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2017 12BET World Cup of Pool – Quarter final line up is complete

June 16th, 2017 | azhousepro | Uncategorized

Johan Chua celebrates

Philippines 7-5 Holland
England 7-6 Scotland
USA 7-5 Spain
 
THERE WERE THREE more humdingers at the York Hall on Friday night as the second round of the 12BET World Cup of Pool concluded. There were wins for the Philippines, England B and the USA but each match was hard fought and went down to the closing stages.
 
Featuring 32 two-man teams from around the globe, the 12BET World Cup of Pool is into its 11th year as reigning champions Chinese Taipei attempt to become the first team ever to successfully defend the title at the York Hall.
 
In a high-quality match-up, the Filipino duo of Johan ‘Bubwit’ Chua and Carlo Biado edged past Holland in a game where all four players were up to the task.
There was offensive play and high-quality safeties and the close of the match rested on a miscalculation by Nils Feijen.
 
Earlier, the Philippines had opened up a 5-1 lead, but Feijen and Nick Van Den Berg had come back at them methodically to level it up at 5-5. Following van den Berg’s break, there was no shot on the lowest ball and Feijen pushed out, nudging the 9 ball.
 
He left a tough angled pot but Chua made it and the subsequent run out put the Philippines on the hill. In what was the final rack, Biado played a good safe and van den Berg clipped the 9 ball trying to escape. With ball in hand, the Philippines closed out the match.
 
The second match was an Old Firm classic as England took on Scotland for a place in the last eight. With an old-school noisy York Hall crowd bringing the atmosphere, both teams had great spells as well as made their share of mistakes.
 
The match went back and forth and at 6-6, England – Daryl Peach and Imran Majid – were breaking for the match. Majid delivered the perfect shot as balls fell and the remainder sat out in the open and Jayson Shaw and Pat Holtz could only watch as England ran out for the win.
 
Commented Peach; “It was nerve wracking, that is for sure. I struggled from the off there, I didn’t feel too good in myself and Imran held it together for us, he played brilliant – I thought he was awesome.
 
“It feels great, but it doesn’t matter that it is against Scotland. Both players are our friends and we will have a beer with them later. It is good to beat any team. We are into the quarter-finals now, we will regroup and come back stronger tomorrow.”
 
Majid added, “It was a complete contrast to the first match. Everything went our way against Indonesia, everything was sweet and rosy and we had a shot off the break every time. But tonight was a complete contrast – we were down, we had to grind it out, stick to our guns and try and get the ‘W’ – that’s what counted.”
 
In the final match, Shane Van Boening and Skyler Woodward kept the Stars and Stripes flying as the got the better of a string Spanish side in David Alcaide and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz.
 
Van Boening said, “It means a lot. I made a couple of mistakes but Skyler saved us. He shot great, he didn’t really make any mistakes. We have been working together a lot, working on our break and if we can be careful with the cue ball we should be okay.
“I am looking to win the tournament again, I would love to win it two times. It has been nine years since I won it and it would be fun to win it with Skyler.
 
Woodward, “We broke well but a couple of times we didn’t get shots. Shane struggled a little but we played well overall, even though we made a couple of mistakes.
 
“It would be huge if we can win this. It is my first time playing this and I haven’t won something worldwide so it would be amazing to win, and to win with Shane – he is a guy I have looked up to my whole life.
 
“I like it in London, it is crazy – if you make a ball the fans scream and if you miss they scream, it’s stupid crazy, it is awesome!”
 
Play continues Saturday with the two quarter-finals in the afternoon and two more in the evening:
 
1.30pm
Chinese Taipei v Japan
USA v Finland
 
18.30
China v Philippines
Finland v England
 
Broadcast for six days live on Sky Sports in the UK; the tournament is available live in over 100 countries around the world. A comprehensive list of countries and networks broadcasting the World Cup of Pool can be found here: http://www.matchroompool.com/world-cup-of-pool/#watchlive
 
The 12BET World Cup of Pool will carry a $250,000 prize fund including $60,000 for the champions. The event will be produced by Matchroom Sport Television and televised live on Sky Sports as well as other stations around the world.
 
12BET World Cup of Pool Tickets are on sale now at www.matchroompool.com   priced at just £10.00 per evening session (Tuesday to Sunday) and £8.00 per weekend afternoon session. Tuesday to Friday afternoons are free. A season ticket covering all sessions is priced at £60.00.
 
2017 12BET World Cup of Pool 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 and Chalk of the event.

2017 World Cup of Pool – Indian swagger ousts lacklustre England A

June 13th, 2017 | azhousepro | Uncategorized

Raj Hundal and Amar Kang

Spain 7-6 Romania
Scotland 7-6 New Zealand
India 7-4 England A
 
THE FIRST BIG upset of the 12BET World Cup of Pool happened in the final match of the evening session on the opening day as the Indian pair of Amar Kang and Raj Hundal took out England A, one of the pre-tournament favourites.
 
Featuring 32 two-man teams from around the globe, the 12BET World Cup of Pool is into its 11th year as reigning champions Chinese Taipei attempt to become the first team ever to successfully defend the title at the York Hall.
 
The England pair of Mark Gray and Darren Appleton were clearly not at their best, in particular Gray, who made a series of gaffes to help India on their way.
Hundal and Kang though, had plenty of team spirit and with the backing of a big and noisy crowd, they held up under the pressure to close the match out.
 
A delighted Hundal said, “Amar was brought up in California, I was born and raised in London and we represent our motherland. But every time I get out and play I put London on my back. With everything that has happened in London recently, we want to dedicate that to the people of London.
“Our fans are brilliant. We are from a city of love and these guys have love for us and we are lucky to have them.
 
“Mark and Darren are both great guys who have won big tournaments. There is a mutual respect and on paper they are the favourites but if you ask them in a race to 7, it is a toss of a coin.”
 
Spain, with World Pool Masters champion David Alcaide at the helm, survived an almighty scare, as they trailed Romania 6-4 and looked scuppered. However, after playing so poorly in the opening stages, they played their best pool of the evening as they took the next three racks to edge past a disappointed Romanian pair of Robert Braga and Ioan Ladanyi.
 
The Scottish duo of Jayson Shaw and Pat Holtz found themselves looking down both barrels managed to slip past the New Zealand duo of Matt Edwards and Toar Dotulong. The Kiwis had stuck with the Scots as they trailed throughout and at 6-4 down looked buried.
 
However, they made it back to the table and won the next two to find themselves breaking for the match. With positioning tough, it was Edwards who missed a difficult 4 ball up table and from there the Scots ran out for the win.
 
Commented Shaw, “I didn’t feel comfortable because it was so hot in the arena. I am 100 per cent sure that next match I won’t be feeling like I am today. I have three days now to get myself into the gym and get myself feeling good and when Friday comes I will be a lot fresher than I am today.
 
“Race to 7 is tough. These are great players you are playing against. It is important to get the win under your belt. Sometimes it is a bit scrappy but a win is a win and we are into the next round,” added Holtz.
 
Broadcast for six days live on Sky Sports in the UK; the tournament is available live in over 100 countries around the world. A comprehensive list of countries and networks broadcasting the World Cup of Pool can be found here: http://www.matchroompool.com/world-cup-of-pool/#watchlive
 
The 12BET World Cup of Pool will carry a $250,000 prize fund including $60,000 for the champions. The event will be produced by Matchroom Sport Television and televised live on Sky Sports as well as other stations around the world.
 
12BET World Cup of Pool Tickets are on sale now at www.matchroompool.com   priced at just £10.00 per evening session (Tuesday to Sunday) and £8.00 per weekend afternoon session. Tuesday to Friday afternoons are free. A season ticket covering all sessions is priced at £60.00.
 
2017 12BET World Cup of Pool 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 and Chalk of the event.

International Professional Pool Players Association (IPA) Tour heads for Scotland

June 12th, 2014 | azhousepro | Uncategorized

With over 150 entrants the evidence is there that blackball pool is alive and well in Scotland as it is elsewhere, and the players are all gearing up ahead of the Compass Cars Scottish Open, Amateur, and Professional Trophy events this coming weekend (13th-15th June), from the Erskine Bridge Hotel, Glasgow.

 

Country’s represented include South Africa, Malta, Spain, France, Ireland, England, Wales – oh and Scotland of course (and in numbers), as they refuse to let these titles slip through their grasp without a serious fight. Twenty Supreme pool tables in one room provide an atmosphere and noise that is impossible to describe but instantly recognisable, while the rivalry and banter amongst the players is testament to both their friendships and their sportsmanship as it never gets out of hand unlike other tournaments I could mention.

 

Played on top quality Supreme tables, on Strachan cloth, and using Aramith Pro-Cup balls, the best equipment will be in place for the best players (exactly as you would expect), ensuring no excuses when they go to war in this double eliminator event, that gives all the players plenty of pool for their money – all they need to do now is arrive at the top of their game.

 

Guessing the winners was never going to be easy (which for many is the beauty of the game), but Clint I’Anson arrives here at the top of his game and has to be one of the Open favourites as is Mr Consistent (Gareth Hibbott), though anyone ruling out local pool legends Pat Holtz or Antz Morrison would do so at their peril, while French superstar Christophe Lambert can never easily be discounted.

 

Fact is, pool is huge around the world but MASSIVE in Scotland, with tens of thousands of regular players up and down the Country, and with free entry for spectators as well as on line live streaming via the IPA Website  (ww.ipapool.com), Twitter feeds (@ipapool) and Facebook updates, everything is hopefully in place for the IPA to put on a pool spectacle that simply cannot be matched.