THE 2009 World Cup of
Pool will be staged in the Philippines
for the first time in the tournament's history.
A press conference was held at the Sports Plus Cafe, Eastwood, Philippines,
earlier this week to announce the event, which will now be in its fourth year.
The first competition was staged in Newport, Wales with the next two in Rotterdam,
Holland, but this will be the first time it will
have been held outside of Europe.
Featuring 32 two-player teams from around the globe, The World Cup of Pool,
sponsored by PartyGaming, has become one of the most important dates in the
sport's calendar and this year's version will be hosted from September 1 to 6
in Manila.
"We're really looking forward to a great tournament because the World
Cup of Pool is a special event and to bring it here to the Philippines is really
exciting," said Matchroom Sport Director Eddie
Hearn.
"When Matchroom Sport wants to stage a major pool tournament the Philippines is
always the first place we look to come. In terms of number one venues, this has
to be our first choice.
"Obviously Las Vegas is a great place for pool as well with their heritage
but the passion that the people have for the game in the Philippines, and the
importance of what it means to everyone, always makes it a pleasure to come
here."
The prestigious competition, which features 32 two-player teams from around the
world, but two sides for the host nation, has never been won by the same
country twice.
Filipino legends Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante won the inaugural
tournament in 2006, China's He-wen Li and Jian-bo Fu claimed the trophy in 2007
before Americans Shane Van Boening and Rodney Morris triumphed last year.
Hearn hinted that, with the Philippines
being given two teams as hosts, the successful pairing of Reyes and Bustamante
could be reunited for 2009.
"The Filipino people would want to see Efren and Django play together and
it's very important that we make the choice that makes the people happy,"
explained Hearn.
"Matchroom Sport and our Filipino partners Solar Sports are also eager to
have one younger team representing the real new wave of players coming through
in the Philippines
at the moment.
"Due to the great number of qualified Filipino players, it's going to be
tough when we select the teams because there are always people who feel they
should be in.
"But our job is to select the right teams for the people and the right
teams that are most likely to take the title for the Philippines.
"We have to make sure we have the biggest names and the biggest
personalities playing while the best players as well. I'm really glad that the Philippines
will have two teams as host nation because to have only had one team would have
been very difficult to pick."
Solar Sports CEO Peter Chanliong added: "The World Cup of Pool has a
format that's very exciting and we're hoping the Philippines will enjoy the
home-court advantage and pull it off again to prove we're the best in the
world."
The defending champions - Shane Van Boening and Rodney Morris - will make
up the USA
pairing but the rest of the sides will be selected nearer the competition.
There is a huge incentive for all teams as the champions win $60,000, the
runners-up take home $30,000, the beaten semi-finalists collect $16,000 and the
quarter finalists receive $10,000.
Each match will be filmed for television and then produced by Matchroom Sport
into 31 1-hour programmes, which will then be broadcast on stations around the
world.
