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Fit, Fresh And Fabulous

Nikos Ekonomopoulus, photo by Bo Bader

Greece's Nikos Ekonomopoulus plays perfect pool to book his place with 31 others in the knockout rounds at the World 9-ball Championship.

 

(Doha, Qatar)–Misery and joy danced a sultry tango  today at the Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha on Day 2 of the 2016 WPA World 9-ball Championship, as 32 players headed for the exits, while another 32 players booked their place in the final 64 knockout stage.

 

As on Day 1, all 128 players saw action, but unlike the opening rounds, much more was at stake.  All 32 losers-side matches in the group stage were do-or-die.  All 32 winners-side matches offered the victor a massive sigh of relief, and a day off as they await the start of the single elimination knockout stage which begins on Tuesday.

 

For the 64 players remaining in this year’s World 9-ball Championship, that means Monday is the dreaded Judgement Day, when every roll of the ball could spell the difference between a career defining run at glory, or a career sullying walk into the lonely Qatari desert, head in hand, never wanting to show your face in public again. Yes, pool at this level can deliver the ultimate prize and the ultimate shame, and all at the same time. It’s why fans around the world love world championship 9-ball.

 

The day started early at 10am inside the icy cold Al Arabi Sports Club with the losers side matches.  A second loss meant an instant out, while a win meant one more chance at qualifying. You could sense the tension straight away as nobody, especially the top players, wanted to go 2 and out in a world championship.

 

Easily the biggest shock of the tournament so far came when former World 9-ball Champion and Hall of Famer Mika Immonen quickly got the big boot. Surprisingly the always ready for prime time Finn couldn’t get himself into the thick of the action this year. Today he fell behind early to Poland’s Mieszko Fortunski and never contended, getting blown out, 9-4. 
 

Day 1 had been a terrible day for the USA, but Shaun Wilke, Skylar Woodward and Shane Van Boening kept hope alive for the American side with impressive wins. Van Boening in particular looked the goods as he broke magnificently in his 9-2 drubbing of Argentina's Ariel Castro. Fans will recall it was Van Boening’s sensational break shot last year that saw him storm into the finals. 

 

2007 World 9-ball Championship Daryl Peach bounced back from a big collapse on day 1 and played perfect in a 9-5 win over Singapore’s Alyosius Yapp, who had made a run to the quarterfinals last year.  Interestingly Peach will play a Judgement Day match against the Philippines Roberto Gomez, the very man he beat in Manila in 2007 to win the world title.
 

Other notable names who survived to play another day include Germany’s Ralf Souquet, China’s Wang Can, the Philippines Carlo Biado, Poland’s Karol Skowerski and Japan’s Naoyuki Oi.

 

The winners side matches in the afternoon presented some brilliant face offs that would be worthy of a semis and even a finals any day of the week. Defending Champion Ko Pin Yi once again looked completely impervious as he took down Austria’s Mario He, 9-5. 

 

China’s Zhou Long and Canada’s John Morra squared off in a battle of young rising stars. Morra has been one of pool’s rising bright lights in the last two years and even made it to the quarterfinals last year in Doha with a sensational run.  But Zhou made a case for his superb skills today, playing what could be the match of the tournament so far, as he beat the Canadian handily, 9-2.

 

Perhaps the biggest matchup on the winners’ side took place between Greece’s Nikos Ekonomopoulus and Great Britain’s Jayson Shaw. Ekonomopoulus has been one of Europe’s best players over the last three years. Shaw recently won two straight events in Europe and currently leads the points race for the European Mosconi Cup squad.

 

Today, however, belonged to the Greek as he played absolutely perfect pool and beat the determined Scotsman, 9-5. Afterward, Ekonomopoulus attributed his stellar play to the fact that he has recently put aside his usual high life living and taken up a training regime. 
 

“I played a perfect set,” the friendly Greek said. “The last two months I made a good workout program for myself. I go to the gym every day, I practice pool for two hours, and I eat good. So I feel better.  It’s the first time in my life I have made a program like that so I feel really comfortable at the table.”  

 

Fans and future opponents should pay attention as Ekonomopolous new focus on fitness is clearly paying off. He’s reached the final in the last Euro Tour event, made two finals in other recent open European tournaments, and won an event in Cyprus. And now he’s in the Final 64 in Doha.

 

Also deserving a good look are the Russians, as veterans Konstantin Stepanov and Ruslan Chinakov barged into the Final 64 undefeated.  It should be noted that both Stepanov and Chinakov have spent the last year under the tutelage of coach Johan Ruysink, the Dutch pool coaching guru who led the European Mosconi Cup team to victory seven times.

 

Several big names failed to qualify today as 2012 World 9-ball Champion Darren Appleton and the Philippines Dennis Orcollo both went down to defeat.  Appleton couldn’t fend off the spirited play of Taiwan’s tiny Chu Hong Ming—nicknamed “Peter Pan”—losing 9-7. Orcollo faced fellow Filipino in veteran Ramil Gallego. Orcollo couldn’t get a groove and got swept aside, 9-4. Both players will be back for another go on Judgement Day.

 

The Philippines will be well represented in the knockout stages as along with Gallego, Lee Vann Corteza, Warren Kiamco, Alex Pagulayan(Can-Phl) and young gun Johann Chua all advanced.

 

Former world champion Wu Jiaqing(formerly Wu Chia Ching) once again looked superb and moved on. Already seven Chinese players, including Liu Haitao and Li Hewen, have made it through to the final 64.

 

Other notable players qualifying include two time World 9-ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann, Austria’s Albin Ouschan, Great Britain’s Karl Boyes, and Chang Jung Lin of Taiwan.

 

Play in the final day of the group stages begins tomorrow at 10am(GMT +3). 

 

**The 2015 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from July 30-August 4, 2016. The winner of the 2015 World 9-ball Championship will receive $40,000. The runner up will receive $20,000. The total prize fund is $200,000.

 

The players will be competing on Wiraka DYNASTY  Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament  Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.

 

The 2016 World 9-ball Championship is being hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

 

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/worldpoolbilliardassociation/

 

The WPA is also on Twitter; @poolwpa

 

DAY 2 RESULTS, GROUP STAGE, LOSERS SIDE
Winners get one more chance
Losers are out of the tournament

Group 1
Mazen Berjuai(LEB) 9 – 3 Mohamed C. Elraousti(ALG) 
Waleed Majid(QAT) 9 – 7 Shahbaz Adil Khan(IND)

Group 2
Karol Skowerski(POL) 9 – 5 Lo Ho Sum(HKG)
Francis Crevier(CAN) 9 – 2  Abdul Aziz Alawadhi(QAT)

Group 3
Bruno Muratore(ITA) 9 – 5 Henrique  Corriea (POR)
Omar Al Shaheen(KUW) 9 – 4 Marcus Chamat(SWE)

Group 4
Daryl Peach(GBR) 9 – 5 Aloysius Yapp(SIN) 
Roberto Gomez(PHL) 9 – 2 Mohannad Al Ghumayz(KSA)

Group 5
Artem Koshovoj(UKR) 9 – 8 Aoki Ryoji(JPN) 
Mohammad Al Kashawi(KUW) 9 – 5 Yang Ching Shun(TPE)   

Group 6
Naoyuki Oi(JPN) 9 – 2 Mohammed Saeed(QAT)
Wang Can(CHN) 9 – 7 Armin Mahmoudi(IRN)

Group 7
Imran Majid(GBR)9 -2  Abdullah Mohd Karmastaji(UAE)
Christian Goetmann(GER) 9  – 6 Ali Abdulhadi Almeri(QAT)

Group 8
Konard Juszczyszym(POL) 9 – 5 Karar Abdulwahed(IRQ)
Justin Campbell(AUS) 9 – 2 Robert Hart(USA)

Group 9
Shaun Wilke(USA) 9 – 1 Andrew Kong Bu Hong(HKG) 
Satoshi Kawabata(JPE) 9 – 6 Abdul Latif Al Fawal(QAT)

Group 10
Hiroshi Takenaka(JPN) 9 – 3 Nadim Okbani(ALG)
Mieszko Fortunski(POL) 9 – 4 Mika Immonen(FIN)

Group 11
Skyler Woodward(USA) 9 – 3 Omran Salem(UAE)  
Ralf Souquet(GER) 9 – 4 Sayeem Hossain(BAN)

Group 12
Nick Van Den Berg(NED) 9 – 7 Abdulla Yousif(KUW)
Carlo Biado(PHL) 9 – 1 Fahad Khalaf Al Jassas(BAH

Group 13
Ali Al Obaidli(QAT) 9 – 7 Manual Chau(PER)
Mateusz Sniegocki(POL) 9 – 7 Toru Kuribayashi(JPN)

Group 14
Marco Teutscher(NED) 9 – 1 Mohammed Berjaui(LEB)
Shane Van Boening(USA) 9 – 2 Ariel Castro(ARG)

Group 15
Salah Eldeen Al Remawi(UAE) 9 – 6 Hunter Lombardo(USA)
Chang Yu Lung(TPE) 9 – 2 Do Hoang Quan(VIE)

Group 16
Joshua Filler(GER) 9 – 0 Abder Rehman Mebarki(ALG)
Ahmed Mohammad Salah(JOR) 9 – 6 Himanshu Jain(IND)

 

Winners side matches
Winners advance to the Final 64, Losers get one more chance 

Group 1
Ko Pin Yi(TPE)  9 – 5 Mario He(AUT)   
Thorsten Hohmann(GER) 9 – 7  Jeong Young Hwa(KOR)   

Group 2
Chang Jun Lin(TPE)  9 – 7 Jeffrey Ignacio(PHL)  
Johan Chua(PHL)  9 – 4 Petri Makkonen(FIN)  

Group 3
Chu Hong Ming(TPE) 9 – 7 Darren Appleton(GBR)        
Ruslan Chinakov(RUS)   9 – 4 MD Almin(BAN)

Group 4
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz(ESP) 9 – 6  Cristopher Tevez(PER)   
Albin Ouschan(AUT)  9 – 8 Antonio Gabica(QAT-PHL)   

Group 5
Zhou Long(CHN)   9 – 2 John Morra(CAN)   
Alex Pagulayan(CAN) 9 – 4 Luong Chi Dong(VIE)   

Group 6
Karl Boyes(GBR)   9 – 3Hamzaa M Saeed Ali(ERI)  
Toh Lian Han(SIN)   9 – 5 Jeffrey De Luna(PHL)   

Group 7
Ramil Gallego(PHL)  9 – 4 Dennis Orcollo(PHL)   
David Alcaide(ESP)  9 – 8 Irsal Nasution(INA)

Group 8
Nikos Ekonomopoulos(GRE)  9 – 5  Jayson Shaw(GBR) 
Ko Ping Chung(TPE) 9 – 8 Abdul Rahman Al Amar(KSA)     

Group 9
Lui Haitao(CHN) 9 – 1 Jalal Yousef(VEN)   
Alexander Kazakis(GRE) 9 – 6 Niels Feijen(NED)      

Group 10
Chu Bing Jie(CHN) 9- 1  Ruben Bautista(MEX)   
Hsieh Chia Chen(TPE)  9 – 5 Ali Maghsoud(IRN)   

Group 11
Waren Kiamco(PHL)  9 – 7 Oliver Ortmann(GER)   
Wu Kun Lin(TPE) 9 – 3 Wojciech Szewczyk(POL)  

Group 12
Francisco Pizaarro Diaz(ESP) 9 – 3 Hayato Hijikata(JPE)   
Roman Hybler(CZE)  9 – 6 Muhammad Bewi Simenjuntak(INA)  

Group 13
Wu Jiaqing(CHN) 9 – 5  Ryu Ceung Woo(KOR)   
Dennis Grabe(EST)  9 – 4 Oscar Dominguez(USA)    

Group 14
Li Hewen(CHN)  9 – 4 Francisco Olita Felicilda(QAT-PHL)   
Li Wen Lo(TPE)  9 – 5 Yukio Akagariyama(JPN)   

Group 15
Lee Vann Corteza(PHL) 9 – 7 Abdulla Al Shemmari(KSA)   
Konstantin Stepanov(RUS) 9 – 6 Rogelio Belleca Sotero Jr(PHL)

Group 16
Dang Jin Hu(CHN)  9 – 3 Bashar Hussaiin(QAT)  
Han Hao Xiang(CHN)  9 – 3 Cheng Yu Husan(TPE)   

The Middle East Rises On The World Stage

Abdul Rahman Al Amar (Photos courtesy of Bo Bader)

(Doha, Qatar)–The moments before the first rack on the first day of the World 9-ball Championship are never easy, even for the best of players. The tables and conditions are new and untested. Players know they only have to win two race-to-9matches to qualify for the final 64, but things in pool can easily go array as you may come out flat, or the balls might conspire against you. Even the top players realize that just because you haven’t heard of the guy you’re paired against, it doesn’t mean you’re going to waltz into the money rounds.
 
Indeed while 15 of the WPA’s top 20 players won their opening matches on day 1 in Doha, several big names suffered setbacks, suddenly finding themselves on the one loss side of their groups, and one more loss from unceremoniously exiting  pool’s biggest stage.
 
After 8 hours of pool at its highest level at the Al Arabi sports club, several things stand out loud and clear. The sport of pool has never seen this many highly skilled players from so many different countries.  This fact, combined with the new rule this year of racking the balls with the 9-ball on the spot instead of the 1-ball, thereby toughening up the opening break shot, means that the 2016 World 9-ball championship will surely see the world crown contested at the highest level we have ever witnessed.
 
All 128 players saw action in the double elimination group stages today and, as usual,  it seems the Taiwanese are ready to contend yet again. Defending champion Ko Pin Yi had a layup of a match to get things started as he cruised to a 9-1 win over Algeria’s Mohamed Elraousti. As the day progressed, the Taiwanese kept notching up impressive wins, going 8 out of 10; Chang Jun Lin, Chu Hong Ming, Ko Ping Chung (Pin Yi’s younger brother), Hsieh Chia Chen, Li Wen Lo, Wu Kun Lin and Cheng Yu Husan all saw victory. Only Chang Yu Lung and veteran Yang Chin Shun lost.
 
Many people believe that a European will be standing in the winner’s circle next Thursday  because the Europeans have been playing with the 9-ball on the spot on the Euro tour for years, and already understand this breaks shot’s unique complexities. One player in particular with good odds is 2014 World 9-ball Champion Niels Feijen of the Netherlands, who didn’t face a difficult task as he waltzed past Qatar’s Abdul Latif Al Fawal, 9-3. It’s rumored that the Dutchman has put in 1000’s of hours perfecting the break shot and has even unlocked a certain secret about its configuration.
 
Other notable Europeans notching victories today include two time World 9-ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, Greece’s Nikos Ekonomopoulos,  Austria’s Albin Ouscan, and 2012 World 9-ball champion Darren Appleton.
 
[photo id=45144|align=right]Fans looking for a relatively new European face to break through should pay attention to Britain’s Jayson Shaw. The Scotsman recently topped two very strong fields in Europe and is currently leading the points race for the European Mosconi Cup team.  This is a young player who is clearly on the rise and anxious to make some waves.
 
“My game is about as good as it’s ever been,” Shaw said after besting Iraq’s Karar Abdulwahed, 9-3. “I’m not putting any pressure on myself. There’s some seriously good players here so I’m just taking it one match at a time and trying to enjoy this atmosphere. My goal is to get into the final 16 and from there, anything can happen.”
 
It was a solid day for Spain as David Alcaide, Francisco Pizaarro Diaz, and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz all won. Ruis squeaked by last year’s surprise quarterfinalist from Singapore, Aloysius Yapp.
 
The day proved downright miserable for the USA, as 5 out of six Americans in the field went down to defeat.  Last year’s runner up, Shane Van Boening drew a very difficult opponent in 2011 World 9-ball champion Yukio Akagariyama of Japan. The match was close halfway, but Akagariyama, who earned entry into the tournament by winning a qualifier, pulled away to win, 9-5. Only Oscar Dominguez saved the day for the USA, but barely as he squeaked by Poland’s Mateusz Sniegocki, 9-8.
 
As usual the Philippines has one of the largest contingents in the tournament and can be expected to go deep. Dennis Orcollo, Lee Vann Corteza, Johann Chua, Jeffrey Ignacio, Ramil Gallego, Alex Pagulayan(representing Canada), and Jeffrey De Luna were some notable Pinoys who notched wins today. World number 6 Carlo Biado lost to Czech’s Roman Hybler, 9-5.
 
China’s powerhouse lineup performed solidly today. Former world 9-ball champion Wu Jiaqing, world number 3 Lui Haitao,  Li Hewen, Dang Jinghu and three others saw victory.
 
One of the early revelations of this year’s world championship is just how far players from the Middle East have truly come in competitive 9-ball.  In years past Middle Eastern players were just entering these big events for the experience. Now it is clear they are truly on a world class level and will soon start contending and even winning big events. And they are coming from some very surprising places.
 
Nobody thought Iran’s Ali Maghsoud had much of a chance against Hall of Famer and multi world champion Mika Immonen, especially being down 8-5 in the race to 9. But the 27 year old from the Iranian city of Kermanshah buckled down, held his nerve and stormed back to win by a thread, 9-8. 
 
“When I was down 8-5, I just knew I was going to come back,” Maghsoud, who owns his own pool club in Iran, said afterward. “He’s a world champion but I was very positive.”
 
[photo id=45143|align=right]Saudi Arabia showed they are a rising pool nation today as Abdul Rahman Al Amar beat American Justin Campbell 9-7, while Abdulla Al Shemmari took down the USA’s Hunter Lombardo, 9-5.  Eritrean Hamzaa M Saeed Ali, who was born and raised in Saudi and still lives there also won, defeating Japan’s Naoyuki Oi, 9-8.
 
The 27 year old Al Almar is clearly knocking on the door to success. Last year he defeated the Philippines Johann Chua in the group stages and made it to the final 64. The former snooker player informed us that pool is actually backed by the government in Saudi and that there are currently over 14,000 registered pool players in the Kingdom.  Yes, you read that right; Saudi Arabia is one of pool’s hot spots.
 
Even Bangladesh rode the winning wave today as MD Alim handily defeated Swedish veteran Marcus Chamat, 9-4.
 
The group stages at the 2016 World 9-ball Championship continue on Saturday at the Al Arabi Sports beginning at 10am local time(GMT +3.)  All 128 players will again see action on Day 2, with 32 players advancing into the final 64 Knockout rounds, and another 32 players heading for the exits.
 
**The 2015 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from July 30-August 4, 2016. The winner of the 2015 World 9-ball Championship will receive $40,000. The runner up will receive $20,000. The total prize fund is $200,000.
 
The players will be competing on Wiraka DYNASTY  Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament  Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.
 
The 2016 World 9-ball Championship is being hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.
 
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/worldpoolbilliardassociation/
 
The WPA is also on Twitter; @poolwpa
 
 
 
DAY 1 RESULTS , GROUP STAGES, DOUBLE ELIMINATION
Winners need 1 more win to advance to the Final 64.
Losers still have to win 2 games to advance
 
Group 1
Ko Pin Yi (TPE)  9 – 1 Mohamed C. Elraousti (ALG)
Mario He (AUT) 9 – 5 Mazen Berjuai (LEB)
Thorsten Hohmann (GER) 9 – 4 Shahbaz Adil Khan (IND)
Jeong Young Hwa (KOR) 9 – 5 Waleed Majid (QAT)
 
Group 2
Chang Jun Lin (TPE)9 – 5 Lo Ho Sum (HKG)
Jeffrey Ignacio (PHL) 9 – 4 Karol Slowerski (POL)
Petri Makkonen (FIN) 9 – 0 Abdul Aziz Alawadhi (QAT)
Johan Chua (PHL) 9 – 8 Francis Crevier (CAN)
 
Group 3
Darren Appleton (GBR) 9 – 4 Bruno Muratore (ITA)
Chu Hong Ming (TPE) 9 – 2  Henrique  Corriea (POR)
MD Almin (BAN) 9 – 4 Marcus Chamat (SWE) 
Ruslan Chinakov (RUS) 9 – 4 Omar Al Shaheen (KUW)
 
Group 4
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) 9 – 8 Aloysius Yapp (SIN) 
Cristopher Tevez (PER) 9 – 6 Daryl Peach (GBR) 
Antonio Gabica (QAT-PHL) 9 -7  Mohannad Al Ghumayz (KSA)
Albin Ouschan (AUT) 9 – 6 Roberto Gomez (PHL)
 
Group 5
John Morra (CAN) 9 – 5 Artem Koshovoj (UKR)
Zhou Long (CHN)  9 – 2 Aoki Ryoji (JPN)
Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 9 – 5  Mohammad Al Kashawi (KUW)
Luong Chi Dong (VIE) 9 – 8 Yang Ching Shun (TPE)
 
Group 6
Karl Boyes (GBR) 9 – 5 Mohammed Saeed (QAT)
Hamzaa M Saeed Ali (ERI) 9 – 8 Naoyuki Oi (JPN) 
Toh Lian Han (SIN) 9 – 6 Armin Mahmoudi (IRN)
Jeffrey De Luna (PHL) 9 – 6 Wang Can (CHN)
 
Group 7
Dennis Orcollo (PHL) 9 – 5 Abdullah Mohd Karmastaji (UAE)
Ramil Gallego (PHL) 9 – 6 Imran Majid (GBR) 
Irsal Nasution (INA) 9 – 2 (Ali Abdulhadi Almeri (QAT)
David Alcaide (ESP) 9 – 4 Christian Goetmann (GER)
 
Group 8
Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE) 9 – 4 Konard Juszczyszym (POL)
Jayson Shaw (GBR) 9 – 3 Karar Abdulwahed (IRQ)
Abdul Rahman Al Amar (KSA) 9 – 7 Justin Campbell (AUS) 
Ko Ping Chung (TPE) 9 – 1 Robert Hart (USA)
 
Group 9
Lui Haitao (CHN) 9 – 6 Andrew Kong Bu Hong (HKG)
Jalal Yousef (VEN) 9 – 6 Shaun Wilke (USA)
Niels Feijen (NED) 9 – 3 Abdul Latif Al Fawal (QAT)
Alexander Kazakis (GRE)  9 – 7 Satoshi Kawabata (JPE)
 
Group 10
Chu Bing Jie (CHN) 9 – 3 Nadim Okbani (ALG)
Ruben Bautista (MEX) 9 – 5 Hiroshi Takenaka (JPN)
Hsieh Chia Chen (TPE) 9 – 7 Mieszko Fortunski (POL)
Ali Maghsoud (IRN) 9 – 8 Mika Immonen (FIN)
 
Group 11
Waren Kiamco (PHL) 9 – 5 Omran Salem (UAE)
Oliver Ortmann (GER) 9 – 5 Skyler Woodward (USA)
Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) 9 – 2  Sayeem Hossain (BAN)
Wu Kun Lin (TPE) 9 – 6 Ralf Souquet (GER)
 
Group 12
Hayato Hijikata (JPE) 9 – 7 Nick Van Den Berg (NED)
Francisco Pizaarro Diaz (ESP) 9 – 7 Abdulla Yousif (KUW)
Muhammad Bewi Simenjuntak (INA) 9 – 8 Fahad Khalaf Al Jassas (BAH)
Roman Hybler (CZE) 9 – 6 Carlo Biado (PHL)
 
Group 13
Wu Jiaqing (CHN) 9 – 3 Ali Al Obaidli (QAT)
Ryu Ceung Woo (KOR) 9 – 8 Manual Chau (PER) 
Oscar Dominguez (USA) 9 – 8  Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)
Dennis Grabe (EST) 9 – 2 Toru Kuribayashi (JPN)
 
Group 14
Li Hewen (CHN) 9 – 4 Mohammed Berjaui (LEB)
Francisco Olita Felicilda (QAT-PHL) 9 – 7 Marco Teutscher (NED)
Li Wen Lo (TPE) 9 – 3 Ariel Castro (ARG)
Yukio Akagariyama (JPN) 9 – 5 Shane Van Boening (USA)
 
Group 15
Lee Vann Corteza (PHL) 9 – 5 Salah Eldeen Al Remawi (UAE)
Abdulla Al Shemmari (KSA) 9 – 4 Hunter Lombardo (USA)
Rogelio Belleca Sotero Jr (PHL) 9 – 6 Do Hoang Quan (VIE)
Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) 9 – 8 Chang Yu Lung (TPE)
 
Group 16
Bashar Hussaiin (QAT) 9 – 6 Abder Rehman Mebarki( ALG)
Dang Jin Hu (CHN) 9 – 8 Joshua Filler (GER)
Han Hao Xiang (CHN) 9 – 8 Ahmed Mohammad Salah (JOR)
Cheng Yu Husan (TPE) 9 – 3  Himanshu Jain (IND)

Pool’s Best Get Ready To Run The Gauntlet

Carlo Biado (Photo courtesy of Richard Walker)

With the field at the 2015 World 9-ball Championship now down to the final 32, it's clear that the sprint to the finish line is anyone's game.

 

(Doha, Qatar)– So you want to be the champion of the world? Well good because now comes the hard part.

 
After a day of weeding out the pretenders from the contenders at the Al Arabi Sports Club, and with the field having been halved from 64 to 32 players, the 2015 World 9-ball Championship is now headed for what will surely be a dramatic climax over the next two days. Thursday promises to offer up enough drama, nerves and memorable pool to last many years as anyone who has designs on 9-ball’s biggest prize will be put through the meat grinder, with the field being whittled down to just four players at the end of the day’s play.
 
The group of 32 remaining players offers pool fans a fascinating combination of champions, veterans, potential rising stars and a few newcomers all ready to do battle. Many had to pass stern tests in their round of 64 match ups today, with some players being taken to the very limit before barely getting over the finish line.
 
It would be difficult to say that there were any shocking results in any of today’s 32 matches. That’s because the lesson from this year’s World 9-ball Championship is that the talent level in professional pool has risen dramatically from all corners of the globe. Perhaps never before in pool history has there been so many top level players competing all at once. This has produced a parity that makes predicting winners extremely difficult.
 
Nowhere was this more clear than in an early match featuring one of the tournament’s favorites, Taiwan’s Ko Pin Yi. Ko, the current World 10-ball champion and a marvelous talent, found himself down 4-1 early to James Campbell from Australia. Australia? Yeah you read that right. The land down under hasn’t produced word beaters in a long time but the young Aussie looked cool as ice as he stayed even through the halfway point. Ko, however, had too much class and won 11-7, but not before taking a few solid hits.
 
Ko already knows to prepare himself for some major blows in his round of 32 match on Thursday. There he’ll face the man he barely beat in the finals of the World 10-ball championship in February, the Philippines Carlo Biado. Biado absolutely wiped the floor of the Al Arabi clean with fellow Filipino Lee Vann Corteza today. This matchup between two of the sport’s best young talents is about as good as pool can produce. Whoever wins between Ko and Biado could very well go all the way.
 
England’s Mark Gray is starting to feel that he too could have designs on the big prize, especially after making a great escape today against the legendary German Ralf Souquet. Gray trailed the entire match, but hung around and at 9-7 down he won three straight racks to move to the hill. Souquet countered to tie but Gray broke and ran for a very satisfying victory.
 
Afterward Gray seemed downright ebullient and for good reason. He knows his rock solid snooker-trained stroke can hold up as good as anyone’s under the immense pressure of championship pool. And since becoming a father last year, his new found positive attitude at the table has been a key to  his stock rising once again.
 
“I’m not renowned for my stickability,” Gray said referring to his once shaky resiliency. “Sometimes I can get down on myself. But since I became a family man a couple of years ago, I realized that there’s more important things than pool. I just try to enjoy pool a lot more now. Ever since my little girl Sofia was born a couple of years ago, things seem to have happened for me on the pool table. I seem to be a lot more relaxed at the table, I hold myself together. And I seem to get rewarded for it.”
 
Gray will have all he can handle in his next match against one of pool’s fastest rising talents, John Morra. The Canadian pounded the UAE’s Omran Salem, 11-2.
 
Several other veterans produced fine victories in the early sessions today. Finland’s Mika Immonen, the 2001 World 9-ball Champion and a member of the Hall of Fame, continued his impressive form with an 11-2 win over Singapore’s Goh ChinTeck. The Philippines’ Warren Kiamco outlasted countryman Raymund Faraon 11—7. And Wu Jia Qing, who won the World 9-ball title exactly 10 years ago at the age of 16 years old, crushed Indonesia’s Irsan Nasution, 11-3. Wu will now feature in a hardcore match against world number 1, Albin Ouschan of Austria, who outlasted Japan’s Satoshi Kawabata, 11-8.
 
Today’s matches also showcased some terrific young talents, and fans will now get a chance to see them matchup.
 
Russia’s Ruslan Chinakov has been turning heads of late, and his 11-5 drubbing of the Philippines’ Antonio Gabica had fans singing the 23 year old’s praises. Since he appeared on the scene six years ago, Chinakov’s been known as a pool prodigy who didn’t like to practice much and didn’t have a head for pressure situations. But the Russian has recently redoubled his efforts in pool, even hiring renowned Dutch coach Johan Ruysink to help bring his game to championship level.
 
“I’m trying to get my game back to when I was 17 or 18 years old,” Chinakov said. “That’s when I played my best pool. This year has been good so far. Johan has helped me by telling  me to keep my mind clear. It seems to be working.”
 
Chinakov will get a chance to test his new found confidence when he trades blows with Chinese rising star Wang Can, who took down Japan’s Tohru Kuribayashi, 11-7.  
 
Singapore’s Aloisius Yapp and the Philippines Jeffrey Ignacio are two youngsters who have shown serious promise and will face off in the final 32. Yapp outlasted Japan’s Naoyuki Oi 11-9, while Ignacio routed Canada’s Jason Klatt, 11-5.
 
For the first time in many years the USA sees three players in the final 32. Shane Van Boening easily defeated Poland’s Tomasz Kaplan, 11-3. Hunter Lombardo surprised Poland’s Mateusz Sniegocki, 11-10. And Mike Dechaine escaped at the wire, beating Tawain’s Cheng Yu Hsuan, 11-10.
 
While Americans rightfully focus on the great Van Boening as their potential savior in 9-ball, Dechaine has exhibited all the tools so far this week to create serious waves. The 28 year old played a brilliant match today and his confidence level seems to be soaring.
 
“I’m playing great right now and I feel good,” Dechaine said after his high qualify match with Cheng. “I’ve got good concentration, focus, I’m breathing good. I’m not that nervous…yet. I think I’m playing rotation pool as good as anybody right now. I’m not going to put any pressure on myself. I’m not going to expect anything.”
 
England’s Darren Appleton had an easy time in his match against Mexico’s Reuben Bautista, winning 11-3. Appleton will now have a showdown with Greece’s Nick Ekonomopoulos, who outlasted Norway’s Matey Ullah, 11-7. Another Greek, Alexander Kazakis, pulled off his biggest win to date with a nervy 11-10 comeback victory over Taiwanese veteran and two time former world champion Fong Pang Chao.  
 
Taiwan’s former world number 1 Chang Yu Lung looked like a monster with his 11-4 win over the Netherland’s Marc Bijsterbosch.  Another Taiwanese, 19 year old Ko Pin Chung, who is the younger brother of Ko Pin Yi, looked positively brilliant with an 11-5 drubbing of Austria’s Mario He. The younger Ko will now be tested by the 2011 World 9-ball Champion, Yukio Akagariyama.
 
Spain brings two solid players in the final 32. Davide Alcaide came back to defeat Tawainese veteran Yang Ching Shun. Francisco Diaz Pizarro, the current European 9-ball champion, barely beat China’s very formidable Dang Jing Hu, 11-10.
 
Qatar’s last remaining hope never stood a chance, as debutante Mishel Turkey fell to the Philippines’ Dennis Orcollo, 11-1.
 
The field will be reduced to four players by the end of play on Thursday. The semi-finals and finals will be played on Friday.
 
**The 2015 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from September 7-18, 2015. The winner of the 2015 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(QBSF), which is once again hosting and organizing the World 9-ball Championship, will be providing free live streaming of the entire tournament, in cooperation with Kozoom. Fans can watch the action live on the QBSF website at, http://live.qbsf.qa/. With all 14 tables streamed live, fans can select which table they want to watch and switch between tables at their convenience.
 
Complete up to date brackets can be found here: http://competition.kozoom.com/en/home/qatar/
 
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 
 
Results Final 64
 
Warren Kiamco(PHL) 11 – 9 Raymund Faraon(PHL)
Jalal Yousef(VEN) 11 – 10 Zhou Long(CHN)
Carlo Biado(PHL) 11 – 5 Lee Vann Corteza(PHL)
Ko Pin Yi(TPE) 11 – 7 Justin Campbell(AUS) 
Mika Immonen(FIN) 11 – 3 Goh ChinTeck(SIN)
Wu Kun Lin(TPE) 11 – 9 Ryu Seang Woo(KOR) 
John Morra(CAN) 11 – 2 Omran Salem(UAE)
Mark Gray(GBR) 11 – 10 Ralf Souquet(GER)
 
Aloisius Yapp(SIN) 11 – 9 Naoyuki Oi(JPN) 
 
Jeffrey Ignacio(PHL) 11 – 5 Jason Klatt(CAN)
Lui Haitao(CHN) 11 – 10 Imran Majid(GBR) 
Alexander Kazakis(GRE) 11 – 10 Chao Fong Pang(TPE)
Ruslan Chinakov(RUS) 11 – 5 Antonio Gabica(PHL) 
Wang Can(CHN) 11 – 7 Tohru Kuribayashi(JPN)
Albin Ouschan(AUT) 11 – 8 Satoshi Kawabata(JPN) 
Wu Jia Qing(CHN) 11 – 3 Irsan Nasution(INA)
 
Ko Pin Chung(TPE) 11 – 5 Mario He(AUT)
Yukio Akagariyama(JPN) 11 – 5 Johann Chua(PHL) 
Denis Grabe(EST) 11 – 7 Li Hewen(CHN) 
Mike Dechaine(USA) 11 – 10 Cheng Yu Hsuan(TPE)
David Alcaide(ESP) 11 – 8 Yang Ching Shun(TPE)
Toh Lian Han(SIN) 11 – 8 Abdulrahman Al Amar(KSA)
 Liu Ching Chieh(TPE) 11 – 5 Andreas Gerwen(SWE)
Wojciech Szewczyk(POL) 11 – 8 Marco Teutscher(NED)
 
Chang Yu Lung(TPE) 11 – 4 Marc Bijsterbosch(NED)
Oliver Medenilla(PHL) 11 – 4 Karol Skowerski(POL) 
Shane Van Boening(USA) 11 – 3 Tomasz Kaplan(POL)
Francisco Diaz Pizarro(ESP) 11 -10 Dang Jin Hu(CHN) 
Hunter Lombardo(USA) 11 – 10 Mateusz Sniegocki(POL) 
Dennis Orcollo(PHL) 11 – 1 Mishel Turkey(QAT)
Darren Appleton(GBR) 11 – 3 Ruben Bautista(MEX)
Nick Ekonomopoulos(GRE) 11 – 7 Matey Ullah(NOR)

From Singapore, With Serious Talent

Aloisius Yapp (Photo courtesy of Richard Walker)

Singapore's Aloysius Yapp arrives on pool's biggest stage with a dominating win over England's Darren Appleton on day 2 at the World 9-ball Championship.

 

(Doha, Qatar)– Each year at the World 9-ball Championship seems to bring pool fans a revelation, a new talent who makes his mark on the scene with such aplomb and style that you just know that big time success is surely in this young man’s future. This year in Doha it only took until the beginning of day 2 for one such player to arrive.

 
Singapore’s 19 year old Aloysius Yapp has been on the international scene for about a handful of years, but was never really noted for much more than an interesting sounding name.  Then late in 2014 the teenager pulled off his biggest success to date; capturing the WPA World Junior 9-ball Championship in Shanghai. 
 
Still, while winning the junior world title is quite the accomplishment, it’s a whole different ball game playing and winning against the big boys.  But today at the Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha, Yapp showed he truly has the goods to be a serious star on the world pool scene.  Paired against World number 2 Darren Appleton in a race to 9, first round match in group play, Yapp put on a memorable performance, taking everything the multi-titled world champion could give and dishing out a beating of his own, winning the match going away, 9 – 5.
 
Rest assured this result was not a fluke, or the result of Appleton having an off day. The English great actually played a near flawless match. But he was up against an opponent who had an answer for everything thrown at him. On top of terrific shot making, Yapp also showed an ice cold demeanor and confidence that belied his years. The Singaporean led from the start and turned the screws on Appleton seemingly at will. When it was over, Appleton suddenly found himself one loss away from a shock exit, while Yapp was basking in the tournament’s biggest upset.
 
Afterwards, Yapp revealed how he had gone from a relative unknown to a player clearly on the rise.  He has been playing pool since he was 9 years old. For the last five years he’s been a member of the Singaporean national pool team, a program funded by the government of the prosperous island state. In the last year his game started to seriously improve as he has traveled and played pool extensively overseas, including several events in China and even joining a Euro Tour event in Portugal. 
 
The experiences have not just helped Yapp’s game but his mental skills as well. Responding to a question about how he could possibly be so cool when playing against a monster like Appleton in the year’s biggest tournament, Yapp revealed a mindset that seemed downright alien to his baby faced looks.
 
“It was a good match,” Yapp said. “We both played well. I think there was only one mistake during the whole match. I didn’t think I was going to win and I didn’t think I was going to lose. I just went in with an empty mind, and just played my game and tried to do my best.
 
“I wasn’t nervous when I found out I was playing Appleton. I was actually quite excited. I wanted to draw him a long time ago. I looked forward to playing with him. All I told myself was ‘just be calm and do your best. Don’t think about winning and don’t think about losing. Just think about what’s on the table, and you’ll handle it from there.’
 
“I feel I can play and beat anybody in this event. In 9-ball the ball is round, anything can happen. Everyone stands an equal chance to win the world title.”
 
Appleton, who would later rebound with a solid losers side win to stay in the tournament, was genuinely impressed by Yapp’s ability.
 
“He played really well,” Appleton said. :I was never in the match. If he plays the rest of the way like he did against me he can win the tournament. But the problem is he is very young and inexperienced. He’s well capable of the getting into the quarters. You can see when he’s playing that he doesn’t fear anyone, he just plays the game which is the right thing to do.
 
“He’s a good player, he’s got a good future. Obviously the deeper he goes in the tournament, it adds more pressure. He’s a long shot but he if got to the quarterfinal then it wouldn’t surprise me. We all know the potential he’s got.”
 
Day 2 at the 2015 World 9-ball Championship saw the completion of all first round matches in the double elimination group stages, followed by second round matches on the one loss side of each group. By the end of the day, 32 players had been given their walking papers from the event.
 
The Philippines Dennis Orcollo looked very strong against Spain’s capable Francisco Diaz Pizarro, winning easily, 9-4. Two time world 9-ball champion Thorsten Hohmann also found victory with an easy 9-3 win over Jordan’s Nizar Mosbah Tamimi.
 
Taiwan’s Fong Pang Chao, who has also won this event twice, the first time 22 years ago, has clearly rolled back the years. Chao came to Doha without a spot and won one of the brutal qualifiers to gain entry into the main event. Today in his first match Chao manhandled China’s top player, Liu Haitao, 9 – 5.
 
The Philippines Antonio Gabica, who lives in Qatar and coaches the Qatar national pool team, always seems to perform well in this event, and today he showed he is going to be a stingy opponent as he easily beat one of the Middle East’s best players, Kuwait’s Omar Alsheen, 9 – 3.  One of the Philippines rising young players, Jeffry Ignacio, who gained entry into the event by winning a qualifier, looked solid today, in a 9-7 win over Sweden’s Andreas Gerwen.
 
Other players winning their first round matches today were Taiwan’s Chang Yu Lung, England’s Mark Gray, Canada’s Jason Klatt, Poland’s Karol Skowerski, Englan’s Imran Majid, and New Zealand’s Matt Edwards.
 
With all matches on the losers side do or die, the tension began to rise, but most of the name players pulled through to give themselves one more chance to make the Final 64 single elimination stage. Japan’s Kuribayashi Tohru, Qatar’s Waleed Majid, the Philippines Lee Vann Corteza, Tawain’s Chang Jun Lin, the Netherland’s Nick Van Den Berg, England’s Karl Boyes, China’s Liu Haitao and Kuwait’s Al Shaheen all won their second matches to stay alive.
 
The World 9-ball Championship of course, is not all about the name players. Each year the talent level from all corners of the globe becomes deeper and better. This year’s field includes players from non-traditional 9-ball locales such as Bangladesh, the Maldives, Iran, Peru, Egypt and even one player from Palestine, a first for this championship.
 
Play continues at the Al Arabi Sports Club on Monday with three sessions, all with winners’ side matches in group play. Winners of these matches will qualify for the Final 64 single elimination knockout stage, while the losers will get one more chance to qualify on Tuesday.  
 
**The 2015 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from September 7-18, 2015. The winner of the 2015 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(QBSF), which is once again hosting and organizing the World 9-ball Championship, will be providing free live streaming of the entire tournament, in cooperation with Kozoom. Fans can watch the action live on the QBSF website at, http://live.qbsf.qa/. With all 14 tables streamed live, fans can select which table they want to watch and switch between tables at their convenience.
 
Complete up to date brackets can be found here: http://competition.kozoom.com/en/home/qatar/
 
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
 
 
 
RESULTS DAY 2
 
1st Round Matches
 
Group 13
Dennis Orcollo(PHL) 9 – 4 Francisco Diaz-Pizarro(ESP)
Hosain Sayeem(BAN) 9 – 7 Fahad Al Hejeli(KSA)   
Thorsten Hohmann(GER) 9 – 3 Nizar Mosbah Tamimi(JOR)
Jalal Al Saris(VEN) 9 – 7 Goh Chin Teck(SIN)   
 
Group 14
Lo Ho Sum(HKG) 9 – 5 Karl Boyes(GBR)   
Imran Majid(GBR) 9 – 4. Sameer Al Madhi(BRN)
Chao Fong Pang(TPE) 9 – 5 Liu Haitao(CHN)   
Karol Skowerski(POL) 9 – 4  Meshal Al Murdhi(KUW)
 
Group 15
Chang Yu Lung(TPE) 9 – 4 Sundeep  Gulati(IND)
Matt Edwards(NZL) 9- 8 Petri Makkonen(FIN)
Jason Klatt(CAN) 9 – 4 Ali Hussein Ali(IRQ)
Jeffrey Ignacio(PHI) 9 – 7 Andreas Gerwen(SWE)
 
Group 16
Antonio Gabica(PHL) 9 – 3 Omar Alshaheen(KUW)
Sinha Fahim(BAN) 9 – 3 Bader Al Hamdan(KSA)
Aloysius Yapp(SIN) 9 – 5 Darren Appleton(GBR) 
Mark Gray(GBR) 9 – 1 Mohamed S.A. Elmola(EGY)
 
LOSERS SIDE MATCHES
 
Group 1
Hunter Lombardo(USA) 9 – 5 Khaled A.M. Farag(EGY) 
Irsan Afrinneza Nasution(INA) 9 – 5 Konstantin Stepanov(RUS)        
 
Group 2
Kuribayashi Tohru(JPN) 9 – 8 Mohd Al Bin Ali(QAT)
Abdullah Al Yousef(KUW) 9 – 6 Bader Al Awadhi(KUW)
 
Group 3
Roman Hybler(GER) 9 – 7 Rasekhi Medhi(IRI)
Waleed Majid(QAT)9 – 5 Sanchez-Ruiz Franscisco(ESP)
 
Group 4
Mohammad Saeed(QAT)9 – 3 Francois Ellis(RSA)
Marco Teutscher(NED) ) 9 – 0 Mohamed Shareef(MDV)
 
 
 
Group 5
Vegar Kristiansen(NOR) 9 – 7  Jeong Young Hwa(KOR)
Shannon Ducharme(CAN) 9 – 8 Mohanna Obaidly(QAT)
 
Group 6
Chang Jun Ling(TPE) 9 – 4 Mohammad Sharif(PAL)
Ali Obaidly(QAT) 9 – 3 Hichem Benaissa(ALG)
 
Group 7
Nick Van Den Berg(NED) 9 – 3 Abdultif Fawal(QAT)
Lee Van Corteza(PHL) 9 – 7 Mohamed Al Hosani(UAE)
 
Group 8
Muhammad Bewi Simanjuntak(INA)  9 – 5 Alejandro Carvajal(CHI)
Mishel Turkey(QAT) 9 – 5 Fahad Khalaf(BRN)
 
Group 9
Denis Grabe(EST) 9 – 4 Rajandran Nair(RSA)
Zhu Xi He(CHN) 9 – 8 Amir Rota(QAT-PH)
 
Group 10
Cheng Yu Hsuan(TPE) 9 – 6  Marcus Chamat(SWE)
Omran Salem(UAE) 9 – 8  Hassan Shafraz(MDV)
 
Group 11
Mario He(AUT)9 – 6 Mazen Berjaoui(LEB)
Chu Bing Jie(CHN)9  – 6 Khalid Yousuf Esbttam(UAE)
 
Group 12
Ryu Seang Woo(KOR)9 – 2 Hamzaa M. Saeed Ali(ERI)
Francisco Felicilda(QAT-PH)9 – 7 Mohammad Berjaoui(LEB)
 
Group 13
Francisco Diaz-Pizarro(ESP) 9 – 3 Fahad Al Hejeli(KSA)   
Goh Chin Teck(SIN)  9 – 5 Nizar Mosbah Tamimi(JOR)
 
Group 14
Karl Boyes(GBR) 9 – 2 Sameer Al Madhi(BRN)
Liu Haitao(CHN) 9- 2 Meshal Al Murdhi(KUW)
 
Group 15
Petri Makkonen(FIN) 9 -8 Sundeep  Gulati(IND) 
Andreas Gerwen(SWE) 9 – 4 Ali Hussein Ali(IRQ)
 
Group 16
Omar Alshaheen(KUW)9 – 4 Bader Al Hamdan(KSA)
Darren Appleton(GBR) 9- 3 Mohamed S.A. Elmola(EGY)

Top Guns Show Their Class

John Morra (Photo courtesy of Richard Walker)

Amidst some of the toughest competition ever assembled, pool's best shine on day 1 of the World 9-ball Championship in Doha.

 

(Doha, Qatar)–Like all the top players, Canada’s John Morra just wanted to get out of the starting gates on Day 1 of the 2015 World 9-ball Championship with a win. A loss on the first day of  group play can be a total downer as you’re now suddenly faced with a pressure packed, do-or-die match in the double elimination format. If you don’t get your head in the game and your game in gear, you can quickly be headed for the exits in a New York second, you’re dreams of pool glory gone for another 12 months.

 
That’s the prospect the 26 year old from Toronto surely faced as he found himself down 6-1 and then 7-3 and playing miserably in his opening race to 9 match against Austria’s tough Mario He. Morra, however, has built up a steady stream of high finishes in the last 18 months and understood that winning in championship pool often requires patience, a positive attitude, and the ability to pounce when you’re opponent shows even the slightest bit of weakness.
 
 And so when  the big Austrian made a few mistakes, and showed his disgust with himself, Morra took it as his cue that he had life remaining. Slowly Morra fought back, gained confidence, while He became more frustrated with the mounting mistakes. Tied at 8-8 Morra had the Austrian by the throat, played a  lockdown safety, and won the match 9-8.
 
“I was down 7-3, I just couldn’t find my stroke,” a clearly pumped Morra said after match. “I was getting some bad rolls and that’s expected when you’re not playing well. I just clawed my way back game by game. I was saying to myself ‘you’re going to get your opportunities so just stay calm.’   I started breaking well and I trusted my instincts under the pressure and just committed to each shot. Every little mistake he made gave me energy because he was getting upset with himself. I just fed off of that.”
 
Having turned near failure into opportunity and success, the talented Canadian suddenly feels the experience bodes well for his chances this year.   
 
“I feel like I have a new life now. I was facing defeat and then maybe elimination if I lose my next one so that would’ve been a lot of pressure. But I managed to come back and win. So now I can just come out and play without pressure because I had my back against the ropes and I didn’t expect to win that one but I did.”
 
Morra’s gritty victory was easily the comeback of the day as the 2015 World 9-ball Championship got under way with 36 matches played out over four sessions at the sparkling Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha.  Fans used to stunning upsets in the early going in this event got nothing of the sort. What they did get was a quick reminder of the sheer amount of incredible talent from all corners of the globe and that over the next week, we are surely going to be treated to some of the highest level of pool ever seen.  
 
Defending champion Niels Feijen found himself down 3-0 early to Qatar-based Filipino Francisco Felicilda, who has recently been playing some of the best pool in the Middle East. But the Dutchman stormed back and played brilliantly, routing the talented Pinoy 9 – 4. Only one player in history, Earl Strickland, has ever won back to back World 9-ball titles. Feijen’s opening salvo today showed he has every intention of trying to become the second player to accomplish the feat.
 
Plenty of other top names and favorites looked exceptional today as well. Mika Immonen has been showing his old Hall of Fame form in the last few weeks. The Finn put in a terrific performance today against another solid Qatar based Filipino, Amir Rota, winning handily 9-4. Last year’s runner-up Albin Ouschan of Austria won handily. Taiwan’s Ko Pin Yi, the current World 10-ball champion, won easily over Estonia’s Denis Grabe, 9-2. Ko’s 19 year old brother Ko Pin Chung looked solid in defeating Sweden’s Marcus Chamat. Former 9-ball champion and legend Ralf Souquet squeaked by Taiwan’s Chang Jung Lin, 9-8. American Shane Van Boeing struggled against the UAE’s Omran Salem but eventually prevailed 9-6. The Philippines’ Carlo Biado, who has been knocking on the door of big time success in the last two years, also saw victory today.
 
While Biado represents the best of the younger generation of great Pinoys, 45 year old Warren Kiamco is ably carrying the flag for the older generation of Filipino greats, especially with the absence of legends Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante.  As expected Kiamco easily beat Norway’s Vegar Kristiansen today.
 
Filipino fans looking for one of their own to go far can surely look to the low key Kiamco to deliver the goods this week. The 20 year veteran has been playing the best pool of his long career this year, as evidenced by his win at the Derby City 9-ball event back in January and quarter final finish at the World 10-ball in February. Kiamco, who spends nearly five months out of the year honing his game in the US, says his recent resurgence in pool is a result of a renewed commitment to the sport.
 
“I’m dedicated to this game,” Kiamco said. “I’m still practicing hard for the tournaments and also I’m quite disciplined and focused on my game. I need it. I have to make a living. This is the job that I know. I am also a member of the Philippine national team so I need to practice hard.
 
“In 2006 I stopped playing pool for a while but I got a new interest in pool. And now I practice all the time because I really want to do well. But in the World 9-ball you need to not just play good, you also need luck. If I can win this tournament that would really mean a lot to me. This is one of my dreams to be a world champion some day.  But it’s really tough. Too many good players, too many young players. And you have to be able to compete with all of them.”
 
Mike DechaineOne of those young players Kiamco could be referring to is the USA’s Mike Dechaine. Except for Shane Van Boening, top Americans have been scarce at the World 9-ball Championship for six years running, a sorry fact that nobody in pool wants to see continue. The 28 year old from the US state of Maine has been one of the USA’s best players for the last several years, and his recent string of near misses seems to indicate he is on to something big. This is the young American’s first ever time to play in the World 9-ball Championship. After defeating Chile’s Alejandro Carvajal today 9-4, Dechaine said he was thrilled with the experience and that it will be the first of many testing the waters overseas.
 
“I played Ok but not as good as I wanted to, probably 60 to 70 percent, but I’m just getting over my first World 9-ball Championship jitters,” Dechaine said. “I’m very pleased with the atmosphere, it’s incredible. You’ve got a big arena, every table is in perfect condition and they do it right here. The atmosphere is right. The jet leg is what hurts me but hopefully I’ll get past that and do well.
 
“I’m trying to expand my horizons. I want to start traveling a lot more overseas and getting more experience playing in different atmospheres and playing against different people who have different techniques. I think more of these trips are going to be in the future. I think I’m going to team up with Shane, maybe go to Moscow, go to Japan.
 
“I definitely think I can win this tournament. I play rotation pool with the best in the world. I think it comes down to the break. It’s very important that you get a shot after the break. That’s a little bit of luck. I just have to think positive and continue to make balls.”
 
The group stages continue on day 2 on Sunday at the Al Arabi Sports Club. Players in the remaining 4 groups will play their first round matches followed by losers bracket matches which will see two dozen players head for the exits.
 
 **The 2015 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from September 7-18, 2015. The winner of the 2015 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(QBSF), which is once again hosting and organizing the World 9-ball Championship, will be providing free live streaming of the entire tournament, in cooperation with Kozoom. Fans can watch the action live on the QBSF website at, http://live.qbsf.qa/. With all 14 tables streamed live, fans can select which table they want to watch and switch between tables at their convenience.
 
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
 
 
 
RESULTS DAY 1, GROUP STAGES
 
Group 1
Albin  Ouschan(AUT) 9 – 5 Khaled A.M. Farag(EGY)
Kawabata Satoshi(JPN) 9 – 6 Hunter Lombardo(USA)
Bashar Hussain(QAT)  9 – 5 Irsan Afrinneza Nasution(INA)   
Wu Kun Lin(TPE) 9 – 7 Konstantin Stepanov(RUS)   
 
Group 2
Wang Can(CHN) 9 – 6 Kuribayashi Tohru(JPN)
Marc Bijsterbosch(NED) 9 – 4 Mohd Al Bin Ali(QAT)
Radoslaw Babica(POL) 9- 3 Abdullah Al Yousef(KUW)
Bautista Ruben(MEX) 9 – 7 Bader Al Awadhi(KUW)
 
Group 3
Li Hewen(CHN)  9 – 8 Roman Hybler(GER)
Justin Campbell(AUS) 9 – 2 Rasekhi Medhi(IRI)
Yang Ching Shun(TPE) 9 – 6 Waleed Majid(QAT)
Yukio Akagariyama (JPE) 9 – 8 Sanchez-Ruiz Franscisco(ESP)
 
Group 4
Raymund Faraon(PHL ) 9 – 3 Francois Ellis(RSA)
Pordel Mohammadali(IRI) 9 – 6 Mohammad Saeed(QAT)
Nik Ekonomopoulos(GRE) 9 – 1 Mohamed Shareef(MDV)
Zhou Long(CHN) 9- 7 Marco Teutscher(NED)
 
Group 5
Warren Kiamco(PHL) 9 – 2 Vegar Kristiansen(NOR)
Wojciech Szewczyk(POL) 9 – 2 Jeong Young Hwa(KOR)
Wu Jia Qing(CHN) 9 – 5 Shannon Ducharme(CAN)
Oliver Medenilla(PHL) 9 – 2 Mohanna Obaidly(QAT)
 
Group 6
Ralf Souquet(GER) 9 – 8 Chang Jun Ling(TPE)
Mateusz Sniegocki(POL)  9 – 8 Mohammad Sharif(PAL)
Johann Gonzales Chua(PHL) 9 – 7 Ali Obaidly(QAT)
Abdulrahman Al Amar(KSA) 9- 3 Hichem Benaissa(ALG)
 
Group 7
Naoyuki Oi(JPN) 9 – 5 Nick Van Den Berg(NED) 
Tom Teriault(CAN) 9 – 7 Abdultif Fawal(QAT)
Ruslan Chinakov(RUS) 9 – 6 Lee Van Corteza(PHL) 
Liu Ching Chieh(TPE) 9 – 8 Mohamed Al Hosani(UAE)
 
Group 8
Daryl Peach(GBR) 9- 2  Muhammad Bewi Simanjuntak(INA)
Mike DeChaine(USA) 9 – 4 Alejandro Carvajal(CHI)
Calro Biado(PHL) 9 – 6 Fahad Khalaf(BRN)
Daniele Corrieri(ITA) 9 – 6 Mishel Turkey(QAT)
 
Group 9
Ko Pin Yi(TPE) 9 – 2 Denis Grabe(EST)
Matey Ullah(NOR) 9 – 6  Rajandran Nair(RSA)
Mika Immonen(FIN) 9 – 4 Amir Rota(QAT-PH)
Oliver Ortmann(GER) 9 – 2 Zhu Xi He(CHN)
 
 
Group 10
Ko Pin Chung(TPE) 9 – 5 Marcus Chamat(SWE)
Christopher Teves(PER) 9 – 5Cheng Yu Hsuan(TPE) 
Shane Van Boening(SVB) 9 – 6 Omran Salem(UAE)
Richard Jones(GBR) 9 – 1 Hassan Shafraz(MDV)
 
Group 11
John Morra(CAN) 9 – 8 Mario He(AUT) 
Toh Lian Han(SIN) 9 – 6 Mazen Berjaoui(LEB)
David Alcaide(ESP) 9 – 3 Chu Bing Jie(CHN)
Hesam S.A. Abdulaziz(EGY) 9 – 8 Khalid Yousuf Esbttam(UAE)
 
Group 12
Dan Jin Hu(CHN) 9 – 5 Ryu Seang Woo(KOR)
Tomasz Kaplan(POL) 9 – 5 Hamzaa M. Saeed Ali(ERI)
Niels Feijen(NED) 9 – 4 Francisco Felicilda(QAT-PH)
Alexander Kazakis(GRE) 9 – 1 Mohammad Berjaoui(LEB)