Daryl Peach (born 8 March 1972) is an English professional

pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

player, from

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, who resides in Blackpool, England. He won the 2007 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, where he defeated the Philippines' Roberto Gomez 17–15 in the final to become the first British player to win the

WPA World Nine-ball Championship The WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual professional nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1990. The championship is sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and principally sponsored and organised by Matchroom Sport, ...

. Representing England with partner Mark Gray, Peach has competed at the

World Cup of Pool The World Cup of Pool is an annual international single-elimination tournament for doubles teams in nine-ball pool competition. The event has been dominated by the Philippines and China, with both nations winning the event on three occasions. His ...

on six occasions, reaching the final in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. Peach represented Great Britain and won the inaugural World Team Championship in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. He has also represented Europe in the

Mosconi Cup The Mosconi Cup is an annual nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1994 between teams representing Europe and the United States. Named after American pool player Willie Mosconi, the event is comparable to the Ryder Cup in golf and the Weber ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, and was a member of the winning team on both occasions. Peach was the youngest winner of the

World Pool Masters The World Pool Masters is an annual international nine-ball tournament. Formerly, it was called the European Pool Masters (until 1995) until players from other parts of the globe were invited. History Throughout much of its history, the tournament ...

, his first pool tournament, winning the 1995 event at the age of 23 years and three months. He is also the first player to have been ranked number one in the UK rankings, European tour rankings, and WPA World rankings concurrently. Peach is a five-time winner on the

Euro Tour The Euro Tour is a series of professional pool events set around Europe, founded in 1992, and created by the European Pocket Billiard Federation. The Tour's first event was the ''Belgium Open'', held on May 29 – 31, 1992. The event was won by M ...

, having won events from 2007 until 2012. With a total of nine medals from tour events, Peach is the tenth most successful player on the tour of all time.

Career

Snooker and transition to pool (1991–1995)

Daryl Peach was born on 8 March 1972 in

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England. Peach moved to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

when he was fourteen. Originally a

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

player, Peach turned professional in 1991 but was unable to reach the TV stages of any tournaments. Peach played alongside the likes of Ronnie O'sullivan, Mark Williams, John Higgins, who all were battling in the qualifying rounds at the same time. He reached a peak ranking of 250th in the world on the

World Snooker Tour The World Snooker Tour (WST) is the main professional snooker tour, consisting of approximately 128 players competing on a circuit of up to 28 tournaments each season. The World Snooker Tour is administered by World Snooker Ltd, the commercial ar ...

. His last snooker tournament was the 1995 Welsh Open, where he lost 4–5 to

Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple c ...

in the opening qualifying round. Following this loss, Peach was convinced by a friend to take up

nine-ball Nine-ball (sometimes written 9-ball) is a discipline of the cue sport pool. The game's origins are traceable to the 1920s in the United States. It is played on a rectangular billiard table with at each of the four corners and in the middle of e ...

pool, and entered a UK ranking event "just to see". Peach won this even in convincing fashion, beating some of the highest ranked UK players along the way. After his initial win, Peach entered the next 3 UK ranking events, winning then all to make it 4 out of 4. He quickly rose to the top of the UK rankings, and because of this, he received an invite into the 1995 European Pool Masters tournament (which later became the

). Peach sailed through the event, defeating Lee Kendall in the final, making him the youngest winner of the tournament at age 23 years and three months. Following his win, he was invited to represent Europe at the 1995 Mosconi Cup partnering pool players Kendall,

Oliver Ortmann Oliver Ortmann (born 11 June 1967) is a German professional pool player from Gelsenkirchen. Ortmann is a three-time world champion, winning the 1995 WPA World Nine-ball Championship and the 2007 and 2010 World Straight Pool Championship. Ortman ...

Tom Storm Tom Storm (born 16 March 1965 in Borlänge, Sweden) is a former Swedish professional pool player. Storm was the runner-up at the 1996 WPA World Nine-ball Championship. Storm represented Europe at the Mosconi Cup twice, in 1994 and 1995. Storm ...

, and snooker players

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he rea ...

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was Wor ...

, and

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...

. The European team won the series, 16–15; with Peach playing an integral part in the Europeans first ever victory in the event. Following his huge successes, Peach decided not to renew his professional snooker status, opting to play pool instead.

Post European Masters (1996–2004)

After his binding start to his Pool career, Peach spent to next few years cementing his place at the top of the UK rankings, playing in between 25 and 30 UK ranking events per year. He slowly started to filter more and more European events into his calendar, along with the odd world major event. Peach competed in the World Pool Masters, reaching the semi finals twice. He reached the quarter finals of the 2004 WPA World Eight-ball Championship, where he lost to Michael Schmidt 10–7. Peach was also starting to knock on the door on the tough

, reaching the semi-finals of the Austria Open. Later he reached the final of the German Open, runner-up to Oliver Ortmann.

United Kingdom number one again...

In 2005, Peach competed in all six Euro Tour events, reaching the main stages in each of them. He reached the round-of-16 stage at the Belgium and Swiss Opens, the quarter-finals at the German and Costa Del Sol Opens, and the semi-finals of the Austria Open. He later reached the quarter-finals of the

WPA World Eight-ball Championship The WPA World Eight-ball Championship is a professional eight-ball pool tournament sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), initially contested from 2004 to 2012 in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. After not being held for several ...

, after defeating Souquet in the round of 16, losing to eventual champion

Wu Jia-qing Wu Jiaqing (; born February 9, 1989) is a Taiwanese-born Chinese professional pool player. He is nicknamed the ''Taishan Shentong'' ("Little Genius from Taishan"). Since 2011, Wu switched from representing Chinese Taipei to representing the co ...

. His season results led him to become the number one ranked player in the United Kingdom, a position that was becoming to be a given for Peach. This success gave him the opportunity to represent England at the 2006 World Cup of Pool doubles event, where he partnered Steve Davis. In the first round, the pair defeated the South Korean team of Jeong Young-hwa and Lee Gun-jae 9–6, but lost in the quarter-finals to Earl Strickland and

Rodney Morris Rodney Morris (born 25 November 1970 in Anaheim, California, USA) is a professional pool player of Chamorro - Hawaiian descent. Nicknamed "Rocket" he currently resides in Acworth, Georgia. Rodney married his wife Rheyannon in July 2020. Career I ...

of the United States. in late 2006, Peach decided to enter a qualifying event in Holland to win a place on the new

International Pool Tour The International Pool Tour was a professional sports tour created in 2005 by Kevin Trudeau and hosted by Rebecca Grant. It aimed to elevate pool to the level of other modern sports. Closely modeled on the PGA Tour, the IPT offered the largest pri ...

(IPT), which he won. He played in both the IPT World Open (eight-ball) and the IPT North American Open, finishing in 17th and 7th places, respectively.

World nine-ball champion (2007)

In 2007, Peach won his first Euro Tour event, the German Open.On route to the final, he beat Alex Lely 10-6, Dzmitry Chuprov 10–3,

Niels Feijen Niels Feijen (born 3 February 1977, The Hague) is a Dutch professional pool player, from the Hague. His nickname is "the Terminator". In 2014 he won the WPA World 9-ball championship. Career In 2001, Feijen reached the finals of a nine-ball t ...

10–7,

Thorsten Hohmann Thorsten Hohmann (born 14 July 1979 in Fulda, West Germany) is a German professional pool player, nicknamed "the Hitman." He is a three-time world champion, winning the WPA World Nine-ball Championship in 2003, and 2013, and winning the WPA Worl ...

10–7, and

David Alcaide David Alcaide Bermúdez (born 14 December 1978) is a Spanish pool player. He is a two-time winner of the World Pool Masters, winning the 2017 event, defeating Jayson Shaw 8–7 in the final, and again in 2019 defeating Alexander Kazakis 9� ...

10–5. In the final, he defeated

Dimitri Jungo Dimitri may refer People * Dmitry, a male given name, Slavic version of Greek name Demetrios * Dimitri (clown) (1935–2016), Swiss clown and mime * Dimitri Atanasescu, Ottoman-born Aromanian teacher * Dimitri from Paris, French DJ * Dimitri Flower ...

10–3. In November, Peach entered the 2007 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, held at the infamous Araneta Coluseum in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Philippines, the same exact arena where

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

defeated

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011), nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was known for his strength, durability, formidable left hand, and relentless pressure fi ...

in the famous "Thriller in Manila" fight, seeded 17th for the event. He won his double elimination rounds, reaching the knockout rounds. He then defeated defending champion

Ronato Alcano Ronato (Ronnie) Alcano (pronounced al-kah-no) (born 27 July 1972 in Calamba City, Laguna, Philippines), is a Filipino professional pool player, nicknamed "Ronnie ''Calamba''" and "the Volcano". He won both the 2006 WPA World Nine-ball Champions ...

10–6, former runner up Lee Kung-fang 10–7, and

Harald Stolka Harald or Haraldr is the Old Norse form of the given name Harold (given name), Harold. It may refer to: Medieval Kings of Denmark * Harald Bluetooth (935–985/986) Kings of Norway * Harald Fairhair (c. 850–c. 933) * Harald Greycloak (died 9 ...

11–5, to reach the quarter-finals. There, Peach played another former runner up

Francisco Bustamante Francisco Bustamante (born December 29, 1963) is a Filipino professional pool player from Tarlac, Central Luzon and the 2010 World Nine-ball Champion, nicknamed "Django", after the lead character of the 1966 film of the same name, With Bustamante behind the , he played a to make a combination shot on the 9ball. Despite Bustamante celebrating the victory, referee Nigel Reese consulted a television replay of the shot, and declared it was a foul, awarding Peach . The actual foul shot was replayed on the big overhead screens, showing that there was no doubt that the shot was a foul. Following the decision, it took over 10 minutes for the heavily partizan crowd to calm down and accept the decision. With ball in hand, Peach ran out the high pressured rack to tie the match at 10-10. He then kept Bustamente in his chair completing his victory with a solid break and run in the final rack decider, winning 11–10. The semi-final featured Peach defeating Hungarian player Vilmos Foldes 11–2 to set up a final match vs Roberto Gomez. In the race-to-17-racks match, Peach took to the table better, reaching an early five-rack lead at 8–3. Gomez won six racks in a row to take the lead before Peach went ahead by two at 12–10. Gomez dug in again to regain the lead and go 15–12 ahead. Then it was Peach's turn to build the come back, levelling the match at 15-15. With two racks required to win the championship, Peach had the momentum and won the next rack allowing Peach to get to the . A long safety battle ensued in rack 32, which was dominated by Peach, allowing him to get the first chance. He convincingly ran the rack to win the championship, and become the first ever British winner of the event. In becoming world champion, Peach was then selected to represent Europe once again, at the

2007 Mosconi Cup The 2007 Mosconi Cup, the 14th edition of the annual nine-ball pool competition between teams representing Europe and the United States, took place 13–16 December 2007 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Team Europe Team Europe may re ...

. He partnered Souquet, Feijen, Konstantin Stepanov, and

Tony Drago Tony Drago (born 22 September 1965) is a Maltese former professional snooker and pool player. Known for his speed around the table, during his snooker career he won two professional titles: the 1993 Strachan Challenge Event 3 and the 1996 G ...

.Here, Peach won his 2nd Mosconi Cup winners medal, making it 2 from 2 attempts. probably more famously than the win itself, In his interview after his match against Earl Strickland, Peach branded his opponent the "scum of the earth", following claims that Strickland purposefully attempted to distract Peach. The pair were later separated by

Michaela Tabb Michaela Tabb (born 11 December 1967, in Bath, Somerset, England) is a Scottish snooker and pool referee. She established significant milestones for female officials in professional cue sports, beginning in pool, where she officiated at top t ...

, even after a warning from Tabb against Strickland.

Reigning world champion (2008–2010)

Following Peach's world championship victory, he reached the round-of-16 stage of both the 2008 WPA World Eight-ball Championship and the

U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship The U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship is an annual professional men's nine-ball pool tournament that began in its current form in 1976. The U.S. Open is one of the most sought-after titles in nine-ball and in pool generally. Traditionally, winners of t ...

. In October 2008, Peach partnered Mark Gray at the 2008 World Cup of Pool. They reached the event's final, losing to the American team of Rodney Morris and Shane Van Boening. The World Nine-ball Championship was cancelled, so Peach retained his world championship status until the event returned in

. In the intervening years, Peach won his second and third Euro Tour events at the and . Peach was chosen to represent Great Britain at the 2010 World Team Championship alongside

Darren Appleton Darren Appleton (born 8 February 1976) is an English pool player, best known for playing Eight-ball, Nine-ball and Ten-ball pool.

Imran Majid Imran Majid (Urdu: امران مجید) (born 4 October 1972 in London) is an English professional pool player. Early life and career Majid was born in London to parents who emigrated from Lahore, Punjab. Majid, whose nickname is "The Maharaja ...

, Karl Boyes, and Mark Gray. The team qualified for the round of 16, where they defeated Germany 4–0. In their quarter-final against the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, the match finished tied at 3–3, and so a tiebreaker was played in a race-to-six-racks. However, the winning team had to win by two clear racks. The match lasted significantly over six racks, with Peach making the winning shot to win 27–25. The team defeated Greece 4–2 to reach the final. In the final, the team played the Filipino team, winning 4–1 to become world champions.

Post world championship (2011–present)

In 2011, Peach won both the international 9bal and international 8ball, a feat which has never been repeated. He reached the quarter final of both the World

and

ten-ball Ten-ball is a rotation pool game similar to nine-ball, but using ten balls instead of nine, and with the 10 ball instead of the 9 as the "" Although the game has existed for since the early 1960s, its popularity has risen since the early 2000s ...

championships. The following year, Peach won his 4th and 5th Euro Tour events at the . and 2012 Portugal Open. At the

2015 World Cup of Pool The 2015 World Cup of Pool was the tenth edition of the tournament. The event was held in York Hall, London, England, from September 22 to 27. The 2015 event was sponsored by Dafabet. Prize fund *Winners (per pair): $60,000 *Runners-up (per pair) ...

, Peach and partner Mark Gray reached the final once again, but lost 8–10 to the

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

team of

Ko Pin-yi Ko Pin-yi (born 31 May 1989) is a Taiwanese professional pool player. He became multiple World Champion in the disciplines of 9-ball and 10-ball in 2015. Career Ko defeated Carlo Biado in the final of the 2015 WPA World Ten-ball Championship. ...

and Chang Yu-lung. S After this point, Peach lost both his parents, and also had a major injury to his right shoulder, which meant that he played sporadically in tournaments Since.

Personal life

Peach is married to Lesley Peach; they have one child named Ellie. Peach is an amateur golfer, having gained a handicap of eight in 2010. When not playing pool, he develops

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

Titles

* 2013 Interpool Open 10-Ball Challenge * 2012 Longoni Benelux Open * 2012

German Open * 2010 World Team Championship * 2010

Italy Open * 2010 GB Blackpool Pro Cup * 2009 Lugo International Nine-Ball Open * 2009

Portugal Open The Portugal Open (formerly named Estoril Open) was an ATP and WTA clay court tennis tournament in Portugal. The event took place at the sports complex of Jamor in Oeiras, of which Estoril Court Central is the most prominent show court. In 20 ...

* 2007

German Open * 1995

* 1995

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peach, Daryl 1972 births Living people English pool players Sportspeople from Castleford World champions in pool WPA World Nine-ball Champions