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IPT Air Dates Announced On Cable Network Redubbed Versus
Sep 20, 2006, 12:00 PM

Comcast spokespeople have announced that its national sports network, OLN, will change its name to Versus on Sept. 25. It has also been announced that the International Pool Tour’s first major event, featuring Mike “The Mouth” Sigel vs. Loree Jon Jones, will help kick-off the premiere night of the newly-named network.

The Sigel vs. Jones match will air on at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. EST on Sept. 25, this coming Monday. The event, which was held at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, was the first time that a male champion played a female champion in a major pool event. At the time it was held, the Sigel vs. Jones challenge was also the richest event in pool history — $150,000 was awarded to the winner and $75,000 to the runner-up.

The IPT's “King of the Hill” series aired on OLN with notable ratings success over the summer. The IPT’s “North American 8-Ball Open Championship” series, featuring coverage from the recently completed $2-million tournament in Las Vegas, will premiere on Versus at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30, and continue in that time-slot for seven consecutive weeks. The series consists of six one-hour episodes and a two-hour finale, and features 8-ball action, player profiles, reality and instructional segments.

Episodes of the IPT World Open, which took place in Reno Sept. 2-10, are set to premiere directly following the North American Open.