BAPTO PRO Liam Barrett told Euroslot at the end of October: "When the event first went to Blackpool two years ago we had 58 teams. Last year it was 74 and this year we already have 85 teams entered. The BAPTO event has a great reputation and we have found the facilities at Pontins to be excellent. The weekend offers great value and great entertainment."

He said that players liked the new black-ball rules which favoured greater attacking play. He thought the finals had found the right formula for pool's grass roots players. As people suffered from increasingly hard times they became more discerning about how and where to spend their hard-earned money. The BAPTO Finals, he suggested, met their standards in that direction.

It is heartening to see a successful BAPTO tournament arranged at a time when pool is suffering from the difficult times experienced by pubs. If the finals can persuade site owners to invest  in their customers' enjoyment rather than increase prices to offset the smaller number of customers they stand a chance of regaining at least some of their popularity with the public they are there to serve. Pool, a victim of rather than a cause of the pubs' decline, appears to be in the vanguard of bringing back their game to the ordinary pub players.

Good luck to them and may the BAPTO Finals have been a great success.

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