A COWDENBEATH man has collected a major accolade in a change of direction in his pool playing career.

After playing 8 Ball pool for many years, James Jack changed to the 9 Ball format and collected the Scottish Championship in the finals played at The Ballroom in Edinburgh.

The one day event saw James have to play for over 12 hours before eventually beating Remi Passatori in a tense final.

And to celebrate this success the Rosyth Dockyard worker is spending two weeks in Las Vegas to take in the Mosconi Cup, 9 Ball pool's equivalent of the Ryder Cup.

The 25 year-old won titles as an 8 Ball player but has quickly settled into the 9 Ball game.

He told the Times: "I like the 9 Ball form of the sport and although I realised that this tournament would be a difficult test I felt I could have a good run in it although being the overall winner was not at the front of mind!"

James, who has given up his musical career as drummer with local group "The Sunset Spirit" to concentrate on pool, had early success in the opening rounds and then in the quarter-finals managed to overcome Stephen Capaldi 11-8 then in the semis managed to beat experienced campaigner Gordon Bain 11-8.

In the final he met Remi Passatori, who has been a consistently successful player in big competitions for some time, but James was confident he could do well.

He said: "I have played Remi twice before so I know his game pretty well.

"In all the matches up to this one I had always been ahead but Remi played some good shots to lead 6-5 but I knuckled down and won the last five points to win 11-7 and complete a long but successful day."

The competition started at 11am and the final was at 1am the following day so it was a very long day for the Cowdenbeath potter.

Now the Scottish champion is set to head for Las Vegas in November to watch the the Mosconi Cup.

He added: "This is basically the Ryder Cup of the 9 Ball pool world where the five best players in Europe take on the five best US players.

"It is taking place at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and it should be an mazing experience.

"Watching the best players in the world will give me the chance to pick up a lot of useful tips."

Winning this 9 Ball title came after him becoming the Scottish Junior 8 Ball champ in 2017 and he will finish the year with the Scottish 9 Ball Grand Finals event in December.

It was also a big pick me up for him after the death of his close friend, Kelty boxer Connor Law in the early summer.