Darren Appleton
![]() Appleton at the World 9-Ball Pool Championship in Doha, 2012 | |||||||||||||||
Born | 8 February 1976 Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England | (age 48)||||||||||||||
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Sport country | ![]() | ||||||||||||||
Nickname | "Dynamite" | ||||||||||||||
Pool games | 9-Ball, Ten-ball, 8-ball | ||||||||||||||
Tournament wins | |||||||||||||||
World Champion | Ten-Ball (2008), Nine-Ball (2012), Chinese Eight-ball (2015) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Darren_Appleton_2012b.jpg/235px-Darren_Appleton_2012b.jpg)
Darren Appleton (born 8 February 1976) is an English professional pool player, best known for playing Eight-ball, Nine-ball and Ten-ball pool.[1]
Appleton won the 2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship (the inaugural 10-ball world championship) against Wu Jia-qing, of China, a former world champion in both nine-ball and eight-ball.[2] Appleton is also a world champion in nine-ball, having won the 2012 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, defeating Li He-wen in the final.
Career
[edit]Early career
[edit]Appleton, who started playing pool at age 12,[3] was formerly the world ranked no. 1 player in British-style eight-ball pool.[3] He was twice runner-up in the WEPF Eight-ball Pool World Championship. In 2006, he joined the International Pool Tour's standardised eight-ball competition. In 2008, he won the Straight Pool Challenge at the Derby City Classic.
World Ten-ball Champion (2008–2012)
[edit]On 5 October 2008, Appleton claimed an upset victory in the inaugural WPA Ten-ball World Championship over Wu Jia-qing, 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]
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.[7] In the same year, he won the World Pool Masters tournament by defeating Nick van den Berg.[8]
Darren Appleton also won the 2010 U.S. Open 9-ball Championship against Corey Deuel of the United States in a match that went into extra racks.[9] Appleton was a member of the victorious European team in the 2010 Mosconi Cup. He was named MVP for the tournament, after winning 5 of his 6 matches in the series.[10] In 2011 he defended his title, winning the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship again.[11]
World Nine-ball Champion (2012–present)
[edit]In 2012, Appleton won the WPA World Nine-ball Championship, subduing China's Li Hewen in the final with a score of 13–12.[12] Later, in 2013, he also won the nine-ball tournament at the World Games 2013, beating Chang Jung-lin 11–10 in the final.[13][14] In 2014, he won the Dragon 14.1 Tournament, defeating Shane Van Boening in the final. Also he won 2014 World Cup of Pool playing with Karl Boyes for Team England. On 2 February 2015, Darren Appleton won the 2015 CBSA World Chinese Eight-ball Championship, defeating world champion snooker player Mark Selby 21–19 in the final.[15][16]
Titles and achievements
[edit]- 2024 Ultimate Pool Louisiana Shootout
- 2017 Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame
- 2017 Super Billiards Expo One Pocket Championship
- 2016 Mosconi Cup
- 2016 Super Billiards Expo One Pocket Championship
- 2015 Mosconi Cup
- 2015 CBSA World Chinese Eight-ball Championship
- 2015 Kings Cup 10-Ball Team East vs. West
- 2015 American Straight Pool Championship
- 2014 Mosconi Cup
- 2014 Accu-Stats All-Star Invitational
- 2014 Dragon 14.1 Tournament
- 2014 Accu-Stats 8-Ball Invitational
- 2014 American Straight Pool Championship
- 2013 EPBF Player of the Year
- 2013 Mosconi Cup
- 2013 World Games Nine-ball Singles
- 2013 West Coast Challenge 10-Ball
- 2013 Derby City Classic 14.1 Challenge
- 2013 West Coast Challenge One Pocket
- 2012 Mosconi Cup
- 2012 International Challenge of Champions
- 2012 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
- 2011 Mosconi Cup
- 2011 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
- 2011 International Challenge of Champions
- 2011 Beassy 9-Ball Open
- 2011 World Cup of Pool - with (Karl Boyes)
- 2010 Billiards Digest Player of the Year
- 2010 Mosconi Cup (MVP)
- 2010 Mosconi Cup
- 2010 WPA World Team Championship
- 2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
- 2010 Euro Tour Costa Blanca Open
- 2009 World Pool Masters
- 2008 Derby City Classic 14.1 Challenge
- 2009 CSI US Bar Table 10-Ball Championship
- 2009 EPBF Nations Cup Championship
- 2008 Euro Tour Italy Open
- 2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship
- 2007 International 8-ball Championship
- 2006 BCA Grand Masters 8-ball
References
[edit]- ^ "Dynamite Blasts World 10-Ball Championship" Archived 10 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. insidepoolmag.com (October 2008)
- ^ "Appleton Wins World Ten Ball Championship". AzBilliards.com. 5 October 2008. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
- ^ a b Appleton, Darren (2008). "Darren Appleton". DarrenAppleton.com. Pontefract: self-published. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
- ^ Joble, Rey (October 2008) "Appleton's 16-year Wait Over". manilastandardtoday.com
- ^ Castillo, Musong R. (6 October 2008) "Appleton Nips Wu for Title; Pulpul 4th". Philippine Daily Inquirer
- ^ Gasgonia, Dennis (5 October 2008) "Appleton Makes History as 1st World Ten Ball Champ". abs-cbnnews.com
- ^ Katy Moore (8 May 2009). "Hatch over Appleton". AzBilliards.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
- ^ Matchroom Sport (11 May 2009). "Appleton Takes Masters Crown at First Attempt". AzBilliards.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Skip Maloney (23 October 2010). "Appleton wins US Open". AzBilliards.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ "Matchroom Pool | Mosconi Cup | News | News | EUROPE WIN THE 2010 MOSCONI CUP". matchroompool.com. 13 December 2010. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011.
- ^ Lerner, Ted (7 September 2013). "'I Keep Pinching Myself'". wpapool.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ Ted Lerner (29 June 2012). "Its Dynamite in Doha". AzBilliards.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
- ^ Charlie Williams (24 August 2013). "DYNAMITE!! Darren Appleton Breaks World Record in 14.1 : Perfect 200 Run". thePoolScene.com. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ^ "World 14.1 Record Darren Appleton Vs. Fransisco[sic] Bustamante 2013". www.Muellers.com. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ^ Lai, Samuel (12 February 2015) Darren Appleton and Bai Ge Won the First Chinese Pool Champion. alison-chang.com
- ^ Mark Selby v Darren Appleton, Final 2015 Chinese Pool World Championship. YouTube.com (2 February 2015). Retrieved on 17 June 2016.
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)