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Pool champ's cue for a family celebration
BLACKPOOL'S newly-crowned world pool champion Daryl Peach labelled his sensational victory "the best moment of my life"
The 150-1 shot, from Longridge Avenue in South Shore, potted his way past 128 of the world's best players to pull off a shock victory in the Philippines – netting himself $230,000 in the process.
The 35-year-old stunned a partisan crowd of over 3,000 people at the Araneta Coliseum, venue for the Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier 'Thrilla in Manila"' in 1975, beating hometown hero Ronaldo Gomez 17-15 in the final.
But modest Daryl says no amount of success will change him, despite being mobbed at the airport by adoring fans and treated to chauffeur-driven limousine transport.
After arriving home to a hero's welcome from fiance Lesley and seven-month-old daughter Ellie, he said: "It almost doesn't seem real.
"I was driven to the airport in a limo and there was this big load of people there.
"They were all waiting for me, shaking my hand and mobbing me. I couldn't believe it. Loads of people were asking for my autograph and I must have had 170 texts congratulating me."
The four-time Fylde snooker champion and Gazette Trophy winner, nicknamed 'Razzle Dazzle', looked down and out in Manila after losing his first match.
But the plucky former Palatine High School pupil turned it around and went on an amazing run, beating tournament favourite Francisco Bustamente and title-holder Ronnie Alcano on his way to the final.
Peach trailed Manila-based Gomez 12-15 in the best of 33-frame decider but after his opponent missed a straightforward 5-ball, the Blackpool boy turned it around to clinch the win.
"Everyone in the arena, bar about half of dozen of my mates, were on his side," Daryl said.
"They were cheering every slight mistake I made. I went 8-3 down at one stage and it looked like curtains.
"I just kept saying to myself: 'Just go for it and be positive'.
"I clawed it back to beat him, playing a great bank shot in the last rack, and I'm absolutely over the moon."
The trophy is still in transit from Asia but delighted fiance Lesley Lawrence said she couldn't wait to place it on the mantelpiece.
"I couldn't watch the final," she said. "I was far too nervous for him and I couldn't take it.
"If I was like that I can only imagine how he was feeling. I can't wait to see the cup in pride of place in the house."
Currently under siege from interviewers, sponsors and delighted friends and family, Daryl is now waiting for his life to return to normal – and for his winner's cheque to clear.
"It will be great to get some sponsorship and spend a bit of my winnings," he said. "But everyone who knows me knows that I'm a down-to-earth lad. I've got my feet on the ground and I won't change."
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Weather for Blackpool
Sunday 27 May 2012
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Temperature: 14 C to 27 C
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