Darren Appleton

English pool player (born 1976)

Darren Appleton

Appleton at the World 9-Ball Pool Championship in Doha, 2012

Born| 8 February 1976 (1976-02-08) (age 48)
Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England
Sport country|  England
Nickname| "Dynamite"
Pool games| 9-Ball, Ten-ball, 8-ball
Tournament wins
World Champion| Ten-Ball (2008),
Nine-Ball (2012),
Chinese Eight-ball (2015)

Medal record

Representing  United Kingdom
Men's Nine-ball
World Games
|  2013 Cali | Singles

Appleton after winning the World 9-Ball Pool Championship

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]

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[edit]

### Early career[edit]

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)[edit]

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)[edit]

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[edit]

* 2024 Ultimate Pool Louisiana Shootout
* 2017 Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame
* 2017 Super Billiards Expo One Pocket Championship
* 2016 Mosconi Cup
* 2016 Super Billiards Expo One Pocket Championship
* 2015 Mosconi Cup
* 2015 CBSA World Chinese Eight-ball Championship
* 2015 Kings Cup 10-Ball Team East vs. West
* 2015 American Straight Pool Championship
* 2014 Mosconi Cup
* 2014 Accu-Stats All-Star Invitational
* 2014 Dragon 14.1 Tournament
* 2014 Accu-Stats 8-Ball Invitational
* 2014 American Straight Pool Championship
* 2013 EPBF Player of the Year
* 2013 Mosconi Cup
* 2013 World Games Nine-ball Singles
* 2013 West Coast Challenge 10-Ball
* 2013 Derby City Classic 14.1 Challenge
* 2013 West Coast Challenge One Pocket
* 2012 Mosconi Cup
* 2012 International Challenge of Champions
* 2012 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
* 2011 Mosconi Cup
* 2011 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
* 2011 International Challenge of Champions
* 2011 Beassy 9-Ball Open
* 2011 World Cup of Pool \- with (Karl Boyes)
* 2010 Billiards Digest Player of the Year
* 2010 Mosconi Cup (MVP)
* 2010 Mosconi Cup
* 2010 WPA World Team Championship
* 2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
* 2010 Euro Tour Costa Blanca Open
* 2009 World Pool Masters
* 2008 Derby City Classic 14.1 Challenge
* 2009 CSI US Bar Table 10-Ball Championship
* 2009 EPBF Nations Cup Championship
* 2008 Euro Tour Italy Open
* 2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship
* 2007 International 8-ball Championship
* 2006 BCA Grand Masters 8-ball

## References[edit]

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. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
3. ^ a b 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. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. 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. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. 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.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Darren Appleton.

* Appleton's official website

Inaugural champion  |  WPA World Ten-ball Champion
2008  | Succeeded by

Mika Immonen

|
|

Preceded by

Yukio Akagariyama

|  WPA World Nine-ball Champion
2012  | Succeeded by

Thorsten Hohmann

* v
* t
* e

World pool champions

Nine-ball
(men's)|

* 1990: Earl Strickland
* 1991: Earl Strickland
* 1992: Johnny Archer
* 1993: Chao Fong-pang
* 1994: Takeshi Okumura
* 1995: Oliver Ortmann
* 1996: Ralf Souquet
* 1997: Johnny Archer
* 1998: Kunihiko Takahashi
* 1999: Efren Reyes & Nick Varner
* 2000: Chao Fong-pang
* 2001: Mika Immonen
* 2002: Earl Strickland
* 2003: Thorsten Hohmann
* 2004: Alex Pagulayan
* 2005: Wu Chia-ching
* 2006: Ronato Alcano
* 2007: Daryl Peach
* 2010: Francisco Bustamante
* 2011: Yukio Akakariyama
* 2012: Darren Appleton
* 2013: Thorsten Hohmann
* 2014: Niels Feijen
* 2015: Ko Pin-yi
* 2016: Albin Ouschan
* 2017: Carlo Biado
* 2018: Joshua Filler
* 2019: Fedor Gorst
* 2021: Albin Ouschan
* 2022: Shane Van Boening
* 2023: Francisco Sanchez Ruiz
* 2024: Fedor Gorst

Nine-ball
(women's)|

* 1990: Robin Bell
* 1991: Robin Bell
* 1992: Franziska Stark
* 1993: Loree Jon Jones
* 1994: Ewa Laurance
* 1995: Gerda Hofstätter
* 1996: Allison Fisher
* 1997: Allison Fisher
* 1998: Allison Fisher
* 1999: Liu Hsin-mei
* 2000: Julie Kelly
* 2001: Allison Fisher
* 2002: Liu Hsin-mei
* 2004: Kim Ga-young
* 2006: Kim Ga-young
* 2007: Pan Xiaoting
* 2008: Lin Yuan-chun
* 2009: Liu Shasha
* 2010: Fu Xiaofang
* 2011: Bi Zhu Qing
* 2012: Kelly Fisher
* 2013: Han Yu
* 2014: Liu Shasha
* 2015: Liu Shasha
* 2016: Han Yu
* 2017: Chen Siming
* 2018: Han Yu
* 2019: Kelly Fisher

Eight-ball
(champions)|

* 2004: Efren Reyes
* 2005: Wu Chia-ching
* 2007: Ronato Alcano
* 2008: Ralf Souquet
* 2010: Karl Boyes
* 2011: Dennis Orcollo
* 2012: Chang Jung-Lin
* 2022: Francisco Sanchez Ruiz

Ten-ball|

* 2008: Darren Appleton
* 2009: Mika Immonen
* 2011: Huidji See
* 2015: Ko Pin-yi
* 2019: Ko Ping-chung
* 2021: Eklent Kaçi
* 2022: Wojciech Szewczyk
* 2023: Eklent Kaçi
* 2024: Carlo Biado

Straight pool|

* 2006: Thorsten Hohmann
* 2007: Oliver Ortmann
* 2008: Niels Feijen
* 2009: Stephan Cohen
* 2010: Oliver Ortmann
* 2011: Thorsten Hohmann
* 2012: John Schmidt
* 2013: Thorsten Hohmann
* 2014: Darren Appleton
* 2015: Thorsten Hohmann
* 2016: Mika Immonen
* 2017: Lee Vann Corteza
* 2018: Thorsten Hohmann
* 2019: Shane Van Boening

Cue sports portal

Darren Appleton in Mosconi Cup

* v
* t
* e

European Mosconi Cup team – 2009

* Ralf Souquet
* Niels Feijen
* Darren Appleton
* Mika Immonen
* Thorsten Hohmann
* Alex Lely (non-playing captain)

* v
* t
* e

European Mosconi Cup team – 2010

* Ralf Souquet
* Mika Immonen
* Nick van den Berg
* Darren Appleton
* Karl Boyes
* Johan Ruijsink (non-playing captain)

* v
* t
* e

European Mosconi Cup team – 2011

* Chris Melling
* Darren Appleton
* Ralf Souquet
* Nick van den Berg
* Niels Feijen
* Johan Ruijsink (non-playing captain)

* v
* t
* e

European Mosconi Cup team – 2012

* Darren Appleton
* Nick Ekonomopoulos
* Niels Feijen
* Chris Melling
* Nick van den Berg
* Johan Ruijsink (non-playing captain)

* v
* t
* e

European Mosconi Cup team – 2013

* Ralf Souquet
* Darren Appleton
* Niels Feijen
* Karl Boyes
* Mika Immonen
* Johan Ruijsink (non-playing captain)

* v
* t
* e

European Mosconi Cup team – 2014

* Darren Appleton
* Karl Boyes
* Nikos Ekonomopoulos
* Niels Feijen
* Mark Gray

* v
* t
* e

European Mosconi Cup team – 2015

* Niels Feijen
* Darren Appleton
* Albin Ouschan
* Karl Boyes
* Nick van den Berg

* v
* t
* e

European Mosconi Cup team – 2016

* Darren Appleton
* Niels Feijen
* Mark Gray
* Albin Ouschan
* Jayson Shaw

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