Longoni, the premier Italian cue company, has recently announced the launch of their scotch doubles 9-ball league for 2022 involving the best athletes on the Euro Tour. Starting in February, the Longoni 9-Ball League will be played on the eve of each Euro Tour event, involving the highest-ranked players from the Euro Tour overall rankings.
With a total of 12 teams competing, 11 countries have been selected for the inaugural Longoni 9-Ball League based on current Euro Tour rankings. The onus is on the players to perform on the Euro Tour to make their respective teams. Each team will consist of the two highest-ranked players from that nation at the time of each Longoni 9-ball League match. With the Euro Tour rankings ever-changing, it’s possible that more than two athletes will participate as a team during the League’s season.
The 12th team Italy, were selected by Longoni for the inaugural year and Pierluigi Longoni, Director General of Longoni, said, "The Longoni company is enthusiastic to see this new project coming to life. We have been collaborating with the EPBF for many years, priorly with the homologation of the Prostar tables, then as a sponsor of the EuroTour.
“Our goal has always been to create an international pool circuit associated with our own brand where players from different countries could participate together: The Longoni 9 Ball League is matching our expectations and we are excited to see the start in Slovenia. This is the first year of the project but we would like to make it grow in the coming years, making it a must for the European pool scene."
Each tournament will see participating countries drawn into four groups of three and the group winners will progress to the semi-finals. The four countries finishing last in their respective groups will be relegated and replaced by four new countries. Athletes will win a share of the total prize money for each match they play with the winning team collecting a possible 4,500 Euros for playing 4 matches.
“This new event brings the top players together competing as a team, and with no entry fees or extra travel costs, it’s a big win for the athletes. It will bring more excitement to the Euro Tour rankings as each player’s results could determine if they make the next team, it will be interesting to see this develop,” said David Morris, IBPF President.
The twelve teams forming the inaugural Longoni 9-Ball League will be from players highest ranked from the following countries: Albania, Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia and Spain.
The draw for the inaugural event will take place in Lasko, Slovenia on 25th February with the first group matches taking place the same evening. Where to watch the matches live and further information will be coming soon. Check out the event information on the Longoni 9-Ball League’s
Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Longoni-9-ball-League-104306765481649
For more information and scheduled dates, check out the EPBF website or contact the EPBF press office at press@epbf.com