After three days of round robin group play, in which 25 teams from all over the globe dueled in a veritable cavalcade of 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball, the 2014 World Pool Team Championship has been whittled down to the Final 16.
All matches from here throughSaturdaywill be single elimination, and you can bet your last Chinese Yuan that the tension and drama levels inside the Tongzhou Lhue High School arena in Beijing will be thick and hot. For not only are the teams playing for $300,000 in prize money-with $80,000 going to the winning side— they are also competing for national pride. There’s something about wearing your country’s flag and having the backing and support of your fellow countrymen and teammates that takes this sport to a whole other dimension.
Leading the way in terms of support will be both China sides, both of whom completely waltzed through their group unscathed all week. But while the Chinese squads are certainly formidable on paper, they both have had absolutely no competition in their groups.
Each China side had what could be considered the easiest draws in the event. Now, however, that will all change. And while China 1—with Li He Wen, Wu Jiaqing, Chu Bing Chia, Han Yu, and Chen Siming– and China 2—with Liu Haitao, Dang Ching Hu, Wang Can, Fu Xiaofang, and Liu Shasha– will probably advance at least to the quarters and perhaps further, it all comes with a caveat that other teams won’t have to deal with. The pressure from the home fans placed on both China teams will be massive.
The one team that won’t have to deal with that problem are the defending champions, Chinese-Taipei. The Taiwanese, featuring a powerhouse lineup of Chang Jun Lin, Ko Pin Yi, Hsu Kai Lun, Fu Che Wei, and female player Chou Cheih Yu, have been untouchable all week here in Beijing. They are playing in that quiet, smooth style that carried them to the title two years ago in this very same arena. Today in their last match of the group stage, the Taiwanese went up against Korea, which was fighting for survival. Although Taiwan was already guaranteed a spot in the Final 16, they showed no mercy on the Ga Young Kim-led Koreans, winning the six-match showdown easily, 5-1.
Another team that looks unbeatable right now is the Philippines. Dennis Orcollo, Lee Vann Corteza, Carlo Biado and Rubilen Amit have all the winning experience in the world to see themselves to the winner’s circleon Saturday. And they have been all business so far this week. Today the Philippines went up against a very formidable Poland side and basically toyed with the Poles, winning in a rout 6-0.
The Philippines could be looking at a potential quarterfinal matchup vs. Chinese-Taipei. Everyone and their brother expects the Philippines to get past Indonesiaon Thursday. Chinese-Taipei, though, will have to buckle down as they will be banging heads with a very strong Austrian team.
Great Britain, featuring Daryl Peach, Chris Melling, Karl Boyes and Allison Fisher, have the fully loaded talent and moxie to make a serious run. Against Germany today, the Brits looked their usual top class and won the match 4-2, although both sides were guaranteed a spot in the Final 16 no matter who won. The Brits will play Vietnam in the Final 16 and are heavily favored to advance to the quarter-finals. There they will probably meet up with China II which plays heavy underdog Sweden. Great Britain vs. China II promises some serious fireworks should it come to pass, as it most probably will.
One team that has flown under the radar but can definitely win this event is Japan. The Japanese are easily the loosest squad in this event, laughing and enjoying themselves on every shot. It has served them well in the past as they went all the way to the finals here two years ago before losing to Chinese-Taipei. Japan goes into their Final 16 match with the USA a big favorite. The Americans squeaked into the Final 16 and haven’t played up to standard yet this week.
The winner of Japan-USA will play the winner of Germany-Russia, which will be a very close matchup.
All matches in the Final 16 will take place on Thursday, July 31 beginning at1PM(GMT +8). The quarterfinals will be played at6:30PM.
*The WPA is on hand in Beijing to bring fans around the world full updated coverage of the 2014 World Pool Team Championship.
*The World Pool and Billiard Association(WPA) is the governing body of the sport of pocket billiards.
The Liado U Valley World Pool Team Championship is sanctioned by the WPA, The Multi-Ball Games Administrative Center of General Administration of Sport, Chinese Billiard and Snooker Federation, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sport, Beijing Sports Federation.
FINAL 16 July 31, 1PM(GMT +8)
China 1 vs. Singapore
Poland vs. Croatia
Philippines vs. Indonesia
Chinese-Taipei vs. Austria
China II vs. Sweden
Great Britain vs. Vietnam
Germany vs. Russia
Japan vs. USA
Quarterfinals Begin at6:30PM July 30(GMT +8)
Semi-finals will be playedon Friday, 1PM and 6:30PM
Finals will be playedon Saturday at 2PM
FORMAT:In each match between two countries, the two teams play each other in a set of six matches, all alternate break; two races in 8 ball, two in 9-ball and two in 10-ball. One 8-ball match is men’s scotch doubles, race to 6. The other 8-ball match is a men’s singles, race to 6. In 9-ball, the teams compete in a women’s singles, race to 8, and a men’s singles race to 8. In 10-ball, the teams play one mixed doubles match(scotch doubles), race to 7, and one men’s singles match race to 7. The female player must play in the 10-ball mixed doubles match, and a 9-ball match. No player is permitted to play more than two matches per session.
SHOOTOUT: If a match ends up 3-3 in the knockout stage, the winner will be decided by a shootout. In a shootout the 8 ball is placed in the middle of the table down near the short rail, level with the first diamond, while the cue ball is placed way down at the head string. The three men and one woman on each team take turns trying to pot the 8-ball in either far corner. All players play in sequence and the team to score six hits first with a margin of two or more(6-4, 7-5, etc.) wins the match and advances to the next round.
TEAMS
China 1—Li He Wen, Wu Jiaqing, Chu Bign Chia, Han Yu, Chen Siming
Singapore—Chan Keng Kwang, Aloyisus Yapp, Koh Seng Ann Aaron, Charlene Chai Zeet Huey, Toh Lian Han, Hoe Shu Wah
Poland–Karol Skowerski, Tomasz Kaplan, Mateusz Sniegocki, Katazyna Weslowska
Croatia—Josip Susnjara, Ivica Putnik, Marko Lisnic, Antonijevic Zrinka
Philippines–Dennis Orcollo, Lee Vann Corteza, Carlo Biado, Rubilen Amit
Indonesia—Bewi Simanjuntak M. Bewi, Rudy Susanto, Muhammad Fadly, Silvana
Chinese-Tapei—Chang Jun Lin, Ko Pin Yi, Hsu Kai Lun, Fu Che Wei, Chou Cheih Yu
Austria—Albin Ouschan, Tong He Yi, Jurgen Jenisy, Thomas Knittel, Jasmin Ouschan, Sandra Baumgartner
China 2—Liu Haitao, Dang Ching Hu, Wang Can, Fu Xiaofang, Liu Shasha
Sweden—Anreas Gerven, Marcus Chamat, Tomas Larsson, Caroline Roos
Great Britain—Daryl Peach, Karl Boyes, Chris Melling, Allison Fisher
Vietnam—Trung Le Quang, Tuan Nguyen Anh, Quan Do Hoang, Le Doan Thi Ngoc
Germany—Thorsten Hohmann, Ralf Souquet, Sebastian Staab, Ina Kaplan
Russia—Konstantin Stepanov, Ruslan Chinakhov, Andrey Seroshtan, Ann Mazhirina
Korea 4 – 2 New Zealand
Indonesia 5 – 1 Malaysia
China 1, 6 – 0 Hong Kong
Croatia 4 – 2 Sweden
USA 5 – 1 Bulgaria
Austria 6 – 0 South Africa
Vietnam 4 – 2 Singapore
Philippines 6 – 0 Poland
Session 2
Russia 5 – 1 New Zealand
Malaysia 4 – 2 India
Great Britain 4 – 2 Germany
China 2, 6 – 0 Australia
Chinese-Taipei 5 – 1 Korea
Japan 6 – 0 Indonesia
China 1, 5 -1 Sweden
Croatia 3 – 3 Mongolia
Long time followers of the WPA World 9-ball Championship know that the event is always full of surprises. The upstarts, the unknowns, the unexpected seem to make a splash in each and every edition of pool’s crowning glory.
As this slowly building drama begins to rise towards a guaranteed thunderous climax six days from now, fans already know the upsets and shocks are going to start mounting. But while the newbies and nobody’s of pool will definitely make their noise, even more true is that good old fashioned sporting standards like experience, possessing a history of winning and performing under crushing pressure are generally going to carry the day.
As day one of the 2014 World 9-ball Championship commenced in this fabulously wealthy desert kingdom this most valuable of athletic tenants carried the storyline in one of the day’s better matches. The Philippines’ Dennis Orcollo would be among any betting man or woman’s top contenders out of the field of 128 players entered here in Doha. But in his first match in the group stage he drew a very difficult opponent in Canada’s Jason Klatt.
Down 6-4, then 8-6 in the race to 9 match, and clearly struggling to find his normally sensational groove, Orcollo was staring at the prospect of a long and arduous road back to reach the final 64. But then, in that manner that champions always put forth, the Filipino star managed to claw back and claim a very hard fought and nervy victory, 9-8. Afterward, Orcollo admitted he was slow to get a feel for the brand new Wiraka table. But he also admitted he’s been around long enough to know what to do when things don’t go your way.
“I felt uncomfortable with the table,” Orcollo said. “I struggled but I didn’t give up. You know I have a lot of experience. And I know that with pressure comes negative thoughts. It’s going to happen in pool. There’s nothing you can do about it. I just try to calm down and stay focused, stay positive and that’s what I did today.”
With the gritty win Orcollo moves to the winner side of his group bracket and now only needs to win one more match to advance to the money rounds. What could have been a disaster has, because of experience, turned into a battle hardening test that will clearly serve the Filipino well moving forward. It also should serve as a lesson for fans looking for an upstart to wreak havoc on the field. Yes, that’s a real possibility in this often wild and crazy sport that is loaded with new and burgeoning talent. But pool, like everything else, generally doesn’t operate outside the laws of the universe. Put a simpler way, the crème generally rises to the top.
There was plenty of tasty crème rising to the top in the 48 matches at the Al Saad Sports Club on Day 1 as most of the favorites claimed victory in the first day of group play. Defending champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany kicked things off with a 9-2 drubbing of India’s overmatched Sumit Talwar. His opponent in last year’s final, the Philippines Antonio Gabica, didn’t have near as easy a draw, as he found himself locked in battle with two time runner up Kuo Po Cheng of Taiwan.
The USA's Shane Van BoeningMuch like he did last year during his historic run to the finals, Gabica hung around for three fourths of the match, only to pull away at the end for a 9-5 win. Gabica, who’s lived in Qatar for five years and helps coach the Qatar national pool team, admitted afterward that he wasn’t thinking about last year’s finals debacle when nerves and pressure got the better of him and he blew a 6-4 lead to Hohmann. Gabica said this year he was feeling a different kind of pressure; the one that comes from just trying to put food on the family table.
“That’s too much pressure out there,” the friendly Gabica said after the match. “You know at this stage of the tournament if you lose, you don’t get prize money. That’s why I don’t think about last year. I just think about getting to the final 64. I want to get the prize money.”
One player who fans would love to see make a dash to glory is the USA’s Shane Van Boening. The three time and reigning US Open champion has the pedigree to win here in Doha. But Van Boening never seems to perform that well outside the borders of America.
Today Van Boening defeated Eritrea’s very talented Hamzaa M. Saeed Ali, 9-5. After his match, the American opened up about the reasons he feels why he hasn’t yet cracked the winners circle outside of the US borders.
“If it’s winner breaks, then I have a chance,” Van Boening said. “I won three US Opens and they were winner breaks. I’m a rhythm player. I like to run out and then keep playing. I don’t like to give my opponent a chance. I like to put a guy in his chair for a while. With the alternate break format I have a hard time getting in rhythm. “
The Philippines Hall of Famer Efren Reyes clearly couldn’t get in any rhythm today. Several hundred Filipino overseas workers showed up to cheer on their hero but came away disappointed as “Bata” never got in the match as he lost handily to Korea’s Jeong Young Hwa, 9-5.
Other favorites winning solidly today included former champions Mika Immonen of Finland, Germany’s Ralf Souquet, and Wu Jiaqing of China. Also notching solid performances were Greece’s Nick Ekonomopoulos, Niels Feijen of the Netherlands, the Philippines Carlo Biado, and England’s Karl Boyes.
A few dark horses made some noise during today’s four sessions and fans should definitely keep an eye on these upstarts who could wreak havoc in the coming days. China’s Wang Can is perhaps the best of this lot and he looked brilliant today in a 9-2 drubbing of the USA’s Brandon Shuff. Austria’s Mario He seems to have it together at just the right time, as he beat recent China Open winner Chang Yu Lung, 9-7. Ko Ping Chung, the younger brother of Taiwan star Ko Pin Yi, eked out a 9-8 win over Poland’s Karol Skowerski.
Waleed Majed of QatarThe Philippines Warren Kiamco is one of those players who could sneak up on the field in the later rounds. Today the veteran Kiamco carved out a solid 9-7 win over France’s Stephen Cohen. Singapore’s young Aloysius Yapp can’t realistically win this event, but he could stir the pot. Today the boyish Yapp defeated Mohamed Elassal of Egypt 9-5.
Great Britain’s Jasyon Shaw has certainly logged in a few miles in the past few years and is due to make some noise in a big event. He clearly brings the right attitude into the arena, and it’s something others might want to try and copy. That is, if they have the nerve to under all this pressure.
“You’ve gotta take your chances out here,” Shaw said after defeating Taiwan’s Chang Jung Lin, 9-6. “If you don’t take chances, you might as well pack up your cue and go home.”
The group stages continue on Day 2 at the Al Saad on Sunday. All the losers will square off on Day 2 with 32 players being shown the exits by the end of the day’s play. The first session begins at 12 noon local time.(GMT +3)
**The 2014 World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Saad Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from June 16-27. The winner of the 2014 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The runner up will receive $15,000. The total prize fund is $200,000.
The players will be competing on Wiraka New Model Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Super Pro TV Balls.
The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation, which is once again hosting and organizing the World 9-ball Championship, will be providing free live streaming of the entire tournament on its website, http://live.qbsf.qa/.
The view the complete brackets for the Group Stages, please CLICK HERE
The WPA will be on hand in Doha throughout this year’s World 9-ball Championship providing up to the minute information, live scoring, photographs and in depth articles with insights and analysis from WPA Press Officer Ted Lerner.
Fans can interact with us through the WPA’s official Facebook Page for the event at this link;https://www.facebook.com/wpaworld9ballchampionship
The WPA is also on Twitter; @poolwpa
For more information you can also visit the WPA website at www.wpapool.com. Fans can also visit the website of the Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation at; www.qbsf.qa
*The 2014 World 9-ball Championship will be held in Doha, Qatar from June 16-27,2014 and is sanctioned by the World Pool & Billiard Association(WPA), the world governing body of the sport of pocket billiards. 128 players from across the globe will compete for the most prestigious prize in Men’s Pool. The 2014 World 9-ball Championship is a WPA ranking event.
RESULTS FROM DAY 1
Winners need one more win to advance to the Final 64. Losers move to the losers side of their group bracket. All groups are double elimination.
Another team that looks unbeatable right now is the Philippines. Dennis Orcollo, Lee Vann Corteza, Carlo Biado and Rubilen Amit have all the winning experience in the world to see themselves to the winner’s circle on Saturday. And they have been all business so far this week. Today the Philippines went up against a very formidable Poland side and basically toyed with the Poles, winning in a rout 6-0.