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)
Jayson Shaw survived a hill-hill scare in his opening match of the World Pool Championship 2023 in Kielce, Poland as defending champion Shane Van Boening cruised through to Winners Round 1 unscathed live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide.
Van Boening stepped out at Targi Kielce looking to do what only Earl Strickland has ever achieved in defending a world title with Masato Yoshioka offering the first test. The South Dakota Kid was barely troubled by his opponent in a strong showing that saw Yoshioka restricted to few opportunities as Van Boening rattled in a 9-2 opening win. Mats Schjetne awaits tomorrow afternoon for Van Boening in Winners’ Qualification.
Shaw meanwhile had a far from the ideal start being pushed to the final four ball against Italy’s Francesco Candela. Two-time Mosconi Cup MVP Shaw, got off to a comfortable start to lead 5-3 but Candela hit back forcing it all the way to the hill. It was the case of Shaw making plenty of balls off the break but misfortune awaiting at his feet with several in-offs to claw Candela back into the contest. Candela forced a hill-hill finish and looked to have an out after a nervy safety exchange only for the four to be left hanging to allow Shaw in to complete a 9-8 win.
“I played well throughout the match. It was a weird one. Funny little things happened, I am exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open with a lot of pool being played in the last week. I need a good sleep and I will be back tomorrow. I got here at 5 pm yesterday and woke up at 5 pm today! 24 hours, I didn’t know where I was! Hopefully, tomorrow I can be back to where I need to be. I am playing well, there are a lot of good players out here. Hopefully, luck is on your side and you play well. It’s one match at a time for me. Everyone is here to win, we will see what happens.” – Jayson Shaw after beating Francesco Candela 9-5.
Wojciech Szewczyk (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)
13 Polish players started their journey on home soil with Wojciech Szewczyk getting the honours of playing the first match on Table 1 with the Warsaw native up against Bashar Hussain Abdul Majeed in front of a packed home crowd.
Nineball World No. 1 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz beat So Shaw in a whitewash before coming from 5-2 down to defeat Wu Kun Lin and book a spot in the Last 64 and a day off tomorrow. Joining Sanchez Ruiz in the Last 64 is two-time winner Albin Ouschan who got the better of SVB Junior Open winner Khalid Alghamdi in Winners’ Qualification whilst Niels Feijen, Ko Ping Chung and Max Lechner also made it through early doors. It was also a delight for Nick Van Den Berg on a triumphant return to the Nineball Arena with back-to-back wins.
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.
Ko Pin Yi has moved inside the world’s top ten on the Live Nineball World Rankings after claiming The APF Asian 9-Ball Open title beating James Aranas in the final 13-11 in Singapore live on the Matchroom Pool social channels as well as on the APF feeds, Matchroom.Live and broadcasters across Asia.
The 2015 World Champion knocked out US Open runner-up Aloysius Yapp, Masato Yoshioka, and Johann Chua on the way to a memorable victory that sees Ko rise inside the top ten on the Live Nineball World Rankings thanks to the 10,000 Singapore Dollars first place prize.
Aranas showed guile and guts throughout as he reminded the world what he is capable of but in the end, it proved not to be enough to pip an imperious Ko who came from behind meaning the Filipino settled for 5,000 Singapore Dollars and second spot.
Ko has been back playing in Europe this year and acknowledged it made a difference playing closer to home: “The difference between Asian and European style in play is very different but despite that, I still had to be performing at my very best to win the tournament. I felt less pressure with less travel and being able to communicate with people in Mandarin so I felt a lot more relaxed and confident.”
The Chinese Taipei star was happy to move inside the top ten to increase his chances of getting into the biggest tournaments on the calendar next year: “In Asia, if there are more rankings events, I will make more of a point of taking part. I feel more pressure when I travel abroad. Winning the tournament will boost my confidence to play well in the US Open Pool Championship. I hope all Matchroom events will come to Asia!.”
Naoyuki Oi‘s run to the semi-finals before defeat to Aranas sees the Japanese star move up from World No. 27 to No.22 whilst Chua enters the rankings for the first time at No. 100. Oi now sits just outside the World’s Top 20 by less than $500. Hong Kong, China’s Lo Ho Sum, and Robbie Capito both move inside the Top 50 after runs to the Last 16 and Quarter-Finals respectively.
Over 15 new players enter the Live Nineball Rankings after the first-ever Nineball Ranking Event to take place in Asia. Ko’s win could prove vital for him ahead of the US Open Pool Championship where the top 128 off the 2022 and Live Nineball World Rankings will be seeded. As it stands, it would mean Ko would be on the same side of the bracket as Nineball World No.2 Joshua Filler.
The tournament was live streamed across the world on the Matchroom Pool Facebook and YouTube as well as OTT platform Matchroom.Live to become the first tournament outside of Matchroom events to be broadcast on those feeds. Matchroom provided support to the APF on site with Karl Boyes lead commentator throughout the coverage live from Singapore.
Matchroom Multi Sport Managing Director Emily Frazer was also on-site in Singapore: “I am delighted with how the inaugural APF Asian 9-Ball Open has gone. I want to take the chance to thank the APF’s team for putting together such a professional set-up and working with us on this Nineball first. I am excited to see where our partnership can head and I hope it’s the first of many Nineball Ranking tournaments to take place in the Southern Hemisphere. It has opened my eyes to further the Nineball schedule globally.”
Focus now turns to Europe and Zaragoza in Spain for the PRP Nineball Open that is set to take place from September 14-19.
Roy Francisco has confirmed on his Facebook page that James Aranas was detained and deported back to the Philippines in the same manner that Dennis Orcollo was detained and deported earlier this year.
In his Facebook post, Francisco said that he feared that Aranas might be on a list of flagged players and his fears were proven true when Aranas was detained at LAX on February 3rd.
Aranas informed Francisco that he was being held in a room with a number of athletes and artists from outside of the United States who were on tourist VISAs. Most of them being from Europe. He was held and questioned for twenty seven hours before having his VISA revoked, a citation issued and being informed that he was banned from entering the United States for the next five years.
Additionally, Aranas was informed that participating in tournament in the US on a tourist VISA was what he had done wrong and that he would need to obtain an Athletes VISA or a Working VISA.
At least for now, Aranas will be in the same position as countryman Orcollo as they attempt to fight this ban and obtain the required paperwork to re-enter the United States in order to compete.
Francisco expressed his concerns that Orcollo and Aranas will not be the last Filipino players to have these same tourist VISA issue’s and warns any other Filipino players entering the country to make sure they have the proper paperwork, or are prepared for a quick trip back home.
JI Championships will play 18 & Under Boys and Girls finals on event’s last day
Pat Fleming’s 2021 International Open began its sixth day with eight competitors. By 5 p.m., when the annual BCA Hall of Fame banquet commenced, one floor below the playing fields, that field of players was down to six. Once Kelly Fisher and Thorsten Hohmann were duly inducted into the Hall of Fame, the remaining four returned to the tables to close out the day.
The early match of the day (Friday, Oct. 29) saw James Aranas, who’d eliminated Dee Adkins 10-3 and Alex Kazakis 10-7 in the opening rounds of the single-elimination Phase 2, take on Omar Al-Shaheen. Aranas advanced to Saturday’s semifinals 10-6. Dennis Orcollo, who began Phase 2 by coming within a rack of being eliminated by Alex Pagulayan, persevered to take out Fedor Gorst 10-7 and drew Denis Grabe in the second Day Six match. The match stayed relatively close, until near the end, Orcollo pulled out in front to win it 10-7. Orcollo and Aranas will play their semifinal match at 4 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday).
Back from dinner, Shane Van Boening and Ruslan Chinahov drew a capacity crowd to the Accu-Stat arena, drawing steady applause, along with a few audible gasps of both appreciation and sympathy for the occasional misses. Though throughout the match, Ruslan drew his fair share of audience support and appreciation for a variety of shots, Van Boening was in command from the outset. He established a lead, held on and expanded it, advancing to the semifinals 10-4.
The evening’s final match, which began just before 10 p.m. pitted Albin Ouschan against The Iceman, Mika Immonen. Being the same kind of after-dinner crowd, it was as enthusiastic and appreciate of the solid play of both players as they’d been with Van Boening and Chinahov. Immonen scratched twice on the break in the first five racks, allowing Ouschan to run out. An early lead for Ouschan grew. And kept growing, until Ouschan finished things just after 11 pm., advancing 10-3. Van Boening and Ouschan will compete at 6:30 p.m., with the finals scheduled for 9 p.m.
Hollingsworth/Tate in 18 & Under Boys JIC final; Meyman/Cutting in girls’ final
Both finals in the Junior International Championships’ Boys and Girls 18 & Under divisions will be a rematch. Landon Hollingsworth bested Joey Tate in the boys’ hot seat match and will face him again at 1 p.m. on Saturday. It was Meyman over Cutting in the girls’ hot seat battle and they’ll play the early (11 a.m.) match tomorrow.
The winners’ side hot seat match for the boys was among three that were occurring simultaneously as Day Six played out for the juniors. It was the first to finish, just ahead of 2 o’clock, leaving Hollingsworth in the hot seat, as Tate awaited the outcome of the quarterfinals to face what turned out to be Trenton White.
Nathan Childress and Payne McBride had moved to the loss side on the heels of losses in the winners’ side semifinals that had sent Hollingsworth and Tate into the hot seat match. Childress drew White, working on a five-match, loss-side winning streak that had started with his 8-6 loss to Hollingsworth in the opening round of play; a loss that set him on fire, so to speak. McBride drew Lazaro Martinez, who’d downed his brother Gabe 8-5 and Riley Adkins, double hill, to reach him.
McBride downed Martinez 8-6 and was joined in the quarterfinals by White, whose 8-5 victory eliminated Childress (the junior player who’d advanced to the opening round of the Open’s single-elimination Phase 2 where Joshua Filler defeated him). White advanced one more step, downing McBride 8-6 in those quarterfinals, before Tate, determined for a second shot at Hollingsworth, stopped his loss-side run (cold) 8-2.
Kennedy Meyman and Tatum Cutting played their girls’ hot seat match in the early afternoon on Saturday. Meyman claimed the hot seat just after 2 p.m., downing Cutting 8-5.
On the loss side, Skylar Hess and Sofia Mast were coming off of their winners’ side semifinal losses to Cutting and Meyman, respectively. Hess drew Precilia Kinsley, who’d defeated Savanna Wolford 8-4 to reach her. Mastpicked up Bethany Tate (sister to Joey Tate), who’d recently eliminated Hayleigh Marion 8-3.
Mast downed Tate 8-5, while Hess was eliminating Kinsley 8-4. In one of the junior competitors’ more entertaining rivalries that’s been ongoing since January, Mast and Hess battled to double hill in the quarterfinals before Mast prevailed. Mast ended up on the wrong side of her second straight double hill fight, advancing Cutting to a second showdown versus Meyman, which will get the final day of the 2021 International Open underway at 11 a.m.
The International 9-Ball Open will continue play can be viewed online as part of the online PPV for this event at https://www.onsitepool.com/accustats/. For the first time in the history of this event, fans can watch action on any table as part of the PPV coverage.
