, winning the US$100,000 top prize: "I've waited 16 years for this and have to enjoy the moment. I had mixed feelings and I was looking back at my disappointments in the past. I was ranked first (earlier in the decade) in the world but I have never won a world championship... It was a dream come true for me and I'm happy to win the title here in the Philippines."[4][5][6][7]
In May 2009, Appleton challenged Dennis Hatch of the United States in a three-day race-to-100 challenge match of ten-ball. Hatch, however, came out the victor with a score of 100-83.[8] In the same year, he won the World Pool Masters tournament by defeating Nick van den Berg.[9]
References
- ^ insidepoolmag.com, "Dynamite Blasts World 10-Ball Championship"
- ^ "Appleton Wins World Ten Ball Championship". AzBilliards.com. 5 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
- ^ a b Appleton, Darren (2008). "Darren Appleton". DarrenAppleton.com. Pontefract, UK: self-published. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
- ^ manilastandardtoday, "Appleton's 16-year Wait Over"
- ^ iht.com, "Appleton Wins World 10-ball Title"
- ^ sports.inquirer.net, "Appleton Nips Wu for Title; Pulpul 4th"
- ^ abs-cbnnews.com "Appleton Makes History as 1st World Ten Ball Champ"
- ^ Katy Moore (May 8, 2009). "Hatch over Appleton". AzBilliards.com. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
- ^ Matchroom Sport (May 11, 2009). "Appleton Takes Masters Crown at First Attempt". AzBilliards.com. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
External links
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