With the knockout stages underway at the Women's World 9-ball Championship in Guilin, China, the pressure is already proving too much to bear for some players.
If you like your pool to resemble a roller coaster ride with plenty of hair raising twists and turns, then the next two days here at the Women’s World 9-ball Championship in Guilin in southern China will surely be everything you could have ever wanted.
This prediction is based on the drama that transpired today inside the Guilin gym, where Judgement Day jitters affected not only the wannabes, but even the sport’s biggest stars. Even straight in 9-balls normally made a thousand out of thousand times in practice were bobbling in the jaws under the intense pressure.
The first order of play today was to trim the field down to 32 where the players would switch to a single elimination knockout, race to 9. (If anyone had any doubts that Asia is the dominant region in pool, they were erased when eyeing who made it through to the Final 32: all but 5 players were from Asia.)
After the draw and a break for dinner, the first 8 matches in the last 32 commenced. As could be expected things didn’t get any easier as the surprises and missteps continued like a domino effect throughout the arena.
Korea’s Ga Young Kim, certainly one of the top five favorites to win here this week, escaped out of her group with narrow 7-6 win over former world champion Shin Mei Lu of Taiwan. In the single elimination round of 32, Kim came up against young and talented Chinese player Wang Xiao Tong. The multi-awarded Kim was a clear favorite, but this event is no ordinary tournament. When Kim found herself in her chair down 8-7 in the race to 9, and Wang shooting a very makeable 9-ball for the win, the Korean star must have known it was curtains. Incredibly Wang missed the easy 9-ball as the crowd gasped in horror. Kim won the rack and then won the decider to stumble into the last 16.
2012 champion Kelly Fisher had a day she won’t soon forget, although she’d probably prefer to get a case of amnesia about now. Up 6-4 in a race to 7 in the last match of her group, Fisher missed a 9-ball to qualify, then watched opponent Wu Jing of China storm back. With the match in hand, Wu missed a near straight in 9-ball for the win. Fisher escaped into the final 32.
There she met up with arch rival and 2010 World 9-ball Champion, Fu Xiao Fang. This match screamed “Marquee!” and was rightfully played on the TV table, and shown on China state television channel, CCTV, to an audience numbering in the millions.
With several miracle escapes behind her, Fisher freewheeled it and put on a brilliant show, holding a commanding 8-5 lead in the race to 9 match. Fu, however, clawed back to tie to force a pressure packed one rack decider. The Brit’s wild ride of a tournament finally came to an end as Fu grabbed the last rack and advanced as Fisher was sent packing.
Taiwan’s Kuo Azu Tinh is relatively new the scene but had the Philippines’ Rubilen Amit down 8-5 in their round of 32 match. But with one rack to go, Kuo looked like she was caught in one of those bad nightmares where the prize keeps getting further and further away. Up 8-7, Kuo had a straight in 9-ball for the win but, like others before her, the 9 bobbled in the jaws. Showing her mettle, however, Kuo broke and ran the final rack and advanced to the final 16.
It wasn’t all drama, tension and tragic near misses today. Defending champion Han Yu continued to show why she is still the favorite to win with two scorching performances. Han first beat fellow Chinese Gao Meng 7-1 to win her group. In the round of 32 , Han toyed with Singapore’s Hoe Sur Wah, winning 9-1.
Han, the world’s number one ranked player, doesn’t exude quite the amount of glamour that the more famous Chinese stars such as Pan Xiao ting and Fu Xiao Fang exhibit. But that seems to suit the low key red head just fine. Her play on the tables is downright clinical. After advancing to the round of 16 Han said that while she feels the pressure of the fans, she just sticks to what she knows best; practice, practice and more practice.
“There’s a lot of pressure on me but I just try and use the pressure to make me more active, to keep moving forward,” the 22 year old from Heibei province said through an interpreter. “I’m not really playing perfect at the moment and I can know I can play better.
“After the World 9-ball last year I didn’t play well for a few months but the national team coach, Mr. Chen, taught me how to keep my emotions under control and to try to be more stable and try to control myself. I don’t like to think too much. I just try to stay focused.
“The only time I go out in public is when we are doing things for the national team or for my sponsors. The rest of the time I mostly hide somewhere private so I can practice more. I haven’t really gotten used to this life, to being in the spotlight. I’m a very low key person. “
China seems to produce an endless stream of pool talent these days and one youngster has really made her mark this year. 14 year old Jiang Teng—yes that’s right, 14 years old– won two straight matches in her group to qualify. She then came out in the round of 32 and took down former world 9-ball champion Liu Shin Mei, 9-5.
2009 champion Liu Shasha also advanced to the round of 16, as did Japan’s Akimi Kajatani and Indonesia’s Angeline Magdalena Ticaolu.
The second set of 8 matches in the round of 32 will begin on Friday at 1pm(GMT +8.) The TV table match is sure to draw tens of millions of fans from around China as the Chinese sporting legend Pan Xiaoting takes on the USA’s Jeanette Lee.
After Friday’s play, the field will be down to the Final Four. The semis and final will be played on Saturday.
The winner of the 2014 Women’s World 9-ball Champion will received $40,000. The total prize fund is $300,000.
*The 2014 Women’s World 9-ball will be held in Guilin, China from October 13-18, and is sanctioned by the World Pool & Billiard Association(WPA), the world governing body of pool. 64 women players from across the globe will compete for the biggest prize in Women’s Pool.
The WPA will be on hand in Guilin throughout the week bringing you all the drama from the 2014 Women’s World 9-ball Championship. WPA Press Officer Ted Lerner will be reporting with daily articles containing insight and analysis, as well as photos. Ted will also be manning the WPA Facebook page and Twitter feed and responding to fans queries and comments. Fans can also follow all matches via the WPA live scoring platform.
Facing sudden elimination on Day 1, Great Britain's Kelly Fisher shows Austria's Jasmin Ouschan the door and survives to play another day at the Women's World 9-ball Championship
Kelly Fisher has been around professional pool long enough to know that sometimes in this sport, as in life, you have to go through hell to get to heaven.
Hell in this case for the 2012 World 9-ball Champion was losing her first round match on day 1 today at the Women’s World 9-ball Championship against hall of famer and pool’s most recognized personality, Jeanette Lee, 7-4. The Brit, who three months ago had open heart surgery to repair a congenital defect, had trouble with the lightning quick speed of the table. The match was even halfway, but Fisher gave away too many shots and the Black Widow waltzed. In the double elimination group stages, Fisher knew her back was suddenly against the wall.
“Now it’s cutthroat time,” she said while waiting for her next match which could see her go an embarrassing two-and-out. “There’s no second chances.”
If having to tangle with the likes of Lee wasn't enough, Fisher then had to step into the ring in a do or die match with none other than Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan, who had just lost a cliff hanger to Japan’s Chichiro Kawahara, 7-6. If you’re getting the idea that this is the proverbial “Group of Death,” you’re absolutely correct. All four of these players are capable of taking the world title.
With one of pool’s stars on the verge of taking a rapid road out of town, Fisher and Ouschan put on a splendid show. Ouschan stood in front of clear table down 6-5 but incredibly missed an easy 3-ball to hand Fisher the match, 7-5.
“Absolutely I’m relieved,” said the clearly delighted Brit afterward. “ I’m not out of the woods yet but I’m really happy to have won that match. I would’ve really really hated to go two and out, especially in my first world event back. It was a flip of the coin between me and Jasmin. I certainly got the rolls on the break, as I was on a shot every time and she wasn’t. It was very close. Every time I missed she punished me. Every time she missed, I punished her. It was a great match because so much was riding on it, so I expected a scrappy match.”
With a chance to move through to the final 32 single elimination knockout on Thursday, Fisher knew she had, for the moment , pulled the narrow escape. She was hoping the scare today would lead to something positive as, more often than not in pool, champions have had to go through death defying cliff hangers along the way before they move on to win.
Said Fisher: “When champions have won an event, it’s often through a tough route, something funky has happened. Fingers crossed that that is my destiny. But I have to take it just one match at a time. “
Day 1 at the 2014 WPA Women’s World 9-ball Championship opened up just after lunch at the Guilin Gym in this beautiful city with all 64 players seeing action. The field is as good as this event has ever seen in its 23 editions as all 25 of the WPA’s top 25 women are here. Combine this with the short races, and unpredictable table conditions and it was clear that anything could happen.
Defending champion Han Yu survived a scare from fellow Chinese player Chen Xue, barely winning, 7-6. The rest of China’s stars all won today, including 2007 World Champion and superstar Pan Xiaoting, 2009 World Champion Liu Shasha, 2010 Champion Fu Xiao Fang, and the player everyone is expecting will soon win, Chen Siming.
Taiwan brought its usual high powered contingent across the Strait and, based on today’s results, you can almost guarantee at least one Taiwanese player will appear in Saturday’s semi-finals. Chou Chieh Yu, Tsai Pei Chen and Tan Ho Yun all won their first rounds matches. The biggest surprise for Taiwan was the quick exit of last year’s runner up Lin Yuan-Chun, who lost two straight.
Hall of Famers Karen Corr and Allison Fisher won easily, as did the Philippines Rubilen Amit. The Philippines Iris Ranola was sent home after losing two straight. But the Philippines still has two players left with the addition of 15 year old Chezka Centeno. Centeno came to Guilin with her mom and dad and entered one of the qualifiers, which she won. She lost her first match today, but rebounded with a solid 7-4 over Poland’s Katarzyna Wesolowska, to get one more chance on Thursday.
Korea’s Yu Ram Cha, who is treated like a movie star in China and is followed by camera toting fans everywhere she goes, got taken to school by Corr but easily won her losers side match to survive. Fellow Korean Ga Young Kim, one of the favorites to take the title here this week, also won.
In all, 12 players have already been handed their pink slips. By the end of Thursday’s play, the field will be down to the final 32, who will then play single elimination knockout, race to 9, alternate break. The semi-finals and final will be played Saturday.
With so many great women players from all over the globe doing battle on the cloth pitch, there is bound to be plenty of heartbreak, tension and near misses to come. Nobody ever waltzes to the winners circle in pool. In fact, a trip to hell is par for the course in this sport. After her first round win over Fisher today, Jeanette Lee called it perfectly, noting that pressure and tension is something all players, including the eventual champion, have to take to heart.
“There’s a lot of first round jitters,” Lee said. “It’s the same for everyone I know. You always hope to have an easy match your first round. But I never want to win a tournament without having to play all the best. I don’t want to win a tournament because I got a good draw. I want to have to battle beast after beast. I want to play them all, maybe just not in the first round, maybe in the second round. Once you know that your back is against the wall, this is the way it is, you better learn to like it.”
*The 2014 Women’s World 9-ball will be held in Guilin, China from October 13-18, and is sanctioned by the World Pool & Billiard Association(WPA), the world governing body of pool. 64 women players from across the globe will compete for the biggest prize in Women’s Pool.
The WPA will be on hand in Guilin throughout the week bringing you all the drama from the 2014 Women’s World 9-ball Championship. WPA Press Officer Ted Lerner will be reporting with daily articles containing insight and analysis, as well as photos. Ted will also be manning the WPA Facebook page and Twitter feed and responding to fans queries and comments. Fans can also follow all matches via the WPA live scoring platform.
Denis Grabe (EST) has just won the Dynamic Billard Slovenian Open Euro-Tour event in Portoroz, Slovenia. He defeated Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) with a clear 9:4 result.
Grabe took his first Euro-Tour title ever at the last Euro-Tour in St. Johann, Austria. Already there he defeated bis names like current 9-ball World Champion Niels Feijen (NED). Here again, Grabe got the better of players like Karl Boyes (GBR) 9:4, Albin Ouschan (AUT) 9:3, Marcus Chamat (SWE) 9:3 and in the final up and coming young Dutch player Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) 9:4. „I think I am really on a roll at the moment“, stated Grabe after the final match. „The victories do not come easy to me at all. They are hard work. But I am very confident at this point in time and I want to make use of it while it lasts“, added Grabe.
It could be witnessed in general at this Euro-Tour event that many young players were doing extremely well. Maybe a new generation is knocking on the door of the established players…
Earlier today, Karl Boyes’ (GBR) journey was cruelly stopped by said Grabe. Boyes managed to defeat BCA Hall of Famer Ralf Souquet (GER) twice yesterday and was full of confidence and good hopes for today. But Grabe put an abrupt end to that. After the match, Boyes and Carlos Cabello (ESP) were randomly drawn for an anti-doping test, conducted by the Slovenian Anti-Doping Association SLOADO.
Also remarkable is the fact that many nations were represented in the final stages of the tournament. In the quarter-finals, eight different nations had a player in the field left. This shows the tight level of competition in Europe as of current.
In the women’s division, the favorite players are in the winner’s bracket on their way to the single elimination stage of the event. Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) is playing Sandra Baumgartner (AUT), Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) battles it out with Kristina Schagan (GER), Ana Mazhirina (RUS) and Ine Helvik (NOR) are having a match and Martine Christiansen (NOR) plays against Monica Margeta (SWE) for a seat in the quarterfinals tomorrow. The last match is quite open. The first three matches clearly have heavily favored favorites in Ouschan, Czuprynska and Mazhirina.
The Women’s Euro-Tour Slovenian Open will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET. The final is scheduled for 15:00 CET.
More information about participants, schedules, achievements, rankings, etc can be found on the event website www.eurotouronline.com
The event is hosted by the European Pocket Billiard Federation EPBF and organized by International Billiard Promotion Foundation IBPF.
The China Open begins on Thursday, June 5, and we have received the draw for the first round. Players that play one another in the first round are grouped together.
Monica Webb (USA) just won the Dynamic Billard Austrian Open Women Euro-Tour event in beautiful St. Johann/Pg., Austria, with a convincing 7:3 victory over favored hometown hero Jasmin Ouschan (AUT).
It has been Webb’s tournament from the very beginning. She played great throughout the whole event. Results like 7:4 over #2 ranked player Ana Mazhirina (RUS), 7:3 over #5 ranked Ina Kaplan (GER), 7:2 over multiple European and World Champion Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) and 7:3 against another multiple European and World Champion Jasmin Ouschan in the final demonstrated her domination in this event. Although being handicapped with a foot in plaster she performed better than ever in Europe. „I felt great in this event“, stated Webb after the match. „I have practiced a lot during the last months and I think it is paying off now“. When asked about her plans for the future, she answered with a smile: „I will definitely continue playing the Euro-Tour“.
Jasmin Ouschan’s way into the final was also quite impressive. Two victories over Kamila Khodjaeva (BEL) with 7:3 and 7:5 and a 7:2 victory over Line Kjoersvik (NOR) are among the impressive results from Ouschan.
The final match however was not Ouschan’s. She committed too many mistakes which was very unusual for Ouschan. For example, she left the 9-ball hanging over the pocket and missed several easy shots. Maybe the pressure to win on home soil is too big on her. However, her opponent benefitted from these mistakes. „I think I also had some luck in the right moments“, commented Webb modestly. But luck belongs to any sports and her performance here did not have too much to do with luck. She was simply better than the rest of the field. She is a very modest person and her victory is absolutely deserved.
Top 8 finishers Men’s Dynamic Billard Austrian Open 2014
This concludes the coverage from Alpina Wellness and Sports Hotel in Alpendorf, St. Johann/Pg., Austria. All results and more info can be found online at www.eurotourwomenonline.eu .
The event was 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 websitewww.epbf.com or contact the press office press@epbf.com.
The team competition always creates a special atmosphere at the European Championships each year. Players all gather together and support their own national team. That was the situation today at the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes in Kyrenia, North Cyprus.
Several upsets can be reported from today’s lineups. In the women’s division, team Switzerland with Klaudia Kunz and Christine Feldmann defeated clearly favored team Poland with 2:1. Feldmann lost 4:7 in 9-ball to Katarzyna Wesolowska but her teammate Kunz defeated Oliwia Czuprynska in 8-ball 6:2. The shootout was won by the Swiss team which booked them a seat in the semi-finals already.
The other semi-finalist in the women’s division is team Norway, consisting of Line Kjoersvik and Martine Christiansen. They defeated team Germany 2:0, then team Bulgaria with the same result. In the winner’s qualification round, the Norwegians had to deal with team Russia which is composed of Ana Mazhirina and Darya Sirotina. Mazhirina lost 9-ball 4:7 to Christiansen while Sirotina defeated Kjoersvik with 6:5 in 8-ball. The shootout went in favor of the Scandinavian ladies. Norway as well as Switzerland are waiting in the semi-finals for their opponents to be determined tomorrow.
In the men’s division, the defending Champions Netherlands had a thriller going on against long-time rival Germany. Nick Van Den Berg made a quick 1:0 lead for the Netherlands, winning the 8-ball with 8:4 over Andreas Roschkowsky. Ralf Souquet had a heartbreaker in 9-ball against Niels Feijen which he won with 9:8. At that time, Sebastian Staab was down 2:6 to World 10-ball Champion Huidji See in 10-ball. But Staab was able to turn the tide in the match. he took 6 racks in a row and won his match with 8:6. Germany takes a spot in the quarter-finals while The Netherlands need to win another match on the loser’s side over the winner Poland v Great Britain.
Team Austria is the second quarter-finalist of the day. With victories over Norway 2:1, Croatia 2:0 and Russia 2:1, the Austrians with Albin Ouschan, Mario He and Jürgen Jenisy are looking forward to get their opponent drawn from the loser’s side tomorrow. Team Spain with David Alcaide, Francesco Diaz and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz are also in the quarter-final round. The defeated Switzerland 3:0, Poland 2:0 and their neighbors Portugal 3:0. Strong performance by team Spain for today. The final quarterfinalist is team Finland. The boys from the far north around Petri Makkonen, Aki Heiskanen, Jussi Iivonen and Abbas Al-Marayati have earned their spot through victories over Belgium and Sweden. In the first round, team Finland had a walk-over.
Play will commence tomorrow morning 09:00 local time with the team competition. All results and more info can be found on www.epconline.eu. LIVEStream can be viewed at www.kozoom.com.
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.epconline.eu or contact our press officepress@epbf.com.
The final match was determined by safety play in the beginning. After seven racks, van den Berg was leading 4:3 when Burford had an open layout in front of him. He got to the 10-ball and ran a bit out of position. However, he managed to pocket the 10-ball but shockingly scratched with the cue ball. Instead of tying the match at 4:4, suddenly he found himself trailing 3:5. Van den Berg made use of that situation and carried the advantage through until he was on the hill, leading 7:5. It was again Burford at the table then. He ran out of position for the 8-ball. He tried hard and left a very tough shot for van den Berg. „El Niño“ aimed at the ball and fired it in. He then pocketed the remaining two balls to wear the crown at the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open 2013. Van den Berg did not only take the title, he also won the Euro-Tour series 2013 by finishing as ranked number 1 player.
"It feels great to win the tournament", stated van den Berg after the final, "but it feels even greater to be number 1 at the end of the year."
"All in all I’m quite happy with my second place here in Treviso. Hats off to Nick, he played a very good match against me and deserved the victory", added Burford.
In the semifinal match between Burford and Alcaide, the Brit was already trailing with 3:1 when he started a great comeback and took four consecutive racks to take a 5:3 lead. That broke Alcaide’s neck and the Spaniard could not get a foot in the door anymore. 8:5 was the final result that booked Burford’s seat in the final match.
The other semi-final was an all Dutch clash between van den Berg and Huidji See. It can be clearly stated that van den Berg simply was the better player today, leaving no chance for See and winning rightfully with 8:3.
The women have also continued with their event today. Favorite player Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) who just flew in today from the USA, won her first two matches with 6:1 and 6:1 and easily entered the single elimination stage. Ina Kaplan (GER), currently ranked number two behind Ana Mazhirina (RUS), had more work to do when she met her teammate Christina Schagan (GER). With 6:5 she managed to defeat Schagan by a hair’s breadth. Number 1 ranked player Ana Mazhirina as well as Dutch top favorite player Kynthia Orfanidis are still alive in the event and will be playing tomorrow in the single elimination round.
All results and more can be seen at www.eurotouronline.eu .
10 tables will be streamed LIVE throughout the event. Join in on www.kozoom.com/en/pool-billiard/ and become a premium member in order to enjoy all features of the site.
You can check all information around European pool at www.epbf.com Enjoy!
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 http://www.eurotouronline.eu or contact our press office.
All according the plan at Ballazzo Women Euro-Tour in Austria
St. Johann, Austria: The Ballazzo Women Euro-Tour is down to the semi- final matches. The favorite players have not let their fans down and all made their way through the field so far.
Ana Mazhirina (RUS) dealt with Ewa Bak (POL) 7:2 and then eliminated Louise Furberg (SWE) with 7:3 in the quarter-final match. She dominated the match and did not leave a chance to Furberg. Her opponent in the upcoming semi-final match will be Ina Kaplan (GER) who ousted Silvia Gaudino (ITA) 7:2 and Caroline Roos (SWE) with the same result.
The top favored player to win the event is once more Jasmin Ouschan (AUT). She whitewashed Katrine Jensen (DEN) 7:0 and then took care of Jennifer Vietz (GER) with 7:3. Ouschan will play Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS) in her semi-final match. Seroshtan reached the semi-final with victories over Barbara Bolfelli (ITA) 7:2 and Martine Christiansen 7:5.
The semi-finals will be played at 12:00 CET with the final scheduled for 14:00 CET.
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.eu or contact our press office.
St. Johann, Austria: With a strong performance, Ana Mazhirina (RUS) conquered the crown of the Ballazzo Women's Euro-Tour in St. Johann/Pg. in Austria over local star Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) with 7:4. Mazhirina already played a very good semi-final match with Ina Kaplan (GER) where she clearly remained the upper hand with 7:3. Ouschan had more problems with Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS) but after she was trailing 1:4, she was able to turn the match and win it in the end with 7:4.
The final match started very much alike. Mazhirina had some better rolls including a 9-ballbreak which brought her a 3:0 lead over local hero Ouschan. But then the tide seemed to turn and Ouschan got into "winner-mode". She took the next four racks and lead 4:3 in the match. In the 8th rack, Mazhirina forced Ouschan to commit a foul and she leveled the match at 4:4. Ouschan broke the next rack and unfortunately scratched. Mazhirina showed no mercy and finished the rack, taking again a 5:4 lead over Ouschan. The story of the semi-final would not be repeated in the final, that was clear now. Rack number ten saw a break and run from Mazhirina which was a demonstration of her class. Being the underdog in the match with Ouschan, she managed to get back in the game and even went on the hill with 6:4, putting a huge amount of pressure on Ouschan. The Austrian had no got lay after the break and decided to play a safety shot which turned out to be not good enough. Mazhirina could see the ball on and finished the rack, winning the match with 7:4 and the title of the Ballazzo Women's Euro Tour in Austria 2013.
That concludes the coverage of the Ballazzo Women's Euro-Tour Austria 2013. The event was 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.eu or contact our press office.
In the women's Euro-Tour, Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) just defeated Barbara Bolfelli (ITA) with 7:6 after having trailed 3:6. The single elimination round of the women will be played at 20:30 CET. Ina Kaplan (GER), Louise Furberg (SWE) and Ana Mazhirina (RUS) have also won their matches to join Ouschan in the round of the final 16 players. The loser's qualification round of the women has started at 17:00 CET.
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.eu or contact our press office.
