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Defending Champion Zielinski Still Alive at Alfa Las Vegas Open

Wiktor ZIelinski

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.

Watch Live on World Billiard TV YouTube channel, Billiard TV and at tv.kozoom.com

Brackets and scores can be found at https://probilliardseries.com/2023-men/2023-alfa-las-vegas-open/

Follow @probilliardseries on Facebook, @probilliardseries on Instagram or @PBilliardSeries on Twitter.

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Filler Fights Through on Third Day of Alfa Las Vegas Open

Joshua Filler

Friday night’s match between Germany’s Joshua Filler and Filipino Jeffrey De Luna had a little bit of everything.

You had De Luna winning a game by forcing his opponent to commit three fouls in a single rack and you had Filler stealing a game back when the Filipino managed to jump over his object ball not once, but twice.

In the end, the undefeated Filler was able to capitalize on De Luna’s breaking struggles and pull out a three-set victory, advancing to the round-of-32 on the third day of play at the Alfa Las Vegas Open at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. The German will now face reigning World 10-Ball champion Wojciech Szewczyk Saturday morning for a chance to reach the final 16 of the 192-player event.

After Filler staked out an early 2-1 lead in the opening set, De Luna had a chance to tie the match but left the 5 ball in the corner pocket’s jaws. Now Trailing by two racks, the Filipino used a jump shot and two banks to pull to within a game and had a chance to tie but came up short trying to secure position on the 2 ball, then missed a kick shot that allowed Filler to take the opening frame, 4-2.

De Luna opened the second set by forcing that three-foul on Filler, snagged the third rack when his opponent failed to pocket a ball on the break then used a safety exchange to climb onto the hill. He finished off the set and tied the match when Filler missed a sharp cut on the 3 ball and left a wide-open table.

The former China Open champion used safeties to win the first three racks — including the one that forced that double missed jump shot by De Luna. The Filipino wasn’t finished, using a safety of his own and a positional error by his opponent to tack on two straight victories. He had a chance to tie the match and send it to a shootout but failed to pocket a ball on the break, handing Filler a spaced out table and the win.

On a nearby table, former World Pool champion Shane Van Boening was authoring an escape of his own, climbing back from a deficit in the third set to defeat fellow American Jeremy Seaman.

Van Boening was in total control of the first set as he blanked his opponent, 4-0, but lost momentum in the next frame, with Seaman jumping out to a commanding 3-0 advantage. The South Dakotan clawed his way back into the match, winning three straight racks to tie the set but scratched on the break in the deciding game, handing Seaman a 4-3 victory.

After splitting the first four games of the deciding match, Seaman took a 3-2 lead when his opponent missed a jump shot and left an open table. With a change to close out the match and clinch the upset, he misplayed his safety attempt into a scratch, slapping the table in disgust as he walked back to his seat. The three-time U.S. Open 10-Ball champion cleared the table to force a shootout, then pocketed four straight stop shots in the extra frame while Seaman missed his opening attempt to hand his opponent the victory.

As the men worked through the single-elimination portion of their event, the women’s division of the Alfa Las Vegas Open began play Friday afternoon in dramatic fashion, as Allison Fisher overcame some early struggles to defeat Vang Bui Xuan of Vietnam.

Fisher was plagued by errors throughout the first set, as Xuan sailed to a 4-1 win, then continued to struggle with the speed of the table, allowing her opponent to capitalize and build a 3-1 second set lead. The Women’s Professional Billiards Tour Hall of Famer took advantage of a couple of unforced errors by her opponent in the middle stages of the set to tie the match, then used a safety exchange and a one rail kick in of the 7 ball to win the frame, 4-3, and force a shootout.

Each player was perfect in the extra frame through the first three innings but missed in their fourth attempt, sending the set to sudden death and moving the cue ball back a diamond on the table. After Fisher and Xuan rattled home their first three shots, the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Famer secured the win when she landed one more while her opponent missed.

Saturday will be pivotal in the men’s division, as 32 players compete for four spots in Sunday’s semifinals. Competition is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. local time, with notable matches including Albin Ouschan taking on Jung-Lin Chang, Fedor Gorst facing Ko Pin-Yi and Wiktor Zielinski matching up against fellow countryman Mieszko Fortunski.

Watch Live on World Billiard TV YouTube channel, Billiard TV and at tv.kozoom.com

Brackets and scores can be found at https://probilliardseries.com/2023-men/2023-alfa-las-vegas-open/

Follow @probilliardseries on Facebook, @probilliardseries on Instagram or @PBilliardSeries on Twitter.

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Day One Wraps Up In Tallinn

Mario He

PLAY GOT UNDERWAY at the Dynamic Billard Estonian Open as the opening day unfolded for the 200 or so competitors at the Kalev Sports Hall in Tallinn. Almost four rounds of play were completed and absentees Joshua Filler and Wiktor Zielinski were joined by No.4 ranked player Eklent Kaci who failed to materialise for his first-round match, having failed to travel to Estonia.

That gave extra impetus to some of the big names competing, as 2022’s player of the year, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz won his opening game, beating Panagiotis Ksipoliteas (Greece) by 9-6. The Spaniard plays again tomorrow morning when he faces countryman Salvador Garcia Fernandez.

Estonian No.1 Dennis Grabe enjoyed a 9-7 win over Portugal’s Joao Grilo to safely negotiate day one, while countryman, reigning WPA World U17 champ Karl Gnadeberg, scored a fantastic win over No.10 ranked player Miesko Fortunski by 9-5. Both players had table time in the Longoni 9 Ball League on Friday evening but Gnadeberg certainly sent out a message with the win.

Another highly-decorated junior, 15 year-old Felix Vogel (Germany) made it two wins from two in Tallinn. Vogel was a gold medallist at the European Junior Championships last year and even at a tender age, is a dangerous opponent for anyone.

He beat Eero Romppanen 9-0 and then Azhdar Nasirov 9-3 to set up a Winners Round 2 match against top Hungarian Oliver Szolnoki, which will be a real test for the precocious young talent.

Mario He, the winner in Treviso last time out in November, suffered a body blow as he lost his opening match 9-6 to Adam Stankiewicz. The 21 year-old Pole is currently ranked No.76 on the Euro Tour and that was certainly one of his finer moments.

Juho Teittinen

He though, bounced back on the one loss side as he defeated 16 year-old Finnish junior Juho Teittinen 9-6 to keep his hopes alive and he can look forward to facing another Finn, Leevi Auresto at midday tomorrow.

There are plenty more matches in store on Sunday as the field plays down to the last 16. Action continues in the morning at 9.00am local time, with Losers Round 2 as well as Winners Round 2 matches.

As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer. 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 by visiting www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurotour/ and clicking on the ‘LIVE’ button.

This will take you through to viewing options. In addition, selected matches will be streamed on Facebook Live on the EPBF page.

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
Duo5 – Estonia
SportKlub – Poland
ORF – Austria

Results, live scoring, and draw are available at www.epbf.com

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‘It’s heartbreaking’ – Why Joshua Filler will miss upcoming Premier League Pool

Joshua Filler (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)

Matchroom unveiled a star-studded field for the upcoming Premier League Pool earlier this week, although Joshua Filler’s omission sparked questions amongst the nineball pool fraternity.

Filler began his nineball season with a fifth-place finish at the Derby City Classic before enduring an early World Pool Championship exit, with Alex Pagulayan beating him three times in the space of a week.

The world number three and his wife Pia will soon travel stateside for the lucrative World 10-Ball Championship and the Las Vegas Open later this month, having opted against the Euro Tour opener in Estonia.

“Dates came in on short notice and we’ve had everything booked for our trip to Las Vegas,” Pia said on their shared Facebook page. “We arrive back home from Vegas on March 6 – the start of the Premier League.

“We couldn’t change flights anymore and coming straight out of a plane and playing with jet lag from the eight-hour time difference doesn’t make sense.

“It’s heartbreaking because PLP is a super exciting event what he loves to play but we had to make a decision. Good luck to everyone playing in it.”

Newly-crowned world champion Fransisco Sanchez Ruiz, defending champion Albin Ouschan and Shane van Boening headline the Premier League lineup, with the legendary Earl Strickland also receiving an invite to Leicester.

Germany’s Filler will return to the nineball arena for the World Pool Masters from May 10-13 at the Brentwood Centre in England.

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World Pool Masters Prize Fund Increases To $125,000 And China Returns

The prize fund for the World Pool Masters 2023 will increase to $125,000 with the winner now see to take home $40,000 as China return on the international stage in Nineball for the first time since 2019 from May 10-13 at the Brentwood Centre, Essex in England.

Already, the top 14 on the Nineball World Rankings after the World Pool Championship have qualified underlining the importance of the ranking system first introduced by Matchroom at the start of 2021 with Joshua Filler set to be seeded as number one after beating Lo Ho Sum in last year’s final 9-6:

1 Joshua Filler Germany
2 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz Spain
3 Shane Van Boening USA
4 Mario He Austria
5 Albin Ouschan Austria
6 Jayson Shaw Great Britain
7 Wiktor Zielinski Poland
8 Max Lechner Austria
9 Alexander Kazakis Greece
10 Ko Pin Yi Chinese Taipei
11 Fedor Gorst
12 Niels Feijen Netherlands
13 Mohammad Soufi Syria
14 Eklent Kaci Albania

China’s Zheng Xiao Huai becomes the first wild card with one more to be revealed in the coming weeks.

Tickets for pool’s most historic invitational start from only £10 with fans able to soak in all four days of action for just £60. Tickets will go on priority sale to Matchroom Pool Club members on Monday, 20 February with general sale to follow Tuesday, 21 February. Sign up for priority sale here.

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Fisher and Sanchez-Ruiz Wins AzB Player of the Year Awards

Kelly Fisher

Choosing the winners of the AzBilliards “Player of the Year” is never an easy task. While the Women’s award is usually a pretty easy choice, the Men’s award is a lot more difficult. 

The 2022 AzBilliards Women’s Player of the Year award goes to Kelly Fisher. Fisher appears to be back in the form that she showed in early 2010’s with a dominating year in 2022. Fisher has over $120,000 in winnings and seven major title wins in 2022. Most of her success came on the WPBA Tour, but she also had a win at the Predator Germany Women’s Open in June and possibly her biggest title of the year with her gold medal at the 2022 World Games in July. This is Fisher’s third AzBilliards Player of the Year award. 

As usual, the Men’s Player of the Year was a much tougher decision. Joshua Filler had to be a part of any Player of the Year conversation, with major wins at the World Pool Masters, UK Open, Derby City, EuroTour and European Championships. 

Filler looked to be in a Player of the Year race with Fedor Gorst for much of the year, with Fedor literally winning everywhere he was allowed to play. After his dominating performance at the Derby City Classic (wins in the Banks, One Pocket and Master of the Table) and defending his title at the Arizona Open, the WPA ban of Russian players went into affect and Gorst was forced to limit himself to competing in the US. Gorst made the most of those limitations and led the AzBilliards Money List for most of the year. Gorst has wins in nearly 20 US events (that we have record of) and over $250,000 in recorded prize money. 

Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz

While Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz’s year started with a win in the 9-ball event at Derby City, it looked for a couple of months as if Sanchez-Ruiz might have peaked at Derby and he would be off of the Player of the Year radar after that. He continued to play strong throughout the year though with a runner-up finish at the UK Open and then a win at World Cup of Pool (along with teammate David Alcaide). Late in the year, the talented Spaniard really hit his stride with a win on home soil at the PRP Nineball Open and then a win at the prestigious US Open 9-Ball Championship in mid October. Those wins moved Sanchez-Ruiz back into the Player of the Year conversation and in our opinion, his win a month later at the World 8-Ball Championship was enough to tilt the scales in his direction for the final award. All told, at year’s end, Sanchez-Ruiz had over $260,000 in prize money and a World Championship to display in his trophy case. He will also have the 2022 Men’s Player of the Year trophy in that case. 

Congratulations to both Sanchez-Ruiz and Fisher, and we wish them all of the best rolls in their 2023 quests to defend those titles. 

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Pagulayan Downs Filler At World Pool Championship 2023

Alex Pagulayan (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

Alex Pagulayan has knocked Joshua Filler out of the World Pool Championship 2023 in Kielce, Poland at the Last 64 stage by Alex Pagulayan live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and TV networks worldwide.

Brackets / Scores

Filler was up against Pagulayan for the second time in a matter of days but this time with no second lifeline as the tournament reached single elimination. The pair traded blows yesterday as Pagulayan remained on the winners’ side with victory forcing Filler through Losers’ Qualifcation. Pagulayan prevailed once again 11-9 to set up a clash with Serbia’s Aleksa Pecelj in the Last 32 this evening.

Another member of Team Europe’s victorious 2022 Mosconi Cup side tumbled on Friday afternoon as David Alcaide fell at the hands of home favourite Wojciech Szewczyk 11-9 whilst the other three members of that Mosconi Cup side in Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Albin Ouschan and Jayson Shaw all made sure of spots in the Last 32.

Chris Melling suffered defeat to Aloysius Yapp in the opening match of the day on table one whilst Shane Van Boening‘s title hunt gathered momentum with an emphatic win over Finland’s Jani Uski 11-2. 2015 champion Ko Pin Yi came from 10-7 down to defeat Jan Van Lierop to meet compatriot Chang Jung-Lin this evening. Meanwhile, Thorsten Hohmann got the better of Khalid Alghamdi to face Sanchez Ruiz later this evening.

Action returns from 6pm CET tonight 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.

Friday 3 February – Evening Session – 6pm (CET)

Table 1 

Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Aloysius Yapp (SGP)

Jayson Shaw (GBR) vs John Morra (CAN)

Table 2 

Wojciech Szewycyk (POL) vs Duong Quoc Hoang (VIE)

NB 8pm – Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) vs Thorsten Hohmann (GER)

Table 3

Max Lechner (AUT) vs Johann Chua (PHI)

NB 8pm – Ko Pin Yi (TPE) vs Chang Jung-Lin (TPE)

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64 Remain In Poland At World Pool Championship 2023 Inbox

Joshua Filler (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

Joshua Filler survived being knocked to the loser’s side by Alex Pagulayan on day two of the World Pool Championship 2023 in Kielce, Poland as only 64 remain after two days of action live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and TV networks worldwide.

Brackets / Scores

Filler faced Pagulayan early on for a spot in the Last 64 to avoid an extra match in Losers’ Qualification round this evening. The Killer fell to a 9-7 defeat, his second defeat to the Canadian in a matter of days after a loss at the Derby City Classic. It left Filler having to beat Daniele Corrieri to ensure his hunt for a second world title would continue and he did so in emphatic fashion in a 9-1 dismantling. Crucially, defeat to Pagulayan meant Filler lost his seeded position in the bracket ahead of the Last 64 redraw.

Other top seeds had less trouble as Shane Van Boening stepped past Mats Schjetne 9-2 whilst two-time winner Albin Ouschan put Khalid Alghamdi onto the losers side. Jayson Shaw meanwhile took out young German Tobias Bongers 9-5 and World Cup of Pool winner David Alcaide whitewashed Jani Uski to secure an afternoon off.

Last year’s semi-finalist Abdullah Alyousef suffered a 9-3 defeat to USA hotshot Shane Wolford to be sent home at the first major hurdle whilst Oliver Szolnoki suffered the same fate in a hill-hill finish against Ajdin Piknjac. 2021 runner-up Omar Al-Shaheen struggled for his groove against Denis Grabe as the Estonian came good to knock the 2021 runner-up out the competition. There was frustration for 1996 champion Ralf Souquet also, the Kaiser well beaten by Pole Daniel Maciol in Winners’ Qualification before defeat at the hands of Dimitri Jungo. Home favourite Mieszko Fortunski was also knocked out with the World Pool Masters semi-finalist knocked out by Lars Kuckherm.

The 32 players who qualified through Winners’ Qualification were seeded in the Last 64 redraw against an unseeded player who came through the Losers Qualification matches with Karl Boyes completing the draw with Rachel Casey on the Matchroom Pool YouTube page. Pagulayan and Filler will have to dance again after being drawn against each other whilst defending champion Van Boening will come up against Uski.

Action returns from midday local time tomorrow on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, the Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA and Italy as well as on Matchroom.Live and broadcasters worldwide. Table 2 and Table 3 are on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube Channels respectively and Viaplay in above listed territories. See where to watch here.

Last 64 Draw

Shane Van Boening VS Jani Uski
Aloysius Yapp VS Chris Melling
David Alcaide VS Wojciech Szewczwk
Lo Ho Sum VS Duong Quoc Hoang
Max Lechner VS Ruben Bautista
Nick Van Den Berg VS Johann Chua
Naoyuki Oi VS Emil-Andre Gangflot
Alexander Kazakis VS Wu Kun Lin
Sebastian Batkowski VS Francesco Candela
Ali Nasser Al Obaidli VS James Aranas
Imran Majid VS Mika Immonen
Mariusz Skoneczny VS Mohammad Soufi
Gerson Martinez VS Lars Kukcherm
Mateusz Sniegocki VS Fabio Petroni
Daniel Maciol VS Dimitri Jungo
Albin Ouschan VS Tyler Styer
Alex Pagulayan VS Johshua Filler
Aleksa Pecelj VS Roman Hybler
Sanjin Pehlivanovic VS Petri Makkonen
Niels Feijen VS Adjn Piknjac
Eklent Kaci VS Mario He
Ko Ping Chung VS Shane Wolford
John Morra VS Luong Duc Thien
Jayson Shaw VS Besar Spahiu
Wiktor Zielinski VS Mickey Krause
Jose Alberto Delgado VS Moritz Neuhausen
Chang Jung-Lin VS Hunter Lombardo
Ko Pin Yi VS Jan Van Lierop
Konrad Juszczyszyn VS Nguyen Anh Tuan
Robbie Capito VS Denis Grabe
Thorsten Hohmann VS Khalid Alghamdi
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz VS Oscar Dominguez

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Shaw Survives Day One Scare as Van Boening Cruises

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.

Brackets / Scores

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.

Mieszko Fortunski, Mika Immonen, Chris Melling, and Mario He was amongst the names to be placed onto the losers’ side of the bracket with opening day losses to Emil Andre-Gangflot, Gerson Martinez, Duong Quoc Hoang, and Sebastian Batkowski respectively.

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.

Thursday 2 February – from 12pm local

Table 1 Afternoon Session

Match No. 81 – Joshua Filler (GER) vs Alex Pagulayan (CAN) – WQ

Match No. 65 – Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Mats Schjetne (NOR) – WQ

Table 2 Afternoon Session

12pm – Match No. 89 – Wiktor Zielinski (POL) vs Roman Hybler (CZE) – WQ

NB 1:30pm – Match No. 155 – Karol Skowerski (POL) vs James Aranas (PHI) – LR1

NB 2:30pm – TBC

Table 3 Afternoon Session

12pm – Match No. 72 – Alexander Kazakis (GRE) vs Tyler Styer (USA) – WQ

NB 1:30pm – Match No. 140 – Mika Immonen (FIN) vs Marcel Price (GBR) – LR1

NB 2:30pm – TBC

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Gorst Wraps Up Exhausting Derby City Classic With Another All Around Win

Fedor Gorst (David Thomson – Medium Pool)

Diamond Derby City Classic XXIV, January 20-28, 2023

Caesars Southern Indiana, Elizabeth, IN

MASTER OF THE TABLE LEADERBOARD

Fedor Gorst: $20.000
Tony Chohan: $3000
Alex Pagulayan: $2000

$370,250 was awarded in total prize money.

Diamond thanks all the attendees for the unprecedented surge to 1469 entries.

Some say that there is no sportsperson better equipped to pull an all-nighter than the Pool Player. 

Once in action, they can’t quit. They have to hang with it until their opposition collapses or is “broken” so to speak. That’s how they evolve to become Champions.

Muscovite, Fedor Gorst proved his commanding pro-pool omnipotence by retaining his Master of the Table title after competing, not just all day through the wee small hours but, past dawn until 10 o’clock in the morning.

The players were not alone in this adventure, the videos had to be captured not only for the Accu-Stats’ historic library but for posterity. Fans are going to reminisce about this one for decades. and with Pat Fleming at the helm to keep an accurate score and press that all-important record button, it can be seen and believed.

Gorst, earlier in the week, repeated his 2022 Bank Pool title and this year’s 9-Ball Championship.

Asked at his acceptance speech how he was feeling, one word said it all, “Tired.” He was half  joking. He had been awake for 28 hours.  And, still had time for a smile.

Read on to the Final day’s activities in pool’s most punishing, and rewarding, arena.

Diamond Billiard Products would also like to honor the memory of Mark Griffin.

Mark was an important part of Diamond’s evolution. He was there from the beginning, developing with owner Greg Sullivan, the table that has made pocket billiard history.

Diamond Derby City Classic One-Pocket Championship

Semis 5:30 pm, Finals 8:30pm

The above times were when the 9-Ball Finals were planned…that was until the record number of entries threw the schedule into total chaos.

One-Pocket is a fickle game. It can take 5-minutes when a player runs all the balls into his pocket in one inning. Or, it can take hours when both players adopt safety strategy and start pushing balls up-table away from their pockets.

Regular readers may remember the recent comment: “Did someone say shot clock?”

As the Derby redraws after every round, if that round hasn’t been completed, the whole tournament stalls.

That’s the short version of how the One-Pocket event couldn’t be finished until Saturday evening – 2 days later than scheduled.

429 started, three remained: Efren Reyes, the 68-year-old living legend, 6-time DCC One-Pocket Champion, and 5-time Master of the Table.

Tony “T Rex” Chohan. Both respected and feared for his unbounded One-Pocket creativity, dominance, cool craftiness, and for often tossing caution to the wind when the win is big enough.

Fellow finalist, Johnathan “Hennessee” Pinegar. In 14 rounds of races to 3, he had lost only eight games. That tells how well he was competing. “I’ve been practicing a lot in the last months. I’ve been giving strong competition big handicaps, like 12-3, 12-4.”

The 44-year-old Tennesseean’s newfound enthusiasm has been rewarded.

He also got the luck of the latest draw by being unlucky earlier. He had never drawn the bye. As Tony, Johnathan, and Efren Reyes were the last three standing, the computer would, normally, randomly draw the “short straw,” who would go directly to roost in the hot seat.

The remaining two would compete in the semis for the right to fight for the trophy.

Tony and Efren had drawn byes in earlier rounds. DCC rules forbade the same player receiving a bye twice resulted in Johnathan automatically being in the finals.

The Semis #2: Reyes vs Chohan

The Accu-Stats Arena was crammed to the rafters. The crowd was intrigued to see if Tony, desperately seeking his first DCC title, could overcome pool’s most revered player in search of his 7th…at 68 years young!

The 41 year-old Chohan had garnered many accolades including two major One-Pocket wins: The US Open One Pocket Championship and The International Open One-Pocket division but the Derby, everyone agreed, was the toughest one to win.

He had gotten close in recent years. It had been 9 since Efren’s 6th.

Reyes quickly found his smooth, silky stroke, and aided by Tony’s missed opportunities, took the opening game.

Tony doesn’t miss for long, in the second rack Efren left a shot that was safe for a  player. For Tony, the short rail bank was a hanger. 1-1

Game 3: Reyes, aggressive as ever, made one of his shots that earned him the moniker “Magician.”  

The rack spread far and wide only, out of nowhere, the white was kicked into Tony’s hole: 2-1 Chohan…and breaking!

Within two innings, Efren had reversed the position and ran 5. Safety ensued. Reyes cue ball ran short leaving Tony an opening. He ran 3 only to miss a dogleg combo that left two, off-angle balls within inches of his hole.

Reyes, gotten by the 4 1/8” opening, as the ball wobbled and hung to ensure Tony’s ticket to the final.

On shaking hands, Tony respectfully raised Efren’s to the air in honor of his unparalleled performance.

Efren then left the Arena to a rousing standing ovation.

Tony Chohan (David Thomson – Medium Pool)

The Finals: Hennessee vs T Rex 

Johnathan “Hennessee” Pinegar’s 15-round trip to the finals was the buzz of the arena. Such honor was the result of slaughtering many opponents at naught.

It took ’til round 12 before Tony “T Rex” Chohan sent the US Open All-Around Bar Box Champion to the buy-back booth, but how about out-shooting Shane Van Boening, Tyler Styer, Anton Raga, Billy Thorpe, just to mention a few? And let’s not forget, he gave Efren his first loss.

The trail of Chohan’s recent victims of his onslaught included John Morra, Skyler Woodward, Anton Raga, and big-money Mitch Ellerman.

T Rex is another animal. At 3-1, he cold-bloodedly devoured crowd sentimental favorite Efren Reyes. He was so close to the title he could taste it.

Tony won the all-important lag. All important because, with alternate break a 2-2 tie means first crack at the last rack.

Expert commentary from US Mosconi Cup captain Jeremy Jones and 2010 DCC One-Pocket Champion Scott Frost.

Rack 1: Pinegar, back from overnight hibernation, attempted a touch shot: Tony ran 8-and-out: 1-0

Rack 2: Tony, attempted a touch shot: Johnathan, still cold, ran 8-and-out: 1-1. 

Rack 3: An up-table battle, until Tony with 7 balls, on a makeable cross corner bank for the win, fouled. Pinegar pilfered the rack: 2-1.

Rack 4; Pinegar exercised discipline, determination, great defense, and the “Wedge.”

Tony grappled, one ball at a time until in need of one, undercut it. It hung in his hole as the cue ball bounced two rails to land diagonally near the side pocket. Luckily there were two balls blinding Pinegar from following it in and fouling.

He raised the butt of his cue to about 45 degrees, jumped over them, and bounced the dangling orb and the cue ball off the table. “FOUL,” cried emcee/referee Ed Liddawi.

Great shot in the poolroom where that would result in both balls being respotted.

The clearly written DCC rules dictated that the game be awarded to the non-offending player: 2-2.

Time-out. Time to reset. And for Pinegar to recover from the blunder.

The Decider: Chohan in control, He had won the lag, remember?

After Chohan snuck 3 ahead, the strategy quickly developed into another quasi-wedge affair.

Oh, no, thought the tournament registration crew, not another wedge; Chohan was an integral part of the 9-Ball event and his match was holding up the draw.

Tony had another agenda. He had Pool’s most important One-Pocket title in his grasp. And, as he had come from 1-2 behind, he knew he had the momentum!

Pinegar, disciplined dedicated, continued to contribute orbs to the wedge.

Like a sniper, Tony picked off the unsuspecting marks. Within minutes, one by one they.dropped until one remained.

Pinegar didn’t linger. He attacked the table, pocketed two, and jawed a third.

It offered Chohan the shot that had cost him the 3rd game.

Not this time. Calmly, he approached the ball and spun it across the table into the opposite pocket.

He followed that with something you don’t usually get from the normally stoic Chohan, he yelled with delight!

“How does that feel? he was asked

With a deep sigh of relief, he responded, “The monkey has dropped from my shoulders.”

Time for a very quick $16,000 check presentation, fist pumps with fans around the arena, and…

Now, who’s next in 9-Ball?

Tony “TREX” Chohan: $16,000
Johnathan “Hennessee” Pinegar: $8.200
Efren “The Magician” Reyes: $6,300

Diamond Derby City Classic 9-BALL Championship: 

Race to 9, Accu-Rack, 9 on the spot, winner breaks.

Since Matchroom deemed the Derby’s 9-Ball Championship a Mosconi Cup point garnering tournament, 9-Ball has become DCC’s most populated event.

527 entries crushed the previous attendance statistic!

That number above, compounded by the 423 in One Pocket and 529 in Banks, made for the strangest Finals in DCC history.

Add a 3-hour One-Pocket final that helped stall the draw, and we have experienced the Derby Syndrome in spades.

THE DERBY SYNDROME

2023 took our sport’s nine most grueling days–and nights–of limited sleep; catching naps while standing; snacking on nutrition-less junk, and jousting non-stop from one discipline to the next to a whole new level, it’s a wonder some of these guys are alive.

Combating 15 rounds with these heavyweights can seriously damage your health, especially when there are 527 of them and “on call” as they had limited idea of when they were going to play.

Tony Chohan, down 4-8 against Mika Immonen must have been truly motivated by his stellar performance before in his One Pocket semis with Efren. Then, after the 3-hour Finals, Roland Garcia, understandably, ended him.

Fedor Gorst, at around 9 am on Sunday, having been up competing, and waiting, competing and waiting, on-and-off for 28 hours, at 9-2, ended Shane.

Both Cuetec-sponsored players were visibly physically spent. It seemed that both had made more accumulated errors than they had in the entire tournament; When have you seen SVB miss two simple shots…in the same rack!

FYI: Fedor’s route had doused Alex, twice; Skyler Woodward and Roland Garcia both were allowed one game each. (Accu-Stats TPA statistician was sleeping soundly to prepare for the early morning finals but, guesstimates suggest that Gorst shot near, if not, a back-to-back 1.000 TPA’s)

Earlier,  Chohan, Tyler Styer, and John Morra were also left in Fedor’s wake–pun intended.

Shane was undefeated all the way to the 13th round when Alex sent him to buy-back. (Alex had just eliminated Joshua Filler in the 12th).

In the 11th, Shane had Skyler Woodward back at the buy-Back booth 

Shane, in the 10th, had Hong Kong’s Robbie Capito capitulate. Beware: The 21-year-old Robbie won his first men’s national event when he was 12! 

All in all, an incredible journey through the night and well past dawn.

As the cameras didn’t pause much, most of the above action is available as part of the  Accu-Stats PPV+ until February 28th.

See it to believe it.

Fedor Gorst: $16,000
Shane Van Boening: $7,500
Alex Pagulayan: $5,500

ENDGAME. 

DCC 2024 dates: Jan 19-27, 2024: Book your entries/seats now! You know that they’re going quickly.

Accu-Stats thanks its Arena Sponsors: Diamond Billiard Products, Simonis Cloth, Aramith Belgian Billiard Balls, Cuetec Cues, Lucasi Cues, Master Chalk, MEZZ Cues, McDermott Cues, National Billiard Academy, and Outsville Accu-Rack.

The 4-camera HD match-ups are available at accu-stats.com via Accu-Stats Pay-Per-View OnDemand;  Approximately, 60 action-packed hours of pro-pool are projected, PLUS reruns.

With PPV OnDemand, , you choose when you watch, no matter what you’re timezone, until February 28, 2023.

accu-stats.com will have matches available on Vimeo On Demand, Subscription Service and, of course, HD DVDs of all the TV table productions.

Thanks to all who contributed to the daily DCC reports. You know who you are: The sultry voice of the event, Bonnie Jones, hubby Ric, Koby Pilgrim, Delana, and Diamond Paul.

badboysbp.com will have alternate Diamond Arena matches available in the coming weeks.

Don’t miss a stroke: Visit accu-stats.com. Enjoy.

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