Pro-Am Series ● Everything a captain needs
Formats &
entry
Arrival days, entry criteria and how every event is played. Read it once, in order, before you enter.
£285
Per team
£20
Singles entry
£25
Mixed doubles per pair
4–8
Players per squad
01 ● Before you travel
When to arrive, and what you need
When to arrive
Players can arrive from Wednesday (practice and flyers available), or Thursday with Men’s singles qualifiers starting Thursday afternoon and playing right through to the early hours. Ladies singles start from 8pm Thursday. The team event starts 9am Friday, and the tournament finishes Sunday, late afternoon.
Wristbands
All players and spectators must have a tournament wristband to gain access to the event. For players, these are £70 for the Pro-Am weekend or £120 for both weekends. Spectators are £20 and can be used for the duration of the festival. The relevant bands are provided free to anyone who books the Golden 8 Ball Accommodation Package with the Norbreck Castle Hotel. Wristbands must be worn at all times in the arena.
Ladies events
Lady spectators can play in the Ladies Singles and Mixed Doubles, but only if they are with a team for the full weekend. They must still pay the required entry fee but will not require a player’s wristband. Lady players from the Novice Series can compete using their Novice weekend players wristband; to play in the Pro-Am team event they need a Pro-Am players wristband.
02 ● Checked at registration
Team entry criteria
Squad size
Teams must have minimum 4 players and maximum 8 players.
Entry fee
Entry fee is £285 per team, and all team entry fees are non-refundable unless the event is cancelled. Teams can only register online and must pay immediately by credit or debit card.
One professional per team
Only one professional player per team. A player is deemed ‘Professional’ if they have played as a professional player in any cue sports genre within two years from the date of their team application. This includes playing as a professional in any Ultimate Pool event.
The 15-mile rule
All players must live within 15 miles of each other. Exceptions to the rule can be applied for, but will not be granted for professional players or players of exceptionally high ability. Ladies are excluded from the geographical rule.
ℹ️ Turned pro after registering?
Some teams may have more than one professional player at the date of the tournament, but only where a registered player has turned professional between the date the team registered and the date of the tournament.
Fair play
Teams suspected of breaking the entry criteria should be reported to the organisers several weeks before the event, so there is time to investigate. Any team found to be purposely cheating will be banned from future events.
03 ● £285 per team
Team format
Round robin
Teams divided into groups of 4 to play a round robin. Each match consists of 12 frames – 3 sets of 4 frames.
Teams score 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. Frame difference ranks teams with equal points. Teams are seeded for the knockout stages.
Four trophies
Top 2 in group
Top 2 teams from each group enter the Gold Trophy knockout, with first round losers dropping into the Silver Trophy knockout.
Bottom 2 in group
Bottom 2 teams from each group enter the Bronze Trophy knockout, with first round losers dropping into the Wooden Spoon knockout.
Best of 12 knockout stages for all trophies – Gold, Silver, Bronze and Wooden Spoon.
Ties
If a tie occurs during knockout, then teams go to a penalty shootout.
Tie-break
Penalty shootout rule
The shot
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The black ball is placed on the spot at the rack end of the table.
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Player can position cue ball anywhere behind the baulk line.
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Player must pot the black ball, using one shot, to score a goal.
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If the black ball fails to pot, or the white ball is potted or a foul is committed, then the penalty is considered a miss.
Order of play & sudden death
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An order of play sheet with only four players must be created and followed.
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If score is a draw after all shots taken, then a sudden death round begins, following the original order of play sheet.
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Both players must take their shot – i.e. if player one misses, then their opponent must take their shot and pot to win.
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In sudden death round, the cue ball can be placed anywhere behind the line.
04 ● £20 per entry
Singles format
Qualifiers
Thursday
Men’s qualifiers start from 3pm, Ladies from 8pm, and continue through the night. Last entry 11.30pm, so there’s plenty of time to arrive on Thursday and enter. Players simply ‘pay and play’: arrive in the arena, register, and wait to be drawn to a table.
Qualifying
Qualifiers are best of 5 frames. Players must win two matches to qualify for the main singles event. Players from the same team will not be drawn together in the qualifiers.
Main event
Friday evening
The main event is a random draw, best of 5 frames, with finals best of 7. The main Men’s event is limited to 64 players and the Ladies to 16 players. If there is high demand for the singles, there may be a prelim round on the Friday.
05 ● £25 per pair ● Saturday night
Mixed doubles format
The Davies Cup format
Men from each pair play the women from each opposing pair in a singles format for the first two frames. The 3rd frame is played in a ‘Scotch’ doubles format, where partners must take alternate shots. The final two frames are played in a singles format. Lady v lady, then man v man.
No coaching
No talking between partners during frames, apart from the 3rd ‘Scotch’ doubles frame, and even then you must stop talking once your visit is on and you have touched the table.
Ties
A tie is settled by penalty shootout, played to the same rule as the team event. See the penalty shootout rule.