Licensees left disappointed over pool competition

Licensee and customers have been left disappointed after a major national pub pool competition with a £50,000 winner-takes-all prize was cancelled.

Nuts Pub Pool Challenge, which was due to have its finals broadcast on Sky, has been scrapped due to a ³low number of entries².

Pubs were invited to host qualifying rounds at the normal cost of £20, but a number of pubcos offered managed houses a half-price discount. Players were asked to enter by text message, costing up to £3.

Nearly 3,000 qualifying events were held at just over 1,000 pubs and clubs, according to the organisers Pub Sports Productions.

But disappointed licensees have had to explain to customers that the finals will not happen now.

Alysa Moule, licensee at the Hornsey Tavern in North London, which had seven players entered, said: "It's completely outrageous that they have abandoned the tournament. They should have planned it better."

Melvin Guthrie, licensee at the Minstrel Boy in Muswell Hill, North London, said: "We are really disappointed. We¹ve spent a lot of time arranging this."

Martin Marks, director of Pub Sports Productions, put the cancellation down to the numbers who entered ­ only 25 per cent of the projected figure. He said the average entry fee paid by venues was £10 and because the qualifying events had already been held, pubs were not entitled to a refund.

He added: "Our intention is to supply the qualifiers with branded cues."

A spokesman for IPC Media, owner of Nuts magazine, which was the event's media partner, said it had been a "major disappointment".

Qualifying round winners should email info@pubpoolchallenge.co.uk with their address, mobile number and name of the venue where they qualified to receive their prize cues.