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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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Eight Remain At European Open Pool Championship

Shane Van Boening (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)

Nineball World Numbers One and Two in Shane Van Boening and Joshua Filler both made it through to the quarter-finals of the inaugural European Open Pool Championship at Hotel Esperanto, Fulda in Germany live on  Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia and the Baltics and various other broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live in relevant countries.

SCORES / BRACKET

Filler came up against Mosconi Cup teammate Jayson Shaw in the opening contest on Table 1 with the Killer looking to make it through to the next stage on home soil whilst his opponent was looking for their first taste of singles glory in a Matchroom event since 2017. Shaw took an early lead with a golden break in the first rack but Filler came back including a golden break of his own to lead 3-1 and set early pace.

There were some tetchy moments from both players and after five racks Filler edged it 3-2 and took control from then on opening up an assertive lead at 8-2 to put him only two away from a clash with either Mario He of Austria or Besar Spahiu of Albania for a spot in the semi-finals tomorrow. Shaw played a full-length bank to make the one in the 11th rack and from there ran out to cut the deficit but it was short-lived as Filler came true appeasing the home fans with a break and run in the final rack which included an inch-perfect jump shot on the one.

Van Boening’s task to reach the quarter-finals was one of trials and tribulation against Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Sanjin Pehlivanović. The pair couldn’t be split after four racks in a high-quality encounter in a meeting of generations. Pehlivanović trailed 4-2 when Van Boening had seemingly left the youngster hooked but he had other ideas playing a full-length bank of his own whilst jumping the six ball only for SVB to get back to the table and establish a three-rack lead at 5-1. The performance from Van Boening wasn’t what he would describe as clinical and it’s something that Pehlivanović bayed on to level matters back up swiftly at 5-5 and sending a warning sign to the World Champion.

Pehlivanović had his chances to take the game to Van Boening and establish a lead of his own but a scratch on the break from the former Junior World Champion put him under the cosh and Van Boening in the commanding position to run out and amass an 8-5 lead. Van Boening broke dry in the next rack to allow Pehlivanović a chance to get back in it again at 8-6. Another scratch on the break later from Pehlivanović and Van Boening was on the hill.

On the hill, Van Boening and Pehlivanović faltered with varying degrees of opportunity to take it one way or another only for the former to have the final say on things and book a quarter-final date with Mateusz Sniegocki tonight. Sniegocki was rampant at times against Jonas Souto Comino who was playing in his first Matchroom Last 16 tie but the experience of Sniegocki made Souto Comino head home before the evening session.

Elsewhere, Mieszko Fortunski got the better of fellow Pole Tomasz Kaplan on Table 2 10-4 to meet Jose Alberto Delgado in the last eight who had overcome Ronald Regli in a spirited fightback where it looked like it would be Regli who would face Fortunski next only for Delgado to dig deep from behind to defeat the Swiss cueist 10-7. Mario He meanwhile made lightwork of Besar Spahiu of Albania to meet Filler next whilst Konrad Juszczyszyn became the third Polish player into the quarter-finals with a win against Canada’s John Morra.

Albin Ouschan (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)

Albin Ouschan became the final name into the quarter-finals after the two-time World Champion got the better of Denis Grabe in a hill-hill thriller that saw him from behind on several occasions to dispatch the Estonian. Ouschan got to the hill first but it was Grabe who was breaking for the match only to scratch and leave the Austrian with a routine run out for victory.

Quarter-Finals from 18:00 (CEST)

Table 1

Joshua Filler (GER) vs Mario He (AUT)

Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)

Table 2 – Matchroom Pool YouTube / Matchroom.Live

Mieszko Fortunski (POL) vs José Alberto Delgado (ESP)

Albin Ouschan (AUT) vs Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL)


This evening and Sunday, Table 1 action is available on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia and the Baltics and various other broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live in relevant countries. Table 2 will be on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel this evening. See the full where to watch list here.

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2022 European Open Day 4 – Only 16 Remain In Germany

Joshua Filler (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)

Joshua Filler passed the test of Mosconi Cup teammate Eklent Kaçi and the USA’s Oscar Dominguez to reach the Last 16 of the inaugural European Open Pool Championship at Hotel Esperanto, Fulda, Germany live on the Matchroom Pool Facebook/YouTube and Matchroom.Live.

Schedule / Scores

Filler had a good day of it coming from behind to defeat Kaçi 9-8 when his goose had looked cooked when Kaçi had a 5-9 combo to seal victory at 8-7 only for the Albanian to offer the gift that the Killer needed to get back into it. Kaçi didn’t get a look in from then on as Filler broke in the final rack but it was far from easy with the 7, 8 and 9 all glued together and the rack penned underneath it. Filler kept his cool in the moment though despite the glaring problem to complete victory and set up a Last 32 tie with Oscar Dominguez of the USA.

Dominguez had came from 4-1 down against Tyler Styer to peg him back at 5-5 and 6-6 before pulling through to meet his old Mosconi Cup rival to reach the Last 16.

Filler came into the contest on the back of two hill-hill showings in his last three matches in the tournament and he was in no mood for a similar scenario. Filler hit the front early on but Dominguez was playing freely and causing the German a whole heap of problems. The home crowd were out for their star man and he delivered a 10-7 victory to book his spot in the Last 16 in what proved to be a successful day that also saw him become the first player on Team Europe for the 2022 Mosconi Cup off the Live Nineball World Rankings.

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz was the only player who could beat Filler to the first Mosconi Cup spot with $14,000 separating the pair heading into the tournament but his hopes were ended in the Last 32 at the hands of Albania’s Besar Spahiu who mounted an impressive comeback to steal it 10-8 and confirm Filler’s spot on Team Europe for the 2022 Mosconi Cup at Bally’s Las Vegas from November 30 to December 3.

Jayson Shaw (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)

Jayson Shaw is next up for Filler after the two-time Mosconi Cup MVP saw off Petri Makkonen earlier on in the day before a grueling battle with Italy’s Daniele Corrieri to book his place in the Last 16. Corrieri took the game to Shaw and had the better of the opening exchanges with a 1-9 combo the pick of the bunch as he found his rhythm early doors with Shaw not doing too much wrong.

Eagle Eye found his mojo at the midway stage and he didn’t do too much wrong from then on as he led for the first time in the match at 7-6. Shaw from there was imperious as he set up a mouthwatering clash on Table 1 with Filler next.

Team USA‘s charge for glory on home soil will be led by Nineball World No.1 Shane Van Boening who came through his own tests against Germany’s Sebastian Staab in the Last 64 before Wojciech Szewczyk stood in his way of a weekend appearance. Szewczyk took the early initiative to lead 2-0 before Van Boening pulled back to 2-2. The pair were entertaining the crowd with some of the best safety play witnessed all week as Van Boening came back to lead only for Szewczyk to soon lead 5-4 and be at the halfway point. Van Boening was dominant to lead 9-5 only to break dry in the next and Szewczyk to bite back. The Pole was struggling for position on the 1 ball. and had to play safe and from there Van Boening played a kick and stick that would rival any in history to leave Szewczyk in knots. A short safety battled ensued for Van Boening to come on top and meet Sanjin Pehlivanovic in the Last 16 tomorrow.

Alexander Kazakis defeated David Alcaide 9-2 to reach the Last 32 and meet John Morra. The Greek had a battle on his hands against Morra who lead at various points and most importantly was 8-6 up in the Race to 10. The Canadian looked to have control but Kazakis has demonstrated in recent times his steely nature with some clutch pots to pull it back and looked to be in to level at 9-9. Kazakis lost position on the penultimate ball to leave it over the pocket and give Morra the easiest route into the Last 16 to meet Konrad Juszczyszyn next.

Session 1 from 12pm (CEST)

Table 1 – Sky Sports / DAZN / Viaplay / Matchroom.Live / See the full where to watch list here

Joshua Filler (GER) vs Jayson Shaw (GBR)

Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Sanjin Pehlivanović (BOS)

Table 2 – Matchroom Pool YouTube / Matchroom.Live

Mieszko Fortunski (POL) vs Tomasz Kaplan (POL)

Jonas Souto Comino (ESP) vs Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)

Albin Ouschan (ESP) vs Denis Grabe (EST)

Table 3

Ronald Regli (SUI) vs Jose Alberto Delgado (ESP)

John Morra (CAN) Vs Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL)

Mario He (AUT) vs Besar Spahiu (ALB)


Tomorrow and Sunday, Table 1 action is available on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia and the Baltics and various other broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live in relevant countries. Table 2 will be on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel. See the full where to watch list here.

Go to discussion...

Spain And USA Reach Quarter-Finals Of World Cup of Pool

Skyler Woodward and Shane Van Boening (Taka Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

Spain and the USA have become the first sides to reach the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup of Pool at the Brentwood Centre, Essex live on Sky Sports Arena in the UK, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Viaplay in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Netherlands, and Poland. Matchroom.Live in territories without a broadcaster.

Buy Tickets

Live Scores

One of the best matches of the first round came last as Japan’s Naoyuki Oi and Masato Yoshioka battled away with the unseeded but lethal duo from Switzerland of Dimitri Jungo and Ronald Regli. Japan had gotten off to the ideal start after winning the lag to take the opening two racks but that was only the start of an epic contest. Yoshioka dry broke in the third and from there, Switzerland pieced together a five pack, crafted like a fine Swiss watch.

Japan was staring down the barrel going into the eighth rack, but they were handed a lifeline when Regli scratched on the break. A neat bit of play later and Oi/Yoshioka’s hopes were renewed with the deficit cut to two. The break in the ninth wasn’t great from Oi and it led to Switzerland playing the pushout with Jungo at the table. The pushout was played well but Japan turned the needle with a safety of their own which put Regli in a tough postion. Kicking out on the one, Regli opened the table up to allow Japan in and cut the Swiss advantage to one.

Regli provided another opportunity for Japan in the next rack as he jumped on the one but made it leave the table in the process. It was another rack for Japan, and they were back in it. Oi and Yoshioka were back in the mood after initially being frozen out for five racks and they did their best to see things through as they reached the hill first at 6-5 after a 2-9 combo from Oi had brought them level.

Oi was unlike his regular self at times, and the costliest moment of the match came when he missed the one ball when trying to screw the cue ball back. With the one firmly hooked by Switzerland, Japan was back at the table but again it was the case of too much power and a lack of table speed judgment that led to Switzerland forcing a hill-hill decider.

The break proved key in the end of this contest, Japan’s meager 0.7 balls off the break in comparison to Switzerland’s 1.6 proving testimony to a superb victory for Jungo and Regli who meet Hungary next.

The Last 16 began with a European heavyweight clash between Spain and Albania for a spot in the quarterfinals and it was the latter who won the lag with a team of Eklent Kaçi and Besar Spahiu.

Spain’s David Alcaide and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz didn’t have to wait too long for their first opportunity after Kaçi’s error when kicking the three ball opened the door. Rack two was again down to Spain’s expert safety, so often seen in three cushion, a game both know well. Kaçi was hooked on the one and he proceeded to scratch giving Spain ball in hand inevitably a second rack. At the commercial break, it was 3-0 Spain, no small part down to a golden break from Sanchez Ruiz, the first of the week.

It wasn’t the case in the match of Albania playing badly, Spain were just too good as they racked up an unassailable lead. In the fifth, at 4-0 down, Spahiu tried a six cross bank only for it to not come off and give the Spaniards another easy win to go 5-0 ahead.

Sanchez Ruiz’s cue power on the break was working well but a dry break in the next rack gave Albania their chance to get on the board at 5-1. It was evident it wasn’t going to be Albania’s evening though and after conceding position in rack seven, Spain was on the hill. The job for Alcaide and Sanchez Ruiz was soon wrapped up inside 45 minutes to become the first nation into the quarterfinals.

“We played really well. We’re happy with our performance. Let’s see what comes next for us. Both players are good but when we play like that, we are so strong. We’re happy with our showing. I have a feeling in the next round, we are not thinking anything further. We played good though and broke much better than in the last round.” – Alcaide and Sanchez Ruiz after beating Albania.

The final action of the evening came in the form of a mighty clash between the USA and Poland. Both sides fancied for the title come Sunday evening in Brentwood. The USA’s Shane Van Boening broke in the first rack but didn’t leave many positions for compatriot Skyler Woodward giving Poland their first opportunity in the match. The pair of Mieszko Fortunski and Wojciech Szewczyk did the rest and they led early on 1-0.

Fortunski had a run to the World Pool Masters semi-finals just last month and alongside Szewczyk they were proving to be good value at 2-0 up. A ‘safety’ on the two in rack three could’ve been enough for them to make it 3-0 but with World Champion Van Boening at the table, the South Dakota Kid had other ideas and the USA made it 2-1. A straightforwards fourth rack brought the USA level.

From then on, the United States took control of the contest and loved every moment of it to switch it up with five racks on the spin to be two away from the quarters. Woodward came close to messing that one up when the nine rattled both sides of the pocket in the seventh.

Into the eighth, Woodward played a big safety shot to keep Poland tied up. Fortunski went airborne but he left the three in a good position. Woodward missed the resulting cut which left to a brief safety exchange where the USA came out on top, no thanks down to a fluke from Van Boening on the four and eight. The USA were on the hill.

Woodward brought his A1 game and that came in clutch as he laid the safety that would prove to be Poland’s final moment of the game as they fouled to give Van Boening and Woodward the table to complete victory. They face Hungary or Switzerland next.

Action returns from 11 am tomorrow with Round 2 continuing live on Sky Sports Arena at 11 am as well as live on DAZN in the USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Viaplay in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Netherlands, and Poland. See the full list of broadcasters here including Matchroom.Live if no broadcaster is available.

Friday 17, June – Morning Session – 11am

Friday 17, June – Evening Session – 5pm

Saturday 18, June – Morning Session – 11am

Saturday 18, June – Evening Session – 5pm

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Defending champions Germany into Round 2 at 2022 World Cup of Pool

Thorsten Hohmann and Joshua Filler (Taka Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

Defending champions Germany sailed through their opening encounter with New Zealand 7-1 as the 2022 World Cup of Pool got underway at the Brentwood Centre, Essex live on Sky Sports Arena in the UK, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Viaplay in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Netherlands, and Poland. Matchroom.Live in territories without a broadcaster.

Buy Tickets

Live Scores

Germany’s near pairing of UK Open and World Pool Masters winner Joshua Filler and former World Champion Thorsten Hohmann come into the tournament as one of the favourites as they look to become the first nation to defend the title whilst New Zealand’s Matt Edwards and Simon Singleton were flying their countries flag for the first time since 2019.

New Zealand won the lag but that was a rare highlight early on as Germany looked to build up some steam. Both teams struggled with the early pace of the table with Singleton missing the three to the middle pocket and opening the table for Filler and Hohmann to make the early move at 1-0. There were chances for New Zealand despite being 4-0 down but they seized their chance in the fifth rack after a brief exchange led to Filler missing a bank on the 9-ball and allowing their opponents the chance to be on the board at 4-1.

It was a tough day at the office for New Zealand through with errors being their downfall early on and Germany just too hot to handle late on as they wrapped up a 7-1 victory to set up a second round clash with either the Netherlands or Morocco later this week.

Chinese Taipei are no strangers to the World Cup either as they made a triumphant return to the fold for the first time since 2019 against debutants Argentina. Ko Brothers of Pin Yi and Ping Chung will be feared throughout the tournament, and they sent their warning signs as they moved past Ariel Casto and Sebastian Rodriguez 7-2 to do their work early in the tournament.

Casto and Rodriguez could count themselves to be unfortunate early on as Chinese Taipei took the early rolls to lead 3-1. Pin Yi won the tournament in 2015 with Chang Yu-Lung and with his younger brother alongside him this time, Ping Chung upped the ante to put them two away at 5-1. Argentina was soon gifted their second rack to be 5-2 behind after Chinese Taipei lost their position on the eight. Argentina’s optimism soon came crashing down though as the Ko brothers rattled up a 7-2 victory to meet either Greece or Cyprus next.

The afternoon session concluded with Albania’s Eklent Kaçi and Besar Spahiu who met Italy’s duo of Francesco Candela and Daniele Corrieri. Corrieri is no stranger to big moments much like Kaçi with success in beating Skyler Woodward at the World Pool Championship back in April whilst Kaçi’s Mosconi Cup pedigree came to roost as Albania did their work in a 7-2 win.

There were some early nerves from both sides but Kaçi’s know-how around the table eased Spahiu into proceedings. Spahiu broke well in the second rack to leave a carom on for the 9 to sink and put Albania 2-0 up. That momentum continued at 3-0 before Italy got on the board with a neat piece of safety. Albania continued on their way at 5-1 with relative ease as Italy did get back another rack only for Kaçi and Spahiu to wrap up their win and face either Spain or Australia next.

Action continues from 5 pm with the USA against Canada live on Sky Sports Arena at 5pm as well as live on DAZN in the USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Viaplay in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Netherlands, and Poland. See the full list of broadcasters here including Matchroom.Live if no broadcaster is available.

Tuesday, 14 June – Evening Session – 5pm 

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Dynamic Billard Treviso Open – 16 Players Remain

Joshua Filler

There are now just 16 players left in the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open as a further 118 competitors were eliminated following an intensive day’s play at the BHR Treviso Hotel. Wiktor Zielinski (Poland) is still on track for his third successive Euro Tour title as he beat Besar Spahiu of Albania 9-6 to give himself a match against the Netherlands’ Marc Bijsterbosch tomorrow morning (Monday).

Euro Tour legend Ralf Souquet defines the term ‘fighting spirit’. Having gone to the losers’ side early on at the hands of young Spaniard Jonas Souto, he battled through and avenged that defeat, beating Souto 9-3 before coming from behind to defeat Thorsten Hohmann 9-8 and set up a last 16 clash with in-form Alexander Kazakis of Greece.

The feature match on Table 1 was between the 3 and 4 ranked players on the Euro Tour; Germany’s Joshua Filler and David Alcaide (Spain). It was great while it lasted as Filler, who seems to enjoy complete freedom when he is at the table, took a large 6-1 lead as he raced through the racks, seizing any opportunity that came his way.

Alcaide, with the match in danger of running away from him, fired back, taking the next two to reduce the deficit to 6-3. The German star though, steamed through the next rack to take a 7-3 lead. Filler broke and ran the next, coming with some great shots on a messy table to reach the hill at 8-3.

Alcaide took no time in winning the next to get to 8-4 but with the alternate break format, his chances were slim. An illegal break from Filler – two balls were potted but the third never made it past the headstring – gave Alcaide an opportunity. A safety battle ensued before Alcaide came out on top and cleared to get to 8-5 with the break.

The Spaniard took the next for 8-6 before Filler broke off in the next. It wasn’t all easy but he made no errors to close the match out 9-6. He can now look forward to facing Poland’s Konrad Juszczyszyn in the round of 16 tomorrow.

In what was always likely to be a close-run thing, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, the European No.1, beat Oliver Szolnoki (Hungary) 9-8 to keep his potential hold on the number one spot intact. Make no mistake, the Hungarian youngster is one of the fastest rising stars in world pool, and his scalp will give Sanchez a load of confidence for his last 16 match against Tomasz Kaplan on Monday.

The tournament continues at 10.00 local time on Monday morning with the last 16 round. The tournament concludes on Monday evening with the televised final stages.

All Euro Tour tournaments are 9-ball and players compete in a double-elimination format, playing down to the last 32 competitors, and
then single elimination until the finish. All matches are races to 9 racks with alternate break.

All the matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com
Results, live scoring and draw are available at www.epbf.com

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Bosnia, Austria, Netherlands and Estonia Score Wins at Longoni 9-Ball League

There were four more matches completed in Round Two of the Longoni 9 Ball League which took place at the BHR Treviso Hotel in Italy. The competition features 12 two-man teams divided into four groups of three. Each team plays the other team once in race-to-7 scotch doubles matches and the leading four teams at the end of league play move forward to the semi-finals.

The twist is that it is the top-two ranked players on the Euro Tour ranking prior to the round of matches who will be representing their country so it won’t necessarily be the same two players throughout the tournament.

The opening match on table one saw the Netherlands narrowly defeat Albania by the odd rack in an exciting encounter that highlighted the cut-throat nature of the format. The Dutch were represented by Niels Feijen and Marc Bijsterbosch, while Klenti Kaci and Besar Spahiu wore Albanian colours.

The Dutch pair were always in the ascendancy as they won the scrappy racks and before long found themselves in a 5-2 lead in the race-to-7 match, leaving the Albanians with a bit of a mountain to climb.

A good break from Kaci saw two balls drop and a fine pot on the 2 ball from Spahiu gave them, a chance to claw one back. They took it with some confident potting to make it 5-3. An illegal break, this time from Bijsterbosch, gave Albania another chance. It was by no means an easy table but they knuckled down to take it and reduce the arrears to a single rack.

Looking to take the next Spahiu made a fatal error, leaving the 5-ball hanging after a slow fine cut. Dutch tension eased as they took the remaining balls to gain a two-rack lead to go on the hill at 6-4.

A third illegal break of the match returned the table to the Albanians who now had to win the remaining three racks for victory. They took the rack and then the next to take the match to the hill at 6-6.

It was Bijsterbosch to break and it was a good one but left an awkward table. A loosener from Spahiu left the 4 ball for Feijen to pocket then Bijsterbosch took the 5 using the bridge. That was effectively the end as the Dutch cleared up for a hard-fought 7-6 win.

The second match of the evening featured an Italian team made up of Francesco Candela and Fabio Petroni against a strong Austrian pairing of Max Lechner and Mario He. The match was an object lesson in making the most of the break.

They shared the first four racks before Austria took a 3-2 lead. The outcome of the match hinged on a missed 9 ball from Candela in the next. It was eminently missable and Candela called for an extension only to be informed by his playing partner that they’d already taken it. Unnerved, he missed the 9 ball – the only missed ball of the entire match – and He gratefully accepted the opportunity to increase their lead to 4-2.

From there, the Italians could never reassert themselves in the match and it was the Austrian pair who ended up 7-2 winners.

Full results from the evening’s play:

Group A: BOSNIA HERZOGOVINA (Pehlivanovic/Piknjac) 7 – 6 GREECE
(Kazakis/Ekonomopoulos)

Group B: AUSTRIA (He/Lechner) 7 – 2 ITALY (Candela/Petroni)

Group C: NETHERLANDS (Feijen/Bijsterbosch) 7 – 6 ALBANIA (Kaci/Spahiu)

Group D: ESTONIA (Grabe/Gnadeberg) 7 – 3 SERBIA (Pecelj/Klasovic)

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Defending Champion Ouschan Off To Winning Start

Albin Ouschan (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

Albin Ouschan got off to the perfect start as he began the defence of his World Pool Championship title at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes live on Sky Sports in the UK/Ireland and DAZN in the USA, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, and Italy as well as other networks worldwide including Matchroom.Live and Viaplay.

Live Scores / Bracket

Tickets available for the rest of the week

The Austrian faced a tricky opening encounter against Hong Kong’s Lo Ho Sum to begin proceedings on Table 1 and he lived up to expectations to deliver a 9-3 victory. Ouschan came into the tournament in hot form after winning the inaugural Premier League Pool title and he got off to the best of starts to amass a 6-3 lead in the Race to 9 contest. The Mean Machine continued his way to set up a Winners’ Qualification match against Daniel Maciol in which the Pole was no match for the two-time world champion as he romped into the Last 64 in a 9-1 win.

This year sees the World Pool Championship take on a new double elimination structure. The afternoon session saw all 128 players play their opening match. The losing 64 moved to tomorrow’s Losers’ Round 1 whilst winners faced off in Winners’ Qualification in tonight’s session. The losing players from the evening moved immediately into tomorrow evening’s Losers’ Qualification where they will meet the winners of tomorrow’s Losers’ Round 1 matches.

Two upsets involved two potential 2022 Mosconi Cup prospects for the USA as Skyler Woodward found himself on the end of a defeat to Italy’s Daniele Corrieri to fall into Losers’ Round 1 whilst there was joy for Shane Wolford. Wolford faced 2021 semi-finalist David Alcaide to book a place in the Last 64 and the American admitted after a thrilling 9-7 win from behind 7-5 down. Afterward, Wolford admitted it was perhaps his biggest win to date. Alcaide could have to face compatriot Jose Alberto Delgado but that’s only if Delgado beats Ho Sum.

Matchroom Pool YouTube fans were treated to a vintage Jayson Shaw display in the afternoon as he overcome Vincent Halliday 9-2 on Table 2, but the two-time Mosconi Cup MVP faltered against Michal Gavenciak in a 9-7 loss. The loss means Shaw will face the winner of Jakub Koniar and Roman Hybler in Losers’ Qualification tomorrow evening.

Live (2023) Nineball World No.1 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz danced through his opening matches relatively unscathed with a 9-0 whitewash over Albania’s Besar Spahiu before closing out Table 1 action in a satisfying 9-3 win over Dang Thanh Kien of Vietnam. Sanchez Ruiz’s efforts see him get a day off tomorrow and a Last 64 tie with Corrieri on Friday morning.

Action returns tomorrow with Wiktor Zielinski in Table 1 action against Bulgaria’s Kristina Zlateva from 11 am UK time on Sky Sports Arena, DAZN, Viaplay, and networks worldwide.

Thursday 7th April – 11:00 am UK time – Afternoon Session

Table 1 – Where to Watch 

Wiktor Zielinski (31) vs Kristina Zlateva

Alex Pagulayan (24) vs Craig Osborne

Table 2 – Live on Matchroom Pool YouTube / Matchroom.Live

Chang Yu Lung (19) vs Daniel Schneider (46)

Skyler Woodward (16) vs Ali Al Obaidli

Corey Deuel (43) vs Elliott Sanderson

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

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Dynamic Billard Lasko Open – Down to the last 16

Aleksa Pecelj (Serbia)

We are down to the final 16 players in the Dynamic Billiard Lasko Open as the second day’s play concluded at the Hotel Thermana in the central Slovakian town. From 217 starters, the field battled through rounds of double elimination matches before a final straight knock-out round of 32 determined tomorrow’s contenders for the first Euro Tour title of the year.

Play continues on Monday with the last 16 convening at 9.00 for the opening round of matches. Monday’s conclusion – the two semi-finals and the final – will be televised live in ten countries across Europe in a new development in 2022 for the Dynamic Billiard Euro Tour. More countries are sure to be added to the list over the coming months.

Young Serbian ace Aleksa Pecelj was the first man through to the round of 16 as he dispatched Ronni Regli (Switzerland) 9-5. Another young star, Poland’s Daniel Maciol followed him shortly after, defeating countryman Szymon Kural by 9-4.

It was a tremendous evening for the Polish contingent as Wojciech Szewczyk, Wiktor Zielinski and veteran Radoslaw Babica also gained wins to give Poland four advancing players.

The Spanish also had a great evening with three players through to the round of 16.  European No.1 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz enjoyed a comfortable evening, while Jose Delgado Hernandez and 2019 WPA World Junior Champion Jonas Souto also claimed victory.

Other top ranked players through include Dennis Grabe who came from behind to win on the hill over Chris Melling, Joshua Filler who won by a similar scoreline over Albanian Besar Spahiu and Niels Feijen who put paid to Ralf Souquet’s hopes as he led throughout on the main table.

The Dynamic Billiard Lasko Open is the first of six events in the 2022 Dynamic Billiard Euro Tour series and players battle for Tour ranking points, as well as world ranking points for the newly implemented system operated by Matchroom Sport.

In the concurrent Women’s Predator Euro Tour, just eight players remain from the original starting line-up of 38 players. They get underway at 9.00 local time on Monday.

All the matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com
Results, live scoring and draw are available at www.epbf.com

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