Darren Appleton

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]

Darren Appleton
Appleton at the World 9-Ball Pool Championship in Doha, 2012
Born8 February 1976 (1976-02-08) (age 47)
Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England
Sport country England
Nickname"Dynamite"
Pool games9-Ball, Ten-ball, 8-ball
Tournament wins
World ChampionTen-Ball (2008),
Nine-Ball (2012),
Chinese Eight-ball (2015)
Medal record
Representing  United Kingdom
Men's Nine-ball
World Games
Gold medal – first place 2013 Cali Singles
Appleton after winning the World 9-Ball Pool Championship

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

Early career

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)

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)

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

References
  1. "Dynamite Blasts World 10-Ball Championship" Archived 10 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. insidepoolmag.com (October 2008)
  2. "Appleton Wins World Ten Ball Championship". AzBilliards.com. 5 October 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  3. Appleton, Darren (2008). "Darren Appleton". DarrenAppleton.com. Pontefract: self-published. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
  4. Joble, Rey (October 2008) "Appleton's 16-year Wait Over". manilastandardtoday.com
  5. Castillo, Musong R. (6 October 2008) "Appleton Nips Wu for Title; Pulpul 4th". Philippine Daily Inquirer
  6. Gasgonia, Dennis (5 October 2008) "Appleton Makes History as 1st World Ten Ball Champ". abs-cbnnews.com
  7. Katy Moore (8 May 2009). "Hatch over Appleton". AzBilliards.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  8. 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)
  9. Skip Maloney (23 October 2010). "Appleton wins US Open". AzBilliards.com. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  10. "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.
  11. Lerner, Ted (7 September 2013). "'I Keep Pinching Myself'". wpapool.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  12. Ted Lerner (29 June 2012). "Its Dynamite in Doha". AzBilliards.com. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  13. Charlie Williams (24 August 2013). "DYNAMITE!! Darren Appleton Breaks World Record in 14.1 : Perfect 200 Run". thePoolScene.com. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  14. "World 14.1 Record Darren Appleton Vs. Fransisco[sic] Bustamante 2013". www.Muellers.com. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  15. Lai, Samuel (12 February 2015) Darren Appleton and Bai Ge Won the First Chinese Pool Champion. alison-chang.com
  16. Mark Selby v Darren Appleton, Final 2015 Chinese Pool World Championship. YouTube.com (2 February 2015). Retrieved on 17 June 2016.
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