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64 Remain In Poland At World Pool Championship 2023 Inbox

Joshua Filler (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

Joshua Filler survived being knocked to the loser’s side by Alex Pagulayan on day two of the World Pool Championship 2023 in Kielce, Poland as only 64 remain after two days of action live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and TV networks worldwide.

Brackets / Scores

Filler faced Pagulayan early on for a spot in the Last 64 to avoid an extra match in Losers’ Qualification round this evening. The Killer fell to a 9-7 defeat, his second defeat to the Canadian in a matter of days after a loss at the Derby City Classic. It left Filler having to beat Daniele Corrieri to ensure his hunt for a second world title would continue and he did so in emphatic fashion in a 9-1 dismantling. Crucially, defeat to Pagulayan meant Filler lost his seeded position in the bracket ahead of the Last 64 redraw.

Other top seeds had less trouble as Shane Van Boening stepped past Mats Schjetne 9-2 whilst two-time winner Albin Ouschan put Khalid Alghamdi onto the losers side. Jayson Shaw meanwhile took out young German Tobias Bongers 9-5 and World Cup of Pool winner David Alcaide whitewashed Jani Uski to secure an afternoon off.

Last year’s semi-finalist Abdullah Alyousef suffered a 9-3 defeat to USA hotshot Shane Wolford to be sent home at the first major hurdle whilst Oliver Szolnoki suffered the same fate in a hill-hill finish against Ajdin Piknjac. 2021 runner-up Omar Al-Shaheen struggled for his groove against Denis Grabe as the Estonian came good to knock the 2021 runner-up out the competition. There was frustration for 1996 champion Ralf Souquet also, the Kaiser well beaten by Pole Daniel Maciol in Winners’ Qualification before defeat at the hands of Dimitri Jungo. Home favourite Mieszko Fortunski was also knocked out with the World Pool Masters semi-finalist knocked out by Lars Kuckherm.

The 32 players who qualified through Winners’ Qualification were seeded in the Last 64 redraw against an unseeded player who came through the Losers Qualification matches with Karl Boyes completing the draw with Rachel Casey on the Matchroom Pool YouTube page. Pagulayan and Filler will have to dance again after being drawn against each other whilst defending champion Van Boening will come up against Uski.

Action returns from midday local time tomorrow on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, the Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA and Italy as well as on Matchroom.Live and broadcasters worldwide. Table 2 and Table 3 are on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube Channels respectively and Viaplay in above listed territories. See where to watch here.

Last 64 Draw

Shane Van Boening VS Jani Uski
Aloysius Yapp VS Chris Melling
David Alcaide VS Wojciech Szewczwk
Lo Ho Sum VS Duong Quoc Hoang
Max Lechner VS Ruben Bautista
Nick Van Den Berg VS Johann Chua
Naoyuki Oi VS Emil-Andre Gangflot
Alexander Kazakis VS Wu Kun Lin
Sebastian Batkowski VS Francesco Candela
Ali Nasser Al Obaidli VS James Aranas
Imran Majid VS Mika Immonen
Mariusz Skoneczny VS Mohammad Soufi
Gerson Martinez VS Lars Kukcherm
Mateusz Sniegocki VS Fabio Petroni
Daniel Maciol VS Dimitri Jungo
Albin Ouschan VS Tyler Styer
Alex Pagulayan VS Johshua Filler
Aleksa Pecelj VS Roman Hybler
Sanjin Pehlivanovic VS Petri Makkonen
Niels Feijen VS Adjn Piknjac
Eklent Kaci VS Mario He
Ko Ping Chung VS Shane Wolford
John Morra VS Luong Duc Thien
Jayson Shaw VS Besar Spahiu
Wiktor Zielinski VS Mickey Krause
Jose Alberto Delgado VS Moritz Neuhausen
Chang Jung-Lin VS Hunter Lombardo
Ko Pin Yi VS Jan Van Lierop
Konrad Juszczyszyn VS Nguyen Anh Tuan
Robbie Capito VS Denis Grabe
Thorsten Hohmann VS Khalid Alghamdi
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz VS Oscar Dominguez

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World Pool Championship 2023 Draw | Van Boening Starts Defense Against Yoshioka

Shane Van Boening (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

Shane Van Boening will begin the defense of his World Pool Championship title against Japan’s Masato Yoshioka in Kielce, Poland from February 1-5 live on Sky Sports in the UK, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia and the Baltics, DAZN in the USA as well as Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide.

FORMAT

TICKETS

WATCH DRAW

The American will look to become only the second player in history to defend the title following in the footsteps of Earl Strickland in a packed arena at Targi Kielce. 46 countries will be represented in the 128-player field as it is whittled down to the Last 64 over the first two days of action before it’s straight knockout to the end where one will claim the $60,000 first-place prize and the world crown.

The draw was completed with the top 64 players from the Nineball World Rankings against an unseeded player from the other 64 in the hat. Standout first-round ties include 2015 world champion Ko Pin Yi facing James Aranas of the Philippines whilst 2022 semi-finalist Abdullah Alyousef faces the tricky prospect of Johann Chua. 2004 world champion Alex Pagulayan was unseeded and will meet Michael Schneider.

World Cup of Pool winner David Alcaide takes on Billy Thorpe and Shane Wolford‘s mission for a spot on Team USA at the 2023 Mosconi Cup takes on Pia Filler. Francisco Sanchez Ruiz had a year to remember last year and will begin his Nineball campaign against So Shaw of Iran.

Double elimination matches are all race to 9, with all matches from the Last 64 a race to 11 except the final, which is a race to 13.

SEED Name Name
1 Shane Van Boening (USA) VS Masato Yoshioka (JPN)
2 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) VS  So Shaw (IRI)
3 Joshua Filler (GER) VS James Georgiadis (AUS)
4 Albin Ouschan (AUT) VS Juan Carlos Exposito (ESP)
5 Mario He (AUT) VS Sebastian Batkowski (POL)
6 Jayson Shaw (GBR) VS Francesco Candela (ITA)
7 Wiktor Zielinski (POL) VS Aziz Moussati (MAR)
8 Alexander Kazakis (GRE) VS Erik Hjorleifson (CAN)
9 Max Lechner (AUT) VS Max Eberle (USA)
10 Ko Pin Yi (TPE) VS James Aranas (PHI)
11 Eklent Kaçi (ALB) VS Dimitris Loukatos (GRE)
12 Abdullah Alyousef (KUW) VS Johann Chua (PHI)
13 Oliver Szolnoki (HUN) VS Marcel Price (GBR)
14 Niels Feijen (NED) VS Muhummed Daydat (RSA)
15 Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL) VS Daniel Guttenberger (AUT)
16 Mieszko Fortunski (POL) VS Emil-Andre Gangflot (NOR)
17 David Alcaide (ESP) VS Billy Thorpe (USA)
18 Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) VS Nguyễn Anh Tuấn (VIE)
19 Sanjin Pehlivanović (BOS) VS Joseph Spence (CAN)
20 Jonas Souto Comino (ESP) VS Karl Gnadeberg (EST)
21 Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) VS Bashar Hussain Abdul Majeed (QAT)
22 Ko Ping Chung (TPE) VS Michal Gavenčiak (CZE)
23 Chang Jung-Lin (TPE) VS Jonas-Kvalsund Hansen (NOR)
24 Ronald Regli (SUI) VS Iker Andoni Echeverría (ESP)
25 Naoyuki Oi (JPN) VS Mickey Krause (DEN)
26 Jose Alberto Delgado (ESP) VS Joey Tate (USA)
27 John Morra (CAN) VS Tayfun Taber (GER)
28 Denis Grabe (EST) VS  Ali Nasser Al Obaidli (QAT)
29 Ralf Souquet (GER) VS Sullivan Clark (NZL)
30 Dimitri Jungo (SUI) VS Hunter Lombardo (USA)
31 Thorsten Hohmann (GER) VS Tanes Tansomboon (THA)
32 Aloysius Yapp (SGP) VS Sharik Sayed (SGP)
33 Tomasz Kaplan (POL) VS Ko Ping Han (TPE)
34 Moritz Neuhausen (GER) VS Lường Đức Thiện (VIE)
35 Aleksa Pecelj (SRB) VS Marco Dorenburg (GER)
36 Daniel Maciol (POL) VS  Sina Valizadeh (IRI)
37 Oscar Dominguez (USA) VS Stephen Holem (CAN)
38 Omar Al Shaheen (KUW) VS Joao Grilo (POR)
39 Skyler Woodward (USA) VS Chris Alexander (GBR)
40 Besar Spahiu (ALB) VS Ramazan Akdag
41 Hseih Chia Chen (TPE) VS Nick Van Den Berg (NED)
42 Chris Melling (GBR) VS Duong Quoc Hoang (VIE)
43 Petri Makkonen (FIN) VS Elliott Sanderson (GBR)
44 Imran Majid (GBR) VS Marco Teutscher (NED)
45 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) VS Mohammad Soufi (SYR)
46 Radoslaw Babica (POL) VS Jan Van Lierop (NED)
47 Robbie Capito (HKG) VS Toh Lian Han (SGP)
48 Jani Uski (FIN) VS Chetan Chhabra (IND)
49 Lo Ho Sum (HKG) VS Lars Kuckherm (GER)
50 Bader Alawadhi (KUW) VS Richard Halliday (RSA)
51 Pijus Labutis (LTU) VS Ajdin Piknjac (BOS)
52 Mika Immonen (FIN) VS  Gerson Martinez (PER)
53 Greg Hogue (USA) VS Mariusz Skoneczny (POL)
54 Shane Wolford (USA) VS  Pia Filler (GER)
55 Karol Skowerski (POL) VS Abdullah Al-Anzi (KUW)
56 Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE) VS Ruben Bautista (MEX)
57 Tyler Styer (USA) VS Mason Koch (USA)
58 Roman Hybler (CZE) VS Matt Edwards (NZL)
59 Tobias Bongers (GER) VS Davy Piergiovanni (ITA)
60 Mustafa Alnar VS  Szymona Kural (POL)
61 Daniele Corrieri (ITA) VS Khalid Alghamdi (KSA)
62 Michael Schneider (SUI) VS Alex Pagulayan (CAN)
63 Wu Kun Lin (TPE) VS Fabio Petroni (ITA)
64 Mats Schjetne (NOR) VS Jakub Koniar (SVK)

WHERE TO WATCH

Table 1 will be live on broadcasters worldwide including Sky Sports in the UK, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA, Canada, and Italy, as well as on Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide. See where to watch here.

Table 2 will be live on Viaplay in selected territories as well as on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel.

Table 3 will be live on Viaplay in selected territories as well as on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom Multi Sport YouTube channel.

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Longoni 9 Ball League – Spain And Poland Win Through To Final

Team Spain

The final of the inaugural Longoni 9-Ball League will be contested by Spain and Poland following their semi-final victories on Friday evening in Lasko. They were contrasting matches with Spain running out comfortable winners against Bosnia & Herzegovina, while Poland enjoyed a gritty battle against Germany that was altogether more strategic.

Opening the proceedings were the Spanish pair of David Alcaide and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz who were up against a Bosnia Herzegovina team of Sanjin Pehlivanovic and Ajdin Piknjac. Spain took an early 2-0 after a couple of BiH misses allowed them the opportunity.

The Bosnians though rode their luck to complete a run out for 2-1 and then a dry break from Alcaide gave them the chance to run all 9 balls on the table which they executed perfectly to draw level at 2-2. A couple of small but critical errors from BiH gave the table to Spain in the next two racks and they opened up a 4-2 lead.

A great break from Piknjac set up a run out and they made no mistakes to reduce arrears to 4-3. Spain though, took the next for 5-3 and that soon became 6-3, leaving Bosnia Herzegovina with it all to do. It was becoming a romp for the Spanish duo as they raced through the next rack for a 7-3 lead.

There was more woe for BiH in the next as Piknjac’s break was illegal although dry as well. Playing with a degree of telepathy, Spain cleared the table to reach the hill. With Bosnian resistance all but gone, the Spanish pair concluded an easy 9-3 win.

Commented Sanchez Ruiz, “It wasn’t easy because we know they’re good but we played so comfortably as we’ve practiced two months together. We’ve both played good this year so let’s see what happens in the final. The most important thing is that we really enjoy playing together.”

Added Alcaide, “When you feel so confident in your partner, you feel so good so you don’t worry if you miss a ball as we’ll have more chances. We’re trying to focus on our games and that’s the most important thing.”

Team Poland

The second semi-final was a different story as Poland pulled away from Germany in the closing stages following a tight encounter. Neither side really got their respective breaks going and that led to plenty of safety play and few run out opportunities.

With fruitless breaks and plenty of safety, the match found itself at 2 racks apiece before Poland then took the next with the break to take the lead for the first time. Two balls went in off the break from Filler in the next but the 2 ball was blocked and Bongers pushed out. A jump shot from Zielinski left the 2-ball on for Bongers and he made it to set up a runout for Germany for 3-3.

Nothing down on the break for Zielinski gave Germany a chance but the unluckiest of scratches on a very tight angle from Filler gave a grateful Poland ball-in-hand. They then restored their one rack lead at 4-3. Germany cleared what was a difficult table, following multiple visits to square it up at 4-4. It was becoming an absorbing match as neither team was getting much from the break and the racks were becoming increasingly tactical.

Poland took the next after some back-and-forth safety and then made it 6-4 following a safety-packed tenth rack. Another fruitless break, this time from Zielinski, got Germany back to the table and with the balls out in the open the score moved to 6-5.

Another unfortunate scratch from Filler pocketing the 1-ball, handed the table back to Poland and from there they restored their two-rack lead at 7-5. That soon became a three-rack lead as the Poles ran out from the break to put themselves within one of victory at 8-5.

Another break left a safety – this time from Filler. The Germans were patient and, in the end, got ball-in-hand as Szewczyk failed toextricate himself from an impossible snooker, and they cleared to get the match to 8-6. Just when he needed it, Zielinski delivered an excellent break, downing 2 balls and leaving an open table. There were a couple of testers along the way but the Polish pair executed them well and they cleared for a 9-6 victory.

“We were struggling with the break, both of us but from the open game we generally played quite well and Germany had two or three unlucky rolls and we took advantage of it. I’m happy that we’re in the final with Wojciech – he’s a great partner,” said Zielinski.

Szewczyk added, “I’d agree with Wiktor. It was pretty interesting – I actually like the strategic part of the game as so many racks were of this kind where we exchanged safeties and had to come up with some creative shots. In the end we managed to make three break-and-runs out of that disastrous break so it’s not really a bad score.”

Szewczyk is no guarantee for a spot in the final. Teams are made up of the two highest ranked players prior to the final and with a Euro Tour to compete in this weekend and a few other Polish players snapping at his heels, anything could happen.

Full results from the evening’s play:

Semi Final 1: SPAIN (Alcaide/Sanchez Ruiz) 9 – 3 BOSNIA HERZOGOVINA (Pehlivanovic/Piknjac)

Semi Final 2: POLAND (Szewczyk/Zielinski) 9 – 6 GERMANY (Filler/Bongers)

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Longoni 9-Ball League Semi-Final Line-Ups Set For Slovenia

The Longoni 9 Ball League reconvenes at the end of this month in Lasko in Slovenia and is now down to the semi-finals which both take place on 30th September. The event got underway in February at the same Slovenian venue and the event has featured 12 nations playing in four groups of three teams. The format is scotch doubles and the two representatives of each country have been the two highest ranked players on the Euro Tour prior to each round of matches.

With group play complete, there are four teams remaining and they compete in two semi-finals with the prize of a spot in the title match which takes place in Italy prior to the final Euro Tour event of the year. The opening match will see Spain take on Bosnia & Herzegovina in the first Longoni 9 Ball League semi-final which gets underway at 20:00 local time.

With the EuroTour rankings determining the players in each team during the course of season, the ever-reliable Spanish duo of Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz and David Alcaide have stayed at the top throughout. Ranked No.1 and No.8 respectively, they are, understandably, hot favourites for the title.

Standing in their way are Bosnia’s young talented team of Sanjin Pehlivanovic and Ajdin Piknjac who are currently ranked at No.25 and No.45. The pair have played all matches together and, in the process, have defeated two strong teams already in Greece and Norway. That means the Spaniards will need to come with their best to negotiate the tie.

With its scotch doubles format, the Longoni 9 Ball League now becomes a race to 9 for the semi-finals with alternate break and alternate breaker. The second semi-final, scheduled at 21:30 local time, features Poland against Germany.

Germany’s top ranked player, with a host of titles to his name this year including gold at the World Games, is Joshua Filler (ET ranked No.3) and he will be partnered by the improving Tobias Bongers (ET No.20) as they attempt to overcome the strong Polish pairing of Wiktor Zielinski and Wojciech Szewczyk.

Zielinski (ET No.2) and Szewczyk (No.10) have gelled perfectly over the two matches they’ve played, beating Austria and Italy in the group stage. Germany, however, have seen a change of personnel, as Filler and Thorsten Hohmann started the campaign but Bongers produced the better results on the EuroTour to take the spot and has not looked back.

Each team, having won their respective group, will now play for a place in November’s final and a shot at the first prize of 3900 Euro. Add that to the group earnings and the eventual champions will collect a cool 4500 Euro for playing four matches. The runners-up receive 2500 Euro plus group earnings and as with all the teams, the total prize money will be divided into match shares with one share for each team appearance.

Following the semi-finals, the final will take place on Friday 25th November in Treviso, Italy.
Matches can be viewed live on the free Kozoom platform, TV.kozoom as well as on the Longoni 9 Ball League & EPBF Facebook pages.

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Historic Dannish Win As Netherlands & Finland Advance At World Cup Of Pool

ROUND 1

Netherlands 7-4 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Finland 7-0 Iceland
France 2-7 Denmark

Denmark recorded their first ever World Cup of Pool victory, beating France 7-2 at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes on Monday, while there were also wins for Netherlands and Finland.

The Dutch duo of Niels Feijen and Marc Bijsterbosch used their tournament experience to overcome an impressive pairing of Sanjin Pehlivanovich and Ajdin Piknjac as Bosnia and Herzegovina made their World Cup debut. There was a debut too for Iceland, but they struggled at the table against Finish pair Petri Makkonen and Casper Matikainen, who recorded a 7-0 whitewash win.

Bosnia and Herzegovina gave a good account of themselves and had the session’s opening match level at 3-3. But Netherlands’ class and experience showed as they moved 5-3 ahead. Their opponents had a chance to pull one back when Pehlivanovich missed a 9, but Feijen cut it too thin, allowing Ajdin Piknjac to half the deficit.  However, that was the last frame they would win as Feijen and Bijsterbosch made balls when it mattered to advance to round two.

“What a relief,” said Bijsterbosch. “We waited a few days for the match so I am very happy with the result. “We have to keep moving but we are playing confidently and we grinding out the win.”

Feijen added: “These races to 7s with the brutal winner breaks and the table playing bouncy, it is hard to control the cue ball but we did really well, stuck to our guns and pulled out the win. These early rounds, I don’t think there are any favourites. In the end it could come down to experience and we have been to the semis, been to the quarters, and that can help carry you through.”

Netherlands will meet Finland tomorrow afternoon after a crushing 7-0 victory over Iceland for Petri Makkonen and Casper Matikainen. The unrelated Zophonias and Magnus Arnason struggled when they did get chances, but their table time was limited as Makkonen and debutant Matikainen closed out the first whitewash of the tournament.

“It was a good start with a good win, we didn’t do much wrong and we are feeling good,” said Makkonen.

Matikainen added: “I didn’t play too well this match but it is good to get the win. Playing Predator Championship League Pool helped me get used to the arena, it was my first time in a Matchroom event, and now I know what to expect.”

The session closed out with an impressive World Cup debut from Mickey Krause, who partnered Bahram Lotfy for Denmark. They played France (Alex Montpellier & Alain Da Costa), who were late replacements for Albania. Krause, a 20-year-old from Copenhagen, and partner Lotfy opened up a 4-0 lead before France got on the board. It was the first of only two racks for France, however, as Denmark made light work of the match and will face either Spain or Italy in the next round on Wednesday.

Round one continues on Monday evening at 5:30pm UK time with Spain vs. Italy, Germany vs. Lithuania and Poland vs. Kuwait. The World Cup of Pool is broadcast live globally including on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live. Full broadcast details can be found at matchroompool.com.

For all the latest news and announcements follow Matchroom Pool on FacebookTwitterYouTube and Instagram.

Kaci’s Albania Among Latest Confirmed For World Cup Of Pool

Eklent Kaci’s Albanian team are among a number of nations now confirmed for the World Cup of Pool, which will take place this May 9-14 at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes, live on Sky Sports.

Mosconi Cup winner Kaci will again be joined by Besar Spahiu after the pair defeated Russia at the 2019 World Cup before falling agonisingly short against Philippines, suffering a 7-5 defeat.

A host of European teams are now confirmed, as well as Kuwait (Omar Al-Shaheen and Bader Abdullah Alawadhi), and Australia, who will again be represented by Justin Sajich, this time partnered by Ivan Li.

Serge Das will return for Belgium alongside Kevin Lannoye, while Bosnia & Herzegovina will make their World Cup of Pool debut with Sanjin Pehlivanovic and Ajdin Piknjac. Philipp Stojanovic and Roberto Bartol will represent Croatia, while the Czech Republic pairing will be Roman Hybler and Michal Gavenciak.

Young Danish star Mickey Krause will make his debut in the Matchroom arena with Bahram Lotfy as the 20-year-old’s partner.

Estonia’s Denis Grabe and Mark Magi, who famously fell out after losing a hill-hill second round match at the last World Cup of Pool, will be hoping nothing comes between them this time around. Oliver Szolnoki and Vilmos Foldes are teaming up for Hungary and there’s a World Cup debut for Lithuania, represented by Pijus Labutis and Kęstutis Žadeikis.

The World Cup of Pool features 32 two-player teams and is played to a straight-knockout format, with a total prize fund of $250,000.

Team Austria (Albin Ouschan and Mario He) will defend their title in Milton Keynes, but competition will be tough with some of the biggest names in pool already confirmed. They include, three-times winners Philippines (Jeff De Luna and Roberto Gomez), USA (Skyler Woodward and Billy Thorpe), and Great Britain A (Jayson Shaw and Chris Melling).

The final teams will be announced shortly and the draw for the World Cup of Pool will be made soon after all teams have been confirmed. The World Cup of Pool will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live, with further international broadcasters to be confirmed.