Pace Canadian Classic 2004

• Complete version of the event’s best 5 matches on crisp DVD images and Surround Sound 5.1.

• Captured using 5 digital broadcast cameras to cover every possible angles of play.

• Fully edited using multiple dramatic slow motions, explosive sound transitions and special effects.

• DVD menu navigation from game to game

• Commentators: Vic Rauter, Martin Heath, Steve Hall, Charles De Sainte-Marie and many more

Any one of the first 3 match selected here below could have been chosen as the event's top match, a dilemma surely, but all in all a very good thing. This was unquestionably the best matches combination witnessed in Toronto and possibly in any world class event since the YMG Capital Classic in 2001. Lincou had lost to Boswell in that event's qualifying round while Nicol Vs Power Vs Price, Beachill Vs Palmer had made it in the top selection of matches... 3 years later almost to the day, Thierry is the world.s top gun with all the others + Willstrop, Shabana, White, Ricketts, Darwish, Gauthier ++ breathing down his neck in hot pursuit. How fascinating and privileged we are to be treated to the best squash in the world once again by these champions of the past and those in the making.

1. Jonathon Power Vs Anthony Ricketts
   Anthony "the ball hunter" Ricketts gave Jonathon Power all he had and more that evening. Very few players on the tour can match Anthony.s ferocious intensity rally after rally, so Power's holds and flicks would have to be on target if he had any hope to win. Anthony appeared back in top form since he came back in action the previous August following a 7 months absence from the tour having undergone knee surgery. If the forced rest was to produce a similar effect than that which saw Lincou spring to the top of the world ranking upon his return to action following his own prolonged absence from the tour due to a wrist injury, then this one looked most promising also. Lesson learned possibly here, a good rest from intense playing & training seems to produce interesting results. As we don.t usually disclose the outcome of the matches we distribute on SL for your viewing pleasure, we can report the following results but from another event, Anthony would go on to beat Jonathon in the Pakistan Open less than 3 weeks after this Toronto Classic and James Willstrop would end up beating Anthony in the final to take that title. The .Hunter. Vs .The Magician., enjoy this marathon match.
   
   

2. Karim Darwish Vs Paul Price
   Karim's rise up the professional ranking since leaving the junior ranks has been equally as consistent as that of James Willstrop and Gregory Gauthier. Those 3 young players have taken the world by storm over the last 2 years, and they appear intent on writing their own chapters in the sport's history books. What a treat it is for us to follow them and the likes of Beachill, Palmer, Nicol and company these days, never really knowing who will walk away with an event title with any certainty. Darwish's shot making ability can probably be compared to that of the great Qamar Zaman from the Hunt and Jahangir era, and certainly to that of Amr Shabana and the Paul Price of our own modern times. "Please do not try this at home" would most likely be the advice of your local teaching professional on the high percentage risks Karim and Paul took shooting away at the nick time and time again and from impossible positions. Just for this one amazing match though, let's suspend all that is reasonable and what would be the right thing for us humans to do from a playing standpoint and enjoy the spectacle to its dramatic conclusion.
   
   
3. Thierry Lincou Vs Jonathon Power
   Unquestionably the best court battle between these two great players. Heading into this match both were even at 2 victories a piece against one another since Thierry beat Jonathon for the first time just 18 months earlier in the QF of the ToC 03 event. When Jonathon is healthy and the stakes are high, watch out! The way he moved around the court during the full course of this match, and to the exception of a twitch or two here and there, all was perfectly fine with his body. The fact that he was playing in front of his home crowd and national TV was surely a motivating factor that helped make the stakes as high as could be for him no doubt. Jon had won this event 3 times in the last 4 years, and he was clearly determined to make this one the 4th if only he could beat just this one last opponent - Thierry "Mr consistency" Lincou himself. Thierry's ability to focus for the longest period during rallies is un-paralleled and only matched by his remarkable athleticism. Jonathon was at his best holding and flicking balls in unpredictable directions, but strangely Thierry appeared un-phased and was rarely out of position. Two weeks after this memorable Toronto encounter, Thierry would hold the World Championship Cup above his head for the first time. What a match this was.
   
   
4. Graham Ryding Vs Joey Barrington
   Graham spent his entire junior and pro squash career in the shadow of his training partner fellow Canadian Jonathon Power, but it appears he's had it and wants out from under it at all cost before retiring from the tour. Trusting his extraordinary talent, speed and work ethics, he may very well succeed. Testimony to that is the fact barely 2 weeks following this match Graham went on to beat the awesome Peter Nicol in the quarters of the World Championship, falling just one point short from beating Thierry to earn a spot in the final of that most prestigious event. A new comer on the Pro scene was going to stand in his way on this winter Toronto night -- Joey Barrington, son of the legendary squash guru Jonah Barrington. Similarly to Graham, as if playing squash at this level wasn't difficult enough, Joey is also attempting to get out from under a star's shadow, and he may very well be on his way to accomplish just that. Joey is an intense competitor but so is Graham, and that was to produce a great battle that spilled way over the court area and even a generation as far as one of them was concerned.
   
   
5. James Willstrop Vs Jonathon Power
   The skills and imagination of these two racquet artists in unequalled on the tour, so what a treat it was to watch them at work against one another in one of their rare encounter to date. James had beaten Jonathon earlier in the year in the Kuwait Open, and Jonathon needed to set the record straight to send James the clear signal that he wasn't quite ready to pass the "skill master's" torch on to him just yet. Having watched the young James give British Open title holder David Palmer and former world # 1 John White a run for their money earlier in the year during the Tournament of Champions 2004, it is obvious to everyone that if he stays healthy, James is bound to greatness. Attempting to describe what these two players can do with the ball is a futile effort and cannot do justice to their art, but I'll invite you to watch this one and the others in which they demonstrate their prowess.