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2015 Dafabet World Cup of Pool – Defending champs England survive scare to go through

Team Austria

Round 1 Scores

 
Indonesia 7-3 Germany (9)
England A (1) 7-5 Australia
Austria (5) 7-5 Peru
 
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS ENGLAND A safely made their way through to the second round of the Dafabet World Cup of Pool but they had to come from behind to overcome a game Australian pair of Robby Foldvari and Chris Calabrese to do so. In other Tuesday night matches, former champions Germany were dumped out of the event by an amped-up Indonesian team and Austria took care of Peru by a 7-5 scoreline.
 
Taking place at the York Hall in London, the Dafabet World Cup of Pool features 32 two-man teams from around the globe competing for a $250,000 prize fund. Televised live in over 40 countries around the world, the event is now entering its tenth year.
 
After an afternoon of seeds falling, Germany were the next ranked team to be taken to the cleaners as the confident Indonesian pair of Bewi Muhammad Simanjuntak and Irsal Nasution got the better of them by a 7-3 score-line. Despite their lofty seeding of 9, the German pair of Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann was never at the races as the Indonesians moved into a 4-1 lead.
 
That soon became 6-2 and despite the Germans taking the ninth game it was to be their final contribution to the match.
 
A delighted Muhammad Simanjuntak, “In the first match there is always a bit of pressure but we have had very good preparation for this tournament. Our plan was to just enjoy the games and do our best. Nine-ball is a game where anything can happen, like Romania beat China earlier today.
 
“Germany is one of the best. Ralf Souquet and Thorsten are both World champions but we are newcomers. I like to play aggressively, and I also like to play in front of the crowd and in the TV arena.
 
“We watched Romania earlier. They played well but if we play like we did tonight, we can beat them. They didn’t give China many chances but I am confident we can beat them because we have been breaking well.”
 
Defending champs England A survived a scare against Australia who have yet to record a win in ten attempts at the World Cup of Pool. The Australian pair of Robby Foldvari and Chris Calabrese, both debutants in the competition, had looked in good shape as they overcame a   4-1 deficit to claw their way back into a 5-4 lead.
 
The English pair was clearly frustrated by the way the match was heading but they dug in and took the next three racks for the win as the Australians faded. It was a good win in the end and the 7-5 win stemmed the glut of seeds leaving the competition.
 
 “The feeling is relief”, said Appleton after the match.
 
“There have been a lot of shocks today so we were going into the match not taking them for granted. We played well to go to 4-1 and then came to the table twice and we were snookered both times and then we were 5-4 down and under a lot of pressure.
 
“The last thing you want to do is go out in the first round but I am proud of Karl and myself because we came here not playing well but the way we finished that match will give us a lot of confidence.
 
“The first win is massive. We aren’t stupid, we know there are a lot of good teams here and in the early stages of the tournament it is short races. Our goal was to get to the quarter-final when it gets to race to nine and then from there we know we have a good chance.
 
“I am so happy we played well because if you had seen us last week you wouldn’t have believed it. But I think we are the type of guys who need the big stage to bring out the best in us.”
 
Boyes added, “We didn’t come here with a lot of confidence but this is live TV and you want to play well and we have both played in Mosconi Cups and we are defending champions, so you rely on that experience.”
 
The final match saw last year’s semi-finalists Albin Ouschan and Mario He (Austria) hold off a solid Peruvian pairing to advance to the second round. After advancing into a 5-1 lead, the Peruvians – Manny Chau and Cristopher Tevez – made a fight of it, getting it to 6-5 before losing the table and then the match in the ultimate rack.
 
 “It was a pretty good match; they made some mistakes early in the match and we took the chances to take the lead,” said Ouschan.
 
“I have had a good year in singles but singles is different because doubles you have to think about your partner; he might like some shots more than I do. Last year we came third here and this year we will do our best and see what happens.”
 

Results

 
Korea (16) 7-6 Malaysia
Romania 7-4 China (8)
France 7-6 Canada (12
 
 
The following broadcasters are screening live coverage of the Dafabet World Cup of Pool:
 
Sky Sports – GB and Ireland; Sky – New Zealand; CCTV – China; Nova TV – Czech Republic & Slovakia; OSN – Middle East & North Africa; ESPN 3 – USA; ESPN Latin America –Central & South America; Viasat – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria & the Baltic states.
 
For fans outside those territories, Perform Group will be streaming the event via their www.livesport.tv service. In addition the Dafabet World Cup of Pool is syndicated around the world as 31 x 1 hour programmes by Matchroom Television.
 
Featuring 32 two-man teams from around the world, the Dafabet World Cup of pool is celebrating its tenth year as defending champion England attempt to become the first team ever to successfully defend the title. The event runs from 22nd to 27th September.
 
Tickets are now on sale at www.SEETickets.com and are priced at 10.00 per evening session (Tuesday to Friday), 12.50 per evening session on the Saturday and Sunday. Weekend afternoon sessions are 7.50 while Tuesday to Friday afternoons are free!
A season ticket covering all sessions is priced at 65.00.
 
The World Cup of Pool will carry a $250,000 prize fund including $60,000 for the champions. The event will be produced by Matchroom Sport Television and televised live on Sky Sports and then syndicated internationally as 31 x 1 hour programmes.
 
Diamond Billiards are the Official Table of the 2015 World Cup of Pool; the Official Cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith. The Official Cue, Chalk and Rest are supplied by Predator.

2015 World Cup of Pool – World-class line up set for York Hall showdown

With the annual World Cup of Pool coming back to London this September, Matchroom Sport can announce the 32 teams and players set to contest the annual $250,000 pairs tournament. Taking place at pool’s fiercest venue, the York Hall in Bethnal Green, the World Cup runs from Tuesday 22nd to 27th September.
 
Defending champions are England A with Karl Boyes and Darren Appleton looking to become the first pair to successfully defend their crown. Competition will be tough though, with a host of previous winners and finalists taking part.
 
Germany will be represented by 2011 champions Thorsten Hohmann and Ralf Souquet and 2012 winners Mika Immonen and Petri Makkonen (Finland) will be once again taking part. America’s Shane Van Boening, a winner with Rodney Morris in 2008, is paired with Mike Dechaine this time, while Li Hewen, a two-time winner in 2007 and 2010 will be partnered by Liu Haitao as they make a run for title number three for China.
 
Holland, desperately unlucky to be runners up in 2013 and 2014, will be looking to go one better as Niels Feijen and Nick Van Den Berg team up once again. Daryl Peach and Mark Gray, who came so close for England in 2008, will also be trying to repeat those performances.
 
Other highly fancied teams include the Philippines which pairs former World No.1 Carlo Biado with under-rated Warren Kiamco and Taiwan – World 10 Ball champion Ko Pin Yi and Chang Yu Lung. Team Austria will also fancy their chances as World No.1 Albin Ouschan and Mario He pair up one again.
 
2015 World Cup of Pool Teams
 
Europe (17)
Austria – Albin Ouschan & Mario He
Belgium – Serge Das & Olivier Mortier
Czech Republic – Roman Hybler & Michal Gavenciak
England A – Darren Appleton & Karl Boyes
England B – Mark Gray & Daryl Peach
Estonia – Dennis Grabe & Erki Erm
Finland – Mika Immonen & Petri Makkonen 
France – Stephan Cohen & Alex Montpelier
Germany – Ralf Souquet & Thorsten Hohmann
Greece – Nikos Ekonomopoulos & Alexander Kazakis
Holland – Niels Feijen & Nick van den Berg
Italy – Danieli Corrieri & Antonio Benvenuto
Poland – Mateusz Sniegocki & Wojciech Szewczyk
Romania – Babken Melkonyan & Ioan Ladanyi
Russia – Ruslan Chinakhov & Konstantin Stepanov
Spain – Francisco Diaz-Pizarro & Francisco Sanchez Ruiz
Sweden – Marcus Chamat & Christian Sparrenloev-Fischer
 
Rest of World (6)
Australia – Robby Foldvari & Chris Calabrese
Canada – Jason Klatt & John Morra
New Zealand – Matt Edwards & Nick Pera
Peru – Cristopher Tevez & Manuel Chau
Qatar – Waleed Majid & Bashar Hussain
USA – Shane Van Boening & Mike Dechaine
 
Asia (9)
China – Li Hewen & Liu Haitao
India – Raj Hundal & Amar Kang
Indonesia – Muhammad Simanjuntak & Irsal Nasution
Japan – Naoyuki Oi & Toru Kuribayashi
Korea – Jeong Young Hwa & Ryu Seung Wu
Malaysia – Ibrahim Bin Amir & AN Other
Philippines – Carlo Biado & Warren Kiamco 
Singapore – Aloysius Yapp & Chan Keng Kwang
Taiwan – Ko Pin Yi & Chang Yu Lung 
 
 
Commencing on Tuesday 22nd and culminating in the final on the evening of Sunday 27th, the event will be played to a single elimination format over six days with two sessions a day.
There are 31 matches in total.
 
Tickets are now on sale at www.SEETickets.com and are priced at £10.00 per evening session (Tuesday to Friday), £12.50 per evening session on the Saturday and Sunday. Weekend afternoon sessions are £7.50 while Tuesday to Friday afternoons are free!
A season ticket covering all sessions is priced at £65.00.
 
The World Cup of Pool will carry a $250,000 prize fund including $60,000 for the champions. The event will be produced by Matchroom Sport Television and televised live on Sky Sports and then syndicated internationally as 31 x 1 hour programmes.

Kaminow goes undefeated to take Tri-State stop

Kevin Coyle, Steve Kaminow and Jan Mierzwa

Steve Kaminow got by Kevin Coyle twice, once by mutual decision, to capture his first Tri-State Tour title. The Saturday, February 7 stop on the tour was a 1,000-added event that drew 25 entrants to Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.
 
Kaminow drew Jan Mierzwa in a winners' side semifinal as Coyle and Dave Fitzpatrick squared off in the other. Kaminow sent Mierzwa to the losers' bracket 7-5 and in the hot seat match, faced Coyle, who'd sent Fitzpatrick over 6-3. Kaminow took possession of his first Tri-State hot seat with a 7-5 win and waited on his return.
 
On the loss side, Mierzwa drew Gary Murgia, who'd defeated Eric Hill 7-4 and Michael Hertz 7-3 to reach him. Fitzpatrick picked up Bob Toomey, who'd gotten by Frankie Scanlon 6-4 and Chris Calabrese 6-5. It was Mierzwa and Fitzpatrick who met up in the quarterfinals, once Mierzwa had eliminated Murgia 7-4 and Fitzpatrick had defeated Toomey 6-3.
 
Mierzwa defeated Fitzpatrick 7-5, before having his short, loss-side streak ended by Coyle in the semifinals 7-4. At this juncture, Kaminow and Coyle opted out of a final match and split the top two prizes. As the undefeated hot seat occupant, Kaminow claimed the event title.
 
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff of Rockaway Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics.

An undefeated Kahn, and Spaanstra split top prizes on Tri-State Tour stop

Paul Spanstra, Carl Yusuf Kahn and Martin Carlucci

Carl Yusuf Khan and Paul Spaanstra allowed a single match between them to decide the January 10 stop on the Tri-State Tour. Khan advanced to the hot seat, which proved to be his final victory, as he and Spaanstra opted out of a final match, leaving Khan to claim the event title. The $1,000-added event drew 25 entrants to Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.
 
They met, only the once, in a winners' side semifinal, while Martin Carducci and Chris Calabrese met in the other. Khan sent Spaanstra over 7-5, and in the hot seat match, met Carducci, who'd defeated Calabrese 6-5. Khan claimed the hot seat, and ultimately, the event title, 8-7 over Carducci.
 
On the loss side, Spaanstra met up with Duane Toney, who'd shut out Steve Kaminow, and defeated Fred Garcia 7-2. Calabrese drew Kevin Coyle, who'd defeated Pat Mareno 6-4, and Jaydev Zaveri 6-3. Spaanstra eliminated Toney 7-4, as Calabrese was doing the same to Coyle 6-5. 
 
Spaanstra took the quarterfinal match against Calabrese 8-4, and in what proved to be his final win, downed Carducci in the semifinals 8-5. Khan and Spaanstra chose to split the top prizes, and as the undefeated player, Khan claimed the title.
 
Tour representatives thanked sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics.