THERE is an international sporting event happening in Bradford this week, and you probably knew nothing about it.

The IPA World Pool Championships are taking place at the Cedar Court Hotel, on Mayo Avenue, off Rooley Lane, with the Ladies competition getting underway this morning and the flagship event, the Open, seeing the professionals enter today.

There is also the Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Seniors and Masters, so any spectators, who can show up free of charge, will be spoilt for choice.

You can enjoy the action on the IPA's YouTube channel, and can head over to the BBC iPlayer to watch coverage from tomorrow through until Sunday.

Gareth Hibbott, Marc Farnsworth, Liam Dunster and Ben Davies are four of the favourites for the Open, while Danielle Randle, Kerry Griffiths and Vicki Lomax are the female frontrunners.

But IPA press officer Sean Trivass is not discounting anyone, saying: "It's always an open field, in the Open in particular, where we have 256 entries this year.

"We have an IPA Tour, which consists of five events that people tend to play a lump sum for to play in all of them, but entry for the Open is cheaper.

"Also, the clue is in the name, that anyone can enter the Open, and often it might just simply be someone who is on a hot streak at the local pub.

"The professionals are the ones who tend to put in the hours on the table, but any top amateur can beat them on their day.

"The thing is, you look at someone scoring a 147 in snooker, or hitting a nine-darter in darts, and you say to yourself that that's something only really the pros can do.

"You see someone clear the table in pool and you think it's something you can easily achieve.

"You can, but it's whether you can do that consistently and under pressure here."

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Scotsman Liam Dunster could pose a real threat this week.Scotsman Liam Dunster could pose a real threat this week.

Asked why Bradford is hosting the event, Trivass said: "It's a pretty central location, with us having competitors from the likes of Scotland, Wales, Newcastle and a few from down south.

"The IPA chairman, Kevin Barton, is from Bradford, which helps, but it can be hard to find the right room for a big tournament like this, and Cedar Court provides that."

Talking about the BBC coverage this weekend, Trivass said: "It's fantastic, as it's an institution that has real kudos.

"Some pool is on minority channels and pay-per-view, so it's massive to have it on the BBC, even if it's not directly on a channel, but through the iPlayer."

The IPA World Pool Championships are being sponsored by world-leading NFT experts Fayre this year, and while the Open is the big draw, the women's competition is gaining real interest.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Danielle Randle will fancy her chances of winning the women's competition.Danielle Randle will fancy her chances of winning the women's competition.

Trivass said: "The ladies' game is coming on leaps and bounds.

"They're getting tougher to beat, and a few of them are entering the Open as well.

"Long gone are the days where a man might look at the draw, and think he might have it easy playing a woman.

"The numbers, the standard of gameplay, and the prize money are all increasing in the women's game, although we still haven't got any lady professionals just yet."

It may be too late this time around, but if you're the star pub potter, maybe you could be a world champion next year.