Shane Van Boening (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)
Shane Van Boening will begin the defense of his World Pool Championship title against Japan’s Masato Yoshioka in Kielce, Poland from February 1-5 live on Sky Sports in the UK, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia and the Baltics, DAZN in the USA as well as Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide.
The American will look to become only the second player in history to defend the title following in the footsteps of Earl Strickland in a packed arena at Targi Kielce. 46 countries will be represented in the 128-player field as it is whittled down to the Last 64 over the first two days of action before it’s straight knockout to the end where one will claim the $60,000 first-place prize and the world crown.
The draw was completed with the top 64 players from the Nineball World Rankings against an unseeded player from the other 64 in the hat. Standout first-round ties include 2015 world champion Ko Pin Yi facing James Aranas of the Philippines whilst 2022 semi-finalist Abdullah Alyousef faces the tricky prospect of Johann Chua. 2004 world champion Alex Pagulayan was unseeded and will meet Michael Schneider.
World Cup of Pool winner David Alcaide takes on Billy Thorpe and Shane Wolford‘s mission for a spot on Team USA at the 2023 Mosconi Cup takes on Pia Filler. Francisco Sanchez Ruiz had a year to remember last year and will begin his Nineball campaign against So Shaw of Iran.
Double elimination matches are all race to 9, with all matches from the Last 64 a race to 11 except the final, which is a race to 13.
Table 1 will be live on broadcasters worldwide including Sky Sports in the UK, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA, Canada, and Italy, as well as on Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide. See where to watch here.
Table 2 will be live on Viaplay in selected territories as well as on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel.
Table 3 will be live on Viaplay in selected territories as well as on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom Multi Sport YouTube channel.
It’s that time of year. When the leaves start to turn in northern parts of the USA, you can bet pool players from all over the world are starting to gather at a series of pool tournaments leading up to Matchroom Sports US Open, now underway (Oct. 10) at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, or Pat Fleming’s International Open later in the month. It’s a combination of things, really. It’s not just that savvy promoters and independent event folk position themselves to take advantage of the incoming players, it’s also about these players positioning themselves to compete in the US Open and/or International Open and in some cases, to elevate their Matchroom Sports 9-Ball ranking for a shot to be on either the European or USA Mosconi Cup Teams.
Latest in the line of events that could impact the choices made by the Mosconi Cup captains Jeremy Jones (US) and Alex Ley (Europe), was this past (early) weekend’s (Oct. 6-8) Sandcastle 9-Ball Open in Edison, NJ, where the aforementioned players from all over the world, 64 of them, came together to compete. With Shane Van Boening and Joshua Filler having secured the first spots on Team USA and Europe, respectively, the most likely candidates for the two remaining automatic picks for team Europe were Spain’s Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz and Austria’s Albin Ouschan. With Ouschan not in attendance in New Jersey, Francisco, who did compete, moved ahead of him (for the moment) to secure the second spot on the list. There is a possibility that dependent on how Ouschan and Sanchez-Ruiz finish in the US Open that they could switch positions (3rd/4th), but they’d still be in the last two spots for the automatic Team Europe pick.
One of the two potential picks for Team USA (aside from Van Boening) did compete in the Sandcastle Open (Sky Woodward), while the other (Oscar Dominguez) did not. Given their relative positions on the WPBA ranking list, they are both poised to be the last two automatic picks for the team. All of the above players are currently in Atlantic City and though the threeautomatic picks are fairly secure for both teams, the two remaining spots (to be made by the team captains) are still up for grabs and many of the potential candidates are hoping to impress one or the other captains with their performance(s) at the US Open.
One of the names not in contention for either Mosconi Cup team went undefeated at the Sandcastle Open; Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp. In the finals, Yapp defeated Chinese Tapei’s Chang Jung-Lin, who had eliminated the Philippines’ Lee Van Corteza in the semifinals. They, too, have joined the 128-entrant field in Atlantic City this week.
Yapp’s path to the winners’ circle began with a double hill battle against Chinese Tapei’s Ko Ping-Han. Once he successfully navigated that potential ‘side track,’ Yapp downed two straight Americans, Billy Thorpe (7-2) and Mhet Vergara (7-3), to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Austria’s Mario He, who, just below Ouschan and Sanchez-Ruiz on the WPA ranking list, was (and is) looking to make an impression on Team Europe’s captain and perhaps earn himself a pick for the team.
Lee Van Corteza, in the meantime, had something of an opposite problem on his trip to the hot seat match. He got by Aidan Wagner 7-4, Naoyuki Oi 7-5, shut out Liu Ri Teng and defeated Carlo Biado 7-1 to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal against Moritz Neuhausen, who put up a double hill fight that did eventually advance Corteza to the hot seat match. Yapp joined him after defeating Jung-Lin 7-5, and then claimed the hot seat over Van Corteza by the same score.
Jung-Lin moved over and picked up countryman Wu Kun Lin, who’d eliminated Sanchez-Ruiz 7-3 and in a double hill match, Biado, to reach him. Newhausen drew Konrad Juszczyszyn, who was working on a seven-match, loss-side run that was about to end. He’d recently defeated Ronald Regli 7-5 and in another double hill match, Sky Woodward.
Jung-Lin downed Kun Lin 7-4 and was joined in the quarterfinals by Neuhausen, who’d stopped Juszczyszyn’s streak 7-5. Jung-Lin ended Neuhausen’s single-match loss-side streak 7-4 in those quarterfinals and completed his single-loss work with a 7-3 victory over Van Corteza in the semifinals.
The rematch of the winners’ side semifinal – Yapp versus Jung-Lin– lived up to expectations. The final went double hill before Yapp prevailed, adding to his already-best (recorded) earnings year to date. The two could meet again at the ongoing US Open, as could any number of possible combinations between those who signed on to both events. The Open is the last of Matchroom Sports’ ranking events, so the two automatic picks for the Mosconi Cup will be determined in the days ahead.
Going into the PRP Nineball Open last weekend (Sept. 14-18) at the Exe Boston Hotel in Zaragoza, Spain, the struggle for a 3rd place spot on the Mosconi Cup’s European team, defined, as of August 31, by the Nineball World Rankings, was something of a race between Austria’s Mario He and Spain’s Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz. Both made it undefeated through two separate knockout rounds of the 128-entrant field in Spain. They both went on, undefeated to the finals where Sanchez-Ruiz prevailed to claim the event title, his fourth major title of the year.
With the USA’s Shane Van Boening and Germany’s Joshua Filler holding the top two spots in those Nineball World Rankings and being too far ahead in the rankings to be unseated, each Mosconi Cup team will select two more from the list at the conclusion of the final three ranking events; The Euro Tour Dynamic Billiards Slovenia Open in Lasko, Slovenia (Oct. 1-3), the Sandcastle 9-Ball Open at Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ (Oct. 6-8) and the US Open Pool Championship at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, NJ (Oct. 10-15). With Austria’s Albin Ouschan, who did not compete in Spain, currently in the #3 position in the World Rankings and in the driver’s seat to claim a second spot on the Mosconi Cup team, the third selected seat continues to be a struggle between Sanchez-Ruiz (currently #4) and He (#5). Though at the moment, Sanchez-Ruiz has a commanding lead and seems likely to draw the third pick, it might well continue into next week’s Slovenia Open and depending on whether the two opt for a trip to New Jersey afterwards, it could end up on this side of the Atlantic.
Sanchez-Ruiz and He emerged from separate brackets to advance to the PRP Nineball Open’s final draw of 32. Sanchez-Ruiz, after being awarded an opening round bye, defeated two of his fellow countrymen, Manuel Fernandez and Gabriel Carral 9-2 to qualify for the single-elimination Phase Two (well over 50% of the field was from Spain). He was joined from the winners’ side of the bracket by countrymen Jose Alberto Delgado and Jose Castillo, Lithuania’s Pijus Labutis, Poland’s Wiktor Zielinski and Mieszko Fortunski, Marc Bijsterbosch from the Netherlands and Hungary’s Oliver Szolnoki.
In the other Phase 1 bracket, Mario He (also awarded a bye) defeated Spaniards Amalia Matas 9-4 and Mayte Ropero 9-7 to be among the winners’ side competitors to advance. Germany’s Ralf Souquet was on that list, too, as were Poland’s Konrad Juszczyszyn, Switzerland’s Ronald Regli, Spain’s David Alcaide and Jonas Souto, Estonia’s Denis Grabe and, also in the running for that 3rd spot on the Mosconi Cup team, behind He, Alex Kazakis from Greece.
Sanchez-Ruiz’ toughest battle advancing to the event’s quarterfinals came in the opening round of the single-elimination Round 2, when Francisco Diaz chalked up eight racks against him. From there, it was relatively smooth sailing through Ivan Nunez 11-3 for Sanchez-Ruiz to arrive at his quarterfinal matchup versus Delgado. He, on the other hand, began his single-elimination advancement with two double hill matches against Portugal’s Sara Rocha and Spain’s Iker Echeverria, which he successfully negotiated to face Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Sanjin Pehlivanovic. Three competitors lurking behind Sanchez-Ruiz and He on the rankings list, appeared in the other two quarterfinals. Kazakis, immediately below He on the list, faced Denis Grabe (in the 20s on the list), as Szolnoki, immediately below Kazakis, met up with Zielinski, immediately behind him.
Sanchez-Ruiz downed Delgado 11-5 and in the semifinals, picked up Zielenski, who’d eliminated Szolnoki 11-8. He defeated Pehlivanovic 11-2 and drew Kazakis, who’d eliminated Grabe 11-7.
Assuring their spots on the rankings list, Sanchez-Ruiz and He advanced to the finals; Sanchez-Ruiz 11-5 over Zielinski and He 11-2 over Kazakis.
It was clear from the outset of the finals that Sanchez-Ruiz and He were playing for more than bragging rights at their local pub. He broke the initial rack and ran the table to open the scoring. Sanchez-Ruiz broke and won the second to create the first of only two ties in the race to 13.
Sanchez-Ruiz won the next four to go ahead 5-1, at which point the two of them embarked on a series of runs that narrowed that lead down to between two and three racks. He got within a single rack three times in that stretch, at 6-5, 7-6 and 8-7, but He’s win of rack #15 opened the door for Sanchez-Ruiz to head on out on a four-match run that put him on the hill, ahead by five at 12-7.
He, though, came right back and matched Sanchez-Ruiz’ longest run of the game at the start, winning five racks to force a single deciding game. He broke, but left himself with a low-percentage shot at the 1-ball, sitting north of and at a sharp angle to a side pocket. He played safe and began a two-ball safety battle that took up nearly half of the final match-time. Sanchez-Ruiz broke it up after He had given him an opening on the 2-ball that also opened the table. Sanchez-Ruiz ran them from there and claimed the event title.
The battle for the two remaining European Mosconi Cup slots (not counting the coach’s two wild-card picks), moves on to Lasko, Slovenia.
Shane Van Boening (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)
Nineball World Numbers One and Two in Shane Van Boening and Joshua Filler both made it through to the quarter-finals of the inaugural European Open Pool Championship at Hotel Esperanto, Fulda in Germany live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia and the Baltics and various other broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live in relevant countries.
Filler came up against Mosconi Cup teammate Jayson Shaw in the opening contest on Table 1 with the Killer looking to make it through to the next stage on home soil whilst his opponent was looking for their first taste of singles glory in a Matchroom event since 2017. Shaw took an early lead with a golden break in the first rack but Filler came back including a golden break of his own to lead 3-1 and set early pace.
There were some tetchy moments from both players and after five racks Filler edged it 3-2 and took control from then on opening up an assertive lead at 8-2 to put him only two away from a clash with either Mario He of Austria or Besar Spahiu of Albania for a spot in the semi-finals tomorrow. Shaw played a full-length bank to make the one in the 11th rack and from there ran out to cut the deficit but it was short-lived as Filler came true appeasing the home fans with a break and run in the final rack which included an inch-perfect jump shot on the one.
Van Boening’s task to reach the quarter-finals was one of trials and tribulation against Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Sanjin Pehlivanović. The pair couldn’t be split after four racks in a high-quality encounter in a meeting of generations. Pehlivanović trailed 4-2 when Van Boening had seemingly left the youngster hooked but he had other ideas playing a full-length bank of his own whilst jumping the six ball only for SVB to get back to the table and establish a three-rack lead at 5-1. The performance from Van Boening wasn’t what he would describe as clinical and it’s something that Pehlivanović bayed on to level matters back up swiftly at 5-5 and sending a warning sign to the World Champion.
Pehlivanović had his chances to take the game to Van Boening and establish a lead of his own but a scratch on the break from the former Junior World Champion put him under the cosh and Van Boening in the commanding position to run out and amass an 8-5 lead. Van Boening broke dry in the next rack to allow Pehlivanović a chance to get back in it again at 8-6. Another scratch on the break later from Pehlivanović and Van Boening was on the hill.
On the hill, Van Boening and Pehlivanović faltered with varying degrees of opportunity to take it one way or another only for the former to have the final say on things and book a quarter-final date with Mateusz Sniegocki tonight. Sniegocki was rampant at times against Jonas Souto Comino who was playing in his first Matchroom Last 16 tie but the experience of Sniegocki made Souto Comino head home before the evening session.
Elsewhere, Mieszko Fortunski got the better of fellow Pole Tomasz Kaplan on Table 2 10-4 to meet Jose Alberto Delgado in the last eight who had overcome Ronald Regli in a spirited fightback where it looked like it would be Regli who would face Fortunski next only for Delgado to dig deep from behind to defeat the Swiss cueist 10-7. Mario He meanwhile made lightwork of Besar Spahiu of Albania to meet Filler next whilst Konrad Juszczyszyn became the third Polish player into the quarter-finals with a win against Canada’s John Morra.
Albin Ouschan (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)
Albin Ouschan became the final name into the quarter-finals after the two-time World Champion got the better of Denis Grabe in a hill-hill thriller that saw him from behind on several occasions to dispatch the Estonian. Ouschan got to the hill first but it was Grabe who was breaking for the match only to scratch and leave the Austrian with a routine run out for victory.
Quarter-Finals from 18:00 (CEST)
Table 1
Joshua Filler (GER) vs Mario He (AUT)
Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)
Mieszko Fortunski (POL) vs José Alberto Delgado (ESP)
Albin Ouschan (AUT) vs Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL)
This evening and Sunday, Table 1 action is available on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia and the Baltics and various other broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live in relevant countries. Table 2 will be on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel this evening. See the full where to watch list here.
Joshua Filler passed the test of Mosconi Cup teammate Eklent Kaçi and the USA’s Oscar Dominguez to reach the Last 16 of the inaugural European Open Pool Championship at Hotel Esperanto, Fulda, Germany live on the Matchroom Pool Facebook/YouTube and Matchroom.Live.
Filler had a good day of it coming from behind to defeat Kaçi 9-8 when his goose had looked cooked when Kaçi had a 5-9 combo to seal victory at 8-7 only for the Albanian to offer the gift that the Killer needed to get back into it. Kaçi didn’t get a look in from then on as Filler broke in the final rack but it was far from easy with the 7, 8 and 9 all glued together and the rack penned underneath it. Filler kept his cool in the moment though despite the glaring problem to complete victory and set up a Last 32 tie with Oscar Dominguez of the USA.
Dominguez had came from 4-1 down against Tyler Styer to peg him back at 5-5 and 6-6 before pulling through to meet his old Mosconi Cup rival to reach the Last 16.
Filler came into the contest on the back of two hill-hill showings in his last three matches in the tournament and he was in no mood for a similar scenario. Filler hit the front early on but Dominguez was playing freely and causing the German a whole heap of problems. The home crowd were out for their star man and he delivered a 10-7 victory to book his spot in the Last 16 in what proved to be a successful day that also saw him become the first player on Team Europe for the 2022 Mosconi Cup off the Live Nineball World Rankings.
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz was the only player who could beat Filler to the first Mosconi Cup spot with $14,000 separating the pair heading into the tournament but his hopes were ended in the Last 32 at the hands of Albania’s Besar Spahiu who mounted an impressive comeback to steal it 10-8 and confirm Filler’s spot on Team Europe for the 2022 Mosconi Cup at Bally’s Las Vegas from November 30 to December 3.
Jayson Shaw (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)
Jayson Shaw is next up for Filler after the two-time Mosconi Cup MVP saw off Petri Makkonen earlier on in the day before a grueling battle with Italy’s Daniele Corrieri to book his place in the Last 16. Corrieri took the game to Shaw and had the better of the opening exchanges with a 1-9 combo the pick of the bunch as he found his rhythm early doors with Shaw not doing too much wrong.
Eagle Eye found his mojo at the midway stage and he didn’t do too much wrong from then on as he led for the first time in the match at 7-6. Shaw from there was imperious as he set up a mouthwatering clash on Table 1 with Filler next.
Team USA‘s charge for glory on home soil will be led by Nineball World No.1 Shane Van Boening who came through his own tests against Germany’s Sebastian Staab in the Last 64 before Wojciech Szewczyk stood in his way of a weekend appearance. Szewczyk took the early initiative to lead 2-0 before Van Boening pulled back to 2-2. The pair were entertaining the crowd with some of the best safety play witnessed all week as Van Boening came back to lead only for Szewczyk to soon lead 5-4 and be at the halfway point. Van Boening was dominant to lead 9-5 only to break dry in the next and Szewczyk to bite back. The Pole was struggling for position on the 1 ball. and had to play safe and from there Van Boening played a kick and stick that would rival any in history to leave Szewczyk in knots. A short safety battled ensued for Van Boening to come on top and meet Sanjin Pehlivanovic in the Last 16 tomorrow.
Alexander Kazakis defeated David Alcaide 9-2 to reach the Last 32 and meet John Morra. The Greek had a battle on his hands against Morra who lead at various points and most importantly was 8-6 up in the Race to 10. The Canadian looked to have control but Kazakis has demonstrated in recent times his steely nature with some clutch pots to pull it back and looked to be in to level at 9-9. Kazakis lost position on the penultimate ball to leave it over the pocket and give Morra the easiest route into the Last 16 to meet Konrad Juszczyszyn next.
Tomorrow and Sunday, Table 1 action is available on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia and the Baltics and various other broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live in relevant countries. Table 2 will be on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel. See the full where to watch list here.
Joshua and Pia Filler will meet in Winners Qualification tomorrow after the Posh and Becks of Pool overcame two matches apiece to make it through day two of the inaugural European Open Pool Championship at Hotel Esperanto, Fulda in Germany live on the Matchroom Pool Facebook/YouTube and Matchroom.Live.
Joshua began his tournament with an emphatic 9-0 win over GJ Oyangoren in one of the opening encounters of the day to make the winners’ side whilst Pia came from behind to defeat Talal Abdullah Shaheen in a hill-hill finish. The stars were beginning to align as the evening got into full swing as Pia got her second W of the day, this time against Ramazan Akdag 9-6.
At the same time as Pia’s win, Joshua was under the cosh, and 5-0 down to fellow compatriot and former sparring partner Raphael Wahl. Wahl reached the hill first at 8-4 and it looked like he would get the better of Joshua like old times but the pair have had different paths since their juniors days. Joshua showed his grit and experience with over 100 fans crowding around their table to see the conclusion as the recent UK Open and World Pool Masters champion closed out an impressive comeback to steal it and meet his wife Pia for the first time at this level of the sport.
“I am super excited. I really wanted to play Josh in this tournament. I was fighting hard to get here and now here we are. I can’t wait.” – Pia Filler
Pia Filler (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)
“That match was almost in jepordy. I knew she was winning and I was sown. I was more nervous then. We wanted to play each other. I gave it my best and luckily I won it. I was 6-1 down. I’ve known Raph since we were juniors. He won a few finals against me and I won a few against him. The atmosphere was crazy. I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it. I got luck on my side in the end. I am delighted to be through.” – Joshua Filler
“We just do business as usual. It’s no secret he’s the love of my life but tomorrow he will be my biggest rival for 90 minutes.” – Pia Filler
Tony Drago returned to the Nineball arena with a win over Ivan Nunez Perez 9-2 before losing out to Sanjin Pehlivanovic to be sent to the Losers side whilst the Bosnian moves into Winners’ Qualification tomorrow. Neils Feijen overcame Harold Stolka and Flavian Glont to make lightwork of his day to meet José Alberto Delgado tomorrow for a spot in the Last 64.
There was no sign of jet lag for Nineball World No.1 and World Champion Shane Van Boening who beat Martin Breuer and Aref Awadi 9-1 and 9-0 respectively to barely break sweat and set up a Winners’ Qualification match live on the Matchroom Pool Facebook page with Jani Uski tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz fresh off the back of snapping off another EuroTour title on Monday beat Christian Prager and Ioan Ladanyi to be one away from the Last 64 and compatriot David Alcaide reached the same stage with wins over Fabian Breuer and Great Britain’s Benji Buckley.
Hometown favourite Thorsten Hohmann kept his tournament alive with a 8-2 win over Cyprus’ Antonis Brabin whilst German legend Ralf Souquet stayed alive after defeating Veronika Ivanovskaia 8-5 on the losers bracket.
NB 2:30pm – Jayson Shaw (GBR) vs Bader Alawadhi (KUW) – Winners’ Qualification
NB 4:00pm – TBC
NB 6:30pm – TBC
The final two days are available on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia and the Baltics and various other broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live in relevant countries. See the full where to watch list here.
Jani Uski and Mika Immonen (Taka Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)
Finland, Switzerland, and Great Britain have completed the quarterfinal line-up at the 2022 World Cup of Pool at the Brentwood Centre, Essex live on Sky Sports Arena in the UK, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Viaplay in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Netherlands, and Poland. Matchroom.Live in territories without a broadcaster.
Seeded Estonia came up against Finland with the winner set to face Singapore in the quarterfinals tomorrow morning. Estonia’s Denis Grabe and Rainer Laar struggled early on as Finland’s duo of Mika Immonen assembled a 2-0 lead that could’ve been three if it wasn’t for a poor safety from Immonen that allowed their opposition in to make it 2-1.
Estonia continued to struggle as Immonen and Uski gathered momentum to take the first rack after the break to lead 3-1 and soon 4-1. Grabe and Laar had their work cut out but came back in it sharpish no part down to an error on positioning on the nine in the sixth rack from Immonen to allow the Estonians to steal the rack and get the break in their hand.
At 4-2, Finland had their opportunity to move two away when back at the table only for Uski to miss the eight ball and leave Estonia again with a simple out to only trail by one. The key phrase of cue ball control was key in this contest, and it lacked at times from both sides. A routine break and run from Grabe and Laar levelled matters at 4-4.
Laar broke in the ninth, but he was warned for a soft break in the process, with the two hooked, Grabe called the push out and Immonen played a quality kick to leave Estonia punished for their push out call. It was Laar who was then up and he fouled to give Finland ball in hand and they made them pay to lead again at 5-4. Neither Grabe or Laar covered themselves in too much glory but the latter missed what proved to be a pivotal four in the 10th rack to allow Finland their moment to get on the hill. Uski cued with the confidence of someone who was enjoying every moment on the big stage.
It looked like Finland would close things out in the following rack, but Immonen missed the six to give Estonia a glimmer of hope, and all be it a glimmer with the six now at the opposite end of the table and cue ball in front of the seven at the opposite end. Grabe pulled off the pressure pot but left Laar with a tester on the seven which he couldn’t make only for Uski to scratch when trying to bank the seven the full length of the table. Estonia was still alive.
The last rack wasn’t without drama, a costly miss from Laar handed Finland the opportunity to complete their win and face Singapore in the quarterfinals.
Hungary were next up taking on a Switzerland side who had barely missed a ball in their win over Japan yesterday evening. Oliver Szolnoki and Vilmos Foldes were keen to reach the quarterfinals for only a second time in their nation’s World Cup history whilst Switzerland could be counted of something of a dark horse.
It was the case of two missed pots for Switzerland in the opening rack though as the costly one on the nine from Ronald Regli handed Hungary the opening advantage. A break and run completed by Foldes gave the seeded side the upper hand put them 2-0 up. Rack three was more of the same as Hungary put their stamp on proceedings.
Switzerland got their chance after the commercials after Hungary scratched on the break. From there, Dimitri Jungo went in off the nine when playing the six and it was 4-0 Hungary. Another break and run left Switzerland reeling and Hungary two away from victory and one eye on the quarterfinals.
Szolnoki broke dry in the sixth rack and it gave Jungo and Regli their moment to reduce the scoreline to 5-1, there was still plenty of work to be done if they were to have any slight chance of progressing.
The seventh rack was scrappy as the Swiss looked to build a pack, but it wasn’t going to be easy. Hungary got back to the table and Szolnoki put the eight away but left Foldes with a tricky attempt on the nine. One miss on the nine later and Jungo made it to cut their opponent’s advantage to three. Jungo and Regli pieced together a break and run in the next rack to do the damage with Regli making five balls on the break to help them along their way.
Switzerland’s idea of running a few packs came true with another break and run to make it 5-4 in the ninth. The almighty comeback gathered ahead of steam with a golden break from Regli to go level. Szolnoki had a chance to stop the drought, but he missed the three when cueing over the seven. Jungo and Regli did the rest to lead for the first time and be on the hill.
Hungary was presented a golden chance early on in what was ultimately the last rack after Jungo miscued when playing the one. Szolnonki potted the one but left Foldes short of a clear pot for the two. Foldes got fortunate and left Switzerland hooked but Regli did the exact same back to leave Szolnoki in a difficult position. One foul later and Switzerland completed a huge comeback to reach the quarterfinals.
Great Britain was imperious in knocking out their fellow countrymen in the opening round and Chris Melling with Imran Majid was looking for more of the same as they come against South Africa’s Jason Theron and Kyle Akaloo. Theron won the lag, but it was GB who took the opening two racks, a golden break from Melling in the second to take the early initiative. Theron and Akaloo stole the third rack to be trailing by one at the break and stop Great Britain from winning ten racks in a row overall in the tournament.
With Great Britain leading 4-1, South Africa needed something, they were chasing the nine combo early on but left the same chance for their opponents. Melling missed the 5-9 combo but hooked Akaloo in the process. Akaloo fouled but then Majid scratched with the ball in hand. South Africa did the rest, and it was 4-2.
At 4-2, Melling missed the bank on the six ball and South Africa was able to close GB’s lead to just one in a tricky rack for both sides.
Great Britain didn’t hang around much after South Africa’s third rack with a quick run out in the eighth before making the most of an error-prone ninth rack from their opposition. Melling missed the two and left it over the pocket for Akaloo to make it only for the debutant to leave the cue ball slap bang behind the three. Theron’s effort saw the three-land plumb over the pocket at the opposite end to Great Britain’s rejoice who profiteered to be one away.
Theron has South Africa’s last say on the match. Majid broke dry in the final rack but Theron had no shot on the one. He fouled when trying to jump and from then on, Melling and Majid did the rest to meet Spain in the quarterfinals tomorrow evening.
Skyler Woodward and Shane Van Boening (Taka Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)
Spain and the USA have become the first sides to reach the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup of Pool at the Brentwood Centre, Essex live on Sky Sports Arena in the UK, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Viaplay in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Netherlands, and Poland. Matchroom.Live in territories without a broadcaster.
One of the best matches of the first round came last as Japan’s Naoyuki Oi and Masato Yoshioka battled away with the unseeded but lethal duo from Switzerland of Dimitri Jungo and Ronald Regli. Japan had gotten off to the ideal start after winning the lag to take the opening two racks but that was only the start of an epic contest. Yoshioka dry broke in the third and from there, Switzerland pieced together a five pack, crafted like a fine Swiss watch.
Japan was staring down the barrel going into the eighth rack, but they were handed a lifeline when Regli scratched on the break. A neat bit of play later and Oi/Yoshioka’s hopes were renewed with the deficit cut to two. The break in the ninth wasn’t great from Oi and it led to Switzerland playing the pushout with Jungo at the table. The pushout was played well but Japan turned the needle with a safety of their own which put Regli in a tough postion. Kicking out on the one, Regli opened the table up to allow Japan in and cut the Swiss advantage to one.
Regli provided another opportunity for Japan in the next rack as he jumped on the one but made it leave the table in the process. It was another rack for Japan, and they were back in it. Oi and Yoshioka were back in the mood after initially being frozen out for five racks and they did their best to see things through as they reached the hill first at 6-5 after a 2-9 combo from Oi had brought them level.
Oi was unlike his regular self at times, and the costliest moment of the match came when he missed the one ball when trying to screw the cue ball back. With the one firmly hooked by Switzerland, Japan was back at the table but again it was the case of too much power and a lack of table speed judgment that led to Switzerland forcing a hill-hill decider.
The break proved key in the end of this contest, Japan’s meager 0.7 balls off the break in comparison to Switzerland’s 1.6 proving testimony to a superb victory for Jungo and Regli who meet Hungary next.
The Last 16 began with a European heavyweight clash between Spain and Albania for a spot in the quarterfinals and it was the latter who won the lag with a team of Eklent Kaçi and Besar Spahiu.
Spain’s David Alcaide and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz didn’t have to wait too long for their first opportunity after Kaçi’s error when kicking the three ball opened the door. Rack two was again down to Spain’s expert safety, so often seen in three cushion, a game both know well. Kaçi was hooked on the one and he proceeded to scratch giving Spain ball in hand inevitably a second rack. At the commercial break, it was 3-0 Spain, no small part down to a golden break from Sanchez Ruiz, the first of the week.
It wasn’t the case in the match of Albania playing badly, Spain were just too good as they racked up an unassailable lead. In the fifth, at 4-0 down, Spahiu tried a six cross bank only for it to not come off and give the Spaniards another easy win to go 5-0 ahead.
Sanchez Ruiz’s cue power on the break was working well but a dry break in the next rack gave Albania their chance to get on the board at 5-1. It was evident it wasn’t going to be Albania’s evening though and after conceding position in rack seven, Spain was on the hill. The job for Alcaide and Sanchez Ruiz was soon wrapped up inside 45 minutes to become the first nation into the quarterfinals.
“We played really well. We’re happy with our performance. Let’s see what comes next for us. Both players are good but when we play like that, we are so strong. We’re happy with our showing. I have a feeling in the next round, we are not thinking anything further. We played good though and broke much better than in the last round.” – Alcaide and Sanchez Ruiz after beating Albania.
The final action of the evening came in the form of a mighty clash between the USA and Poland. Both sides fancied for the title come Sunday evening in Brentwood. The USA’s Shane Van Boening broke in the first rack but didn’t leave many positions for compatriot Skyler Woodward giving Poland their first opportunity in the match. The pair of Mieszko Fortunski and Wojciech Szewczyk did the rest and they led early on 1-0.
Fortunski had a run to the World Pool Masters semi-finals just last month and alongside Szewczyk they were proving to be good value at 2-0 up. A ‘safety’ on the two in rack three could’ve been enough for them to make it 3-0 but with World Champion Van Boening at the table, the South Dakota Kid had other ideas and the USA made it 2-1. A straightforwards fourth rack brought the USA level.
From then on, the United States took control of the contest and loved every moment of it to switch it up with five racks on the spin to be two away from the quarters. Woodward came close to messing that one up when the nine rattled both sides of the pocket in the seventh.
Into the eighth, Woodward played a big safety shot to keep Poland tied up. Fortunski went airborne but he left the three in a good position. Woodward missed the resulting cut which left to a brief safety exchange where the USA came out on top, no thanks down to a fluke from Van Boening on the four and eight. The USA were on the hill.
Woodward brought his A1 game and that came in clutch as he laid the safety that would prove to be Poland’s final moment of the game as they fouled to give Van Boening and Woodward the table to complete victory. They face Hungary or Switzerland next.
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.
Albin Ouschan is still on course to defend his World Pool Championship heading into Finals Day at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes with America’s Shane Van Boening, Greece’s Alexander Kazakis, and Kuwait’s Abdullah Alyousef all making it into the final four.
There were some stellar morning clashes in the Last 16 as Joshua Filler got the better of Darren Appleton from 10-8 down to set up a repeat of the Premier League Pool final just. a month ago, for a spot in the semi-finals against Ouschan. Ouschan meanwhile didn’t seem to have to break a sweat as he downed fellow two-time winner Thorsten Hohmann 11-5.
Alyousef pulled off an upset against the 2021 US Open runner-up Aloysius Yapp who did reach the hill first. Max Lechner stood between Alyousef and the semi-finals and it didn’t come without drama. After only a few racks, it seemed the 9 ball was rolling off. After much consultation between Lechner, Alyousef, and Matchroom the decision was made the continue the match on another table.
When the match resumed, Lechner led at 9-8 and he looked to be reaching the hill first before failing to cut the 9 ball in and in the process allowing Alyousef to pull it back to 9-9. The Kuwaiti will be hoping to emulate compatriot Omar Al-Shaheen who reached last year’s final, and he will be hoping to keep luck on his side, the eventual winning rack saw Alyousef fluke the 7 in before cleaning up to deal a hammer blow to Lechner.
Alyousef came into the tournament as the No. 50 seed and will face No.1 seed Ouschan for his spot in the final.
Ouschan’s route to the final against Filler could’ve been much worse after finding himself down 4-0 but that is when the Austrian found his Mean Machine nickname to keep Filler frozen out much like in the Premier League Pool final. The two-time champion seems to have Filler’s number of late and came out victorious in his typical calm demeanour.
Kazakis has plugged away all week the Greek put on a convincing display of how far his game has come to overcome Ronald Regli of Switzerland in the opener 11-4. The 2021 World Pool Masters champion beat Van Boening 9-0 in the final last year and will face the five-time US Open winner for a maiden World Pool Championship final after beating close friend Oliver Szolnoki in a hill-hill finish.
It was a contest of highs and lows for both players as it soon went 7-7 but it was Szolnoki who reached the hill first at 10-7. A golden break and combo later, Kazakis was back in the contest as he drew it back to pull off a memorable comeback and set up his showdown with Van Boening.
Van Boening had arguably two of the biggest matches in recent time of his career with a repeat of the 2015 World Pool Championship final against Ko Pin Yi his first task and one that he duly rose to. Pin Yi was returning to the Nineball fold for the first time since the pandemic and had two golden breaks along the road map to a 11-8 win and revenge for 2015. Chang Jung-Lin was next on Van Boening’s agenda who had beaten Naoyuki Oi earlier on in the day.
The break was key to Van Boening’s day as he crunched countless balls in on the break to lead Jung-Lin 8-3. The pair have great mutual respect but in truth, it was always Van Boening’s game to lose as he ran out a 11-8 win. Revenge on Kazakis is next for the USA man.
