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.
David Alcaide and Skyler Woodward became two of the biggest exits so far as the 2022 World Pool Championship field was whittled down to the Last 64 at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes. Coverage live on Sky Sports in the UK/Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria as well as Viaplay and networks worldwide.
Losers’ Round 1 saw the first few scalps of the day as both Woodward and Alex Pagulayan were punished as they exited without a win to their name. Woodward lost out to Daniele Corrieri in the opening match, and he went hill-hill with Qatar’s Ali Al Obaidli who fluked the 9 in the penultimate rack to hold the break in the final one. Elsewhere, Pagulayan was much fancied heading into the tournament, but he faltered against former EuroTour winner Craig Osborne of Great Britain to exist early on the second day.
Rolling into the evening, it was Losers’ Qualification with 32 final players set to join the Last 64 and 32 going home. On Table 1, Jayson Shaw demolished Jakub Koniar 9-3 to see the two-time Mosconi Cup draw Finland’s Petri Makkonen in the Last 64. Alcaide was a World Pool Championship semi-finalist just under 12 months ago and his cueing suggested it would be straightforward’s against Hong Kong’s Lo Ho Sum who was knocked into the losers’ bracket by defending champion Albin Ouschan. Ho Sum though, held his nerve in some cagey early moments to pull through and find himself in the Last 64.
Pia Filler put in a stellar day to beat Ivan Meng Li in the afternoon and Bashar Hussein Abdulmajeed 9-6 to make the Last 64 for the first time and set up an enticing Table 1 match with Mario He at 11 am.
From now, it is single elimination with matches becoming Race to 11 up until the final. The draw saw the 32 players who won in Winners’ Qualification drawn against the 32 players who won in Losers’ Qualification this evening.
Mosconi Cup USA hopeful Shane Wolford has been drawn against Masato Yoshioka whilst Live (2023) Nineball World Rankings No.1 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz faces two-time World Champion, Thorsten Hohmann. Elliott Sanderson overcome a hill-hill finish with fellow Brit Tom Staveley to set up a clash with Chinese Taipei’s Chang Jung-Lin tomorrow.
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.
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
Niels Feijen, the 45-year-old multi-titled Dutch star, added another championship to his resume as he over-powered Austria’s Daniel Guttenberg in the final match of the Men’s 9 Ball Division at the Dynamic Billard European Championships in Lasko, Slovenia. It was the Terminator’s second gold medal in 9-ball and 11th overall.
Coming into the match as a big underdog, Guttenberger made just too many mistakes and against a player of Feijen’s calibre, they were ruthlessly punished. The Dutchman’s confidence was in full bloom from the very start of the match and it grew with every successive rack won.
Commented Feijen, “People say it’s a young man’s game and it is and it isn’t. As long as you stay fit and keep improving and you stay hungry, then it’s anybody’s game. The older you get, the commitment changes a little bit. I’m a family man and I have other things on the side, so my commitment and drive are not like it was in my 20’s and 30’s.
“But I’m going to enjoy this now. We’re going to jump in the river across from the hotel and enjoy the night. It’s an amazing feeling and it’s not getting any easier, the level of play is so high. But to win two bronzes and to finish it off with a gold is a great feeling.”
Feijen won the lag and saw the 1 ball drop into the corner pocket and quick-fire combination on the 2/9 gave him the opening rack. Guttenberger, playing in his first ever European Championship final, looked very comfortable as he ran through the balls to level the score at 1-1.
Feijen pushed out in the next after five balls were locked together around the head rail. The Austrian gave the table back and both players went back and forth with safeties. Guttenberger looked in the ascendancy after Feijen left the 3 ball out which Guttenberg potted. He did all the hard work but missed a relatively simple 5 into the centre pocket and The Terminator took his chance and the lead at 2.1.
A dry break from the Austrian left a messy table as the rack became tactical. Feijen, though, failed to put the 1 ball safe and
Guttenberger, rather than pot it, laid an easy snooker that left Feijen few options. He went for a one rail escape but missed to give ball in hand. Guttenberger, though, missed the 5 ball when the run out looked favourite and Feijen once again, took the opportunity to increase his lead. 3-1.
Feijen made the 1 and 2 balls on the break and with a makeable shot on the 3 ball, managed the run out to give himself a very tidy 4-1 lead. Guttenberger was under some pressure now. Coming into the match as the underdog, he really needed to stick with Feijen but a few needless mistakes had let the Dutchman forge ahead. Another bad error from the Austrian handed the table back to Feijen, and looking the picture of determination, he cleared up to take a 5-1 lead in the race to 9.
Feijen looked unstoppable in the next as he ran out, executing shots to perfection, to move his lead to 6-1. It looked like mission impossible for Guttenberger, and it became worse when he scratched pocketing the 2-ball and handing an open table to his opponent. Feijen though made an uncharacteristic slip as he missed the 6 ball and Guttenberger wrapped it up to trail 6-2.
Three balls went down for Feijen on the break and with a shot on the 3 ball, the run out looked a certainty and he increased his lead to 7-2. Guttenberger made two balls on his break and with the 3-ball available into the centre pocket, it was a golden chance to stop the rot. Holding off his nerves, he ran out as the score moved to 7-3.
Another crushing break from the veteran Dutchman saw two balls drop and he made no mistakes as he quickly ran out to reach the hill. In the next, with no pocket available for the 2 ball, Guttenberger tied the cue ball up behind the 4 ball. Feijen’s escape left a long pressure 2-ball which the Austrian potted and held himself together well to take the rack.
With the title a rack away, Feijen played a perfect break. The balls were all out in the open, and the master Dutchman ran out for his 11th European Championship Individual gold medal.
“The Europeans hold Olympic status for the Dutch players and it’s super important. I got that right away in straight pool and then I went all out for the 10 ball – if I’m still in, I want to get a gold medal, then bronze again, I lost in the 8 ball; I got a bit tired but then I said, one more time, all-in because I want to hear that national anthem and that was an amazing feeling!” added the champion.
Semi Finals
Daniel Guttenberger (AUT) 9 – 1 Jakub Koniar (SVK)
Niels Feijen (NED) 9 – 6 Jani Uski (FIN)
The 2022 Dynamic Billards European Championship sees 15 separate events across four disciplines – 8, 9 and 10 ball as well as straight pool – plus the men’s and women’s team competitions. In total there are four divisions; men, women, under 23 men and wheelchair users.
Great Britain will face Germany in the World Cup of Pool final after a faultless display by Darren Appleton and Karl Boyes against Slovakia was followed by a fighting comeback from 7-2 by Germany, who beat Estonia 9-7.
Late entrants Appleton and Boyes kept their remarkable dream alive as they kept Slovakian pair Jakub Koniar and Jaroslav Polach in their seats for almost the entire match, completing only the second semi-final whitewash in World Cup history with a 9-0 win.
Appleton made a tough long 9 the take the first rack and send a warning shot to the rest of the field; the 2014 winners were well and truly back. If that wasn’t warning enough, they shut Slovakia out of the match, taking three more ranks for a 4-0 lead. A safety battle in the fifth gave Slovakia a chance but Boyes slammed in a difficult 2 to end the exchange, and Great Britain cleared for a 5-0 lead.
It was an incredible performance, even more so given their late notice to enter the event. GB were near faultless; Appleton had a 6 ball that rattled before dropping in the sixth, but otherwise it was the centre of the pocket every time for the Brits.
They had to play safe after the break at 7-0 up and remarkably that brought Polach his first shot since winning the lag. He had to try a kicked safety but the 1 landed in the jaws of the bottom corner pocket and Boyes was able to do enough to make the 1 and keep the cue ball on the table.
That was Slovakia’s last visit. The result was the first World Cup semi-final whitewash since Finland’s win over Canada in 2007, and Polach could only admiringly describe Britain’s performance as ‘a destruction’.
“Pool is all about chances,” said Boyes. “I left Appleton a long 9 in the first, he knocked it in and it snowballed. We didn’t make any mistakes. They did that to Austria and have been on the receiving end now and the same could happen to us in the final, you never know.
“The big match was round two against Greece, they played okay but let us off the hook and then to do what we did to Holland, then we knew we could win the event. We have lots of experience in these events, so why not?”
Appleton added: “I felt a little bit better today than yesterfay, I am gaining more confidence and Karl is playing really well. Slovakia were probably numb because they weren’t in the game. We broke very well, ran a bunch of racks, and to get off to a great start was massive. It’s unbelievable that we are in the final.”
Great Britain will face Germany after a stunning comeback from Filler and Reintjes over Estonia’s Denis Grabe and Mark Magi.
Germany looked nervy at the table early on and Estonia were able to build a deserved 5-2 lead. Magi and Grabe played some fine stuff in the eighth, giving them both a four-rack lead but also confidence to move forward in the match.
Filler scratched on the 3 in the next rack and Estonia had 7 on the board and a five-rack advantage. However, from there the Germans’ comeback began. They took each of the next five racks to draw the match level at 7-7.
Germany didn’t have a shot in the 15th and Grabe played a great 2 to give his side a chance. They had to go safe on the four and Filler’s safety play was on point and Magi didn’t have luck on his side as the cue scratched to the bottom corner.
That took Germany to the hill, although Filler’s hand was stinging from the aggression of Reintjes’ high-five as the moved ahead.
However, there was still drama to be had. Reintjes under-hit position to the 7 and Filler opted to go safe. Grabe tied it onto the 8 and Reintjes left a tester up rail for Magi, and he missed it. Filler cut it in, and Germany joined Great Britain in the final.
The World Cup of Pool is broadcast live globally including on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live. Full broadcast details can be found at matchroompool.com. For all the latest news and announcements follow Matchroom Pool on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
QUARTER-FINALS
Slovakia 9-8 Japan Great Britain 9-1 Netherlands
Great Britain’s Karl Boyes and Darren Appleton rolled back the years with an emphatic 9-1 World Cup quarter-final victory over Netherlands to advance to the semi-finals, where Slovakia lie in wait after a hill-hill win over Japan.
Boyes and Appleton, winners in 2014 when they beat Netherlands in a dramatic final, were late call-ups to the event after Canada suffered from travel issues. After beating South Africa and Greece, the pair originally called Great Britain ‘C’ were the only host nation team remaining.
An enthralling opening-rack safety battle finally ended when an Appleton jump untied the 3 and 8 from the side rail, and Bijsterbosch’s subsequent jump removed both the 1 and the 3. That wasn’t the end, though, and when Feijen missed a bank on the 4, it was Great Britain who were able to clear to take the lead.
A break and run doubled the hosts’ advantage and they moved 3-0 up in the third. Netherlands had a chance in the fourth but when Feijen missed a 4, Great Britain pulled further away. A break and run took them to 5-0, and rack six also went the way of the 2014 champions.
The Dutch returned to the table in rack 7 after Appleton played poor position to the 4, leaving Boyes no option but to go safe. It was Britain’s first error of the match and they were made to pay when Appleton’s next shot, a cut on the 4, failed to find the pocket and Netherlands cleared to finally get on the board.
But that proved to be the only miss of the match from Great Britain, who took the next three racks for an unlikely place in the semi-finals.
“It is unbelievable,” said Boyes. “The deeper these events go, even though it’s been a long time, we have plenty of experience together and you can smell blood.
“We know how well the Dutch have played this week but it’s a quarter-final and they knew how much experience we had. Our game plan and the way we communicated, it was spot on.”
“Except for one rack, I’m absolutely over the moon with the way I played,” added Appleton. “I came into the match with no confidence but because Karl played so well yesterday, I knew I had to pull my weight.
“I am so happy to be here and even though he hasn’t played for four years, I couldn’t pick a better partner. We have perfect chemistry, we gel perfectly together, understand each other’s mind and each other’s game and that’s what it is about in doubles.”
Great Britain will meet Slovakia (Jakub Koniar and Jaroslav Polach) on Friday afternoon after they turned around a 7-3 deficit to defeat Japan (Naoyuki Oi and Masato Yoshioka) 9-8.
The pressure of a World Cup quarter-final was evident from the first rack as Polach and Oi both missed 9s before the confident Koniar concluded the rack. In the second, Oi again showed he hadn’t settled when he missed a 2 after Yoshioka had fluked the one playing a safety, but the rack ended in similar fashion to the first; Polach missed a tough 9, Yoshioka this time guilty for Japan, and again Koniar was able to role it in for a 2-0 lead.
Japan settled and pulled back to 2-2 and despite scratching on the fifth break, were able to take that rack to lead. Slovakia looked sure to level in the sixth but Polach missed another 9 and this time Oi had no problems in making it 4-2.
Oi and Yoshioka were beginning to look much more settled at the table, and extended their lead to 7-3. But then came the Slovakian fightback. They won five consecutive frames to find themselves first to the hill at 8-7.
A failed 1-ball bank brought Japan back to the table and they were able to run the rack to fittingly tie the match at hill-hill for a place in the semi-finals.
It was fist pumps all round before the decisive rack. Oi had the break and the 4 went down, but Yoshioka undercut the 1. Not only that, but he scratched. Koniar took ball in hand. The key ball was the 6, just off the side rail above the middle pocket. Koniar called extension and rolled it to the bottom pocket. Polach took the 7 to the middle and his partner then sent the 8 down table, leaving Polach a 9 from the spot. He made it, and an explosion of relief followed from the Slovakian pair.
The remaining two quarter-finals take place on Thursday evening as Denmark face Germany before Philippines take on Estonia. The World Cup of Pool is broadcast live globally including on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live. Full broadcast details can be found at matchroompool.com.
The draw for the World Pool Masters has been made, with defending champion David Alcaide set to begin his defense against either Billy Thorpe or Skyler Woodward in the event, which runs from May 22-25 at Europa Point Sports Complex, Gibraltar.
The all-American clash between Thorpe and Woodward was the standout match from the preliminary round draw, and the pair, currently representing USA in the World Cup of Pool, know the defending champion lies in wait in the last 16.
Alcaide and the top 7 players on the Matchroom Pool World Ranking were seeded through to the last 16, while the remaining 16 players in the field will battle it out in the preliminary round.
Other fixtures include Women’s World Champion Kelly Fisher against Justin Sajich, with the winner set to face Alex Kazakis in the last 16. World Champion Fedor Gorst will face either Shane Van Boening or debutant Jakub Koniar of Slovakia.
Albanian Masters rookie Max Lechner will meet either Mieszko Fortunski or Kristina Tkach, while Mosconi Cup MVP Jayson Shaw will face either Niels Feijen or Jeffrey De Luna.
The World Pool Masters begins on Saturday, May 22 and will be broadcast globally, including on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live. All matches are race to 7, winner breaks, except the final, which will be a race to 9.
Alcaide won the 2019 Masters in dramatic fashion with a memorable up-table bank to make the winning 9 at hill-hill against Kazakis, who he could meet in this year’s quarter-finals.
The World Pool Masters marks the return of spectators to Matchroom Pool Series events. Tickets are available exclusive to residents of Gibraltar via BuyTickets.gi. The full match schedule can be found at MatchroomPool.com.
ROUND 2 Finland 1-7 Netherlands Slovakia 7-6 Czech Republic
Netherlands fired a warning shot to the rest of the field as they stormed into the quarter-finals of the World Cup of Pool with a near-perfect 7-1 victory over an out-of-sorts Finland.
Slovakia are also through to the last eight having beaten Czech Republic in the tournament’s first hill-hill match, while Great Britain B’s Allison and Kelly Fisher crashed out 7-3 in round one to the Filipino pairing of Jeff De Luna and Roberto Gomez.
Niels Feijen has twice been a World Cup runner up, in 2013 and 2014, both playing alongside Nick van den Berg. Marc Bijsterbosch stepped up in 2017 after Van den Berg retired, and their 7-1 drilling of Petri Makkonen and Casper Matikainen was probably the best performance the new Dutch duo have put in together.
Finland, and particularly their rookie Matikainen, struggled at the table but in contrast the Netherlands were near faultless in booking their place in the quarter-finals.
“We played well, with confidence and we did a good job,” said Bijsterbosch. “We can’t complain today, but we aren’t there, we have to prepare for the next match and we have to keep going.
“We know Finland are a really good team but we looked at our own game and we really, really hit it off today, it was a great match,” said Feijen. “We are really enjoy this, we played a great match and we get some time to enjoy that.
“I felt really good, Marc, if you leave him tough he is still central so that gives me a lot of confidence too. If we keep playing like this, we are dangerous.”
Czech Republic lead their match against Slovakia 4-2 but with the chance to go 5-3 ahead failed to capitalise when Polach missed the 9; Gavenciak also failing to conclude the rack with a long pot. Koniar took the easy 9 left for him, and Slovakia led for the first time in the match when they went 5-4 up.
The tenth went the way of the Czechs, but Slovakia regained their lead after a dry break to reach the hill at 6-5 up. The next rack was a reversal of its predecessor; this time Slovakia breaking dry and Czech Republic taking advantage to join their opponents on the hill.
Gavenciak was breaking but again came up dry. Polach played safe and though Urban’s reply seemed to have done enough, Koniar played off the side rail to make the 1. It didn’t present his side with the opportunity to clear, though, and at his next visit he scratched on the 2.
The table didn’t look easy and even when Urban missed a straight 4, Czech Republic fell safe. Koniar then benefited from a bit of fortune in making the 4 trying to escape a snooker and this time the roadmap was there, and Slovakia cleared the table for a place in the quarter-finals where either Russia or Japan will await.
The session had opened with a highly-anticipated round one match between Great Britain B and Philippines. The all-female British pairing looked to have settled quickly and took the second rack to keep the scores level early on. However, De Luna and Gomez were breaking well and managed to open up a 5-1 lead before Great Britain B next won a rack. Despite falling further behind, Fisher and Fisher cut the gap to 6-3 but that was to be their last rack as Philippines took the next to close out a 7-3 win.
“We had a great time out there,” said Allison. “it has been a while for me and I really enjoyed it. There were some good shots in there but we never got going. We had a nice start to the match and we were never really frozen out but some of the games were a bit awkward. At this stage for me the most important thing is to have fun out there and I really enjoyed it.”
“We are competitors so we are disappointed, of course,” said Kelly. “In the match we never really got the chance to get going, everything fell a bit awkward. Me and Allison are great friends off the table, we gel well together, and we have loved every moment and had fun.”
Round one concludes on Tuesday evening with USA taking on Australia, Great Britain C in action against South Africa and Great Britain A up against Belarus.
The World Cup of Pool is broadcast live globally including on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live. Full broadcast details can be found at matchroompool.com.
ROUND 1 RESULTS Japan 7-1 Croatia Czech Republic 7-4 Hungary
Austria 1-7 Slovakia
World Cup of Pool debutants Slovakia stunned defending champions Austria, knocking out the No.1 seeds with a brilliant 7-1 victory on the opening afternoon at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes.
Albin Ouschan and Mario He have reached the last three World Cup finals, lifting the trophy in 2017 and 2019. However, Jakub Koniar and Jaroslav Polach barely gave their opponents a chance as Slovakia proved exactly why they had been invited for the first time. A little luck along the way helped but Koniar and Polach looked calm at the table as they ran four of the seven racks won to advance to the second round.
“It is amazing,” said Koniar. “We had a little bit of luck in the beginning but with the 1-ball on the spot and winner breaks, you can even beat the best team in the world.
“We knew we could win. I have beaten Albin a few times, Jaro has won against both players in the Austrian Bundesliga, so we knew if we played our best game we could win.
“We practiced the break all last weekend together,” added Polach. “We played a hard break, the cue ball control was good, and we had a little bit of luck, but from 2-1 to 6-1 they weren’t at the table. In this game you can beat anybody in the world.”
Slovakia will face Czech Republic in the second round after a 7-4 success over Hungary for the Czechs.
“It will be a federal derby,” said Jaroslav. “We play every year something like the Mosconi Cup between Czech Republic and Slovakia. It hasn’t played last year because of Covid so now we will play one scotch doubles to see who is best!”
The event opened with Japanese favourite Naoyuki Oi, alongside debutant Masato Yoshioka, up against Croatian duo Philipp Stojanovic and Roberto Bartol.
Yoshioka earned his first appearance in the World Cup on the back of a fine run of form prior to the Covid-19 lockdown. A win in the Kansai Open in his homeland and a bronze medal at the World 10-Ball Championship helped him rise to Japanese No.1 and World No. 36.
In their opening match, he actually looked the more comfortable of the pair, his experienced partner struggling at times with cue-ball control. Croatia, though, were really struggling. Japan only ran out one rack, so even with the winner breaks format the Europeans had chances, but they were only able to take one of them and Japan eventually won 7-1, a result which meant TV viewers were treated to another colourful Oi interview.
“It was a very fast match today, the table was playing very quick with the new ball and the new cloth. It was difficult but my teammate was confident,” he said, before treating those watching to a victory dance. “In the next round it will be Russia, they have the World Champion, or Switzerland who are very good, they have strong players. But Japan will play to win.”
After Japan’s cruising first-round victory, the clash between Czech Republic (Petr Urban and Michal Gavenciak) and Hungary (Oliver Szolnoki and Vilmos Foldes) was a more attritional affair. The Czech team’s preparations were hit when Roman Hybler had to withdraw less than a week before the event, but Urban proved a worth deputy.
The first six racks were shared before the Czech team pulled ahead and moved to the hill at 6-3 up. Hungary fought back briefly but their campaign was ended when Urban and Gavenciak won the 11th for a 7-4 victory.
The World Cup of Pool continues from 5:30pm (UK time) this evening with three more first round matches; Russia will face Switzerland, Greece take on Serbia and Estonia are up against Belgium.
The World Cup of Pool is broadcast live globally including on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live. Full broadcast details can be found at matchroompool.com.
Finland’s Casper Matikainen takes down the defending champion in wild day in Doha as 32 players set for a sprint to the World 9-ball crown.
Casper Matikainen
Finland’s Casper Matikainen came into his round of 64 match at the World 9-ball Championship today versus the defending champion and world number 1 Joshua Filler feeling relaxed and ready for battle. He figured the German great would bring his usual fire, but he also knew that Filler might also take his eye off the proverbial ball. After all, the 23 year old Finn wasn’t exactly the most feared name in a field of absolute monsters.
So even when the self-described “King” of pool jumped out to a 4-1 lead, Matikainen never lost hope, as Filler had gotten a few lucky rolls and wasn’t playing all that great, while the Finn had a few rolls go against him.
The mental strategy soon started to bear fruit for the cool-headed blonde. Slowly, and increasingly surely, Matikainen crawled even, and then took the lead while at the same time Filler started to get sloppy, lose focus and even showed some signs of panic. From 4-1 down Matikainen calmly won 9 out of the next ten frames. After a brief hiccup on the hill that allowed Filler to claim two quick racks, the steady Finn held his nerve and closed out the biggest shock of the tournament so far, an 11-7 upset of the defending champion.
“He’s the world champion and he’s playing and I’m not there in the big tournaments and maybe he’s thinking it’s an easy win,” the 22 year old Matikainen said afterward. “I felt that Joshua had the pressure because he’s the world champion and I was really relaxed at the table and that helped me and I just got it done.”
Matikainen’s massive win was but one huge result on a dramatic day in Doha that saw some of pool’s biggest names dumped out, while others were taken to the absolute limits. With the field now down to the final 32, the next two days promises to be one of the most exciting and fascinating Battle Royale’s of 9-ball we’ve seen in years.
America’s Shane Van Boening had come to Doha a heavy favorite this year and for good reason. His last three starts here ended with two runner ups and a spot in the semis last year. But several early mistakes against Taiwan’s Liu Ri Teng was all it took for the Taiwanese to grab a commanding lead at 10-4. The American mounted a valiant fight back, but the alternate break format meant the hole was too deep. Liu sent Van Boening packing in the round of 64 with a humbling 11-8 defeat.
After his runner up finish at the US Open in Las Vegas last April, former champion Wu Jiaqing figured to go far here in Doha. But Wu came up against fellow compatriot Xu Xiaocong, who is one of a slew of quality young talents coming out of China. Xu has impressed all week here and against Wu he turned his game up several notches, crushing the former Boy Wonder 11-5.
The Taiwanese are almost sure to have one, possibly two players in the semis after tomorrow as Team Taipei looked absolutely marvelous today. It isn’t easy picking a favorite out of these world beaters but World 10-ball Champion Ko Ping Chung would probably be at the top of most punters betting sheets. The slightly built and painfully shy 22 year old is clearly at the top of his game but he even he barely escaped in a harrowing match against Hungary’s talented Oliver Szolnoki.
Szolnoki, another bright European prospect, played the match of his young career and had “Little” Ko on the ropes, shooting out to a 7-3, then 8-5 lead. The fresh-faced Hungarian reached the hill first, but Ko then displayed the courage and guts that only champions can pull off. In a nervy and tense sudden death rack, the Taiwanese made a series of surreal pressure shots to eek out the victory.
Little Ko’s older brother and two-time former world champion Pin Yi also won today, easily defeating Japan’s Yukio Akagariyama, 11-5. Fellow Taiwanese Chang Jung Lin, Chang Yu Lung, Lin Wu Kun and Kevin Chang all won their round of 64 matches today. In all seven Taiwanese made it through to the round of 32.
2016 World 9-ball champion Albin Ouschan of Austria looks to be in very fine form this year, as he easily defeated Taiwan’s Lin Ta Li 11-5. Fellow Austrian Max Lechner continued his rise this year with an 11-4 win over Lithuania’s Pijus Labutis.
The Russian contingent also put in solid performances today. Veteran Ruslan Chinakhov took down American Corey Duel 11-3, while youngster Fedor Gorst stayed alive with an 11-8 win over Slovakia’s Jakub Koniar.
2012 World 9-ball Champion Darren Appleton has been quietly playing himself back into game shape over the last few months and his solid victory today over Albanian star and European Mosconi team member Eklent Kaci could be a portent for the rest of the field. The Englishman battled back from a 4-0 deficit, and then turned the screws on the Albanian for a quality 11-6 win. In his remarkable heyday from 2008 to 2015, Appleton famously grinded out championships by the truckload and that bulldog mentality definitely was on display this afternoon.
The Philippines had only three players in the final 64 but all three made it through today. 2017 World 9-ball champion Carlo Biado got taken to the limit by Qatari veteran Bashar Hussein, before breaking and running the last rack for an 11-10 win. Also winning today for the Team Pinoy were Johann Chua and Jeffrey Ignacio.
The Polish contingent has been getting stronger by the year and they showed their quality today with three of their stars pushing through to the final 32. Mieszko Fortunski, Wojciech Szewczyk, and Mateusz Sniegocki all won handily.
Also advancing today were the USA’s Billy Thorpe, Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp, China’s Liu Haitao, Greece’s Alexander Kazakis, Spain’s Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Estonia’s Dennis Grabe, England’s Chris Melling, Canada’s Alex Pagulayan, Qatar’s Waleed Majid, Vietnam’s Do The Kien, and Hong Kong’s young upstart Yip Kin Ling.
The penultimate day of the World 9-ball championship will be extremely busy as the field will be whittled down to the final four at the end of the days’ action.
Play on day 3, Monday, Dec. 16th will begin at 10am Doha time(GMT +3). All matches will be single elimination knockout race to 11, alternate break.
The winner of the 2019 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The total prize fund is $150,00.
*The 2019 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Qatar from December 10-17, 2019. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.
Fans around the world will be able to view live scoring, results, brackets and live streaming of many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform at esnooker.pl. Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public.
Results Final 64
Casper Matikainen(FIN) 11 – 7 Joshua Filler(GER)
Yip Kin Ling(HKG) 11 – 5 John Morra(CAN)
