Capaldi takes 2010 Black Bottle Edinburgh 9 Ball Open title |  |
Stephen Capaldi receiving the 2010 Black Bottle quaich from Garth Ball of The Green Room
Easter weekend saw some of the best 9 ball players in the UK descend on the Scottish capital to fight it out for the title of Black Bottle Edinburgh 9 Ball Open Champion. The field was probably the strongest ever seen in Scotland including Pat Holtz ( Scottish No1, Last 16 World Championships and Semi Finalist World Masters ), Scott Ross ( European 8 Ball Champion ), Stephen Capaldi ( reigning Scottish 9 Ball Champion ), Fraser Patrick ( SAPPA Tour stop winner and previous snooker professional ), Chris Melling ( Twice World 8 Ball Champion ) and not to forget Jayson Shaw and Michael Valentine ( both previous Scottish 9 Ball Champions and Eurotour regulars) |  Chris Melling in action at the Black Bottle Edinburgh Open |
 Edinburgh's Stevie Westwater en route to his semi final placing | Upset of the first round probably came at the hands of well known 8 baller Alan Maxwell as he defeated Scottish no 4 Andrew Morris by 7 racks to 5 Unfortunately two of the favourites Scott Ross and Jayson Shaw were drawn against each other with Scott narrowly squeezing into the last 32. This was definately the tie of the first round and the full game can be viewed by clicking here.. |
LAST 32 The open draw threw up some amazing matches in the Last 32 round. Michael Valentine showed his intent by cruising past the very talented Scott Gillespie. SAPPA regular Clark Smith showed his class by taking care of the much fancied Piotr Ostrowski 7-2. Piotr had made the trip over from Poland only to fall at the second hurdle. As with the 1st round, the last 32 stage also provided us with one of the major upsets of the tournament. Edinburgh based Polish player Tomasz Waliszewski eliminated Scottish No 1 Pat Holtz by 7 racks to 3 | LAST 16 By Sunday lunchtime the tournament had reached it's last 16 stage and players were starting to believe that the title of 2010 Black Bottle Edinburgh could be theirs... England's Chris Melling didn't waste any time in easing into the last 8 without losing a rack. Scott Ross sent the only other remaining English player, Andy Barnett, packing. This set up a cracking Ross v Melling quarter final. Valentine and Capaldi were still quietly going about their business, both winning 8-2. |
LAST 8 Melling v Ross didn't dissapoint with the match being close all the way, Melling edged it 9-7 in the end. In the other quarters, Capaldi came up against his first real test in ex snooker professional Fraser Patrick, narrowly securing his semi place by 9 racks to 7. Valentine yet again eased into the next round by defeating good friend Craig Sinclair 9-3. In the last quarter, Stevie Westwater, Edinburgh's last hope of keeping the title in the Capital booked his place in the semi by ending Alan Maxwell's great run 9-6. SEMI FINALS Valentine once again looked untroubled ending Stevie Westwater's chances by a remarkable 10-2 scoreline. The other semi looked close at the start but it was Capaldi who showed his win at the 2009 Scottish Championships was no fluke, he took care of twice World 8 Ball Champion Chris Melling 10-5. |  Capaldi and Valentine shake hands prior to the Final |
 Glasgow's Stephen Capaldi in action in the final | THE 2010 BLACK BOTTLE EDINBURGH 9 BALL OPEN FINAL Sunday evening saw two of Scotland's most talented 9 ball players fighting it out for the title and the cheque that goes along with it. Both players have been Scottish Champion, Michael Valentine in 2004 and Stephen Capaldi is reigning Champion for 2009. It was Capaldi who raced into an early lead and was able to hold off a spirited comeback from Valentine to win the title 11-7. Congratulations to Capaldi, I'm sure he will be back to defend his title next year. A short summary video of the event can be found here |
