#Mateusz Sniegocki

[usapool]

INTERVIEW WITH Cristian Surdea 

MAIN MOTIVATION ?

Pure passion for the game. I play pool since 2009 - and every single session of practice makes me discover something new,

- Becoming a professional is the main motivation, that's why I follow pool - and when I play well the feeling is priceless - I can play no matter the name of my opponent. 

TYPE OF MENTAL PREPARATION ?

I studied a clinic with world class player NIELS FEIJEN (Mental Game was the topic) - Try to stay positive no matter the pressure that comes during the match. It's important to also be calm and sharp in order to take the right shot selection during a match. 

HOW DID YOU REACT TO THE DEFEAT OR VICTORY?

I sometimes show my feelings at the table during the match, complain to myself after a bad shot, after getting unlucky and like that. But always respect my opponent, never have bad reaction. To win against world class players is amazing, I have a lot of nice memories like that, but also lost few times HILL HILL or super close scores and have to take them, accept and move forward. A true champion will build inside everyone if will know to manage defeats first. Most important in sports - you are analyzing the process - NOT THE IMMEDIATE RESULT. 

RITUAL?

Few minutes of practice before the match. Relaxed arm and confident stroke in order to enter the match well warmed-up. 

ONE MUSIC ?

Robbie Williams - I love my life  ----    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4ggyO-OFXU 

ONE MESSAGE ?

Train hard, never quit! 

AN IDOL ?

Simona Halep - example of persevearance and determination; 

Shane van Boening - fantastic player and character.

I share the same date of birth with SVB - July 14th  - but I am 8 years younger than him. 

FEAR OR FAILURE WHEN SHOOT ?

Often happens to me. It's because I still don't play constant amount of 6-8 hours per day. Still have some small technique issues as I started playing without having a coach and learned by myself and helped by local players. Over the years improved that after going to training clinics and studying the game with Darren Appleton, Alex Lely and Niels Feijen. 

BOOK YOU LIKE ABOUT BILLIARD ?

Ronnie O'Sullivan - RUNNING 

HAPPY MOMENT ABOUT BILLIARD?

When I first played outside Romania - it was 2011 Open de Paris - where I beat WORLD POOL MASTER - RAJ HUNDAL from India. At that time did not know exactly who he is, was impressed when I came home and found out he was partner with RONNIE O'SULLIVAN in World Cup of Pool for England and all the other stuff. 

AND SAD MOMENT ?

Last year in Bucharest I gambled a set against SVB - my idol. We played a race to 9. I was 2-7 behind, came back fantastic to go 8-7 ON THE HILL, than he broke and run and at HILL HILL we played a crazy safety battle and I finally lost.

Another cruel one I lived in 2014 in Poland against Mateusz Sniegocki when in QF of Polish Open I was leading 5-1 in a race to 7. It was for getting a medal there. Mateusz managed to comeback and won 7-5, will never forget some silly 10-Ball missed there. HAHAHAHAHA . . . 

A DREAM TO BE REALIZED ?

Represent Romania one day at the World Cup of Pool. 

WHAT CUE, TIP AND CHALK YOU USE?

Mezz Ace-187 cue with Alpha Hybrid shaft;

Break cue: MEZZ POWER BREAK KAI - by far the best ever break cue.

Glove and Chalk - Molinari. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ?

FEAR - It kills us everyday if we accept it; 

FAILURE - Only someone who does not work or does not try does not fail; it is normal. The motto is to always try again fail better and finally conquer what you want. 

LOVE - The most important thing in life. 

DEATH - The end of this beautiful journey called life. Important to prepare our souls for that, because the mind will never stop fearing it. Faith should guide ourselves to not fear death anymore and understand it better. 

FRIENDSHIP - Life is great if you have a few close friends, count on someone 24/7 is important. It gives you that awesome feeling of sharing unique moments with those very few that stay around for years and years. Those persons are forever. 

COVID 19 - Test of faith for all the people around the world. For some of the professional pool players - the best period to train hard - stay disciplined - stay fit. To be honest, I never played so much pool as hours/day until this period came. 

8-BALL / 9-BALL / 10-BALL - Will always choose 8-Ball - as will always remember my debut at EC 8-Ball - winning in 8-Ball discipline against former world champion Daryl Peach from England. 

YOUR FUTURE - I'd love becoming a professional athlete in the game of pool - playing US OPEN and other WORLD EVENTS. I have already started doing some coaching in my hometown. Would love to own a Billiard Hall and help other young players improve faster than I did. For me that would be the most important thing - to be able to give something back. As a player at my age(28), I will keep fighting forever, think I can play until 60 at least. In another order, just continuing the process., but at the highest possible level. 

SUCCESS - "Set goals and crush them!" - learned from the coaching clinic with Niels Feijen. 

MONEY - There is a saying: If you love money, you never gonna have them.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Albin Ouschan, Alexandros Kazakis, Carlo Biado, Casper Matikainen, Chris Melling, Corey Duel, Ekent Kaci, Fedor Gorst, Francisco Diaz-Pizarro, Jalal Al Sarisi, Johann Chua, Joshua Filler, Jung Lin Chang, Ko pin Yi, Konrad Juszczyszyn, Lin Ta Li, Lin Wu Kun, Liu Haitao, Mateusz Sniegocki, Nguyen Anh Tuan, Niels Feijen, Petri Makkonen, Ralf Souquet, Robbie Capito, Roland Garcia, Shane Van Boening, Sharik Aslam Sayed, Toru Kuribayashi, Wiktor Zielinski, Woo Seung Ryu, Wu Jiaqing, Yukio Akagariyama - World Pool Billiard

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=54069

17 Year Old Hong Kong Native Capito Stuns Kaci To Reach Final 16

*Photo of Robbie Capito courtesy of Dream Sport Management

(Doha, Qatar)–Up until the very last moments of the round of 32 today, this year’s World 9-ball Championship was notable for its lack of upsets that always seem to be a hallmark of this annual 9-ball extravaganza. That is until Robbie Capito decided he wasn’t going away quietly.

Robbie Capito? Yeah, don’t be surprised that you haven’t heard of him. Not many outside of his native Hong Kong have. But this cool headed and fearless 17 year old of Filipino descent pulled off what is easily the biggest upset of this year’s championship, and one of the biggest we have seen in years here in Doha, when he came back from certain defeat and took down the world number one, Klenti Kaci, 11-10, to move into the final 16.

Only minutes before, Capito looked like he would be exiting the Al Arabi Sports Club as unknown as he was when entered at the start of his match. He trailed the mighty Albanian 7-1. He then slowly clawed his way back into the match, but it didn’t quite seem enough. Down 10-8, surely the steady Kaci would close out the match and move into the round of 16 on Wednesday.

Capito, who had earlier defeated Lebanon’s Mazen Berjaoui in the round of 64, never gave up, and he tied the score at 10 all. Breaking in the final frame and clearly under duress, he held his nerve and closed out the rack to notch an unlikely win, and an even more unlikely spot in the final 16 at the World 9-ball Championship.

Capito, who speaks four languages and is still in high school, will now go on to face Germany’s Joshua Filler when the tournament resumes on Wednesday.(the tournament will have a day off on Tuesday as Qatar celebrates its National Day.)  The Hong Kong native will have to reach into his bag of tricks to stop the flashy young German, as Filler has looked unstoppable so far. The German played his trade marked fast and loose style in two easy wins so far, first against Greece’s Nikolas Malaj and then Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Tuan.

Corey Duel of the USA

Carlo Biado of the Philippines

Robbie Capito of Hong Kong

Niels Feijen of the Netherlands

If you like the youth movement in pool, you certainly want to pay attention to another 17 year old who has been turning heads this week. Like Capito, Poland’s Wiktor Zielinski is still in high school and can boast world class talent. The young Pole proudly displayed his formidable wares today in two solid wins, first against fellow Pole Tomasz Kaplan, and then the Philippines Johann Chua.

It will surely be fascinating to watch how Zielinski handles the likes of Albin Ouschan in the round of 16. The Austrian, who won this event in 2016, is playing top notch pool and looks impervious to the pressure. Ouschan’s two strong wins today showed he has the goods to go all the way this year.

Defending champion Carlo Biado stayed on track to defend his title, and he is also now the only Filipino left in the field.  After two wins today Biado will engage in a fascinating matchup in the last 16 against former world 9-ball champion, and China’s last hold out, Wu Jiaqing.

America’s Shane Van Boening continued his march through the field today with two steady wins. Van Boening played with his characteristic laid back style, but always on point when he needed to be. After losing in the final here in 2015 and 2016, the American seems to be carrying a bit of a chip on his shoulder.  It’s victory on nothing for Van Boening, and with the way he is performing now, he could be considered the favorite.

SVB, though, will first have to get through a red hot Chris Melling of England in a match that already has pool fans around the world salivating. Melling played in his usual swashbuckling in his two victories today but will have to step it up several notches to take down the determined Van Boening.

Corey Duel is the only other American remaining in the field. The veteran always plies his trade in characteristic quiet and laid back fashion and this week, these traits have served him well. Duel earned his spot in the final 16 with two workmanlike performances first against Canada’s John Morra and then versus Spain’s Francisco Diaz Pizarro.

Duel, though, hasn’t yet faced anything like what he will be up against on Wednesday when he matches wits with Taiwan’s Ko Pin Yi. Ko, who won the China Open this year and won this event in 2015, hammered compatriot Liu Ri Teng in the round of 64, 11-5, then did it one better to Korea’s Woo Seung Ryu, 11-4.

The Taiwanese are proving yet again that they are arguably the world’s strongest pool playing nation with a quarter of the final 16. It will be an all Taiwan matchup when Lin Ta Li takes on world number two, Chang JungLin. Chang had struggled in the group stages but shook off the rust today andlooked his old killer self. In the round of 32 he disposed of hall of famer Ralf Souquet, 11-6.

Lin Wu Kun’s beautiful cue action led him to the semi-finals here last year and this year he appears to feel he can get there again or even more. Lin had to scrape his way into the final 16 in an 11-10 nail biter against China’s Liu Haitao. 

Lin will face Finland’s suddenly red hot Petri Makkonen. The hard working Finn put in a tremendous effort today with wins over Filipino Jeffrey Ignacio, 11-9, then young Russian Fedor Gorst, 11-8.

World number six Niels Feijen has that same look he had when he marched to the crown here in 2014. The Dutchman looked untouchable in his two big wins today and he is admittedly confident and playing without pressure. In the round of 16 he’ll have to square off with his Mosconi Cup teammate Alex Kazakis. The Greek grinded out two tough wins today, first 11-10 over Poland’s Radislaw Babica, then over Finland’s Casper Matikainen, 11-9. 

After a day off where the country celebrates the Qatar National Day, play resumes on Wednesday, December 19 at 11am Doha time(GMT +3.)

The winner of the 2018 World 9-ball Championship will receive $40,000. The runner up will receive $20,000. The total prize fund is $200,000.

Fans around the world can watch four tables on our free live stream which can be accessed via the live scoring page here; http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/tsnew.php

 Click the tables where you see the word “Video” and you will be taken to Youtube to watch the match. Tables 1, 7,8,9. Please visit the WPA Facebook Page for more information.

To view the Final 64 bracket, please CLICK HERE.

*The 2018 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from December 10-20, 2018. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

The WPA is on Twitter; @poolwpa

Visit the official website of the WPA at www.wpapool.com

The players will compete on Wiraka DYNASTY  Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament  Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.

Media coverage of the 2018 World 9-ball Championship is being supported by the American Poolplayers Association(APA).   Join the World’s Largest Pool League today at http://bit.ly/2G5vYZY.  Please visit join.poolplayers.com

Final 16 Matchups December 19, 11am Doha Time(GMT +3)

Robbie Capito (HKG) vs. Joshua Filler (GER) Albin Ouschan (AUT) vs. Wiktor Zielinski (POL)

Niels Feijen (NED) vs. Alexandros Kazakis (GRE) Corey Duel (USA) vs. Ko Pin Yi (TPE)

Carlo Biado (PHL) vs. Wu Jiaqing (CHN) Petri Makkonen (FIN) vs.  Lin Wu Kun ( (TPE) Chris Melling (GBR) Shane Van Boening (USA) Lin Ta Li (TPE) vs. Jung Lin Chang (TPE)

Final 32 Results

Robbie Capito (HKG) 11 -10 Ekent Kaci (ALB)    Joshua Filler (GER) 11 – 6 Nguyen Anh Tuan (VET)   

Albin Ouschan (AUT) 11 – 8 Roland Garcia (PHL)  Wiktor Zielinski (POL) 11 – 5 Johann Chua (PHL) Niels Feijen (NED) 11 – 1 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) Alexandros Kazakis (GRE) 11 – 9 Casper Matikainen (FIN)  

Corey Duel (USA) 11 – 7 Francisco Diaz-Pizarro (ESP)  Ko Pin Yi (TPE) 11 – 4 Woo Seung Ryu (KOR)    Carlo Biado (PHL) 11 – 7 Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL) Wu Jiaqing (CHN) 11 – 6  Toru Kuribayashi (JPN) Petri Makkonen (FIN) 11 – 8 Fedor Gorst (RUS) Lin Wu Kun ( (TPE) 11 – 10 Liu Haitao (CHN)   

Chris Melling (GBR) 11 -1 2 Yukio Akagariyama (JPN)     Shane Van Boening (USA)  11 – 7  Jalal Al Sarisi (VEN)

Lin Ta Li (TPE)  11 – 7 Sharik Aslam Sayed (SIN) Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 6 Ralf Souquet (GER)   

Results Final 64

Ekent Kaci (ALB) 11 – 4 vs. Bing Chen Gao (CHN) Robbie Capito (HKG) 11 – 4 Mazen Berjaoui (LEB)

Nguyen Anh Tuan (VET) 11 – 4 vs.Wang Can (CHN) Joshua Filler (GER) 11 – 5  Nikolas Malaj (GRE) Roland Garcia (PHL) 11 – 7 vs. Waleed Majid (QAT) Albin Ouschan (AUT) 11 – 6 vs. Hsieh Chia Chen (TPE)

Wiktor Zielinski (POL) 11 – 4 vs. Tomasz Kaplan (POL) Johann Chua (PHL) 11 – 2 vs. Phone Myint Kyaw (MYR)

Niels Feijen (NED) 11 – 4 vs. Bader Alawadhi (KUW) Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) vs.11 – 5 Ko Ping Han (TPE)

Casper Matikainen (FIN) vs. 11 – 5 Takano Tomoo (JPN) Alexandros Kazakis (GRE) vs. 11 – 10 Radoslaw Babica (POL)

Francisco Diaz-Pizarro (ESP) vs. 11 – 10 Naoyuki Oi (JPN) Corey Duel (USA) 11 – 6 John Morra (CAN)

Woo Seung Ryu (KOR) 11 – 8 vs. Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) Ko Pin Yi (TPE) 11 – 5 vs. Liu Ri Teng (TPE)

Carlo Biado (PHL) 11 – 9  vs. Vitaliy Patsura (UKR) Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL) vs. 11 -7 Wen Lo Li (TPE) Wu Jiaqing (CHN) 11 – 4 Tomoya Iima ( (JPN) Toru Kuribayashi (JPN) 11 – 7 Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz (ESP) Petri Makkonen (FIN) 11 – 9 Jeffrey Ignacio (PHL) Fedor Gorst (RUS) 11 – 6 Wojciech Sroczynski (POL)

Liu Haitao (CHN) 11 – 6 Alex Pagulayan (CAN) Lin Wu Kun ( (TPE) 11 – 4 Maximilian Lechner (AUT)

Yukio Akagariyama (JPN) 11 –  8 Ko Ping Chung (TPE) Chris Melling (GBR) 11 – 8 Hsu Jui An (TPE)

Shane Van Boening (USA) 11 – 7 Yu Hsuan Cheng (TPE) Jalal Al Sarisi (VEN) 11 – 10 Dang Jinhu (CHN)

Lin Ta Li (TPE) 11 – 9 Jeffrey De Luna (PHL) Sharik Aslam Sayed (SIN) 11 – 10 Aloysius Yapp (SIN) 

Ralf Souquet (GER) 11 – 6 Ruslan Chinahov (RUS) Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 1 Omar Al Shaheen (KUW)

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Abdullah Alyusef, Ahmad Naiem, All Matches Do or Die, Bader Alawadhi, Chu BingJie, Dang Jinhu, Daniel Tangudd, David Alcaide, Francisco Felicilda, Hiroshi Takenaka, Hsieh Chia Chen, Israel Rota, John Morra, Kong Dejing, Lo Li Wen, Maksim Dudanets, Mateusz Sniegocki, Maung Maung, Md Al Amin, Mieszko Fortunski, Nguyen Anh Tuan, Niels Feijen, Nien Rong Chih, Results Day 3, Roland Garcia, Ruslan Chinakhov, Samuel Santos, Thorsten Hohmann, Warren Kiamco, Wiktor Zielinski, Wojciech Szewczyk, Woo Seung Ryu, Xu Xiao Cong, Yu Li Si - Independent

New Post on http://thepoolscene.com/?p=22709

Day 3 Report from the World 9-ball Championship

IT’S ALL BUSINESS FROM HERE ON IN

The final 64 single elimination field is set for a sprint to the World 9-ball crown.

By Ted Lerner WPA Press Officer Photos courtesy of Bo Bader

(Doha, Qatar)–It’s time to get down to the serious business end of things in Doha, as the field of 128 has been cut in half after three days of group play at the 2017 World 9-ball Championship.  From here the remaining 64 players will engage in a three day sprint to pool’s most prestigious title. Whoever wins six straight matches will be crowned the new WPA World 9-ball Champion on December 14th.

There was no escaping the tension on Monday inside the cavernous Al Arabi Sports Club as all 32 matches played were do-or-die. “Judgment Day” as it’s known in pool circles always brings out the drama as players, many of them who could just as easily find themselves lifting the title, scramble for their pool playing lives trying to escape the always dreaded group stages. One single roll of the ball could spell the difference between total disaster and a life changing run at glory.

Myanmar’s Maung Maung is not one player pool fans would expect to be a serious contender over the next few days. But the 23 year old ex-snooker player, who has lived and practiced in Beijing, China for the last three years, certainly turned some heads yesterday with a scintillating performance against the Philippines talented Johann Chua. Chua, who recently won the All Japan Championship in Osaka a few weeks back, is one Filipino player many fans thought might make a run at the title this year. But the sharp shooting Pinoy never had a chance as Maung cruised to an impressive 9-3 win. It’s the first time in the history of the World 9-ball Championship that a player from Myanmar has made it to the knockout rounds.

Die hard Filipino fans need not worry, however, as seven other Pinoys passed the grade and made it through to the knockout rounds.  On Monday, veteran Warren Kiamco, Roland Garcia, and Qatar based Israel Rota and Francisco Felicilda all won handily to punch their tickets to the Final 64.  There they’ll join Carlo Biado, Jeffrey De Luna and Jeffrey Ignacio in the quest for pool glory. A Filipino has not won the World 9-ball Championship since legend Francisco Bustamante pulled off the feat here in Doha in 2010.

In terms of numbers via country, the Taiwanese are the clear winners at this point.  10 Taiwanese make up the final 64, including world number one Chang Jung Lin, and 2015 World 9-ball Champion Ko Pin Yi. The pressure of Judgement Day certainly didn’t affect the Taiwanese as four players made it through including Lo Li Wen, Nien Rong Chih, Hsieh Chia Chen and Yu Li Si. The only Taiwanese player not to make it through yesterday was Cheng  Yu Hsuan, who just happened to be up against a compatriot, Lo Li Wen.

The Polish side has been quietly putting in a stellar performance in this year’s championship with six Poles qualifying for the final 64.  On Monday, players from Poland stepped up big time, going 4-1 for their best performance perhaps ever. Winners included Mateusz Sniegocki, Mieszko Fortunski, Wojciech Szewczyk, and Wiktor Zielinski. Zielinkski, it should be noted, is just 16 years old and is one of the rising stars on the European pool playing circuit, having recently won a Euro Tour event.

The Chinese team also cashed in their chips on Monday with four out of six   winning and going through.  Team China will have 5 players competing for the title starting today. One noted player who will not be among them, however, is former World 9-ball Champion, Wu Jiaqing. Wu fell to 21 year old Swede Daniel Tangudd, 9-5 and was eliminated from the event.  

Prominent Europeans who made it through on Monday include two time World 9-ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, 2015 World 9-ball Champion Niels Feijen, Spain’s David Alcaide, and Russia’s Ruslan Chinakhov.

One player that seems to have caught the eye of many fans around the world is Canada’s John Morra. Two years ago Morra was a definite rising star in the pool world, and proved it by reaching the quarterfinals at the World 9-ball Championship in Doha in 2015. Morra then briefly stepped away from the game only to return with a renewed hunger for the winner’s circle.  Several months back he won the Canadian 9-ball championship which won him a paid trip to Doha. Yesterday, Morra  took down Argentina’s Arial Castro, 9-6, to advance to the knockout rounds. Nobody in the pool  world would be surprised if the talented Canadian makes some serious noise over the next few days.

“Today I played pretty well,” a refreshed looking Morra said after qualifying. “I’m over the jet lag and I feel pretty well. The last few months I’ve been playing really well. I’ve been traveling all over the US. I got in some big money matches.  I got the hunger back. I had lost it last year.  I didn’t feel like playing the game.  I had problems in my neck and I was stressed. I’m an emotional player.  But right now I feel great and I’m motivated.   I feel I can go all the way.”

Play in the round of 64 begins at 10am Doha time(GMT +3.) The round of 64 and 32 will be played today, with 16 players remaining at the end of the three sessions.

All matches will be race to 11, alternate break. The final on Thursday will be a race to 13, alternate break.

Live stream:  http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/video_new.php?stol=1

Live scoring: http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/tsnew.php

Complete Brackets:  http://esnooker.pl/turnieje/2017/w9bc/en/show_drabinka.php?id_t=197

The players will compete on Wiraka DYNASTY  Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament  Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.

The 2017 World 9-ball Championship is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and was sanctioned by the The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

Fans can interact with us through the WPA’s official Facebook Page for the event at this link;https://www.facebook.com/worldpoolbilliardassociation/

The WPA is also on Twitter; @poolwpa

Visit the official website of the WPA at www.wpapool.com

  Results Day 3 All Matches Do or Die Group 1 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) 9 – 3 Jorge Llanos (ARG) Francisco Felicilda (PHI) 9 – 1 Takhti Zarekani (IRA)

Group 2 Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 9 – 7 Hassan Zeraatgar (IRA) Maung Maung (MYA) 9 – 3 Johann Chua (PHI)

Group 3 Bader Alawadhi (KUW) 9 – 7 (KOR) Woo Seung Ryu (KOR) 9 – 5 Muzammil Hussain (QAT)

Group 4 Dang Jinhu (CHN) 9 – 0 Majed Alazmi (KUW) Warren Kiamco (PHI) 9 – 6 Teck Goh Chin (SIN)

Group 5 Niels Feijen (NED) 9 – 6 Fawaz Al Rashedi (KUW) Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) 9 – 7 Luu Minh Phuc (VIE)

Group 6 Kong Dejing (CHN) 9 – 5 Han Haoxiang (CHN) Ahmad Naiem (JOR) 9 – 8 Damianos Giallourakis (GRE)

Group 7 Roland Garcia (PHI) 9 – 6 Mohammad Berjawi (LEB) Maksim Dudanets (RUS) 9 – Yukio Akagariyama (JPN)

Group 8 Lo Li Wen  (TPE) 9 – 6 Cheng  Yu Hsuan  (TPE) Wiktor Zielinski (POL) 9 – 8 Mario He (AUT)

Group 9 Nien Rong Chih  (TPE) 9 – 8 Mohammadali Pordel (IRA) Hsieh Chia Chen (TPE) 9 – 3 Fedor Gorst (RUS)

Group 10 Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) 9 – 5 Ali Alobaidli (QAT) Nguyen Anh Tuan (VIE) 9 – 7 Ralf Souquet (GER)

Group 11 Chu Bingjie (CHN) 9 – 1 Waleed Majid (QAT) Hiroshi Takenaka (JPN) 9 -8 Sebastian Ludwig (GER)

Group 12 Md Al Amin (BAN) 9 – 0 Mhanaa Alobaidli (QAT) David Alcaide (ESP) 9 – 5 Henrique Correia (POR)

Group 13 Xu Xiao Cong (CHN) 9 – 8 Denis Grabe (EST) Samuel Santos (POR) 9 – 4 Richard Halladay (RSA)

Group 14 Yu Li Si (TPE) 9 – 6 Abdulkhizar Hasanin (IRQ) Thorsten Hohmann (GER) 9 – 7 Petri Makkonen (FIN)

Group 15 Daniel Tangudd (SWE) 9 – 5 Wu Jiaqing (CHN) John Morra (CAN) 9 – 6 Ariel Castro (ARG)

Group 16 Israel Rota (PHI) 9 – 4 Andre Lackner (GER) Abdullah Alyusef (KUW) 9 – 3 Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL)

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Abdullah Alyusef, Ahmad Naiem, All Matches Do or Die, Bader Alawadhi, Chu BingJie, Dang Jinhu, Daniel Tangudd, David Alcaide, Francisco Felicilda, Hiroshi Takenaka, Hsieh Chia Chen, Israel Rota, John Morra, Kong Dejing, Lo Li Wen, Maksim Dudanets, Mateusz Sniegocki, Maung Maung, Md Al Amin, Mieszko Fortunski, Nguyen Anh Tuan, Niels Feijen, Nien Rong Chih, Results Day 3, Roland Garcia, Ruslan Chinakhov, Samuel Santos, Thorsten Hohmann, Warren Kiamco, Wiktor Zielinski, Wojciech Szewczyk, Woo Seung Ryu, Xu Xiao Cong, Yu Li Si - Independent

New Post on http://thepoolscene.com/?p=22709

Day 3 Report from the World 9-ball Championship

IT’S ALL BUSINESS FROM HERE ON IN

The final 64 single elimination field is set for a sprint to the World 9-ball crown.

By Ted Lerner WPA Press Officer Photos courtesy of Bo Bader

(Doha, Qatar)–It’s time to get down to the serious business end of things in Doha, as the field of 128 has been cut in half after three days of group play at the 2017 World 9-ball Championship.  From here the remaining 64 players will engage in a three day sprint to pool’s most prestigious title. Whoever wins six straight matches will be crowned the new WPA World 9-ball Champion on December 14th.

There was no escaping the tension on Monday inside the cavernous Al Arabi Sports Club as all 32 matches played were do-or-die. “Judgment Day” as it’s known in pool circles always brings out the drama as players, many of them who could just as easily find themselves lifting the title, scramble for their pool playing lives trying to escape the always dreaded group stages. One single roll of the ball could spell the difference between total disaster and a life changing run at glory.

Myanmar’s Maung Maung is not one player pool fans would expect to be a serious contender over the next few days. But the 23 year old ex-snooker player, who has lived and practiced in Beijing, China for the last three years, certainly turned some heads yesterday with a scintillating performance against the Philippines talented Johann Chua. Chua, who recently won the All Japan Championship in Osaka a few weeks back, is one Filipino player many fans thought might make a run at the title this year. But the sharp shooting Pinoy never had a chance as Maung cruised to an impressive 9-3 win. It’s the first time in the history of the World 9-ball Championship that a player from Myanmar has made it to the knockout rounds.

Die hard Filipino fans need not worry, however, as seven other Pinoys passed the grade and made it through to the knockout rounds.  On Monday, veteran Warren Kiamco, Roland Garcia, and Qatar based Israel Rota and Francisco Felicilda all won handily to punch their tickets to the Final 64.  There they’ll join Carlo Biado, Jeffrey De Luna and Jeffrey Ignacio in the quest for pool glory. A Filipino has not won the World 9-ball Championship since legend Francisco Bustamante pulled off the feat here in Doha in 2010.

In terms of numbers via country, the Taiwanese are the clear winners at this point.  10 Taiwanese make up the final 64, including world number one Chang Jung Lin, and 2015 World 9-ball Champion Ko Pin Yi. The pressure of Judgement Day certainly didn’t affect the Taiwanese as four players made it through including Lo Li Wen, Nien Rong Chih, Hsieh Chia Chen and Yu Li Si. The only Taiwanese player not to make it through yesterday was Cheng  Yu Hsuan, who just happened to be up against a compatriot, Lo Li Wen.

The Polish side has been quietly putting in a stellar performance in this year’s championship with six Poles qualifying for the final 64.  On Monday, players from Poland stepped up big time, going 4-1 for their best performance perhaps ever. Winners included Mateusz Sniegocki, Mieszko Fortunski, Wojciech Szewczyk, and Wiktor Zielinski. Zielinkski, it should be noted, is just 16 years old and is one of the rising stars on the European pool playing circuit, having recently won a Euro Tour event.

The Chinese team also cashed in their chips on Monday with four out of six   winning and going through.  Team China will have 5 players competing for the title starting today. One noted player who will not be among them, however, is former World 9-ball Champion, Wu Jiaqing. Wu fell to 21 year old Swede Daniel Tangudd, 9-5 and was eliminated from the event.  

Prominent Europeans who made it through on Monday include two time World 9-ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, 2015 World 9-ball Champion Niels Feijen, Spain’s David Alcaide, and Russia’s Ruslan Chinakhov.

One player that seems to have caught the eye of many fans around the world is Canada’s John Morra. Two years ago Morra was a definite rising star in the pool world, and proved it by reaching the quarterfinals at the World 9-ball Championship in Doha in 2015. Morra then briefly stepped away from the game only to return with a renewed hunger for the winner’s circle.  Several months back he won the Canadian 9-ball championship which won him a paid trip to Doha. Yesterday, Morra  took down Argentina’s Arial Castro, 9-6, to advance to the knockout rounds. Nobody in the pool  world would be surprised if the talented Canadian makes some serious noise over the next few days.

“Today I played pretty well,” a refreshed looking Morra said after qualifying. “I’m over the jet lag and I feel pretty well. The last few months I’ve been playing really well. I’ve been traveling all over the US. I got in some big money matches.  I got the hunger back. I had lost it last year.  I didn’t feel like playing the game.  I had problems in my neck and I was stressed. I’m an emotional player.  But right now I feel great and I’m motivated.   I feel I can go all the way.”

Play in the round of 64 begins at 10am Doha time(GMT +3.) The round of 64 and 32 will be played today, with 16 players remaining at the end of the three sessions.

All matches will be race to 11, alternate break. The final on Thursday will be a race to 13, alternate break.

Live stream:  http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/video_new.php?stol=1

Live scoring: http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/tsnew.php

Complete Brackets:  http://esnooker.pl/turnieje/2017/w9bc/en/show_drabinka.php?id_t=197

The players will compete on Wiraka DYNASTY  Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament  Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.

The 2017 World 9-ball Championship is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and was sanctioned by the The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

Fans can interact with us through the WPA’s official Facebook Page for the event at this link;https://www.facebook.com/worldpoolbilliardassociation/

The WPA is also on Twitter; @poolwpa

Visit the official website of the WPA at www.wpapool.com

  Results Day 3 All Matches Do or Die Group 1 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) 9 – 3 Jorge Llanos (ARG) Francisco Felicilda (PHI) 9 – 1 Takhti Zarekani (IRA)

Group 2 Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 9 – 7 Hassan Zeraatgar (IRA) Maung Maung (MYA) 9 – 3 Johann Chua (PHI)

Group 3 Bader Alawadhi (KUW) 9 – 7 (KOR) Woo Seung Ryu (KOR) 9 – 5 Muzammil Hussain (QAT)

Group 4 Dang Jinhu (CHN) 9 – 0 Majed Alazmi (KUW) Warren Kiamco (PHI) 9 – 6 Teck Goh Chin (SIN)

Group 5 Niels Feijen (NED) 9 – 6 Fawaz Al Rashedi (KUW) Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) 9 – 7 Luu Minh Phuc (VIE)

Group 6 Kong Dejing (CHN) 9 – 5 Han Haoxiang (CHN) Ahmad Naiem (JOR) 9 – 8 Damianos Giallourakis (GRE)

Group 7 Roland Garcia (PHI) 9 – 6 Mohammad Berjawi (LEB) Maksim Dudanets (RUS) 9 – Yukio Akagariyama (JPN)

Group 8 Lo Li Wen  (TPE) 9 – 6 Cheng  Yu Hsuan  (TPE) Wiktor Zielinski (POL) 9 – 8 Mario He (AUT)

Group 9 Nien Rong Chih  (TPE) 9 – 8 Mohammadali Pordel (IRA) Hsieh Chia Chen (TPE) 9 – 3 Fedor Gorst (RUS)

Group 10 Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) 9 – 5 Ali Alobaidli (QAT) Nguyen Anh Tuan (VIE) 9 – 7 Ralf Souquet (GER)

Group 11 Chu Bingjie (CHN) 9 – 1 Waleed Majid (QAT) Hiroshi Takenaka (JPN) 9 -8 Sebastian Ludwig (GER)

Group 12 Md Al Amin (BAN) 9 – 0 Mhanaa Alobaidli (QAT) David Alcaide (ESP) 9 – 5 Henrique Correia (POR)

Group 13 Xu Xiao Cong (CHN) 9 – 8 Denis Grabe (EST) Samuel Santos (POR) 9 – 4 Richard Halladay (RSA)

Group 14 Yu Li Si (TPE) 9 – 6 Abdulkhizar Hasanin (IRQ) Thorsten Hohmann (GER) 9 – 7 Petri Makkonen (FIN)

Group 15 Daniel Tangudd (SWE) 9 – 5 Wu Jiaqing (CHN) John Morra (CAN) 9 – 6 Ariel Castro (ARG)

Group 16 Israel Rota (PHI) 9 – 4 Andre Lackner (GER) Abdullah Alyusef (KUW) 9 – 3 Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL)

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - 9-Ball, Alex Kazakis, Carlo Biado, Dennis Grabe, Hayato Hijikata, Jeffrey de Luna, Konstanine Stepanov, Mateusz Sniegocki, Naoyuki Oi, Petri Makkonen, Radislaw Babica, Tomazs Kaplan, Warren Kiamco, Xu Xiao Cong - World Pool Billiard

New Post on http://thepoolscene.com/?p=22691

DAY 1 Report from the 2017 World 9-ball Championship

CHANG, OUSCHAN,  LEAD THE WAY ON DAY 1

Select group of veterans and newcomers aim to make their mark in Doha

By Ted Lerner WPA Press Officer

(Doha, Qatar)–The long hard slog to the pool world’s most prestigious title began on Saturday here in Doha, as 128 players from nearly 35 countries began the first of six days of action that will culminate in the crowning of the next WPA World 9-ball Champion on December 14th.

124 players competing in 62 first round matches on 14 Wiraka tables saw action on Day 1 at the Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha. The players have been divided up into 16 groups of 8 playing a double elimination format, race to 9, alternate break. A player needs two wins in his group to advance to the final 64, where the format will become single elimination knockout, race to 11, alternate break,  all the way to the finals. The final, which will be played along with the two semis on December 14th, will be a race to 13 alternate break.

The first thing pool fans may notice when looking at the player roster is some glaring absences for this year’s championship. American Shane Van Boening, who finished runner up here the last two years, did not make the trip. Van Boening just competed for Team USA in the Mosconi Cup in Las Vegas and opted to stay there to compete in the US Bar Table Championships. There are, in fact, only two Americans in the field this week; Hunter Lombardo and Robert Hart.

Incredibly, not a single British player has made the trip this year. The Brits have been a mainstay in the World 9-ball Championship going back nearly 20 years, but for various reasons, none have entered the event this week. Perhaps the most noticeable absences are Scotland’s Jayson Shaw and 2012 World 9-ball Champion, Darren Appleton, who had to attend to his ailing mother back in England.

Fans might notice a lack of players from rising pool playing countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt. These countries had been making great strides in their pool development in recent years, but due to ongoing political issues, players from those countries were not allowed to travel to Qatar. Many talented overseas Filipino players, who work as house pros in pool halls in these countries, were also prevented from entering the event.

But while the lack of Americans and Brits, and others, may have drained some good talent from the field, it’s still clear that there are plenty of amazing, world class players on hand that will be competing for the world title.

#gallery-4 margin: auto; #gallery-4 .gallery-item float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; #gallery-4 img border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; #gallery-4 .gallery-caption margin-left: 0; /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Defending World 9-ball Champion Albin Ouschan got his 2017 campaign off to a flying start with a relatively easy 9-5 win over Qatar’s Abdulatif Alfawal.  2013 World 9-ball Champion Niels Feijen, who’s been battling a bad elbow for several months, cruised to an easy win on Saturday with a 9-0 whitewash of Bangladesh’s Ahmed Tanvir. Veteran players in Spain’s David Alcaide and Germany’s Ralf Souquet will be in action on Sunday.

Several top young Europeans are expected to make some serious noise here in Doha. 19 year old Albanian Klenti Kaci, who earlier this year won two World Pool Series events, got his first ever World 9-ball Championship off to a good start with a 9-2 win over the Maldives Mohammed Hassan. Rising Russian star Fedor Gorst, who recently won the WPA World Jr. Championship, stumbled on his first ever outing at the World 9-ball Championship, losing to Chinese veteran Liu Haitao, 9-5. Germany’s 20 year old Joshua Filler, who just a few days ago won the MVP award for Team Europe at the Mosconi Cup, will see his first action on Sunday.

Other Europeans had good starts to their 2017 campaigns. Among the first round winners on Saturday were Russians Ruslan Chinakov and Konstanine Stepanov, Poland’s Radislaw Babica, Tomazs Kaplan, Mateusz Śniegocki and Mateusz Śniegocki, Finland’s Petri Makkonen, Greece’s Alex Kazakis, and Estonia’s Dennis Grabe. Former World 9-ball Champions Thorsten Hohmann and Mika Immonen both suffered first round loses.

The Philippines, Taiwan and China have big hopes for a high finishes this year. World number one Chang Jung Lin had a hard battle with Australia’s James Georgiadis, and prevailed, 9-6. 2015 World 9-ball Champion Ko Pin Yi took down Kuwait’s Fawaz Al Rashedi, 9-6. Ko’s younger brother, Ko Ping Chun, defeated Henrique Correia of Portugal, 9-5.

The Philippines’ Carlo Biado comes into this year’s Championship with high expectations and got off to a fine start with a 9-6 win over China’s Xu Xiao Cong.  Fellow Filipinos Warren Kiamco, Jeffrey Ignacio, Johann Chua, Roland Garcia and Jeffrey De Luna all won their first round matches.

China brings its usual power lineup to the proceedings, led by former World9-ball Champion Wu Jia Qing, who beat Taiwanese veteran Yang Ching Shun, 9-5.

Also posting first round wins on Saturday were Japan’s Naoyuki Oi and Hayato Hijikata.

Group stage play continues on Sunday at the Al Arabi Sports Club beginning at 10am Doha time(GMT +3).

**The 2017 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from December 5-15,2017 

The winner of the 2017 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The runner up will receive $15,000. The total prize fund is $200,000.

Fans around the world will be able to view many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform. Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public. 

For live stream, live scoring and updated brackets, please go to the following links:

Live stream:  http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/video_new.php?stol=1

Live scoring: http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/tsnew.php

Double Elimination Brackets: http://www.esnooker.pl/…/2017/w9bc/en/show_drabinka_2KO.php

  The players will compete on Wiraka DYNASTY  Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament  Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.

The 2017 World 9-ball Championship is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and was sanctioned by the The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

Fans can interact with us through the WPA’s official Facebook Page for the event at this link;https://www.facebook.com/worldpoolbilliardassociation/

The WPA is also on Twitter; @poolwpa

Visit the official website of the WPA at www.wpapool.com

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - 9-Ball, Alex Kazakis, Carlo Biado, Dennis Grabe, Hayato Hijikata, Jeffrey de Luna, Konstanine Stepanov, Mateusz Sniegocki, Naoyuki Oi, Petri Makkonen, Radislaw Babica, Tomazs Kaplan, Warren Kiamco, Xu Xiao Cong - World Pool Billiard

New Post on http://thepoolscene.com/?p=22691

DAY 1 Report from the 2017 World 9-ball Championship

CHANG, OUSCHAN,  LEAD THE WAY ON DAY 1

Select group of veterans and newcomers aim to make their mark in Doha

By Ted Lerner WPA Press Officer

(Doha, Qatar)–The long hard slog to the pool world’s most prestigious title began on Saturday here in Doha, as 128 players from nearly 35 countries began the first of six days of action that will culminate in the crowning of the next WPA World 9-ball Champion on December 14th.

124 players competing in 62 first round matches on 14 Wiraka tables saw action on Day 1 at the Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha. The players have been divided up into 16 groups of 8 playing a double elimination format, race to 9, alternate break. A player needs two wins in his group to advance to the final 64, where the format will become single elimination knockout, race to 11, alternate break,  all the way to the finals. The final, which will be played along with the two semis on December 14th, will be a race to 13 alternate break.

The first thing pool fans may notice when looking at the player roster is some glaring absences for this year’s championship. American Shane Van Boening, who finished runner up here the last two years, did not make the trip. Van Boening just competed for Team USA in the Mosconi Cup in Las Vegas and opted to stay there to compete in the US Bar Table Championships. There are, in fact, only two Americans in the field this week; Hunter Lombardo and Robert Hart.

Incredibly, not a single British player has made the trip this year. The Brits have been a mainstay in the World 9-ball Championship going back nearly 20 years, but for various reasons, none have entered the event this week. Perhaps the most noticeable absences are Scotland’s Jayson Shaw and 2012 World 9-ball Champion, Darren Appleton, who had to attend to his ailing mother back in England.

Fans might notice a lack of players from rising pool playing countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt. These countries had been making great strides in their pool development in recent years, but due to ongoing political issues, players from those countries were not allowed to travel to Qatar. Many talented overseas Filipino players, who work as house pros in pool halls in these countries, were also prevented from entering the event.

But while the lack of Americans and Brits, and others, may have drained some good talent from the field, it’s still clear that there are plenty of amazing, world class players on hand that will be competing for the world title.

#gallery-1 margin: auto; #gallery-1 .gallery-item float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; #gallery-1 img border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; #gallery-1 .gallery-caption margin-left: 0; /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Defending World 9-ball Champion Albin Ouschan got his 2017 campaign off to a flying start with a relatively easy 9-5 win over Qatar’s Abdulatif Alfawal.  2013 World 9-ball Champion Niels Feijen, who’s been battling a bad elbow for several months, cruised to an easy win on Saturday with a 9-0 whitewash of Bangladesh’s Ahmed Tanvir. Veteran players in Spain’s David Alcaide and Germany’s Ralf Souquet will be in action on Sunday.

Several top young Europeans are expected to make some serious noise here in Doha. 19 year old Albanian Klenti Kaci, who earlier this year won two World Pool Series events, got his first ever World 9-ball Championship off to a good start with a 9-2 win over the Maldives Mohammed Hassan. Rising Russian star Fedor Gorst, who recently won the WPA World Jr. Championship, stumbled on his first ever outing at the World 9-ball Championship, losing to Chinese veteran Liu Haitao, 9-5. Germany’s 20 year old Joshua Filler, who just a few days ago won the MVP award for Team Europe at the Mosconi Cup, will see his first action on Sunday.

Other Europeans had good starts to their 2017 campaigns. Among the first round winners on Saturday were Russians Ruslan Chinakov and Konstanine Stepanov, Poland’s Radislaw Babica, Tomazs Kaplan, Mateusz Śniegocki and Mateusz Śniegocki, Finland’s Petri Makkonen, Greece’s Alex Kazakis, and Estonia’s Dennis Grabe. Former World 9-ball Champions Thorsten Hohmann and Mika Immonen both suffered first round loses.

The Philippines, Taiwan and China have big hopes for a high finishes this year. World number one Chang Jung Lin had a hard battle with Australia’s James Georgiadis, and prevailed, 9-6. 2015 World 9-ball Champion Ko Pin Yi took down Kuwait’s Fawaz Al Rashedi, 9-6. Ko’s younger brother, Ko Ping Chun, defeated Henrique Correia of Portugal, 9-5.

The Philippines’ Carlo Biado comes into this year’s Championship with high expectations and got off to a fine start with a 9-6 win over China’s Xu Xiao Cong.  Fellow Filipinos Warren Kiamco, Jeffrey Ignacio, Johann Chua, Roland Garcia and Jeffrey De Luna all won their first round matches.

China brings its usual power lineup to the proceedings, led by former World9-ball Champion Wu Jia Qing, who beat Taiwanese veteran Yang Ching Shun, 9-5.

Also posting first round wins on Saturday were Japan’s Naoyuki Oi and Hayato Hijikata.

Group stage play continues on Sunday at the Al Arabi Sports Club beginning at 10am Doha time(GMT +3).

**The 2017 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from December 5-15,2017 

The winner of the 2017 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The runner up will receive $15,000. The total prize fund is $200,000.

Fans around the world will be able to view many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform. Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public. 

For live stream, live scoring and updated brackets, please go to the following links:

Live stream:  http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/video_new.php?stol=1

Live scoring: http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/tsnew.php

Double Elimination Brackets: http://www.esnooker.pl/…/2017/w9bc/en/show_drabinka_2KO.php

  The players will compete on Wiraka DYNASTY  Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament  Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.

The 2017 World 9-ball Championship is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and was sanctioned by the The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

Fans can interact with us through the WPA’s official Facebook Page for the event at this link;https://www.facebook.com/worldpoolbilliardassociation/

The WPA is also on Twitter; @poolwpa

Visit the official website of the WPA at www.wpapool.com

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Mateusz Sniegocki, Wojciech Szewczyk - World Cup of Pool

New Post on http://thepoolscene.com/?p=22032

2017 12BET World Cup of Pool - Austria, China and Chinese Taipei through

2017 12BET World Cup of Pool

Three more through to quarter finals

  Chinese Taipei 7-5 Poland

China 7-0 Germany

Austria 7-2 Russia

  THREE MORE TEAMS made their way through to the weekend and the quarter finals as the 12BET World Cup of Pool as play continued at the York Hall, Bethnal Green, London. There were wins for China, Chinese Taipei and Austria with just three more round two matches left to conclude this evening.

  Featuring 32 two-man teams from around the globe, the 12BET World Cup of Pool is into its 11th year as reigning champions Chinese Taipei attempt to become the first team ever to successfully defend the title at the York Hall.

  Defending champs Chinese Taipei came from behind to defeat the Polish pair of Mateusz Sniegocki and Wojciech Szewczyk and keep their dreams alive of retaining their title.

  Both teams played a scrappy game and it was anyone’s at 5-5. The Poles broke in the next to give themselves a real chance but couldn’t make anything of it and Ko Pin Yi and Chang Yu Lung took advantage and ran out the last for the win.

  On paper Germany v China looked an even match up but didn’t turn out that way as Wu Jiaqing and Dang Jinhu played a perfect game to defeat Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann 7-0.

  The Germans made one or two errors and were punished severely by the Chinese duo. A scratch by Souquet in the fifth game with just the 8 and 9 on the table gave Chinese Taipei the rack and they took the next and then wrapped it up with a golden break in the next to seal the victory.

  In the final match of the session, Austria overcame Russia as they played a great game to beat the Russian pairing of Ruslan Chinakhov and Konstantin Stepanov. After overcoming some Russian resistance in the early stages, Mario He and Albin Ouschan barely put a foot wrong.

  “We wanted to get to at least the quarter-finals and we have done that. We watch Russia in the first round and they played really well. We said we would play our own game and we cannot do more than that,” said He.

  Ouschan added, “We were a bit more relaxed in this game than against Sweden. We still make a few mistakes but the luck was on our side. We felt pretty good and we showed that on the table.”

#gallery-5 margin: auto; #gallery-5 .gallery-item float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; #gallery-5 img border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; #gallery-5 .gallery-caption margin-left: 0; /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Play continues Friday evening with the final three second round matches:

  Philippines v Holland

Scotland v England B

USA v Spain

  Broadcast for six days live on Sky Sports in the UK; the tournament is available live in over 100 countries around the world. A comprehensive list of countries and networks broadcasting the World Cup of Pool can be found here:http://www.matchroompool.com/world-cup-of-pool/#watchlive

  The 12BET World Cup of Pool will carry a $250,000 prize fund including $60,000 for the champions. The event will be produced by Matchroom Sport Television and televised live on Sky Sports as well as other stations around the world.

  12BET World Cup of Pool Tickets are on sale now at www.matchroompool.com   priced at just £10.00 per evening session (Tuesday to Sunday) and £8.00 per weekend afternoon session. Tuesday to Friday afternoons are free. A season ticket covering all sessions is priced at £60.00.

2017 12BET World Cup of Pool is sponsored by Rasson Billiards who supplies the Official Table; the cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith by Saluc. Predator is the Official Cue and Chalk of the event.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Alex Pagulayan, Chang Jung Lin, Fedor Gorst, Ko Ping Chung, Ruslan Chinakov, World 9-Ball - World Pool Association

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55472

World 9-Ball Championship Comes Down To Four

Ko Ping Chung, Fedor Gorst, Chang Jung Lin and Liu Haitao stand on the brink of history in Doha.

By Ted Lerner WPA Media Officer

(Doha, Qatar)–After nearly ten hours of some of the most grueling and pressure packed pool seen in years, the 2019 World 9-ball Championship has now come down to the Final 4.

The four players left, Taiwan’s Ko Ping Chung and Chang Jung Lin, Russia’s Fedor Gorst, and China’s Liu Haitao are, to a man, already proven monsters of the game. Now each is poised on the cusp of history and will get their crack at pool immortality.

In one semi-final, the current World 10-ball Champion Ko will battle it out against Gorst. In the other semi-final, Chang will match wits with Liu.   Both semis, which will be race to 11, alternate break, will begin at 11am Tuesday in Doha(GMT +3) at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation.  The Final, which will be race to 13, alternate break, will begin at 3pm Doha time.

Pool fans around the world looking at that list of talent on their betting sheet might be hard pressed to pick who to put their money on to take the sport’s most coveted crown. But anyone who has been lucky enough to be on hand in Doha for the last week, or watch the action online, would probably not hesitate to favor the man fondly known as “Little Ko.”

Ko got that endearing moniker by being the sweet younger brother to the great Ko Pin Yi, himself a two time former world champion. Fans have known Little Ko to have as much prodigious talent as his older brother, but it wasn’t until he won the World 10-ball Championship in Vegas in July this year that the diminutive 24 year old clearly had stepped out of that long shadow and started to establish his own greatness.

Indeed over the last four days in Doha, the 24 year old Ping Chung has exhibited an almost surreal-like confidence to do whatever it takes to win. His shot making is from another planet, he never, ever gets flustered, and he seemingly can do what he wants, when he wants. 

These other-worldly skills were on full display in his three tough matches over ten hours today. In the round of 32 match against talented compatriot Lin Wu Kun, Ko got out to an early lead and held off Lin at every turn to win 11-8. In the round of 16, Ko came up against Russian veteran Ruslan Chinakhov who was playing some of his best pool in years. But Ko was in no mood to play nice, and he dominated Chinakhov 11-4.

By the time his quarterfinals battle against Vietnam upstart Do The Kien began, Ko looked a bit worn, and he fell behind 6-2.  But as he did against Hungary’s Oliver Slzolnoki the night before in the round of 64, Ko grinded his way back in the match. In this case the Taiwanese absolutely put his boot down hard, winning 9 racks in a row for an emphatic 11-6 win and a spot in the semi-finals.

Little Ko’s battle with Russia’s Gorst promises to be a fascinating match up of two of pool’s great young talents. Gorst, just 19 year’s old, is a former  World Junior Champion and has also won one Euro Tour event. His game and his personal demeanor appear well beyond his years, and this is not surprising when you discover that he has traveled and played extensively, especially in the US. He even speaks excellent English.

Like Ko, Gorst has a rock-solid game and low-key demeanor that serves him well when under pressure.  His three fine performances today showed he is certainly ready for the big time. Should he win here in Doha, he would become the second youngest player, after 16 year old Wu Chia Ching in 2005, to win the World 9-ball Championship.

Gorst started the day with a very impressive 11-7 win over Taiwan’s Kevin Chang. In the round of 16 he blew a 7-1 lead over Poland’s Mateusz Sniegocki, and the match headed for the cliff and a sudden death rack. Gorst held his nerve with a very fine break and run to advance to the quarterfinals.

Without so much as having a bite to eat, he met up with Ko Pin Yi for what promised to be another slug fest. The early part of the match remained tight and nervy, but the young Russian stayed loose and calm and pounced on the few mistakes by Ko for an impressive 11-6 win.

The other semi final between Liu and Chang could well be described as pool’s battle of the hard core men. Both players are known for their tough, grinding style and it will be fascinating to see who blinks first.

With his many trips to the US and other countries over the years, Chang has certainly endeared himself to worldwide fans. Over the last few years the 34 year old Chang, the 2012 World 8-ball champion, has taken his game to new heights, including a win at the International in 2018. Another world title for Chang would certainly surprise nobody.

Chang played like a champion today, at least up until the end where he literally limped over the finish line. In the round of 32 he manhandled Poland’s Mieszko Fortunski, 11-5. In the round of 16 Chang came back from an early deficit to beat Spain’s Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, 11-7. Then in the quarters he looked to be in total control over Finland upstart Casper Matikainen, with an 8-2 lead.

Matikainen, who had defeated defending champion Joshua Filler in the round of 64, and had just beaten 2016 World 9-ball Champion Albin Ouschan in the round of 16, was a total revelation this week in Doha. And just when the quiet Finn looked like he would run out of gas, he began a glorious fight back against Chang. The pair ended up tied at 10 in a battle of sheer will and stamina. Chang, though, mustered one last bit of energy and skill and held on to break and run the very last rack for a nail-biting ticket to the semis.

China’s Liu has been knocking on this door of greatness for the last several years, and his three matches today showed he is ready to finally kick it in. In the round of 64, he came from two down late against Greece’s Alexander Kazakis to win 11-9. In the final 16 he came back from 6 -2 down to defeat Japan’s Naoyuki Oi, 11-9. In the quarters the Chinese went toe to toe with a streaking Alex Pagulayan. The pair had nothing between them for the first half, until Liu decided this time was his, and he put the Filipino-Canadian away, 11-8.

Should Liu win it all on Tuesday, he would become the first Chinese player to ever win the WPA World 9-ball Championship.

The winner of the 2019 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The total prize fund is $150,00.

*The 2019 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Qatar from December 10-17, 2019. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

Fans around the world will be able to view live scoring, results, brackets and live streaming of many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform at esnooker.pl.  Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public.

SEMI-FINALS

Tuesday, December 17 11am, GMT +3

Race to 11, Alternate Break

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) vs. Lui Haitao (CHN)

Ping Chung Ko (TPE) vs. Fedor Gorst (RUS)

FINALS

3PM Doha

Race to 13, Alternate Break

RESULTS QUARTERFINALS

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 10 Casper Matikainen (FIN)

Lui Haitao (CHN) 11 – 8 Alex Pagulayan (CAN)

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 6 Do The Kien (VET)

Fedor Gorst (RUS) 11- 6 Pin Yi Ko (TPE)

RESULTS FINAL 16

Casper Matikainen (FIN) 11 – 6 Albin Ouschan (AUT)

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 7 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP)

Lui Haitao (CHN) 11 – 9 Naoyuki Oi (JPN)

Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 11 – 9 Billy Thorpe (USA)

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 4 Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)

Do The Kien (VET) 11 – 8 Waleed Majid (QAT)

Pin Yi Ko (TPE) 11 – 9 Aloysius Yapp (SIN)

Fedor Gorst (RUS) 11 – 10 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)

RESULTS FINAL 32

Casper Matikainen (FIN) 11 – 8 Yip Kin Ling (HKG)

Albin Ouschan (AUT) 11 – 8 Denis Grabe (EST)

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 5 Mieszko Fortunski (POL)

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) 11 – 5 Xu Xiaocong (CHN)

Liu Haitao (CHN) 11 – 9  Alexander Kazakis (GRE)

Naoyuki Oi (JPN) 11 – 6 Johann Chua (PHL)

Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 11 – 7 Chang Yu Lung (TPE)

Billy Thorpe (USA) 11 – 10 Carlo Biado (PHL)

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 8 Lin Wu Kun (TPE)

Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) 11 – 8 Maximilian Lechner (AUT) 

Do The Kien (VET) 11 – 7 Chris Melling (ENG) 

Waleed Majid (QAT) 11 -10 Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) vs.

Pin Yi Ko (TPE) 11 – 9 Jeffrey Ignacio (PHL)

Aloysius Yapp (SIN) 11 – 5 Darren Appleton (ENG)

Fedor Gorst (RUS)11 – 7 Yu Hsuan Cheng (TPE)

Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) 11 – 7 Liu Ri Teng (TPE)

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Albin Ouschan, Alex Pagulayan, Alexander Kazakis, Aloysius Yapp, Bashar Hussain, Billy Thorpe, Carlo Biado, Casper Matikainen, Chang Yu Lung, Chris Melling, Chung Ko Ping, Corey Duel, Daminanos Giallourakis, Dang Jinhu, Darren Appleton, Denis Grabe, Do The Kiem, Do The Kien, Eklent Kaci, Fedor Gorst, Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, Jakub Koniar, Jalal Al Sarisi, Jang Moonseok, Jeffrey Ignacio, Johann Chua, Jung Lin Chang, Karol Slowerski, Lin Ta Li, Lin Wu Kun, Liu Haitao, Liu Ri Teng, Marc Bijsterbosch, Masato Yoshioka, Mateusz Sniegocki, Maximilian Lechner, Mieszko Fortunski, Mohammad Berjaoui, Naoyuki Oi, One loss side group matches, Pin Yi Ko, Radoslaw Babica, Results Final 64, Ruslan Chinakhov, Stephen Holem, Thorsten Hohmann, Tomasz Kaplan, Waleed Majid, Wojciech Szewczyk, Wu Jiaqing, Xu Xiaocong, Xue Zhenqi, Yip Kin Ling, Yu Hsuan Cheng, Yukio Akagariyama - Uncategorized

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55467

FILLER FALLS IN DRAMATIC UPSET, WHILE VAN BOENING ALSO CRASHES OUT

FILLER FALLS IN DRAMATIC UPSET, WHILE VAN BOENING ALSO CRASHES OUT

Finland’s Casper Matikainen takes down the defending champion in wild day in Doha as 32 players set for a sprint to the World 9-ball crown.

By Ted Lerner WPA Media Officer Photos Credit WPA

(Doha, Qatar)–Finland’s Casper Matikainen came into his round of 64 match at the World 9-ball Championship today versus the defending champion and world number 1 Joshua Filler feeling relaxed and ready for battle. He figured the German great would bring his usual fire, but he also knew that Filler might also take his eye off the proverbial ball. After all, the 23 year old Finn wasn’t exactly the most feared name in a field of absolute monsters.

So even when the self-described “King” of pool jumped out to a 4-1 lead, Matikainen never lost hope, as Filler had gotten a few lucky rolls and wasn’t playing all that great, while the Finn had a few rolls go against him.

The mental strategy soon started to bear fruit for the cool-headed blonde. Slowly, and increasingly surely, Matikainen crawled even, and then took the lead while at the same time Filler started to get sloppy, lose focus and even showed some signs of panic. From 4-1 down Matikainen calmly won 9 out of the next ten frames.  After a brief hiccup on the hill that allowed Filler to claim two quick racks, the steady Finn held his nerve and closed out the biggest shock of the tournament so far, an 11-7 upset of the defending champion.

“He’s the world champion and he’s playing and I’m not there in the big tournaments and maybe he’s thinking it’s an easy win,” the 22 year old Matikainen said afterward.  “I felt that Joshua had the pressure because he’s the world champion and I was really relaxed at the table and that helped me and I just got it done.”

Matikainen’s massive win was but one huge result on a dramatic day in Doha that saw some of pool’s biggest names dumped out, while others were taken to the absolute limits. With the field now down to the final 32, the next two days promises to be one of the most exciting and fascinating Battle Royale’s of 9-ball we’ve seen in years.

America’s Shane Van Boening had come to Doha a heavy favorite this year and for good reason. His last three starts here ended with two runner ups and a spot in the semis last year. But several early mistakes against Taiwan’s Liu Ri Teng was all it took for the Taiwanese to grab a commanding lead at 10-4. The American mounted a valiant fight back, but the alternate break format meant the hole was too deep. Liu sent Van Boening packing in the round of 64 with a humbling 11-8 defeat.

After his runner up finish at the US Open in Las Vegas last April, former champion Wu Jiaqing figured to go far here in Doha. But Wu came up against fellow compatriot Xu Xiaocong, who is one of a slew of quality young talents coming out of China. Xu has impressed all week here and  against Wu he turned his game up several notches, crushing the former Boy Wonder 11-5.

The Taiwanese are almost sure to have one, possibly two players in the semis after tomorrow as Team Taipei looked absolutely marvelous today. It isn’t easy picking a favorite out of these world beaters but World 10-ball Champion Ko Ping Chung would probably be at the top of most punters betting sheets.  The slightly built and painfully shy 22 year old is clearly at the top of his game but he even he barely escaped in a harrowing match against Hungary’s talented Oliver Szolnoki.

Szolnoki, another bright European prospect, played the match of his young career and had “Little” Ko on the ropes, shooting out to a 7-3, then 8-5 lead. The fresh-faced Hungarian reached the hill first, but Ko then displayed the courage and guts that only champions can pull off.  In a nervy and tense sudden death rack, the Taiwanese made a series of surreal pressure shots to eek out the victory.

Little Ko’s older brother and two-time former world champion Pin Yi also won today, easily defeating Japan’s Yukio Akagariyama, 11-5. Fellow Taiwanese Chang Jung Lin, Chang Yu Lung, Lin Wu Kun and Kevin Chang all won their round of 64 matches today. In all seven Taiwanese made it through to the round of 32.

2016 World 9-ball champion Albin Ouschan of Austria looks to be in very fine form this year, as he easily defeated Taiwan’s Lin Ta Li 11-5.  Fellow Austrian Max Lechner continued his rise this year with an 11-4 win over Lithuania’s Pijus Labutis. 

The Russian contingent also put in solid performances today. Veteran Ruslan Chinakhov took down American Corey Duel 11-3, while youngster Fedor Gorst stayed alive with an 11-8 win over Slovakia’s Jakub Koniar.

2012 World 9-ball Champion Darren Appleton has been quietly playing himself back into game shape over the last few months and his solid victory today over Albanian star and European Mosconi team member Eklent Kaci could be a portent for the rest of the field. The Englishman battled back from a 4-0 deficit, and then turned the screws on the Albanian for a quality 11-6 win. In his remarkable heyday from 2008 to 2015, Appleton famously grinded out championships by the truckload and that bulldog mentality definitely was on display this afternoon.

The Philippines had only three players in the final 64 but all three made it through today. 2017 World 9-ball champion Carlo Biado got taken to the limit by Qatari veteran Bashar Hussein, before breaking and running the last rack for an 11-10 win. Also winning today for the Team Pinoy were Johann Chua and Jeffrey Ignacio.

The Polish contingent has been getting stronger by the year and they showed their quality today with three of their stars pushing through to the final 32. Mieszko Fortunski, Wojciech Szewczyk, and Mateusz Sniegocki all won handily.

Also advancing today were the USA’s Billy Thorpe, Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp, China’s Liu Haitao, Greece’s Alexander Kazakis, Spain’s Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Estonia’s Dennis Grabe, England’s Chris Melling, Canada’s Alex Pagulayan, Qatar’s Waleed Majid, Vietnam’s Do The Kien, and Hong Kong’s young upstart Yip Kin Ling.

The penultimate day of the World 9-ball championship will be extremely busy as the field will be whittled down to the final four at the end of the days’ action. 

Play on day 3, Monday, Dec. 16th will begin at 10am Doha time(GMT +3). All matches will be single elimination knockout race to 11, alternate break.  

The winner of the 2019 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The total prize fund is $150,00.

*The 2019 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Qatar from December 10-17, 2019. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

Fans around the world will be able to view live scoring, results, brackets and live streaming of many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform at esnooker.pl.  Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public.

Results Final 64

Casper Matikainen (FIN) 11 – 7 Joshua Filler (GER)

Yip Kin Ling (HKG) 11 – 5 John Morra (CAN)

Albin Ouschan (AUT) 11 – 5 Lin Ta Li (TPE)

Denis Grabe (EST) 11 – 8 Marc Bijsterbosch (NED)

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 9 Dang Jinhu (CHN)

Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 11 – 8 Thorsten Hohmann (GER)

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) 11 – 6 Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL)

Xu Xiaocong (CHN) 11 – 5 Wu Jiaqing (CHN)

Alexander Kazakis (GRE) 11 – 8 Radoslaw Babica (POL)

Liu Haitao (CHN) 11 – 9  Jalal Al Sarisi  (VEN)

Naoyuki Oi (JPN) 11 – 7 Petri Makkonen (FIN)

Johann Chua (PHL) 11 – 5 Enrique Rojas (CHL)

Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 11 – 3 Karol Skowerski (POL)

Chang Yu Lung (TPE) 11 – 9 Masato Yoshioka (JPN)

Billy Thorpe (USA) 11 – 6 Kong Dejing (CHN)

Carlo Biado (PHL) 11 – 10 Bashar Hussain (QAT)

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 10  Oliver Szolnoki (HUN)

Lin Wu Kun (TPE) 11 – 7 Damianos Giallourakis (GRE)

Maximilian Lechner (AUT) 11 – 4 Pijus Labutis (LTH)

Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)  11 – 3 Corey Duel (USA)

Chris Melling (ENG)  11 – 7 Mohammad Berjaoui (LEB)

Do The Kien (VET) 11 – 5 David Alcaide (ESP)

Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) 11 – 6 Jang Moonseok (KOR)

Waleed Majid (QAT) 11 – 10 Ralf Souquet (GER)

Pin Yi Ko (TPE) 11 – 5 Yukio Akagariyama (JPN)

Jeffrey Ignacio (PHL) 11 – 6 Stephen Holem (CAN)

Aloysius Yapp (SIN) 11 – 9  Xue Zhenqi (CHN)

Darren Appleton (ENG) 11 – 6 Eklent Kaci (ALB)

Fedor Gorst (RUS) 11 – 8 Jakub Koniar (SVK)

Yu Hsuan Cheng (TPE) 11 – 10 Tomasz Kaplan (POL)

Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) 11 – 7 Ivar Saris (NED)

Liu Ri Teng (TPE) 11 – 8 Shane Van Boening (USA)

One loss side group matches

Winner moves on to final 64 KO stage. Loser is out

Group 1

Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) 9 – 4 Hasan Hwaidi (IRQ)

Bashar Hussain (QAT) 9 – 6 Jerico Bonus (PHL)

Group 2

Fedor Gorst (RUS) 9 – 2 Mohammad Soufi (SYR)

Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) 9 – 3 Kong Bu Hong (HKG)

Group 3

Dang Jinhu (CHN) 9 – 1 Gerson Martinez (PER)

Wu Jiaqing (CHN) 9 – 3 Saki Kanatlar (TRK)

Group 4

Jalal Al Sarisi (VEN) 9 – 8 Matt Edwards (NZL)

Thorsten Hohmann (GER) 9 – 1 Marc Vidal (ESP)

Group 5

Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) 9 – 8 Mohammad Al Amin (BAN)

Waleed Majid (QAT) 9 – 5 Woo Seung Ryu (KOR)

Group 6

Do The Kiem (VET)  9 – 6 Ali Alobaidli (QAT)

Tomasz Kaplan (POL) 9 – 4 Ricky Yang (IND)

Group 7

Radoslaw Babica (POL) 9 – 6 Abdulatif Alfawal (QAT)

Liu Ri Teng (TPE) 9 – 1 Nadim Okbani (ALG)

Group 8

Carlo Biado (PHL) 9 – 4 Hassan Shahada (JOR)

Lin Ta Li (TPE) 9 – 6 Abdullah Alyusef (KUW)

Group 9

Stephen Holem (CAN) 9 – 4 Khaled Alghamdi (KSR)

Casper Matikainen (FIN) 9 – 5 Phone Myint Kyaw (MYR)

Group 10

Mohammad Berjaoui (LEB) 9 – 5 Max Eberle (USA)

Yukio Akagariyama (JPN) 9 – 4 Ali Maghsoud (IRA)

Group 11

Karol Slowerski (POL) 9 – 4 Hunter Lombardo (USA)

Eklent Kaci (ALB)  9 – 3 Ahmad Aldelaimi (KUW)

Group 12

Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) 9 – 5  Niels Feijen (NED)

Daminanos Giallourakis (GRE)  9 – 3 Abdullah Alshammari (KSR)

Group 13

Masato Yoshioka (JPN) 9 – 4 Clark Sullivan (NZE)

Xue Zhenqi (CHN) 9 – 7 Luis Lemus (GTM)

Group 14

Darren Appleton (ENG) 9 – 6 Richard Halliday (RSA)

Jakub Koniar (SLV) 9 – 3 Fayaz Hussain (MAL)

Group 15

Jang Moonseok (KOR) 9 – 2 Robbie Capito (HKG)

Corey Duel (USA) 9 – 8 Wang Can (CHN)

Group 16

Xu Xiaocong (CHN) 9 – 0 Mohamed El Raousti (ALG)

Lin Wu Kun (TPE) 9 – 3 Riccardo Sini (ITA)

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Aloysius Yapp, Bashar Hussain, Billy Thorpe, Chang Yu Lung, Chris Melling, Chung Ko Ping, Damianos Giallourakis, Dang Jinhu, David Alcaide, Denis Grabe, Do The Kien, Enrique Rojas, Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, Hunter Lombardo, Ivar Saris, Jakub Koniar, Jalal Al Sarsi, Jang Moonseok, Jeffrey Ignacio, Johann Chua, John Morra, Joshua Filler, Jung Lin Chang, Kong Dejing, Konrad Juszcayszyn, Lin Ta Li, Liu Haitao, Liu Ri Teng, Masato Yoshioka, Max Eberle, Max Lechner, Mieszko Fortunski, Naoyuki Oi, Oliver Szolnoki, Petri Makkonen, Phone Myint Kyaw, Pijus Labutis, Pin Yi Ko, Radoslaw Babica, Ralf Souquet, Results, Richard Halliday, Ruslan Chinakhov, Shane Van Boening, Stephen Holem, Tomasz Kaplan, Waleed Majid, World 9-Ball - World Pool Billiard

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55459

32 Players Book Their Spots In The KO Rounds In A Roller Coaster First Day In Doha

By Ted Lerner WPA Media Officer Photo Credits WPA

(Doha, Qatar)–If the first day’s play of the 2019 World 9-ball Championship is any indication–and by all measures it certainly is just that–then fans around the world better be prepared for a wild roller coaster ride over the next three days.  Drama, upsets, nerves, revelations, suprises, excitement and downright brilliant 9-ball at the highest levels were all on display as play commenced in the 28th running of pool’s premier crown. And with a loaded field just getting warmed up, it’s only going to get better leading to the final on Tuesday.

With 64 matches played on 16 tables at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Day 1 saw 32 players book their spots in the final 64 knockout stage which begins Sunday.  None of the 96 players have yet to see the exits, but there were plenty of upsets, near upsets, and upstarts making their mark on pool’s biggest stage.

The top 32 seeds were given a bye in the first round of their groups, so these players only had to win one match to reach the single elimination knockout rounds.  Defending champion Joshua Filler of Germany did just that, but not before a shaky start which saw him tied at 4-4 in the race to 9 alternate break match against Qatari veteran Bashar Hussain. The World number one was never in trouble, though, and cruised to a 9-5 win.

2017 champion and runner up last year Carlo Biado of the Philippines didn’t fair as well as he got dumped over to the one loss side of his group with a shocking 9-3 loss to Chile’s Enrique Rojas. It was Rojas’ second straight victory of the day, the first coming over Kuwait’s Abdullah Alyusef. Rojas now books his well deserved spot in the Final 64 tomorrow.

The USA’s Shane Van Boening is one of the favorites here this week, but he looked a bit cold early on in his match with young talented Chinese player Xu Xiaocong. Xu is part of a large crop coming from China’s youth movement and he had the American down three quarters of the way through their match.  But SVB pulled it together at the last minute and squeaked by the Chinese, 9-8. Xu will get one more chance on Sunday.

Fellow American and Mosconi teammate Billy Thorpe also booked his spot in the final 64 with a 9-5 win over Canada’s Stephen Holem.

It was a solid day for team Taiwan. World 10-ball Champion Ko Ping Chung went up against Myamar’s rising star Phone Myint Kyaw, who also goes by the moniker, Muang Muang. Kyaw is a player that pool fans will want to pay attention to. He’s a former snooker player who has been winning regularly on the brutally tough Chinese 8-ball circuit, and he just grabbed two gold medals in the Southeast Asian games in Manila.  His stroke is one of the most solid in the game and anyone who watches him play instantly can see the potential in this young man.

But of course, Ko is a young prodigy who has already proven his metal in American pool with his recent win at the World 10-ball in July in Vegas.  Little Ko didn’t have much trouble with Muang Muang, winning handily, 9-4.

Little Ko will join his older brother Pin Yi in the final 64, who defeated the always stingy Jalal Al Sarisi of Venezuela, 9-4.  Other Taiwanese cruising into the final 64 include Chang Jung Lin, Chang Yu Lung, and Kevin Cheng.

The Philippines is surprisingly unrepresented in Doha this year with only four players in the field. With Biado losing early it was up to Johann Chua and Jeffrey Ingacio to save the day for the Pinoys. Both looked the goods and nabbed spots in the final 64.

It was a mixed bag for the European Mosconio Cup team. Greece’s Alexander Kazakis is one of Europe’s top bets here this week and he qualified for the knockout round with an easy 9-5 win over Qatar’s Waleed Majid.  But Albania’s Eklent Kaci and former World 9-ball Champion Niels Feijen of the Netherlands weren’t so fortunate. Kaci lost big to the Netherlands’ Ivar Saris, who had earlier looked solid in a 9-6 win over Poland’s Karol Skowerski. Feijen went down to upstart Hong Konger Yip Kin Ling, 9-7, who took his spot in the Final 64 with his second  win of the day.

The surprises kept coming throughout the day. Lithuania’s Pijus Labutis first squeaked by Peru’s Gerson Martinez, 9-8. Then he took on former World 9-ball Champion Wu Jiaqing, and shocked the Chinese great with a 9-7 upset, and a spot in the knockout rounds.

Also booking a spot in the final 64 was Canada’s John Morra, who continued his return to fine form with a 9-8 win over Poland’s Mateusz Sniegocki. Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp showed that he’s clearly a dark horse to watch here in Doha with a 9-4 drubbing of China’s talented Dang Jinhu.  England’s Chris Melling came back from 6-2 down to defeat Vietnam’s Do The Kien, 9-7. Also advancing today were Japan’s Naoyuki Oi, Austria’s Max Lechner, China’s Lui Haitao, Estonia’s Dennis Grabe, Finland’s Petri Makkonen, Germany’s Ralf Souquet,  and Spaniards David Alcaide and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz.

Play on day 2 on Sunday, Dec. 14th will begin at 10am Doha time(GMT +3). The field will be whittled down to 64 players playing single elimination knockout race to 11.  The round of 64 will be completed in the first two session, and by the end of the day, the field will be down to the final 32. 

The winner of the 2019 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The total prize fund is $150,00.

*The 2019 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Qatar from December 10-17, 2019. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

Fans around the world will be able to view live scoring, results, brackets and live streaming of many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform at esnooker.pl.  Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public.

Results

Group 1

Bashar Hussain (QAT) 9 – 6 Hasan Hwaidi (IRQ)

John Morra (CAN) 9 – 7 Jerico Bonus (PHL)

Group 2

Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)  9 – 5 Mohammad Soufi (SYR)

Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 9 – 6  Kong Bu Hong (CHN)

Group 3

Pijus Labutis (LTH) 9 – 8 Gerson Martinez  (PER)

Dang Jinhu (CHN) 9 – 7 Saki Kanatlar (TKY)

Group 4

Kong Dejing (CHN) 9 – 6 Matt Edwards (NZL)

Jalal Al Sarsi (VEN)  9 – 7 Marc Vidal (SPN)

Group 5

Waleed Majid (QAT) 9 – 5 Mohammad Al Amin (BAN)

Oliver Szolnoki (HUN) 9 – 3 Woo Seung Ryu (KOR)

Group 6

Tomasz Kaplan (POL)  9 – 5 Ali Alobadili (QAT)

Do The Kien (VET) 9 – 3 Ricky Yang (IND)

Group 7

Liu Ri Teng (TPE)  9 – 5 Abdulatif Alfawal (QAT)

Radoslaw Babica (POL) 9 – 1 Nadim Okbani (ALG)

Group 8

Lin Ta Li (TPE) 9 – 1 Hassan Shhada (JOR)

Enrique Rojas (CHL) 9 – 7 Abdullah Alyusef (KUW)

Group 9

Phone Myint Kyaw (MYR) 9 – 3  Khaled Alghamdi (KSR)

Stephen Holem (CAN) 9 – 6 Casper Matikainen (FIN)

Group 10

Yukio Akagariyama (JPN) 9 – 7 Mohammad Berjaoui (LEB)

Max Eberle (USA) 9 – 7 Ali Maghsoud (IRA)

Group 11

Ivar Saris (NET) 9 – 6 Karol Skowerski (POL)

Hunter Lombardo (USA) 9 – 1 Ahmad Aldelaimi (KUW)

Group 12

Damianos Giallourakis (GRE) 9 – 7 Marck Bijsterbosch (NED)

Yip Kin Ling (HKG) 9 – 8 Abdulla Alshemari (KSR)

Group 13

Xue Zhenqi (CHN) 9 – 5 Clark Sullivan (NZE)

Masato Yoshioka (JPN) Luis Lemus (GUY)

Group 14

Jakub Koniar (SLV) 9 – 8 Darren Appleton (ENG)

Richard Halliday (RSA) 9 – 4 Fayaz Ussain (MAL)

Group 15

Konrad Juszcayszyn (POL) 9 – 7 Robbie Capito (HKG)

Jang Moonseok (KOR) 9 – 6 Wang Can (CHN)

Group 16

Petri Makkonen (FIN) 9 – 0 Mohamed El Raousti (ALG)

Xu Xiaocong (CHN) 9- 2  Riccardo Sini (ITL)

Winners Side Matches Day 1.

Winner is through to the Final 64, Loser goes to one loss side of their group for one more chance

Group 1

Joshua Filler (GER) 9 – 5 Bashar Hussain (QAT)

John Morra (CAN) 9 – 8 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)

Group 2

Denis Grabe (EST) 9 – 7 Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)

Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 9 – 4 Fedor Gorst (RUS)

Group 3

Pijus Labutis (LTH) 9 – 7 Wu Jiaqing (CHN)

Aloysius Yapp (SIN) 9 – 4 Dang Jinhu (CHN)

Group 4

Kong Dejing (CHN) 9 – 6 Thorsten Hohmann (GER)

Pin Yi Ko (TPE) 9 – 5 Jalal Al Sarisi (VEN)

Group 5

Alexander Kazakis (GRE) 9 – 5 Waleed Majid (QAT)

Oliver Szolnoki (HUN) 9 – 3 Wojciech Szewczyk (POL)

Group 6

Chang Yu Lung (TPE) 9 – 6 Tomasz Kaplan (POL)

Chris Melling (ENG) 9 – 7 Do The Kien (VET)

Group 7

Johann Chua (PHL) 9 – 3 Liu Ri Teng (TPE)

Max Lechner (AUT) 9 – 6 Radoslaw Babica (POL)

Group 8

Liu Haitao (CHN) 9 – 3 Lin Ta Li (TPE)

Enrique Rojas (CHL) 9 – 3 Carlo Biado (PHL)

Group 9

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 9 – 4 Phone Myint Kyaw (MYR)

Billy Thorpe (USA) 9 – 5 Stephen Holem (CAN)

Group 10

Yu Hsuan Cheng (TPE) 9 – 8 Yukio Akagariyama (JPN)

Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 9 – 3 Max Eberle (USA)

Group 11

Ivar Saris (NED) 9 – 4 Eklent Kaci (ALB)

Naoyuki Oi (JPN) 9 – 1 Hunter Lombardo (USA)

Group 12

Jeffrey Ignacio (PHL) 9 – 7 Damianos Giallourakis (GRE)

Yip Kin Ling (HKG) 9 – 7 Niels Feijen (NED)

Group 13

Ralf Souquet (GER) 9 – 8 Xue Zhenqi (CHN)

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) 9 – 8 Masato Yoshioka (JPN)

Group 14

David Alcaide (ESP) 9 – 7 Jakub Koniar (SLV)

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 9 – 4 Richard Halliday (RSA)

Group 15

Konrad Juszcayszyn (POL) 9 – 8 Corey Deuel (USA)

Albin Ouschan (AUT) 9 – 4 Jan Moonseok (KOR)

Group 16

Petri Makkonen (FIN) 9 – 5 Lin Wu Kun (TPE)

Shane Van Boening (USA) 9 – 8 Xu Xiaocong (CHN)

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Darren Appleton - Euro-Tour

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55315

Appleton comes back and leaves a mark in the tournament

The first day in Antalya of the Dynamic Billard Antalya Open 2019 started sunny as expected. Most players of the first round matches were on time for the beginning of their competition. In the first round, Nick Malai (GRE) and Marcel Price (GBR) had the toughest challenges. Both of them won their opening matches with 9:8 over their respective opponents which took a lot of energy out of them at such an early time of the day.

As the day continued, more remarkable matches could be witnessed. In the first winner’s round, Nick Malai took down Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) surprisingly clear with 9:1 and sent him to the loser’s side of the bracket. Jan Rempe (NED), young player from the dutch contingency, managed to overpower Fedor Gorst (RUS) with 9:5 in the same round. Jani Siekkinen (FIN) wasted no time with Alex Montpellier (FRA) wiping the floor with him with 9:0. Siekkinen’s teammate Jani Uski (FIN) also won his match against Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) with 9:7. One of the two big clashes in the first winner’s round was the all British match between Mark Gray and Darren Appleton. Both players have earned their merits in the past and it was clear that the one with the better daily form would probably succeed over the other. Additionally, Appleton had been absent for a long time and just started his Euro-Tour play again last tournament in Klagenfurt, Austria, while Gray has been a regular on the tour for many years now. Today, the match went in favour of Appleton since Gray had no break at all. Appleton took him down 9:5 and Gray stated on his facebook page later: „Horrible game that lost 9-5 to Darren Appleton. Better player undoubtedly won. Break killed me but didn’t feel good so good luck to Daz… Granite back to the beach!!“ The other „big match“ in that round was the encounter between Pijus Labutis (LTU) and Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz (ESP). That match was controlled by the Spaniard and won with 9:6 by Sanchez-Ruiz.

The Dynamic Billard Antalya Open 2019 will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 local time with matches from winner’s round 2.

Every day, up to two matches will be streamed LIVE over the EPBF Facebook page and on the EPBF YouTube channel. Check for updates and announcements.

The Dynamic Billard Antalya Open are played in the Limak Atlantis Resort in Belek, Turkey, on up to 20 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be obtained at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.

The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.com or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Albin Ouschan, Eklent Kaci, Joshua Filler - Euro-Tour

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55240

Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open ready for kick-off

The fifth tour stop of the Euro-Tour series, the Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open is ready for kick-off. 177 participants have enlisted for the event which is played in Carinthia in beautiful southern Austria.

Europe’s top pool athletes are currently gathering together and preparing themselves for the upcoming Euro-Tour event. Starting Thursday, October 10th at 09:00 CET, the tournament will unfold on 24 tables with top class billiard action. Having all top ranked players in the house, the Klagenfurt Arena will once more be the host for a prestigious pool billiard tournament. After 2017 and 2018, the Euro-Tour is once more returning to the hometown of Jasmin and Albin Ouschan, the Austrian powerhouse siblings. After there days of amazing matches, the final will be played on Saturday, October 12th at 18:00 CET.

Currently, German reigning World 9-Ball Champion Joshua Filler is leading the rankings with 2490 points. He is followed by Albania’s Eklent Kaci who has already a small distance to cover, having 2275 point in his account. Third ranked player before the event is Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) whines currently on 2160 points. While Filler and Sniegocki do not lose many points after this event, Kaci will have to defend a second place finish from Leende in 2018. This makes his mission harder than his competitor’s tasks.

As always, 38.000,-€ in prize money and coveted ranking points for the announcements to other events like World Championships and Mosconi Cup are at stake in Klagenfurt this week.

On Saturday morning, the women will enter the stage and start their tournament, the Predator Klagenfurt Open Women’s Euro-Tour at 09:00 CET. Their final match is scheduled for Sunday, October 13th at 16:00 CET.

Every day, up to two matches will be streamed LIVE over the EPBF Facebook page and on the EPBF YouTube channel. Check for updates and announcements.

The Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open are played in the Sportpark Klagenfurt Arena in Klagenfurt, Austria, on up to 24 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be obtained at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.

The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.com or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - - Euro-Tour

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55001

Players arriving in Veldhoven for the upcoming Euro-Tour event

The Dynamic Billard Veldhoven Open 2019 is throwing its shadows ahead. The next event of the Euro-Tour series will commence tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with the final match scheduled for Saturday, August 3rd, at 18:00 CET.

193 players have enlisted for the Veldhoven edition of Europe’s most prestigious pool series. Once again, coveted ranking points as well as prize money is at stake for the contestants. Currently, Eklent Kaci is leading with 2455 points but he already feels Joshua Filler’s breath in his neck with 2400 points. Kaci will lose 480 points from last year while Filler only loses 330 points. Filler just finished runner-up at the recently held World 10-ball Championships, in Las Vegas,  USA. It will be interesting to see whether this will provide him with the wind underneath his wings that might help him to come up with a good finish here at the Euro-Tour. Depending on their performance here in Veldhoven, there might be a change at the top of the rankings. Mateusz Sniegocki (2130 pts) and Ralf Souquet (2105 pts) are also still within striking distance.

On Saturday morning, the women will enter the stage and start their tournament, the Predator Veldhoven Open Women’s Euro-Tour at 09:00 CET. Their final match is scheduled for Sunday, August 4th at 16:00 CET.

Every day, up to two matches will be streamed LIVE over the EPBF Facebook page. Check for updates and announcements.

The Dynamic Billard Treviso Open are played in the NH Conference Centre Koningshof in Veldhoven, The Netherlands, on up to 24 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be obtained at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.

The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.com or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Chris Melling, Jayson Shaw, Lo Ho Sum, Mario He, Yip Kin Ling - World Cup of Pool

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=54798

GREAT BRITAIN FIGHT BACK TO REACH LAST EIGHT

Hong Kong, China 5–7 Austria Spain 7-5 Finland Poland 5–7 Great Britain 

Hosts Great Britain battled from 4-1 down to beat Poland 7-5 and secure their place in the quarter-finals of the BetVictor World Cup of Pool at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England.

There were Friday evening wins too for Spain over Finland, and Austria, who defeated Hong Kong, China with both matches also ending 7-5 and the last eight is now set as the tournament moves into its closing stages on Saturday and Sunday, live on Sky Sports, DAZN and networks worldwide.

With Great Britain’s Chris Melling and Jayson Shaw having the home crowd on their side, it was Poland (Konrad Juszczyszyn and Mateusz Sniegocki) who took the first rack, ran the second and then benefited when Great Britain again couldn’t take advantage of having the break in the third.

The hosts got on the board after Shaw executed a good safety from a push out, and Poland then left the 1 on. But Britain again couldn’t take advantage of having the break, this time Melling missing a 6 when they looked to be heading to 3-2, and instead Poland made it 4-1

After their faltering start, Great Britain battled back to level the match and then led for the first time at 5-4. They moved to the hill soon after, but Poland weren’t done yet and pulled a rack back before Shaw and Melling closed out the match to complete the quarter-final line-up.

“They played really well at the start but we didn’t really come out firing,” said Shaw. “We played a couple of silly shots, letting them get in front but we told each other we would get a chance and when we did we took it to go in front.”

Melling added: “I struggled there; early on I was struggling with confidence. Luckily for me I have one of the best players in the world on my team. If we can win playing like that who knows what can happen when we play well.”

The session opener saw Mario He and Albin Ouschan in ruthless form for Austria. Finalists last year and winners in 2018, they ran to a commanding 6-1 lead, capitalising on some sloppy pool by Hong Kong, China.

Knowing they couldn’t afford another mistake, and would probably need some luck along the way as well, Lo Ho Sum and Yip Kin Ling took out the next rack and when Austria broke dry in the next, a 5/9 combo presented itself and Sum took advantage. They took the next rack on their own break and had another chance almost immediately as Austria broke dry. From 6-1 down Hong Kong, China had pulled to within one.

But at that stage Austria regained control of the table, and eventually got their seventh match on the board to progress to a quarter-final clash with Greece.

The last of the quarter-finals will see Spain face Great Britain, after David Alcaide and Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz won a match in which momentum’s pendulum swung first to Spain, then to Finland and finally back to Spain.

The Spanish pair established a 4-1 lead over Petri Makkonen and Mika Immonen, only for the 2012 champions to fight back and go 5-4 up. At that point, though, the impetus switched again and Spain levelled before reaching the hill and then coming out on top after an error-strewn 12th to book their spot in the last eight.

Photo courtesy of ” JP Parmentier/Matchroom Multi Sport “

Photo courtesy of ” JP Parmentier/Matchroom Multi Sport ”

Photo courtesy of ” JP Parmentier/Matchroom Multi Sport ”

The quarter-finals are race to 9 and take place over two sessions on Saturday with the semi-finals and final on Sunday. The BetVictor World Cup of Pool is broadcast live in over 100 countries around the world, including on Sky Sports and DAZN.

The BetVictor World Cup of Pool is sponsored by Rasson Billiards, who supply the Official Table; the cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith by Saluc. Predator are the Official Cue of the event and Kamui the Official Chalk and Tip.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Albin Ouschan, Mario He, Mika Immonen, Petri Makkonen - World Cup of Pool

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=54777

TWO FORMER CHAMPIONS THROUGH AT BETVICTOR WORLD CUP OF POOL

Austria 7–3 Croatia Finland 7–5 Singapore Poland 7-5 Italy

Former champions Austria and Finland are both through to the second round of the BetVictor World Cup of Pool after wins over Croatia and Singapore respectively, while Poland have also advanced to the last 16 after surviving a scare against Italy at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England.

The day’s opening fixture pitted Austria, winners in 2017 and runners up last year, against Croatia, whose pairing of Philipp Stojanovic and Roberto Bartol had won the European Qualifier to earn their spot at the event.

Austria were again represented by Albin Ouschan and Mario He, but it was the unseeded team who drew first blood after Ouschan missed a long 2. The first six racks were split before Austria moved into a 4-3 lead with the help of a fluked snooker and when Bartol missed the 5 in the next rack, last year’s silver medallists were able to take advantage to earn a two-rack lead.

From there, Austria’s momentum built; they reached the hill at 6-3 and the match was won one rack later after Croatia conceded ball in hand.

“It was a tough match, very close, and I wasn’t feeling great,” admitted He. “I missed an easy 7 ball and I hooked my partner on an easy position, but Albin played really well and he gave me the confidence to come back into the match.”

“Everybody who is in the last 16 can win this tournament; there is no really big favourite. We saw in the first round that in a race to seven anything is possible,” added Ouschan.

Another pair of former champions, Finland, were up next against Singapore. Petri Makkonen and Mika Immonen had lifted the World Cup trophy in 2012 but faced a tricky opener against Aloysuis Yapp and Sharik Aslam Sayed.

The Finnish pair built a 4-2 lead but a missed combo by Makkonen helped Singapore turn things around for a 5-4 advantage. The 2012 champions arrested their slide and took the next two racks to move to the hill at 6-5 ahead.

Immonen had the break and made the 6 but the 1 was hidden behind the 7. Makkonen picked up his jump cue and sunk the object ball before Immonen followed his partner’s attacking lead in banking the 2 to open up the frame for his team.

They kept control of the table for the rest of the rack to run out for victory and will meet either Spain or Australia in the second round.

“We got away with a little scare when they were 5-4 ahead but we closed it out in good fashion,” said Immonen. “I missed a combo to go 5-3 ahead and after that the match turned, but we got away with it.

“At the end I broke well but Petri was hidden from the 1 so I said go to for the jump and see what happens. He made a good shot and then I made the bank so we both made some good shots in the last rack to win it. The first match can always be a bit jittery as you try to get the feel of the table and how the balls are running. It’s always nice to get the first win.”

In the final match of the afternoon, Poland (Konrad Juszczyszyn and Mateusz Sniegocki) raced to a 4-0 lead over Italy. At that stage a brilliant shot from Fabio Petroni propelled him and Danielle Corrieri back into it. The former Mosconi Cup star had to jump the 7 to reach the 6, which he then banked up table. Cueing was difficult, so he had to use to bridges in order to make the shot which set Italy on their way to four consecutive racks.

With the match level, Poland responded and then immediately reached the hill. Italy pulled another back to make it 6-5, at which point Corrieri produced an excelled jump shot to make the 2 but, as the match looked set the hill-hill, the younger of the Italian due went in-off while potting the 7, giving Poland ball in hand and the match.

Photo courtesy of credit ‘JP Parmentier/Matchroom Multi Sport’

Photo courtesy of credit ‘JP Parmentier/Matchroom Multi Sport’

Photo courtesy of credit ‘JP Parmentier/Matchroom Multi Sport’

The first round of the BetVictor World Cup of Pool concludes on Thursday evening with Spain taking on Australia before the last 16 commences with China vs. Chile and Netherlands vs. USA. The BetVictor World Cup of Pool is broadcast live in over 100 countries around the world, including on Sky Sports and DAZN.

The BetVictor World Cup of Pool is sponsored by Rasson Billiards, who supply the Official Table; the cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith by Saluc. Predator are the Official Cue of the event and Kamui the Official Chalk and Tip.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Maximilian Lechner, Ralf Souquet, Wojciech Szewczyk - Euro-Tour

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=54678

Lechner waves the Austrian flag high

Maximilian Lechner (AUT) has booked his spot in the round of the last 16 players in the Dynamic Billard St. Johann im Pongau Open 2019 with a 9:7 victory over Petri Makkonen (FIN).

Lechner will be accompanied in the round by his teammate Mario He (AUT) who managed to eliminate „The Terminator“ Niels Feijen (NED) with 9:6 in the last round today.

Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) whitewashed his opponent Stefan Huber (AUT) 9:0. Young Dutchman Tim De Ruyter (NED) sent Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) home with 9:6.

Joshua „Killer“ Filler (GER) is also among the last 16 men standing. He defeated Christian Froehlich (GER) 9:3.

BCA Hall of Fame Ralf Souquet (GER) took down Miguel Silva (POR) with 9:7 and kept a foot in the door to take a shot at the title here in St. Johann im Pongau.

Last 16 players

Eklent Kaci ALB v Wojciech Szewczyk POL

Konrad Juszczyszyn POL v Maximilian Lechner AUT

Radoslaw Babica POL v Ralf Souquet GER

Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz ESP v Konstantin Stepanov RUS

Tim De Ruyter NED v Damianos Giallourakis GRE

Marc Bijsterbosch NED v Mario He AUT

Ruslan Chinakhov RUS v Ivo Aarts NED

Oliver Szolnoki HUN v Joshua Filler GER

Every day, up to two matches will be streamed LIVE over the EPBF Facebook page. Check for updates and announcements.

The Dynamic Billard St. Johann im Pongau Open will commence tomorrow, June 15th, at 10:00 CET with matches from the last 16 players single elimination.

The Dynamic Billard St. Johann im Pongau Open are played in the Sporthotel Alpina Alpendorf in St. Johann im Pongau, Austria, on up to 24 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be obtained at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.

Ralf Souquet (left), Wojciech Szewczyk (middle) and Maximilian Lechner

The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.com or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.