One year ago, Wiktor Zielinski became the first player from Poland to break through at a large-scale event, defeating Aloysius Yapp to win the Alfa Las Vegas Open.
Heading into the final day of this year’s Open, Zielinski’s hopes to repeat as champion remain firmly in tact, as the Pole defeated 2020 champion Jung-Lin Chang in straight sets Saturday night at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. The Pole will now face Vietnam’s Duong Quoc Hoang, who came from behind to beat Shane Van Boening.
After Zielinski won the first set, 4-2, the two competitors split the first two games of the second frame until the Pole clawed ahead with a victorious safety exchange. He failed to pocket a ball on the break in the following game but forced Chang into fouling, allowing him to tack on another win and climb onto the hill. Chang, who reached the quarterfinals by defeating Albin Ouschan and Joshua Filler, cut the deficit to 3-2 when he forced Zielinski into a foul with a safety but lost the next game and the match when his opponent used the same strategy, finding an opening to run out after multiple safeties on the 2 ball.
On an adjacent table, Hoang was taking advantage of a handful of unforced errors by Van Boening to grind his way into the semifinals.
The American won the first two racks of the opening set then took advantage of a missed cut shot on the 2 ball by his opponent to build an early 3-0 advantage. Van Boening, who reached the quarterfinals with victories over Eklent Kaci and Konrad Juszczyszyn, closed out the set in the next game when he forced Hoang into a foul with a safety.
He drew first blood in the second set when his opponent missed the 1 ball but again failed to make a ball on the break, allowing Hoang to drill home a combination shot on the 10 ball. Hoang climbed ahead after Van Boening missed a soft 7 ball in the side pocket, then increased his lead when he pocketed another combination after forcing the American into committing another foul. Van Boening had a chance to pull to within a game of the lead but missed the 6 ball, allowing his opponent to sail to a 4-1 second set win.
In the deciding set, Van Boening took advantage of a Hoang miss in the opening game to take an early lead but both players continued to be plagued by breaking struggles, failing to land a ball on the opening shot. Hoang tied the score after trading safeties, gave away a chance at the lead when he scratched but recovered in the next game when Van Boening scratched on the break. With the score now knotted at two, Hoang closed out the set by taking advantage of a missed 3 ball by Van Boening in the fifth game then breaking and running.
Zielinski will have familiar company in the semifinals, with fellow countryman Daniel Maciol defeating Bader Alawadhi 4-3, 4-1 in the quarterfinals, meaning half of the event’s remaining four competitors are from Poland. Maciol will face Sanjin Pehlivanovic, who defeated Vitaliy Patsura in straight sets as well.
Semifinals are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. local time and the finals are slated to start at 4 p.m.
Wiktor Zielinski (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)
Only 16 remain at the World Pool Championship 2023 in Kielce, Poland with the likes of Shane Van Boening, Albin Ouschan, and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz all looking to make a run to the finish line live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and TV networks worldwide.
Van Boening came up against his stiffest test yet in his mission to keep ahold of the title he won 12 months ago with a victory of Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp in a 11-9 win that saw the South Dakota Kid struggle to shake off the 2022 US Open runner-up. 2021 champion Ouschan was taken to the dying ember by Daniel Maciol of Poland to secure his passage whilst Sanchez Ruiz got the better of former world champion Thorsten Hohmann to book his place in the Last 16.
Mohammad Soufi, Denis Grabe, Max Lechner, and Wu Kun Lin all progressed to the penultimate days with wins over Mika Immonen, Nguyễn Anh Tuấn, Johann Chua, and Japan’s Naoyuki Oi. Neils Feijen meanwhile came from behind to beat Petri Makkonen of Finland as he hunts for a second world title.
The final moments of the day were John Morra‘s to be had with a remarkable 11-10 thriller win over Jayson Shaw from 6-4 and 10-8 down. Shaw had his opportunities to seal the win but a poor safety let Morra in to complete a huge victory in a World Pool Championship classic. It sees Morra meet Mario He next after the Austrian beat Ko Ping Chung 11-9.
Saturday 4, February – Last 16 from 12:00 pm (CET)
Table 1
Wiktor Zielinski (POL) vs Chang Jung-Lin (TPE)
Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Duong Quoc Hoang (VIE)
Table 2
Albin Ouschan (AUT) vs Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)
NB 2:00pm – John Morra (CAN) vs Mario He (AUT)
NB 3:30pm – Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) vs Denis Grabe (EST)
Table 3
Max Lechner (AUT) vs Wu Kun Lin (TPE)
NB 2:00pm – Sebastian Batkowski (POL) vs Mohammad Soufi (SYR)
NB 3:30pm – Aleksa Pecelj (SRB) vs Niels Feijen (NED)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Szymon Kural, Karl Gnadeberg and Xin Yu Hong are celebrating being crowned World Champions after claiming gold in their respective divisions of the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championships at the Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan on Monday.
Poland’s Kural defeated Yuma Dorner of Germany 11-6 in the Under-19s final. That was after Gnadeberg of Estonia had won the Under-17s division, beating Lang Yi Li of Hong Kong, China 9-5 in their championship match.
Chinese Taipei’s Xin Yu Hong had the support of reigning World Women’s 10-Ball Champion Chou Chieh-Yu as she beat South Korea’s Kim Hyerim 9-4 to lift the Girls title. It was Kim’s second consecutive final defeat after she also took silver last year, when she lost to Austria’s Lina Primus, a bronze medalist this year.
Kural scored an 11-9 victory over Germany’s Dennis Laszkowski to reach the final, while Dorner was an emphatic 11-1 victor over Chinese Taipei’s Yi Hsuan Sun in his semi-final. At the age of 18, this was Kural’s last chance to win a World Junior title and he was delighted to take home the gold.
“I don’t have any words,” said Kural. “I am very excited and especially happy because last year I lost in the final but now to win in 2022 is super exciting, and I am very happy.
“My family will be really happy and I am looking forward to going back home and celebrating with my friends and family. I want to get better and better and play tournaments around the world.”
Gnadeberg took the Under-17 title with perhaps his best shot reserved for the very end of the final when he jumped the 8 to make the 6 and draw the cue back down for inch-perfect position on the 7.
“Kick wasn’t available, so I decided to bring the jump cue,” said the Estonian. “The only way I could make it was to bring a draw and I never actually did it before, but it came out perfectly and I was amazed.”
Finland’s Juri Narvola and Serbia’s Lazar Kostic took bronze in the Under-17s division, while those medals went to USA’s Bethany Tate and Austria’s 2021 World Girls Champion Lina Primus. The final was won by Hong, who defeated Kim 9-4 having earlier beaten Tate 9-2.
“I am very happy,” said Hong. “It was a warm feeling to have the whole team from Chinese Taipei supporting me. My next goal is to defend the title next year!’
In the Predator World 8-Ball Championship, Shane van Boening crashed out in the last 32 at the hands of Frenchman Alex Montpellier. The World 9-ball Champion had reached single elimination undefeated but struggled against an inspired Montpellier, who won 10-7, only to be eliminated himself in the last 16, losing 10-2 to last week’s Medalla Light Puerto Rico Open finalist Daniel Maciol.
The quarter-final line-up comprises Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, who has a chance to cap an incredible year with a world title. He’ll face Konrad Juszczyszyn in the last eight, which begins 10am on Tuesday morning. Maciol takes on Mario He, while an all-Polish quarter-final sees World 10-Ball Champion Wojciech Szewczyk up against Wiktor Zielinski.
Seven of the quarter-finalists are European, the exception being Canada’s Alex Pagulayan, who will face Jayson Shaw for a place in the semi-finals. Shaw beat Joshua Filler in a thrilling last 16 clash, having earlier beaten Jeffrey De Luna.
“It feels good to be in the quarter-finals,” said Shaw. “I was down 6-3 against De Luna but came back and played pretty well at the end. I knew against Filler that a couple of mistakes and you can lose real quick. I came with some good shots, some nice breaks and I am delighted to win.
“I’ll get a good sleep, come in tomorrow and if I can break well, 8-ball was my game growing up. I’ll have a good night’s rest and come tomorrow as prepared as I can be.”
The Predator World 8-Ball Championship concludes on Tuesday with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final all a race to 10.
Matches from the Predator World 8-Ball Championship are streamed from Table 1 on Billiard TV, the World Billiard TV YouTube channel and at Kozoom.com. Table 2 has full coverage and commentary on the Predator Pro Billiard Series Facebook Page. All tables, including matches from the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championships, can be watch live for FREE at Kozoom.com
Carlo Biado won the Medalla Light Puerto Rico Open, beating Daniel Maciol 4-1, 4-3 in front of the San Juan crowd after Wei Tzu-Chien had defeated Chezka Centeno 4-2, 4-0 to lift the Women’s Open trophy.
It is Biado’s first Predator Pro Billiard Series title, while the $13,000 Maciol collects for finishing runner-up represents the biggest payout of the young Pole’s career to date. Both Biado and Wei had previously lost Pro Billiard Series finals but both now have Champion trophies to sit alongside their silver medals.
“Finally I made it because before I lost in a final against Fedor Gorst,” said Biado in reference to his defeat in Arizona last year.
After sharing the first two racks of the opening set, Biado quickly took it 4-1. The second was far less comfortable for the Filipino, as Maciol tried to force the shootout.
A large crowd had gathered for both the Open and the Women’s final, and they were treated to a close finish. Biado had the opening break of the set but only took down the first rack when Maciol missed a soft-rolled 3. The Pole tied the set after Biado wasn’t able to kick the 6, but the Filipino cleared to regain his lead after his 23-year-old opponent broke dry.
Maciol wasn’t done yet and was level again in the set at 2-2, before Biado moved to the hill 3-2 up after again running out when Maciol’s dry break left an open table. It was then Biado who didn’t make a ball on the break and Maciol who took advantage to find himself breaking at hill-hill in a rack he needed to win to deny Biado the title.
However, another dry break brought the 2017 World 9-Ball Champion back to the table and Biado showed his class as he completed a difficult out to earn his first Pro Billiard Series title.
Tzu-Chien Wei
Biado’s $25,000 success followed Wei’s win in the Women’s division, which earned her $20,000 and ensured she wouldn’t suffer a second Predator Pro Billiard Series final defeat after losing out to Kelly Fisher in Michigan in September.
A 4-1, 4-2 victory against Chou Cheih-Yu – a repeat of the World Women’s 10-Ball final from September – set Wei up with a final against Centeno, whose 3-4, 4-2, 3-2 semi-final shootout win against Jasmin Ouschan took just a shade over an hour to complete.
Wei had lost that World 10-Ball find to Chou and a few weeks later suffered defeat to Fisher on the Pro Billiard Series in Michigan and the 32-year-old was determined to ensure she left with the trophy in her third final in as many months.
After taking the first set 4-2, she stamped down her authority in the second. She won a safety-strewn first rack from Centeno’s break and made it 2-0 when the Filipino, one of the quickest players in the game, left a straight 4. That lead was extended further in the third rack with a clutch 10-ball. Centeno had it all to do as Wei came up dry at 3-0. She took out a 1/9 but then missed the 2. She had another chance soon after but poor position to the 4 was her final error of the championship match.
Wei completed the rack to take the second set 4-0 and after collecting $20,000 said: “I was sitting there and I was thinking, I have been here twice, and I’m going to get it, it;’s not going to be three-times second. I played better than how I expected and really enjoyed the atmosphere here.”
The Predator Pro Billiard Series returns in 2023. The Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championship plays November 18-21 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center, the host venue of the Predator World 8-Ball Championship which runs November 19-22.
Matches from the Predator World 8-Ball Championship will be streamed from Table 1 on Billiard TV, the World Billiard TV YouTube channel and at Kozoom.com. Table 2 has full coverage and commentary on the Predator Pro Billiard Series Facebook Page. All tables, including matches from the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championships, can be watch live for FREE at Kozoom.com
Thorsten Hohmann (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)
The inaugural European Open Pool Championship in Fulda, Germany at Hotel Esperanto hit the midway point as the field was reduced to the Last 64 live on the Matchroom Pool Facebook/YouTube and Matchroom.Live.
Joshua Filler‘s encounter with wife Pia was the talk of the tournament as the pair met on the biggest stage for the first time live on the Matchroom Pool Facebook page. Joshua started out strongest to take the opening rack before Pia came back with her own rack to level at 1-1. The contest was played out in great spirit as the pair embraced before lagging with various applause and fist bumps keeping the atmosphere light-hearted despite a spot in the Last 64 resting on the match. It was Joshua who did steal the advantage though as he settled it in a 9-1 win.
Joshua and Pia Filler (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)
Pia was back out in the Losers’ Qualification where she ran Chris Melling close up to 6-6 before Melling pulled through to book his place in the Last 64 and send Pia home. Other casualties included US Open runner-up Aloysius Yapp who lost out to Tyler Styer who had taken the inital initiative before Yapp pulled it back to 7-7. Mika Immonen was on the end to a 9-3 defeat to Dimitri Jungo to exit whilst Skyler Woodward faltered in a 9-4 loss to Bader Alawadhi. Alawadhi had been sent to the losers side by Jayson Shaw who came up trumps in a 9-1 win to book his own place in the Last 64.
“I played really good in that match a 9-1 win over a really good player. I tried to stay focused and I did just that. I prepared for about two months for this event. I prepared like I was going for a boxing fight really. I’ve been putting in a lot of time in on and off the table. I feel mentally a lot tougher than I did in previous events and I wasn’t really with it i if I am being honest. I am enjoying it so far.” – Jayson Shaw speaking to Phil Yates after beating Alawadhi
“It’s a really nice place (Fulda), the venue is super nice. The city is really nice too. It’s a good mix to have that around. You can go out and have a walk around. All in all it’s been a good start to the event,” Shaw added.
World Champion Shane Van Boening was made to sweat my Finland’s national champion Jani Uski as Van Boening ensured he remained blemish-free on the way to the Last 64 9-7 whilst it was a similar set of circumstances for Naoyuki Oi who side-stepped past Jan van Lierop 9-6. US Mosconi Cup hopeful Oscar Dominguez progressed with a 9-4 win over Daniel Maciol and 2021 World Pool Masters winner Alexander Kazakis overcame Tyler Styer in a hill-hill thriller to avoid the Losers side of the draw.”
Thorsten Hohmann‘s bid for hometown glory was ended by Karol Skowerski in a whitewash loss for the former World Champion. Hohmann had been left on the losers side of the draw early on after defeat to Senharip Azar and the German was up against it ever since before coming against Skowerski who was in no mood in letting the local man take a hold of things.
The Last 64 draw was made at the completion of play today – see the draw above.
The final two days are 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. See the full where to watch list here.
157 players are gathered in the sunny southern Bulgarian town of Petrich for the fourth tournament on the annual roster of six events on the Dynamic Billard Euro Tour. Taking place in the Petrich Arena, 20 tables are in operation as the event is set to get underway on Saturday 6th and conclude on the evening of Monday 8th August. With temperatures outside sizzling in the mid-30’s, the arena is an air-conditioned oasis, and the current top ten players are all in attendance as they bid to consolidate their positions.
With the rankings consisting of a players’ best five finishes from a rolling six-tournament tally, the oldest event drops off the list with the completion of each tournament. Still holding the No.1 spot is Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (Spain) who is defending a semi-final finish – 480 points – from Austria in 2021 so he will need to finish deep this week to maintain his position.
Still holding the No.2 rank is Poland’s Wiktor Zielinski who, despite his youth, has become one of the feared players in world pool. He is 160 points behind Sanchez Ruiz and a further 75 points back in third is and Joshua Filler, fresh from his triumphant visit to the World Games where he took gold in Birmingham, Alabama.
Those three at the top of the rankings have dominated the Euro Tour of late, having won six of the last seven tournaments, but their
stranglehold on the trophies was loosened at the last Euro Tour event – the Dynamic Billard St Johann im Pongau Open in Austria – as veteran Niels Feijen swept all before him to move himself into the top ten.
In the single elimination stages in St Johann, the multi-titled Dutchman beat Daniel Maciol, Eklent Kaci, Zielinski and Oliver Szolnoki before defeating Sanchez-Ruiz 9-4 for the title. It was Feijen’s first Tour win since 2016 and his tenth in a stellar career that shows no signs of abating.
As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer as well as world ranking points, so there is everything to play for. 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 as well as selected matches on Facebook Live on the EPBF page. In addition, the semi-finals and final, played out on Monday night, will be live or highlights on the following television stations across Europe;
SportKlub HD – Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia,
Bosnia Herzegovina, Greece
Eyecons – Netherlands)
SportKlub – Poland
ORF – Austria
B1B Box – Bulgaria
Shane Van Boening, Joshua Filler, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, and David Alcaide will contest the semi-finals of the inaugural UK Open Pool Championship at the Copper Box Arena, London live on Sky Sports in the UK, Matchroom Pool Facebook in the USA, Canada, Spain, and Italy, Viaplay in Scandinavia, and the Baltics, as well as Matchroom.Live in selected territories tomorrow, Sunday, 22 May.
Van Boening has found everything in his stride so far this week and that continued in the afternoon session as he overcame Marc Bijsterbosch in an 11-1 demolition job that saw the South Dakota kid go 8-0 up with two golden breaks along the way for good measure. The second time Van Boening has mastered that feat in two events. The newly crowned World Champion set up a meeting with Mosconi Cup teammate Skyler Woodward in the quarterfinals, something he knew wouldn’t come easy in his tightest match to date. The pair could not be separated at two all after Woodward made one of the shots of the tournament kicking the six into the nine to level matters.
It did seem that Van Boening was going to pull away in the eighth rack as he went 6-2 up where a freakish act saw the seven ball bounce four inches out of the pocket but soon nestle inside it to extend his lead. Van Boening was soon three away from victory after a sloppy error on the six ball from Woodward allowed his compatriot to capitalise and take full control. The 14th rack did edge in Woodward’s favour though and he trailed by four at 9-5.
Van Boening’s shot selection was exceptional as ever and a neat shot on the five meant the cue ball kissed the seven and nine to open it up for the five-time US Open champion to reach the hill.
In the end, a break and run was the one-way ticket to the semi-finals Van Boening needed to beat his close friend and teammate, Woodward.
Sanchez Ruiz will do battle with Van Boening in the semi-finals after overcoming Dennis Orcollo and Daniel Maciol in the Last 16 and Quarterfinals respectively for 11-7 and 11-5. Not much separated the Spaniard from Maciol until the fifth rack where Sanchez Ruiz found his groove and form that has seen him work into Mosconi Cup contention. Maciol didn’t do too much wrong as Sanchez Ruiz started to run the racks up and build a 7-3 lead over the Pole. El Ferrari was running riot on Table 2 as he reached the hill after an hour and a half of play at 10-4 leaving Maciol with plenty to do to stay in the contest. It’s been a strong run for Maciol this week, but it was Sanchez Ruiz who did his Mosconi Cup chances no harm to wrap up a 11-4 win. His tenth match of the week after falling into the Losers Bracket after the opening match of the tournament.
Filler was in a rampant mood in the afternoon as he ran out an 11-3 winner over Imran Majid to eliminate the last remaining Brit in the competition. The German star wasn’t fazed throughout as Majid faltered in what proved to be the final nail in the 12th rack with a time foul to allow Filler to get to the hill before wrapping up his spot in the quarterfinals.
The 2022 World Pool Masters champion faced a tough test if he was to make his third semi-final in four Matchroom events this year, Aleksa Pecelj of Serbia has a burgeoning reputation in the game and he showed what minerals he had in his locker to defeat Karol Skowerski in a hill-hill finish to make a maiden quarter-final berth.
Filler’s experience in the big moments showed early on in their encounter as he soon rallied up a 5-0 lead with break and runs in four of the opening five racks, only missing out in the first after losing the lag. Pecelj though has proven on countless occasions this week, his hardy nature and he needed it to pounce on an unusual Filler mistake that left the two ball over the pocket in the sixth rack.
Soon, it was 5-2. At 7-3, Filler scratched on the break to give Pecelj another bite of the cherry and he took full advantage to soon make it 7-5 after clearing up in the 11th and a break and run in the 12th. Pecelj was preying on big moments to get back into it alongside some exceptional play and he snatched his moment to make it 7-6 with a gift after Filler scratched when screwing back to make the nine. For the first time, Pecelj was back level at 7-7 and had the opportunity to make the most it when breaking in the 15th but it was Filler who went back in front. It toed and froed as both had to find their nerve. Pecelj reached the hill first and looked to be in a commanding position, but Filler came back to make it a decider.
Pecelj started out with a fluke one the one but missed a simple two ball. From there, Filler showed his winning nouse to a perfect degree playing a beautiful bank on the six before an effortless stroke on the nine to book his place in the semi-finals against Alcaide.
Mario He had taken a 4-2 lead, but Alcaide came back to win the resulting two racks after an intense safety battle in the seventh. He soon restored his lead at 5-4 but the door was blown open again for Alcaide off the break as the two-time World Cup of Pool scratched to let the Spaniard in for 5-5. Alcaide was attempting to finally take control of the contest and he made light work of the 11th and 12th rack to do just that to build his biggest buffer to date in the match. It looked like Alcaide would put pay to He’s errors to lead 8-5 but a cut that hovered over the pocket put He back at the table and back in it at 8-6. Alcaide was looking for his run to the hill in the 16th rack at 9-6 but a double kiss on the two ball put He at the table to close the gap to two again.
A 4-9 combo from He in the 17th put Alcaide on tenterhooks as he closed in on an victory. An emphatic effort on the two ball left He hooked on the four ball which was enough for Alcaide to get in there and reach the hill. The drama wasn’t done there though as a missed carom from Alcaide on the 3 and 8 left He back at the table. He couldn’t do anything with it though and that was that as Alcaide set up a semi-final with Filler.
Table 1 – Sunday, 22 May – Semi-Finals – 11 am
David Alcaide vs Joshua Filler
Shane Van Boening vs Francisco Sanchez Ruiz
5:30 pm Final – Race to 13
The final two days are available on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, Matchroom Pool Facebook in the USA, Canada, Spain, and Italy as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia and the Baltics and various other broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live in relevant countries. See the full where to watch list here.
Tickets for the final day are £15 using the code UKOPEN at checkout. Secure yours here
Albin Ouschan, Ko Ping Chung, Alexander Kazakis, and home favourite Jayson Shaw all went out of the inaugural UK Open Pool Championship at the Copper Box Arena, London. Only 16 remain as the $200,000 tournament heads into single elimination live on Sky Sports Action in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Italy, Spain, Viaplay in Scandinavia, Poland, and the Baltics as well as Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide.
It was a grueling day of action in one of London’s most iconic venues as the tournament went through three stages of Losers Round action and a further two rounds of Winners to get the final 16 who will now compete over three tables in Races to 11 to make Saturday evening’s quarterfinals.
One player who won’t be there is Ouschan who has been battling to keep his impeccable record at Matchroom events going. It started in the best possible way with a win over veteran Ralf Souquet but he came up against a resurged Robbie Capito of Hong Kong, China who played one of the matches of his career to knock out the two-time World Champion 9-0. Shaw headed into the day knowing he needed to win three ties to keep hopes of making the final two days on home soil, but it wasn’t to be as young Jonas Souto Comino of Spain came good in a hill-hill finish early on live on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel. Souto Comino’s hopes of his best performance to date in a Matchroom event ended at the hands of Mika Immonen 9-3 swiftly after.
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz was dumped onto the Losers’ Side of the tournament on the opening day and has since then battled away to make the Last 16. The Derby City Classic 9-Ball winner sidestepped past USA Mosconi Cup hopeful Nicholas De Leon 9-3 before wins over Ping Chung and Wojciech Szewczyk to make it two Spaniards in the final stage. The ever-present David Alcaide has stayed on the winners’ side with relative ease all week but had his sternest tests of the week beating both Immonen and World Pool Masters semi-finalist Mieszko Fortunski 9-7 to be right in the picture.
World Champion Shane Van Boening continues to steamroller his way through the tournament beating Daniel Maciol 9-3 to be in the hat whilst Mario He’s remarkable week continued to defeat Thorsten Hohmann 9-3 after beating Ko Ping Chung 9-1 earlier on. World Pool Masters winner Joshua Filler breezed past one of the last remaining Brits Luke Rollison 9-2 with a golden break along the way to join He and Van Boening in the draw.
Another World Pool Masters winner in Karol Skowerski rolled back the years to beat Skyler Woodward 9-1 for his Last 16 spot after defeating compatriot Wiktor Zielinski in a hill-hill finish. Woodward did join Van Boening in the single-elimination stage though after fighting off a resilient Capito in Losers’ Qualification.
There will be one Brit flying the flag this weekend though as Imran Majid battled through a hardy day on the Losers Half beating Marco Teutscher in a hill-hill finish before overcoming Jose Alberto Delgado and Thorsten Hohmann 9-5 and 9-3 respectively. Majid faces Filler for a spot in the quarterfinals.
The Last 16 draw was completed by Karl Boyes and Matchroom Multi Sport Managing Director Emily Frazer. The eight winners from the winners’ half kept their seedings and were randomly drawn against the eight players from Losers’ Qualification.
The final two days are 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. See the full where to watch list here.
Tickets start from £15 for the day using the code UKOPEN at checkout. Secure yours here
