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Problems in Great Britain
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Confusion reigns
over world
pool tournament
By David Snook
Michael Farley
No one seems to be certain that
the World Pool Tournament is
actually going to be held - except the
promoter .
A great deal of confusion reigns
over the arrangements for the
competition , which initially was to
have involved three continents .
It began last year when Australian
Michael Farley , representing Profes-
sional Promotions International , a
company with offices in Australia,
Hong Kong , the United Kingdom ,
and the United States , took the first
steps to a world series .
He set an Australian competition
rolling and then made extensive
tours of the United Kingdom
arranging a British tournament. The
winners from the Australian and
British tournaments were to link up
with winners from separate United
States and Canadian tournaments
for a Grand Finals to be held in Hong
Kong earlier this year .
Doubts about the tournament set
in when the British competition had
reached only local finals . The British
organizing company , Herpol Ltd ., of
PLAY METER , October, 1978
London , and sponsors, W .O. and
H .O . Wills Ltd ., a major cigarette
manufacturing company started to
encounter problems .
The problems culminated in late
August with Herpol contacting
regional co-ordinators with the
decision that it was not possible that
the British championships could be
brought to a conclusion .
In its letter the company said that
Professional Promotions Interna-
tional had encountered difficulties
and serious delays in the U .S .A . As a
result , they said , the finals in Hong
Kong could not take place until
mid-1979 , and there was a danger
that they would have to be
postponed indefinitely .
Each local winner involved in the
British competition so far, would be
sent a small trophy and some
complimentary cigarettes by Wills.
This sparked off a violent reaction,
particularly from the National Pool
Council , the players' organization,
based in Yorkshire , which called
upon the Minister for Sport, Dennis
Howell M.P ., to insist that all major
pool competitions should be scruti-
nized and approved . Council secre-
tary , Johnny Maylett , said in a press
conference : "It 's a terrible thing to
happen to the game . It will make
players very wary of future competi-
tions and this is why the Council
wants to have all future contests
vetted . "
The apparent disbanding of the
tournament also led to critical
publicity in the British national press
and this , in turn , led to a letter from
Farley s Los Angeles office which
threw things into further confusion .
Farley protested in his letter that
he was "amazed to read how the
pool-playing public in Britain could
have been so misinformed about the
competition - a Qualifier in the World
Eight Ball Pool Championships to be
held in Hon!=! Kon!=! .
" May I point out that approximate-
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