Nineball Oceania Tour launches in partnership with Australia’s Pockets Sports
Minimum of four ranking events for 2023
Aim for Oceania Open to take place in 2024 joining other Matchroom major multi-table events
Matchroom Pool is delighted to announce the beginning of the Nineball Oceania Tour in partnership with Pockets Sports promising at least four Nineball World Ranking events for players in the Oceania region in 2023 and the first-ever Oceania Open in 2024.
The launch of the tour underlines Matchroom’s commitment to offering a fair and transparent system for all players wherever they are in the world to earn vital Nineball World Ranking points which opens the doors to the most-valued tournaments in the sport.
Pocket Sports is Oceania’s largest professional English 8 Ball Pool Promoter looking to venture into 9 Ball. The company hosts over 18 weekends of competitive and professional grade 8 ball and have over 160 contracted players, featuring players from all over Oceania.
Justin Sajich one of Australia’s leading players said: “I am excited that Matchroom Pool and Pockets Sports are collaborating to bring a world-class tournament to my home country. I haven’t played in a Matchroom event for over 12 months, and I am glad I now have one close to home. I know Arthur and Emily will put on a fantastic event that will attract top-class players from all around the world!”
Arthur Titus, Director of Pocket Sports is delighted to be moving into Nineball in partnership with the sport’s leading promoters: “It is an honour to be working with Emily and her team at Matchroom to bring Professional Nineball to the Oceania regions. Pockets Sports currently hosts over 15 weekends of professional 8-ball pool events and are excited to add Nineball to our calendar! This partnership with Matchroom will see Pockets host, organise, and broadcast four Nineball World Ranking Events this year alone and an Oceania Open with the aim to host at Crown Casino Melbourne in early 2024.”
“We are excited to venture into the Nineball scene and with the backing of Matchroom will see professional pool come to life on these parts of the world (fast-tracked). Pockets Sports are contract holders to over 150 of Australia & New Zealand’s top 8 ball players that will play in these events if given the opportunity. This is a massive step forward to player cross-coding.”
Emily Frazer Matchroom Multi Sport Managing Director said: “We are on a mission to expand and grow the Nineball World Ranking, and we welcome others to join our exciting journey as we do this. Oceania is a region with demand in 9-ball but with no local regular events players have a tough time to develop and being included within the Nineball ranking system.”
“The players travelling from Australia, New Zealand, and other countries to current Nineball World Ranking events, this collaboration with Pockets Sports gives them a fantastic opportunity to play locally and competitively, accumulating Nineball ranking points and prize money to then make the most valuable events. Pockets Sports have been integral to this launch, with a passionate Director in Arthur, I am confident this launch will be a successful one.”
One of the games’ greatest, Efren “Bata” Reyes will represent the Philippines alongside US Open champion Carlo Biado at the 2022 World Cup of Pool this June 14-19 at the Brentwood Centre, Essex, England with tickets available from £10.
The 2022 World Cup of Pool line-up is now complete with all 32 countries confirmed as they do battle for the lucrative prize pot of $250,000 plus the pride of representing their country in one of the sports most unique format with Germany looking to defend their title led by newly crowned World Pool Masters champion Joshua Filler and BCA Hall of Famer Thorsten Hohmann.
Great Britain’s charge for a first World Cup of Pool crown on home soil will see Great Britain A form a new pairing of two-time Mosconi Cup MVP Jayson Shaw and debutant Elliott Sanderson who was selected based on performances so far this year on the Live Nineball World Rankings. Mosconi Cup winner Imran Majid and 2012 Mosconi Cup MVP Chris Melling will represent the red, white, and blue for Great Britain B.
The USA’s assault on the title will come in the form of Nineball World No.1 and World Champion Shane Van Boening with two-time Mosconi Cup MVP Skyler Woodward whilst Austria, two-time winners of the World Cup of Pool, will see Albin Ouschan partner with Nineball World No. 5 and close friend Max Lechner.
Reyes will compete at the World Cup of Pool for the first time since 2012 when the tournament was hosted in the Philippines. The Magician is a two-time winner of the cup claiming the inaugural title in 2006 with Francisco Bustamante before repeating that result three years later on home turf.
Along with the launch of the Nineball World Rankings, the WPA received x16 allocations for various federations seeing countries make their debut this year including Peru with Christopher Tevez and Gerson Martinez as well as Argentina with Ariel Casto and Sebastian Rodriguez for a strong South American contingent. Chinese Taipei return to the fold after missing out last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will look to replicate its success of 2015 with the Ko Brothers of Pin Yi and Ping Chung pairing up.
The first 16 countries were decided by WPA federations from around the world before eight countries were selected based on the 2022 Nineball World Rankings. The final eight came as wild cards from Matchroom. Players have been selected based on both the 2022 and live 2023 Nineball World Rankings. The final team will be revealed during the final day of the UK Open Pool Championship this May 22 at the Copper Box Arena, London.
Tickets start from only £10 per session and £15 for an all-day ticket to both the afternoon and evening sessions. Fans can also enjoy the whole week of action for only £85.
Tickets
Individual Sessions – From £10
Day tickets for both sessions – From £15
Season Ticket – £85
The World Cup of Pool brings 32 nations together as two-player teams compete for national pride, the title, and their share of a $250,000 prize fund from June 14 to 19. The tournament is a straight-knockout format leaving no room for error. Germany are the reigning champions with one of the world’s best in Joshua Filler spearheading their defence. The likes of World Number One Albin Ouschan of Austria, the USA’s finest Shane Van Boening, and Great Britain’s two-time Mosconi Cup MVP Jayson Shaw will all look to lead their sides to the title over six action-packed days.
Las Vegas, NV was pool player central for the last couple weeks! Starting this past Sunday and immediately following the CSI Nationals, the WPA World 10 Ball Championship and the CSI/Predator US Pro Billiard Series’ Alfa Women’s Las Vegas Open, OB Cues presented the $45,000 added US Open Championship Series.
Hosted by Griff’s owner, Mark Griffin, the US Open Championship Series was comprised of four events – Ten Ball, Eight Ball, One Pocket and Bank Pool. $10,000 was added to each event plus $5,000 for the All-Around. Players paid a $330 entry for each event.
Promoted by Cue & A Promotions, the sponsors for the US Open Championship Series were OB Cues, Griff’s Billiards, Simonis, Aramith, Diamond Billiard Products, JB Cases, Keller Billiard Products and Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX.
The US Open 10 Ball started on Sunday afternoon with 51 players entering this double elimination, race to nine, alternate break event. PoolActionTV’s Ray Hansen conducted the players auction which was followed by a players meeting and the draw.
Superstar-in-the-making Jesus Atencio charged out of the gate with wins over veterans Ronnie Wiseman 9-1, Warren Kiamco 9-3. Tony Chohan 9-2 and young Canadian Joe Spence 9-3 until he ran head on into another young star-in-the-making, Canada’s Stephen Holem. Holem had just defeated recent back-to-back Andy Mercer Memorial champ, Vilmos Foldes 9-5, and sent Jesus packing 9-4.
Meanwhile, another young champ was methodically dismantling everyone in his path until he ran into the always tough Roberto Gomez. They duked it out and Roberto was finally toppled 9-7. However, Fedor was sent west by Roberto’s fellow Filipino, Lee Vann Corteza, by the same score – 9-7.
After starting out with that coveted bye, Corteza had much tougher opponents to get to his match with Fedor but he blistered both Evan Lunda 9-2 and Sergio Rivas 9-1. Shane Winters gave him a harder time but Lee Vann prevailed 9-6 and went on to vanquish Gorst 9-7.
Corteza and Holem made it to the hot seat match. Stephen shot out to a 2-0 lead and then 4-2 until Lee Vann caught a gear. He took off from there to win his spot in the finals 9-4. Stephen headed over to the one loss side to await an opponent.
After losing his third round match to Joe Spence 9-6, Roland Garcia was tearing the west side apart with wins over Lunda 9-4, Frost 9-0, Gomez 9-4, Winters 9-5 and Atencio 9-4 until he ran into that buzz saw named Gorst. Fedor put an end to the hopes of Roland 9-4 leaving him in fourth place and squashed young Holem’s title dreams 9-0. Stephen finished in a well-earned third place and Fedor marched into familiar territory – the finals.
The final match was one extended race to thirteen. Although close, Corteza lead for most of the match until Gorst pulled away in the second half to win the match 13-8! Great event, Lee Vann! And, congratulations to Fedor as he wins once more – his first US Open Ten Ball title!!!
The US Open Eight Ball Championship started on Wednesday following the players auction, players meeting and draw. 48 players paid their entries into this double elimination, race to eight, alternate break tournament.
Carlo Biado began his march to the hot seat with victories over Jonny Siraphong 8-2, Tony Chohan 8-6, Redgie Cutler 8-0, Roberto Gomez 8-4 and Jesus Atencio 8-6. Justin Sajich began his run with wins over Eric Vargas 8-2, squeaked by Edgie Geronimo 8-7, Evan Lunda 8-6, Danny Olson 8-4 and smoked Josh Roberts 8-2.
The hot seat match was a battle with Sajich getting to the hill first – 7-6. Running out for the win, he hooked himself on the last ball before the eight! Biado jumped out of his chair to tie it up & escaped with an 8-7 win! A disappointed Sajich headed west to await an opponent.
Roland Garcia emerged from the pack to face Justin – the winner of this match would advance to the finals. Garcia came out of the gate strong and was just too much for Justin to overcome. He rallied a bit at the end and got close but Roland was just too strong – final score 8-6. Justin finished in third place.
The finals were an extended race to eleven and everyone expected it to be a real dogfight but it was just the opposite. Carlo cruised to an easy 11-3 victory! Great tournament, Roland, and congratulations to Carlo on his first US Open Eight Ball title!
There’s more great pool coming so stay tuned for the US Open One Pocket and the US Open Bank Pool Championships! If you haven’t already, get your pass at PoolActionTV.com!!!
Preliminary Round Kelly Fisher 3-7 Justin Sajich Eklent Kaci 7-3 Petri Makkonen Chris Melling 7–4 Sanjin Pehlivanovic
Billy Thorpe 1-7 Skyler Woodward
Skyler Woodward inflicted a 7-1 defeat on Mosconi Cup teammate Billy Thorpe to advance to the last 16 of the Dafabet World Pool Masters, while Justin Sajich, Eklent Kaci and Chris Melling also progressed on the opening evening of play at Europa Sports Complex, Gibraltar.
With fans returning to the Matchroom Pool arena for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, those lucky enough to have a ticket were treated to a top-class evening of pool.
Sajich registered a 7-3 win over Women’s World Champion 7-3 before Petri Makkonen suffered the same reversal against Kaci. Melling beat Sanjin Pehlivanovic with the performance of the night, a 7-4 win against a debutant who acquitted himself well.
In the evening’s opening match, Sajich ran the second rack after coming out on top of a safety battle from Fisher’s break in the first. The Australian looked set to lead 3-0 but missed the 9, allowing the Women’s World Champion to half her deficit.
Sajich took the fourth but broke dry and Fisher was back to within one at 3-2 down. However, she was soon three down after Sajich won the sixth and made a golden break to go 5-2 up thanks to a kick from the 3.
The Australian reached the hill after Fisher couldn’t bank the 4 to safety after a great jump on the 3. A brilliant 1/9 kept Fisher in it but the 4 thwarted her in the next, and Sajich cleared the table for a 7-3 victory to set up a last-16 clash with Greece’s Alex Kazakis.
The following match saw Eklent Kaci storm to a 5-0 lead over Petri Makkonen. The Finn got on the board with a great 5/9 carom and cut the gap further to train 5-2. However, Kaci took the next to reach the hill and a great cut on the 2, with plenty of side to reach the 3, set the Albanian on the road the last 16. However, he missed the 3 in the tight four-inch pockets and Makkonen was able to reduce the score to 6-3.
The match was over in rack 10, though, as Kaci took his chance to close out the win and book a last-16 match against Naoyuki Oi on Sunday evening.
Chris Melling, like Kaci before him, took control of the early exchanges against Sanjin Pehlivanovic, who was making is Masters debut. The Yorkshireman was quick to gain a 4-0 advantage and despite losing the fifth, his four-rack lead was restored at 5-1.
The Bosnian started a comeback at that stage, winning three consecutive racks to bring the scores to 5-4. Melling won the tenth to reach the hill with breathing space, and the break and the former Mosconi Cup MVP won the match thanks to the shot of the night, a brilliant 2 in which he hammered the cue ball back off the bottom rail for position on the 3.
“I got off to a good start but then Sanjin came back well,” said Melling “I potted some good balls and I am delighted to get through. I was very nervous and the pockets are a lot tighter than normal, so when you are playing the ball with force you can miss them, but luckily for me they went in.”
The evening ended with the much-anticipated all-American affair between Mosconi Cup and World Cup teammates Woodward and Thorpe. Thorpe took the first but Woodward dominated the next four; Thorpe should have taken his opponent’s 3-1 lead down to 3-2, but a simple 4 missed to the middle meant Thorpe lost the table and Woodward was 4-1 ahead.
The Ohio man had a chance again in the next but got hooked behind the jaw of the middle pocket with only the 8 and 9 left. After jacking up in an attempt to get enough cue ball movement to make the 8, Thorpe left it on for Woodward, who removed the remaining balls for a 5-1 lead.
Thorpe missed a long 3 in the next, again hitting it too hard. Woodward wasn’t perfect in the match, but didn’t need to be and cleaned up each time Thorpe made a mistake. However, he wasn’t given another chance as Woodward, breaking on the hill, controlled the table for a 7-1 win and a last-16 meeting with defending champion David Alcaide.
The Dafabet World Pool Masters continues on Sunday with two sessions. The afternoon session begins at 12:00 local time (CET) with matches including Niels Feijen vs. Jeffrey De Luna and the first of the last 16 matches; Chris Melling against Joshua Filler.
The event is broadcast globally including on Sky Sports, DAZN and Zhibo.tv. Coverage is available on Matchroom.Live in nations without a TV broadcaster. Full details can be found at www.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 1
USA 7-2 Australia Great Britain C 7-5 South Africa Great Britain 7-4 Belarus
Great Britain A survived a huge first round scare against Belarus to advance to the second round of the World Cup of Pool, while Great Britain C and USA also progressed on Tuesday evening.
Mosconi Cup MVP Jayson Shaw was joined by Chris Melling on Great Britain A but they found themselves struggling against Belarus’ all-female pairing of Margarita Fefilova and Yana Halliday, whose husband Richard had represented South Africa earlier in the evening.
Belarus showed early in the match that they certainly weren’t here to make up the numbers, taking two of the first four racks. The hosts looked set to regain the lead in the fifth but Melling left Shaw poor position on the 9, and his attempted thin cut barely moved the 9 and Belarus took the lead.
Great Britain levelled but with the chance to lead it was Melling who missed the 9, Shaw guilty of poor position on that occasion. Belarus then missed one of their own; 5-3 looked on the cards until Halliday missed the 6, allowing Shaw and Melling off the hook, and GB levelled again.
That was the end of Belarus’ hopes, though, as Shaw and Melling ran the next rack to finally lead again for the first time since 1-0, and they ran the next two racks too to complete a 7-4 victory after an almighty scare served up by Halliday and Fefilova.
Great Britain C, late entrants after Canada suffered travel issues, were hoping to roll back the years as Darren Appleton and Karl Boyes looked to recreate the partnership which made them so formidable at the Mosconi Cup and saw them lift the World Cup in 2014.
They were up against South Africa, who had Richard Halliday alongside JJ Faul, a late-replacement for Richard’s brother Vincent. Both teams struggled under the arena lights. Appleton and Boyes got themselves 5-3 ahead but with a chance to reach the hill, ‘Dynamite’ missed an 8 to the middle. GB took the next to reach the hill, but South Africa got a chance again in the 11th rack.
Faul looked certain to close the gap and pile the pressure on the Brits but missed the 9 off the spot. With head in hands certain he’d given away the match, the South African earned a reprieve as the 9 sailed up table and fluked into the top left pocket.
South Africa were then breaking to level, but didn’t have a shot despite making the 1 on the break. Boyes got a chance when he had sight of the 2 and when he landed it, the 2014 champions were able to clear the table to meet Greece in round two on Wednesday.
The session had opened with American pairing Skyler Woodward and Billy Thorpe easing to victory over Australia’s Justin Sajich and Ivan Li.
After a shaky start including a missed 9 by Woodward at 3-1, USA settled. Australia couldn’t take advantage of the break at 3-2 down and from there the American pair were able to pull away. Having gone 4-2 up they ran the next two racks, a trademark Thorpe bank on the 2 the highlight of the eighth rack.
USA lost control of the table in the ninth but Australia could only play a hopeful jump on the 2, however Sajich left it open and Woodward and Thorpe, already on the hill, ran out to set up a mouth-watering clash with the Philippines in round two.
The World Cup of Pool continues on Wednesday with second round matches including Japan vs. Russia and Germany vs. Kuwait in the afternoon, before both remaining Great Britain teams feature in the evening session.
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.
Eklent Kaci’s Albanian team are among a number of nations now confirmed for the World Cup of Pool, which will take place this May 9-14 at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes, live on Sky Sports.
Mosconi Cup winner Kaci will again be joined by Besar Spahiu after the pair defeated Russia at the 2019 World Cup before falling agonisingly short against Philippines, suffering a 7-5 defeat.
A host of European teams are now confirmed, as well as Kuwait (Omar Al-Shaheen and Bader Abdullah Alawadhi), and Australia, who will again be represented by Justin Sajich, this time partnered by Ivan Li.
Serge Das will return for Belgium alongside Kevin Lannoye, while Bosnia & Herzegovina will make their World Cup of Pool debut with Sanjin Pehlivanovic and Ajdin Piknjac. Philipp Stojanovic and Roberto Bartol will represent Croatia, while the Czech Republic pairing will be Roman Hybler and Michal Gavenciak.
Young Danish star Mickey Krause will make his debut in the Matchroom arena with Bahram Lotfy as the 20-year-old’s partner.
Estonia’s Denis Grabe and Mark Magi, who famously fell out after losing a hill-hill second round match at the last World Cup of Pool, will be hoping nothing comes between them this time around. Oliver Szolnoki and Vilmos Foldes are teaming up for Hungary and there’s a World Cup debut for Lithuania, represented by Pijus Labutis and Kęstutis Žadeikis.
The World Cup of Pool features 32 two-player teams and is played to a straight-knockout format, with a total prize fund of $250,000.
Team Austria (Albin Ouschan and Mario He) will defend their title in Milton Keynes, but competition will be tough with some of the biggest names in pool already confirmed. They include, three-times winners Philippines (Jeff De Luna and Roberto Gomez), USA (Skyler Woodward and Billy Thorpe), and Great Britain A (Jayson Shaw and Chris Melling).
The final teams will be announced shortly and the draw for the World Cup of Pool will be made soon after all teams have been confirmed. The World Cup of Pool will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live, with further international broadcasters to be confirmed.
Germany’s formidable pairing of Josh Filler and Ralf Souquet (JP Parmentier)
The final teams have been confirmed for the 2019 World Cup of Pool with powerhouse nations such as Philippines, Germany and Holland all set to compete at the Morningside Arena, Leicester this June 25-30.
Tickets are on sale now at www.matchroompool.com for pool’s biggest doubles event with the draw to be announced shortly.
A further 15 teams have been added to the line-up with the final nation to be the winner of a European qualifying event, which will take place over the weekend of June 1-2 at IDM Club in Bucharest, Romania.
US Open and World Champion Joshua Filler will again compete alongside Ralf Souquet for Germany, with another Mosconi Cup legend in Niels Feijen being joined by Marc Bijsterbosch for Holland. Alex Pagulayan teams up with John Morra to represent Canada, and Ko brothers Pin-Yi and Ping-Chung will be aiming to win Chinese Taipei’s second World Cup title.
Other Asian nations will include Japan (Naoyuki Oi and Toru Kuribayashi), Hong Kong (Lo Ho Sum and Yip Kin Ling Leo), Singapore (Aloysuis Yapp and Sharik Aslam Sayed) and three-time World Cup winners Philippines (Carlo Biado and Jeff De Luna).
Elsewhere South American Champions Chile will be represented by Enrique Rojas and Alejandro Carvajal, while there will also be teams from Brazil and Saudi Arabia, with players to be confirmed shortly.
Tickets for the 2019 World Cup of Pool are on sale now priced at £5 for weekday afternoons and £10 for weekday evenings and weekend sessions. A season ticket is available for £75 with premium ticket packages available for weekend days including food and unlimited beer, wine and soft drinks.
The 2019 World Cup of Pool features 32 two-player teams battling for the $60,000 first prize from a total prize fund of $250,000. Matches are race to 7 in the first two rounds, race to 9 in the quarter and semi-finals and, for the first time, race to 11 in the final.
The 2019 World Cup of Pool is sponsored by the following partners: Iwan Simonis (Cloth), Saluc (Aramith Balls), Rasson (Table), Predator (cues), Kamui (chalk and tip).
The first 16 teams to participate in the 2019 World Cup of Pool have been confirmed ahead of the event at Morningside Arena, Leicester which takes place from Tuesday, June 25 until Sunday, June 30 with tickets on sale at midday this Friday, May 24 at www.worldcupofpool.com.
The line-up includes three pairs who have previously won the event together; defending champions Wu Jiaqing and Liu Haitao of China, 2017 winners Albin Ouschan and Mario He of Austria and Finland’s Petri Makkonen and Mika Immonen.
As host nation Great Britain can enter two teams, with Scotland’s Jayson Shaw and Yorkshire’s Chris Melling making up Great Britain A and Mark Gray and Imran Majid on Great Britain B. Team USA will be among the favourites after defeating Europe at December’s Mosconi Cup in London; Shane Van Boening, a World Cup winner in 2008, returns and is partnered by Mosconi MVP Skyler Woodward for a third time. They reached the World Cup final two years ago before losing out to Austria.
Also familiar to Mosconi Cup fans will be team Sweden, led by European captain Marcus Chamat with Tomas Larsson as his partner. Eklent Kaci is joined by Besar Spahiu for Albania, with Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and World Pool Masters winner David Alcaide playing for Spain.
Former Mosconi MVP Tony Drago pairs with Clayton Castaldi for Malta while Italy’s Fabio Petroni, who memorably played for Europe in the 1998 Mosconi Cup, joins Daniele Corrieri on the Italian team.
Justin Sajich and Danny Stone won their national qualifier to earn the right to represent Australia, and Matt Edwards will this year be paired with Simon Singleton for New Zealand. Richard Halliday returns for South Africa and is this year partnered by Jason Theron while Czech Republic (Roman Hybler and Michal Gavenčiak) and Estonia (Denis Grabe and Mark Magi) have also been confirmed.
More teams will be announced in the coming days with draw and schedule information to follow in due course.
The 2019 World Cup of Pool features 32 two-player teams battling for the $60,000 first prize from a total prize fund of $250,000. Matches are race to 7 in the first two rounds, race to 9 in the quarter and semi-finals and for the first time race to 11 in the final.
Tickets for the 2019 World Cup of Pool go on pre-sale to Matchroom Pool Club members from midday on Thursday, May 23. Membership of the Matchroom Pool Club is free of charge and new members can register now at http://www.matchroompool.com/pool-club/.
General sale begins at midday on Friday, May 24 with tickets priced at £5 for weekday afternoons and £10 for weekday evenings and weekend sessions. Season tickets and premium ticket options are also available.
2019 World Cup of Pool Confirmed Teams:
Albania Eklent Kaci / Besar Spahiu
Australia Justin Sajich / Danny Stone
Austria Albin Ouschan / Mario He
China Wu Jiaqing / Liu Haitao
Czech Republic Roman Hybler / Michal Gavenčiak
Estonia Denis Grabe / Mark Magi
Finland Petri Makkonen / Mika Immonen
Great Britain A Jayson Shaw / Chris Melling
Great Britain B Mark Gray / Imran Majid
Italy Fabio Petroni / Daniele Corrieri
Malta Tony Drago / Clayton Castaldi
New Zealand Matt Edwards / Simon Singleton
South Africa Richard Halliday / Jason Theron
Spain David Alcaide / Francisco Sanchez Ruiz
Sweden Marcus Chamat / Tomas Larsson
USA Shane van Boening / Skyler Woodward
The 2019 World Cup of Pool is sponsored by the following partners: Iwan Simonis (Cloth), Saluc (Aramith Balls), Rasson (Table), Predator (cues), Kamui (chalk and tip).
PLAY CONTINUED at the Dafabet World Pool Masters with four of the first round matches the Victoria Stadium in Gibraltar. There was plenty of excitement with two matches going all the way as two-time winner Shane Van Boening came within a whisker of elimination.
David Alcaide enjoyed another 7-3 win as he coasted past defending champion Niels Feijen to keep on track for his second Masters title. The veteran Spaniard, a champion here in 2017, never really looked in trouble as he pulled away from the shaky Dutchman in the latter half of the game.
“This tournament, I remember two years ago I played not perfectly but at 95%. Today, I didn’t have a good break. It is very important when you play close to home to have the support from your home fans. When you play the World Pool Masters every player is a top player in the world so it doesn’t matter who you play.”
The most dramatic match of the session saw two-time winner Shane Van Boening crawl over the line as he narrowly escaped a first-round exit at the hands of China’s Ladies World No.1 Han Yu.
With Han starting the match at as much as 11/1 there were few who gave her much of a chance but she took the opening rack after a long safety battle with the six-ball tied up with the 9.
Van Boening took the next two racks but missed a relatively straight forward two ball to allow Han to level. She then surged ahead and at 6-3 and breaking had every chance of landing the upset. A misjudged safety allowed Van Boening back in and he ran out for 6-4 and he took racks 11 and 12 to make it hill-hill. Han got back to the table in the last but Van Boeing held on to survive a massive scare.
The next match also went down to a decider as Alex Pagulayan made it two wins in two days as he dislodged Ko Pin-yi by 7-6. The plucky Canadian-Filipino had a tough draw – he defeated Wu Jiaqing yesterday and was rewarded with Ko – but was in irrepressible form to dispose of those two world-beaters.
In the final match of the session, yesterday’s giant-killer, Justin Sajich of Australia, failed to make further progress as he was stopped in his tracks by Alex Kazakis of Greece.
Kazakis, who qualified for the Masters by virtue of being World No.1 at the close of 2018, had too much as he closed out the match for a 7-3 win and a quarter-final match against either Konrad Juszczyszyn or Matt Edwards.
Play continues on Saturday evening with the conclusion of the Last 16 matches:
2019 Dafabet World Pool Masters is sponsored by Rasson Billiards who supplies the Official Table; the cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith by Saluc. Predator is the Official Cue of the event, Kamui are the Official Chalk and Tip and Ultimate Team Gear provide all World Pool Masters apparel.
