In her second round match of the Kamui WPA Women’s World 9-Ball Championship, Jasmin Ouschan found herself trailing Billiard Congress of America Hall of Famer Karen Corr 4-0 in a race-to-seven before rallying to win the, 7-6.
The next night against Germany’s Melanie Sussenguth, the Austrian once again found herself staring up at a big deficit. This time, however, she was unable to pull off the late match rally, as the two-time World Women’s 9-Ball runner-up was defeated 7-2 in her winner’s qualification match Friday night at Harrah’s Resort and Casino in Atlantic City. Ouschan now moves to the one-loss side of the bracket in this 64-competitor, double-elimination tournament, where she will face the winner of the match between Caroline Pao and Xin Yu Hong Saturday morning.
After splitting the first four games, Sussenguth appeared to be in position to take the lead but left the 2 ball siting in the corner pocket’s jaws. With an open table, Ouschan could not capitalize as she overran position on the 9 ball and initiated a safety exchange which her opponent ultimately won. After the German used more safety play to tack on another rack, Ouschan had an opportunity to narrow the gap when her opponent scratched on the break but again failed to get out when she could not secure position on the 6 ball. After Sussenguth tucked the cue ball behind the 8 ball on a safety, Ouschan fouled when her attempt to jump the cue ball touched the blocking ball, handing Sussenguth ball-in-hand and a 5-2 advantage.
Ouschan had one last chance to make up some ground when her opponent failed to secure position on the 5 ball in the eighth game and the two traded safeties again. The Austrian went to her jump cue and popped the 5 ball into the corner pocket then she missed a cut shot on the 6 ball, allowing Sussenguth to take a commanding 6-2 lead. The German didn’t allow her opponent another shot, breaking and running to close out the set in the subsequent game.
In other matches from the winner’s side qualification, reigning champion Kelly Fisher pitched a 7-0 shut out over South Korea’s Woojin Lee, Filipino Chezka Centeno gutted out a 7-5 win against Rubilen Amit, Allison Fisher got by Eylul Kibaroglu, 7-5, and Pia Filler defeated Bulgaria’s Kristina Zlaveta, 7-3. Reigning World Women’s 10-Ball Champion Chieh-Yu Chou defeated Tani Miina, 7-1, Hye Ju Jin survived against Kristina Tkach, 7-6, and Japan’s Yuki Hiraguchi gutted out a 7-5 against Wan-Ling Wang.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, it almost happened again to Margaret Fefilova Styer.
Playing Elise Qiu of France, she jumped out to a quick 4-0 advantage and was in the process of clearing the table in the fifth game when she missed a cut shot on the 6 ball. Qiu capitalized by winning the next three racks to pull within 4-3 and appeared positioned to tie the match but failed to convert a bank shot on the 6 ball. Fefilova Styer stroked in a long cut shot down the rail on the ball then finished off the rack to pull ahead by two games but forfeited the table again when she misplayed a safety on the 1 ball in the next game.
Qiu again took advantage of her opponent’s mistake, clearing the table then breaking and running to tie the match. Fefilova Styer left another chance in the 11th game after misplaying a safety but Qiu scratched in the side pocket after making the 2 ball. This would be the last time she would come to the table, as Fefilova Styer cleared the table to take a 6-5 lead and then broke and ran to close out the match.
Fefilova Styer had a bit of an easier time in her next match, defeating Veronique Menard of Canada, 7-4, and will face Kim Witzel of Germany when play resumes Saturday morning with eight matches from the one-loss side on Saturday at 10 a.m, local time. Live coverage begins at 10 a.m. local time on the CueSports International YouTube page as well as on Billiard TV.
Chia Hua Chen was sailing along in her second-round match against Rubilen Amit, holding a decisive 5-0 advantage in a race-to-7, when she played a safety on the 2 ball after the break in the sixth game.
Needing some luck to get back into the match, Amit kicked at the ball and watched as it crossed the table twice then fell into the side pocket. The Filipino took full advantage of the fortuitous kick, clearing the table then winning six of the next seven racks to snatch a 7-6 victory and remain on the winner’s side of the Kamui World Women’s 9-Ball Championship at Harrah’s Resort and Casino in Atlantic City.
Amit was both lucky and good throughout the second half of the match, breaking and running four consecutive racks to tie the score, then using a successful safety exchange on the 1 ball to take the lead for the first time in the match, 6-5. Chen was able to tie the match in the following rack when she locked down her opponent with a safety of her own but then failed to pocket a ball on the break in the deciding match. Amit worked her way through the balls and left a mild cut on the 9 ball into the corner pocket for the win which she missed but watched as the ball bounced two rails and dropped into the side pocket, leaving her stunned and also victorious.
Margaret Fefilova Styer was in a similar situation in her opening round match against another Filipino, Chezka Centeno, on Thursday morning.
After the Filipino snagged the first game, she a missed 2 ball in the following rack and her opponent used the opportunity to take control of the match with five straight wins. At the table again with a chance to increase her lead in the seventh rack, Fefilova Styer missed a sharp cut on the 1 ball and the Filipino rallied, rattling off four straight wins to tie the match until a scratch on the break in the 11th game halted her momentum.
After the American used the unforced error to regain the lead, Centeno was able to use a victorious safety exchange to tie the match once more, then tacked on another break-and-run to close out the set and send her opponent to the one one-loss side of the bracket.
Centeno remained in stroke in the second round, defeating Dawn Hopkins, 7-4.
Later in the evening, reigning Predator World 10-Ball champion Chieh-Yu Chou literally jumped into the third round with a 7-3 victory over South Korea’s Seoa Seo.
Thanks to the accuracy of her jump cue abilities, Chou was able to build an early 4-2 advantage but missed a long 2 ball in the seventh game. Seoa cleared the table to cut the deficit to a single game and had a chance to tie the match in the eighth rack but left the 3 ball in the corner pocket’s jaw. With the cue ball blocked by the 5 ball, Chou again picked up her trusty jump cue, pocketed the ball and cleared the table, then used a break-and-run and a safety exchange to secure the victory.
In other notable matches from the first day of play, reigning champion Kelly Fisher trailed early in her second-round match against Germany’s Ina Kaplan but survived, 7-5, and Billiard Congress of America Hall of Famer Karen Corr jumped out to an early leads of 4-0 and 5-1 in her second-round match against Jasmin Ouschan but the Austrian battled back to win the set, 7-6.
Play resumes tomorrow at 9 a.m. local time with the first round of play from the one-loss side, with American Jennifer Barretta taking on Canadian Brittany Bryant and Margaret Fefilova Styer meeting Elise Qiu.
Philippines defeated Great Britain 3-0 in the final in Klagenfurt, Austria to be crowned 2022 Predator World Teams Champions, eight years after finishing runners-up the last time the event was staged.
Philippines had reached this year’s final with a shootout victory over Germany, who fought back from 2-0 down to force the decider. Britain’s semi-final was against Chinese Taipei, who were defeated 3-1 with Shaw in practically good form for his nation.
The final was much closer than the scoreline might suggest; the first two sets – women’s singles and a men’s match contested by Shaw and Biado – both finished 4-3, before the victory was completed by Amit and Chua in a 4-1 mixed-doubles win over Fisher and Appleton.
“It feels amazing to be champions,” said Amit. “We’re, we’re very, very happy, and very and relieved. Finally, no more matches, we can rest and just enjoy it and enjoy Austria and Klagenfurt!
“Last time we placed 2nd and now we are finally the champions. I am very happy that I have Johann and Carlo as my teammates because they are awesome, they are very good players.”
Biado added: “Finally we made it. My job was to win in this event and with my team, and I want to thank them because we all played well. We have to celebrate now!”
The final’s first set went the way of Amit, but it would have been easier had she not missed the 7 at 3-2 up. Fisher made it with a great shot to the corner and then took a difficult 9 to the middle before rolling in the 10 to make it 3-3.
The Brit had the break but after she missed a 3-ball jump, control passed to Amit, who produced a solid run out to take the first set of the final.
Shaw had been imperious in the semi-final, beating Wu Kun Lin 4-0 and Chang Jung-Lin 4-1. He fired himself to a 2-0 set lead in no time against Biado, before the reigning US Open champion escaped a safety with a 1-ball bank to open the table and pull it back to 2-1.
A kick shot on the 3 opened up the next rack for Biado, who drew level at 2-2. He had the break next but with a chance to lead for the first time, snookered himself on the 7 and a hopeful double bank failed, allowing Shaw to steal the point.
Shaw came up dry on the hill. Biado made the 1 and went safe on the 2, but when Shaw’s reply went wrong, Biado was able to join his opponent on the hill.
The Filipino was put back in after a push out and what followed was a high-quality safety battle. A great kick from Shaw made the 2, but there was no shot on the 3. After a visit from Biado, Shaw made another great shot – a 3/8 carom – only to be left still without a shot on the 3. Biado’s failed jump finally gave Shaw an opening but there was still work to do and he caught the 10 coming back for position on the 9. Eagle Eye played safe but Biado produced a great bank down the length of the table to take Philippines within a set of the title.
Clearly, the team didn’t want to wait for their crowning moment. The doubles pair of Chua and Amit were quickly 2-0 ahead against Appleton and Fisher. Britain were up against it but produced a calm clearance to cut their deficit in half. The fourth rack went to Philippines, and after Appleton lost the cue ball and Fisher then missed the 5, the title belonged to the Philippines, and the winning 10 ball to Johann Chua.
“I am so happy and so proud,” said Chua. “It is my first medal from a World Championship, and I am so thankful and so happy to make it with this team. We knew our opponents are really tough, but we came here to enjoy it.”
In yesterday’s Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship semi final, Kelly Fisher had suffered a 9-4 defeat to eventual champion Chou Chieh-Yu. The opening set of the Chinese Taipei vs Great Britain semi-final threw up a repeat of that semi-final, and Fisher was able to exert a small amount of revenge with a 4-2 win.
Jayson Shaw was next up in men’s singles, facing Wu Kun Lin. The Scot is a ruthless operator and had his Eagle Eyes set on title, and wasting no time in dispatching Wu 4-0 as he produced a masterclass performance.
Taipei needed a response and Chang Jung-Lin alongside Chou brought it with a hill-hill win in mixed doubles against Fisher and Darren Appleton. That left Chang needed a win against Shaw to force a shootout, but the Brit brought his fine form from the earlier set against Wu to deliver a 4-1 win.
Rubilen Amit’s 4-2 women’s singles win against Pia Filler gave Philippines first blood in the second semi final. Biado then came from 2-1 down to reach the hill first against Thorsten Hohmann. A masse around the 2 then saw Biado escape from a safety and make the 1, playing a lot of draw to come back and make the 2. From there he ran the rack for a 4-2 set victory and to take Philippines to the hill of the match.
But Germany fought back; first the Fillers against Amit and Johann Chua, and then Joshua Filler in singles against Chua won 4-0 to force the fifth set shootout.
In the shootout, Biado and Joshua Filler both opened with successful shots from the right. Amit and Pia Filler then both made their shots from the left. Shooting from the right, Chua found the very heart of the pocket but Hohmann missed his. That afforded Biado a chance to take Philippines to the final, and he made no mistake from the spot.
Matches from the Predator World Teams Championship can be replaying in full on the World Billiard TV YouTube Channel.
Great Britain will face Chinese Taipei and Germany will take on Philippines in an all-star line-up for the semi-finals of the Predator World Teams Championship in Klagenfurt, Austria.
Friday’s quarter-finals saw Great Britain beat Japan 3-0, Chinese Taipei knock out hosts Austria 3-1, Germany overcome Spain 3-1, and Philippines defeat Poland, also by 3 sets to 1.
It means Sunday’s semi-final line-up is littered with World Champions, and three more will be crowned by the end of the weekend, as well as another in the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship.
Austria took center stage on the main feature table with a home crowd behind them. However, they lost the first set as ‘Rita’ Chieh-Yu Chou won 4-3 over Jasmin Ouschan; both players had earlier in the day qualified for the semi-finals of the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship, which take place on Saturday.
Mario He levelled for his country with a 4-1 singles win against Wu Kun Lin, but siblings Jasmin and Albin Ouschan then suffered a 4-0 reversal to Chou and Chang Jung-Lin, before Chang completed the win with another 4-0, this time against He.
“In the women’s singles I didn’t play very well but in the doubles Chang Jung-Lin gave me a lot of power, he made me feel very comfortable,” said Chou.
Chang added: “I played well today but so did Rita. We have to support each othjer, trust each other and enjoy the match. On Sunday we hope to play better.”
Great Britian’s progression to the semi-finals, where they will meet Chinese Taipei, was completed in straight sets. Kelly Fisher won a hill-hill women’s singles tie against Yuki Hiraguchi 4-3, and Jayson Shaw dispatched Masato Yoshioka 4-1 in the men’s singles match. Victory was completed with a 4-2 mixed doubles win for Fisher and Darren Appleton over Hiraguchi and Toru Kuribayashi.
For Fisher, she believes the experience of playing alongside two elite-level team-mates, who also happen to be close friends, is helping elevate her individual game too.
“We have known each other for years and we all get on so well,” said Fisher, who plays in the semi-finals of the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship on Saturday.
“They have so much testosterone between them, it’s no wonder they are champions. I think they might be helping me because they are gearing me up, they are really supportive and some of the shot selection, how men think compared to women, it is really amazing when you spend that time with them.
“I love teams, I wish we had more team events. We are here to win, and with the testosterone and ego you can see that, but win or lose we get on great and whatever happens we will give it 110%”
Sunday’s second semi-final will see Germany face Philippines after both teams registered 3-1 semi-final wins. Pia Filler got things started for Germany with a 4-2 win over Amalia Matas and Thorsten Hohmann continued the momentum by beating Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, also 4-2. Matas and David Alcaide kept Spain in it with an emphatic 4-0 success over husband and wife pairing Joshua and Pia Filler, but Joshua put that behind him and turned the scoreline around on Sanchez-Ruiz to avoid the shootout and send Spain to the last four.
Philippines are also guaranteed a medal after they defeated Poland 3-1. Rubilen Amit scored a 4-1 success over Oliwia Zalewska in the women’s singles set, but men’s World 10-Ball Champion Wojciech Szewczyk beat Carlo Biado 4-2 to level for Poland.
Szewczyk’s racks were the last won by Poland, however, as first Zaleska and Tomasz Kaplan and then Szewczyk suffered 4-0 defeats, to Amit and Johann Chua in doubles and Chua in singles.
“We are very happy that we are into the semi finals now,” said Amit. “I am glad that the boys played very well and we didn’t have to go through another shootout, because my heart couldn’t bare another shootout.”
Chua added: “Tomorrow we will practice, rest well and on Sunday we will come for you guys!”
The semi-finals and final all take place on Sunday, beginning at 9am local time. Matches will be streamed live and free on the World Billiard TV YouTube Channel, watchbilliard.tv and on Kozoom.com.
Kelly Fisher will meet Chieh-Yu Chou and Jasmin Ouschan will face Wei Tzu Chien in the semi-finals of the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship after the remaining 24 athletes played down to four at Sportpark Klagenfurt, Austria on Friday.
Ouschan faced three matches if she was to qualify for the semi-finals and came through them all to ensure she will feature on the final day of the event in her home city, and which she was a major driving force in the organization of.
After a defeat to Pia Filler on Thursday, Ouschan returned on Friday morning to face Bojana Sarac. The Serbian youngster didn’t allow her opponent to pull too far ahead at any time and twice fought back from behind to have the match level at 4-4. But Ouschan was able to reach the hill at 6-4 up, and though Sarac did pull another rack back, it was the Austrian who went through to the last 16 as 7-5 winner.
A re-draw took place before the last 16 began, with the tournament now playing to a single elimination format and all remaining matches a race to 9.
Ouschan’s draw pitted her against Germany’s Ina Kaplan, who earlier in the week defeated the reigning champion Rubilen Amit. Kaplan provided another tough match for the Austrian, who won 9-6, before beating Ho-Yun Chen 9-3 in her quarter final.
Awaiting Ouschan in tomorrow’s semi-finals is Wei, who conceded just three racks in three matches on Friday. First, she beat Veronique Menard 7-1, then Pia Filler was eliminated 9-2, and then on the feature table, Canada Open champion Chia Hua Chen was on the receiving end of a 9-0 demolition.
“I didn’t expect it to be like that,” said Wei after her win over Chen. “We have known each other for a really long time and she is a really good player. I am really enjoying playing the event. It has been three years without going to any international tournament because of Covid and lockdowns, so I have just tried to enjoy myself.”
The second semi-final will pit Fisher against Chieh-Yu Chou. Fisher started the day in the last 16 after coming through to single elimination undefeated. Her first match of Friday’s play was a re-run of the Germany Open final against Eylul Kibaroglu, which went to a shootout. This match wasn’t so close though, with Fisher in fine form in a 9-3 win.
Next up was Filipino Chezka Centeno, and again Fisher delivered a statement performance as she won 9-6 against a tough opponent.
“I am so happy to have won that one,” explained Fisher. “I have played Chezka so many times over the years but haven’t seen each other for three years. I know she fires on all cylinders, the only way to beat her is to keep her in her seat. I haven’t been playing at my best but today was a great day; I performed really well, used a little bit of tactics – I’m a bit older, a bit wiser – and managed to get the upper hand and keep control.”
Fisher’s semi-final opponent Chou began the day with a 7-1 win over Oliwia Zalewska to reach the last 16, when Allison Fisher was defeated 9-6. That set up a quarter-final with South Korea’s Yun Mi Lim, which Chou won 9-3 to guarantee herself a medal.
The semi-finals take place at 10am and 12noon local time on Saturday, before the showpiece final at 3pm. Matches will be streamed live and free on the World Billiard TV YouTube Channel, watchbilliard.tv and on Kozoom.com.
Rubilen Amit is out of the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship, while Jasmin Ouschan suffered her first defeat of the event at the hands of Germany’s Pia Filler.
It means Ouschan will now face Bojana Sarac, the runner-up of last year’s Austrian Open, in the losers’ qualification round on Friday. Allison Fisher will also have to return on Friday morning having lost to ‘Amber’ Chia Hua Chen for the third time in the last four weeks.
Amit won the World Women’s 10-Ball last time it was staged – in 2013 – but her long-awaited title defense came to an end at the hands of Poland’s Monika Zabek, who won 7-3 against the Filipino but was later eliminated herself when she lost 7-3 to Norway’s Line Kjorsvik.
After Amit’s defeat to Zabek, a re-run of the recent Canada Open final between Allison Fisher and Chen took center stage on one of the two feature tables. Chen had also faced Fisher in the opening round in Canada, and both matches in that event went to shootouts won by Chen. There was no chance of a shootout in this tournament though, but it was another very close match. It nipped and tucked with neither player able to establish more than a one-rack advantage at any time, but Chen pulled away at the end to win 7-5.
The session’s final match on the main table saw Ouschan take on Filler. Ouschan had registered two 7-2 wins to remain in the winners’ side of the draw, but things wouldn’t be so easy against her German opponent in the qualification round. Filler is European 8-ball champion and stayed neck and neck with Ouschan, treating the spectators to a hill-hill thriller.
Filler’s break left a layout which promised a dramatic final rack and it delivered some nail-biting drama. Ouschan twice missed the 5 but was first to get an opening on the 6, which had been tied on the side rail with the 8, however, in the end, it was Filler who landed the victory, and with it a place in the last 16. For Ouschan, she’ll return tomorrow with another chance to qualify against Bojana Sarac.
Play continues from 9am on Friday.
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship can be seen here: https://probilliardseries.com/event/1677/. Play continues at 9am on Wednesday.
The event is broadcasting two tables with full live coverage and commentary every day. One will be available on the World Billiard TV YouTube Channel and another will be at watchbilliard.tv. All tables can be viewed live at Kozoom.com.
Follow @probilliardseries on Facebook, @probilliardseries on Instagram or @PBilliardSeries on Twitter to follow the next events.
Predator Canada Open champion Amber Chen remained undefeated in the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship to move to the winners’ qualification round, but the current champion Rubilen Amit was sent to the losers’ side in a 7-5 defeat to Ina Kaplan.
Jasmin Ouschan scored her second consecutive 7-2 win as she defeated Szu Ting Kuo, while Kelly Fisher, Chieh-Yu Chou and Eylul Kibaroglu were among those who remained on the winners’ side heading into Thursday’s qualification round.
Allison Fisher was pushed all the way to hill-hill by Claudia von Rohr before completing a 7-6 win, but there was no such drama for tournament host Ouschan, who put in an assured performance for her second win.
Kuo won the lag but a dry break brough Ouschan immediately to the table, and she cleared it for an early lead. Kuo was able to respond straight away but Ouschan made it 2-1 with a brilliant jump on the 6, and it was soon 3-1 when Kuo left herself too much to do on the 10 and gifted Ouschan a simple finish.
Fortune wasn’t with Kuo who then scratched on her break and could only sit and watch as Ouschan extended her lead. Kuo was able to pull it back to 5-2, but a hit-and-hope attempt to double bank the four didn’t come off in the next rack, and to make things worse for the player from Chinese Taipei, position was left perfect for Ouschan who made it 6-2.
Kuo followed her next break with a smart jump shot but her subsequent safety knocked in an uncalled 5. Another chance came when Ouschan missed and scratched on the 4, but she failed with a 9-ball jump which became her last action of the match.
“I think my performance was even better than yesterday,” said Ouschan. “Playing against a top Taiwanese player is always tough. Kuo is one of the best ones in the world, so definitely not the easiest second match. But so far I’m happy with my performance; I think the safety game and stuff kicking could be better, but it’s fine.
“I’m going to analyze it and try it better tomorrow. Now it’s time for the team, so I am happy so far and taking all that energy now with me to the team match.
“I got given flowers from a spectator here and she came up to me and said, thank you for giving me so many magic moments. I thought that was such a sweet feedback. And, you know, that gives me energy and motivation. That is so sweet that, with what I do, I can actually touch people and reach out to people.”
While Ouschan was winning on one feature table, April Larson and Chia Hua ‘Amber’ Chen were in action on the other. A luggage delay meant Larson was borrowing cues from Tyler Styer but it didn’t seem to effect her as she put in an impressive display for USA in the Teams Championship on Tuesday evening.
Chen is fresh from winning the Predator Canada Open, the first time she had travelled internationally since the pandemic, and she again showed her quality and class, pulling clear of Larson from 2-2 to eventually win 7-3.
Rubilen Amit won the last staged World 10-Ball Championship – in the Philippines in 2013 – but will now have to qualify for the last 16 from the losers’ side after a 7-5 defeat to Kaplan of Germany.
Play continues from 9am on Thursday with three more rounds including winners’ qualification.
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship can be seen here: https://probilliardseries.com/event/1677/. Play continues at 9am on Wednesday.
The event is broadcasting two tables with full live coverage and commentary every day. One will be available on the World Billiard TV YouTube Channel and another will be at watchbilliard.tv. All tables can be viewed live at Kozoom.com.
Follow @probilliardseries on Facebook, @probilliardseries on Instagram or @PBilliardSeries on Twitter to follow the next events.
Jasmin Ouschan, organizing two WPA World Championship events in her hometown, reverted to her familiar playing role and won through the first round of the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship with a confident 7-2 win over Kristina Grim at Sportpark Klagenfurt on Tuesday.
Three-time Pro Billiard Series champion Kelly Fisher was a 7-1 winner against Seo Seoa, while the current Women’s 10-Ball Championship – who won her title when the event was last staged in 2013 – also got off to a winning start, registering a 7-0 victory against Yi Yun Su.
Ouschan has been heavily involved in the organization of these events but more recently has switched her focus to preparations for competing, and she had plenty of support as she got her tournament underway against Grim.
Ouschan took the first rack after Grim gave herself a tough cut on the 10, which she hit too thin. The match was levelled when a dry break and subsequent foul from Ouschan allowed Grim back in with ball in hand. The Slovakian, who has previously represented Germany, couldn’t capitalize on her own break, however, and hit a tough 9 too full and Ouschan’s lead was restored at 2-1. The following two racks also went against the breaker, but Ouschan made it 4-2 from her own break.
That lead was extended further after Grim left an opening from a 1-ball safety. Ouschan completed another run out on her own break to reach the hill 6-2 up, and her progression to the next round was confirmed the next rack when the hometown hero cleared after Grim missed a long 1 under shot-clock pressure.
“The first match is always a big question mark, how it will feel,” said Ouschan. “But it went well and I’m totally happy with the set up in general, the whole team did great and of course I am proud to have such an event in my hometown.”
The World Women’s 10-Ball Championship was last held in 2013, when the Philipinnes’ Rubilen Amit won the title for a second time, beating Kelly Fisher in the final to add to her 2009 success. Amit has had a long time to wait to defend her title but made a perfect start with a 7-0 win over Yi Yun Su of Chinese Taipei.
Elsewhere, three-time Pro Billiard Series champion Kelly Fisher eased into the winners’ side of the brackets with a 7-1 win over Korea’s Seo Seoa, and there was a win for Austria’s 17-year-old rising star Lena Primus, who defeated Laura Saarinen 7-6.
Before the start of the World Teams Championship, players and officials paid tribute to Molrudee Kasemchaiyanan, who sadly died on Tuesday. Kasemchaiyanan fell ill after representing New Zealand at The World Games in July and was remembered by her billiard family with a minute of silence in Klagenfurt. Kelly Fisher paid tribute, saying: “She was a sweetheart who did a lot for the billiard world and was very passionate about the game, and was part of our billiard family. She is going to be missed very much.”
Matches in the World Teams Championship are a best of five sets and teams are made up one two male and one female player. The first set is between the two female players, before teams nominate a player for mens singles. All four players must have played by the third set, which is mixed doubles. Players can then nominate a singles player of their choice for the fourth set, and if scores are tied at 2-2 then all team members participate in a best-of-four shootout.
With Austria ‘A’ among eight teams seeded through the first round, it was left to the B team to fly the flag on the feature table. However, they were up against a USA team in no mood to be gracious to their hosts. April Larson set the tone for a defiant victory, defeated Lina Primus 4-0.
The momentum was carried into the second set by Tyler Styer, who defeated Daniel Guttenberger 4-1. Guttenberger’s rack was the only one won by Austria, however, as Joey Tate teamed up with Larson to send Austria B to the losers’ side of the brackets, winning the set 4-0 against Primus and Max Lechner. That sets up a mouth-watering clash between Great Britain (Jayson Shaw, Darren Appleton and Kelly Fisher) and USA tomorrow evening.
Japan (Yuki Hiraguchi, Masato Yoshioka & Tatsu Kuribayashi) won a thrilling encounter against Serbia (Bojana Sarac, Aleksa Pecelj & Andreja Klasovic). Japan took the first two sets by close scorelines of 4-3 for Hiraguchi over Sarac and 4-2 for Yoshioka over Pecelj. Serbia fought back strongly as Sarac and Klasovic won from hill-hill in mixed doubles against Hiraguchi and Kuribayashi but Yoshioka took his team into the next round with an emphatic 4-0 win against Pecelj.
Canada won the first shootout of the event to advance at the expense of Costa Rica, and a short while later Switzerland also advanced by shootout, sending Finland to the losers’ side.
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship can be seen here: https://probilliardseries.com/event/1677/. Play continues at 9am on Wednesday.
The event is broadcasting two tables with full live coverage and commentary every day. One will be available on the World Billiard TV YouTube Channel and another will be at watchbilliard.tv. All tables can be viewed live at Kozoom.com.
Follow @probilliardseries on Facebook, @probilliardseries on Instagram or @PBilliardSeries on Twitter to follow the next events.
The Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship and Predator World Teams Championship commence in Klagenfurt, Austria on Tuesday and on Monday morning media were welcomed to the SportPark Klagenfurt for the official press conference to open the event.
Jasmin Ouschan’s Billiard Sport Academy is a major promotional partner of the events and the 36-year-old herself has been a leading driving force behind them. Ouschan was World 10-Ball Champion in 2010 but this is the first time the event has been staged since 2013, when Rubilen Amit was champion. Ouschan is a well-known name in Austria, she finished second the country’s Dancing With The Stars last year and has her eyes set on another 10-Ball title this week.
“Bringing a World Championship women’s event and team event to Klagenfurt is absolutely indescribable,” she said. “My brother and I are really known here but the people never really get to see anything.
“There’s not much pool on television so bringing a big tournament to my hometown is so special. I know I have an extra portion of pressure that comes with it. Winning a World Championship in my hometown is just a crazy thought.
“We have so much support from the city of Klagenfurt, from our county Carinthia, but also with Predator. Together we created such a cool team. I have to say, in the last couple of weeks, I did less and less because I am an athlete at the end of the day. But of course, I was always involved, and seeing what we have all done together here makes me extremely proud. I’m hoping that all the players and also the federations will see what we’re doing here for the sport and for the athletes.”
Ouschan’s first match will be against Kristina Grim of Slovakia at 4pm on Tuesday. As well as competing in the Women’s World 10-Ball
Championship, Ouschan will also feature in the World Teams Championship, partnering with Mario He and her brother Albin on Austria’s ‘A’ team.
Austria A is one of eight teams seeded into the winners’ side of the brackets. They will face the winners of Portugal vs New Zealand, which plays at 7pm on Tuesday.
Klagenfurt was host venue of last year’s Pro Billiard Series Austrian Opens, where Kelly Fisher took home the Women’s title. The Brit won the last Women’s World 9-Ball title and is excited to have the opportunity to compete for two World titles this week.
“It is very nice to be back in this beautiful city of Klagenfurt,” Fisher told the assembled media. “It is such a great event, not just because I won here last year, but because of the effort that goes into putting on such an event. The arena is awesome and players can only but love playing here.
“I am looking forward to the event. It is very exciting to have both the Teams and the Women’s World 10-Ball Championship, which we haven’t had for ten years. To have two massive events happening at the same time is spectacular, and I’m looking forward to a great, action-packed week. It is going to be a very special and a very memorable week.”
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship can be seen here: https://probilliardseries.com/event/1677/. Play begins at 9am on Tuesday.
The event will broadcast two tables with full live coverage and commentary every day. One will be available on the World Billiard TV YouTube Channel and another will be at watchbilliard.tv. All tables can be viewed live at Kozoom.com.
Follow @probilliardseries on Facebook, @probilliardseries on Instagram or @PBilliardSeries on Twitter to follow the next events.
WOMEN’S POOL Veronika Ivanovskaia 9-8 Rubilen Amit
Thursday night, Rubilen Amit of the Philippines stunned Germany’s Pia Filler with a pressure-packed, come-from-behind 9-8 victory, winning three consecutive racks to secure a spot in the quarterfinals.
A mere 24 hours later, it appeared history might be repeating itself, as Germany’s Veronika Ivanovskaia jumped out to an early 6-2 advantage, only to watch it all evaporate as a handful of missed shots allowed her opponent to climb back into the match and tie the score, 8-8.
“I couldn’t finish easy tables anymore,” said Ivanovskaia. ”I was shaking and my head was all over.”
While the Filipino used a heavy dose of luck to advance the night before, this time her luck ran out, as Ivanovskaia received a timely roll after a missed shot to defeat Amit, 9-8, and advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals.
With the score tied at eight games each, Amit scratched on the break and gave the ball-in-hand to her opponent, who promptly missed a routine 3 ball minutes later. Fortunately for the German, the object ball rolled to a safe place on the table and forced her opponent to execute a kick shot. Amit’s kick left a wide-open table and, despite the rattled nerves along with the memory of a handful of missed shots, Ivanovskaia closed out the final rack with authority, rifling each ball into the pocket with confidence.
“I said to myself, ‘this is your final chance and if you don’t take it, then you’re just stupid,’” she said. “I just tried to stay committed on my shots and focus on my cue action and just make the
balls.”
Chieh-Yu Chou 9, Eunji Park 1
Chinese Taipei’s Chieh-Yu Chou led start-to-finish in her match against Korea’s Eunji Park and coasted to a commanding 9-1 victory in the quarterfinals of the World Games in Birmingham.
“I think I had a pretty good break today at the beginning and at the end,” said Chou.
After winning the first two racks, Park climbed onto the scoreboard to cut the deficit to 2-1. That would be her lone win of the match, as Chou won seven straight games to close out the set and advance to the semifinals.
Park’s play was the polar opposite of what she had exhibited a day earlier when she battled to the wire to defeat Monica Webb of the United States, 9-8, in the opening round, struggling with her break and ball pocketing throughout the evening session match.
“Yesterday, I think I had a good influence on the game by preparing my mind before the game and today, unlike yesterday, I lost because I was nervous,” said Park.
Aloysius Yapp will meet Sanjin Pehlivanovic in The World Games semi-finals. Pehlivanovic overturned a 5-1 deficit to beat John Morra 11-9, while Yapp defeated Spain’s Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz 11-7.
Morra opened an early 5-1 lead over his opponent, but a scratch on the 7 ball allowed Pehlivanovic back in and the European 10-Ball Champion seized his moment, putting together a four-pack to tie the match.
The Canadian responded in the 11th to regain the lead at 6-5 but missed the 9 in the subsequent game. Pehlivanovic could only go safe and Morra made an up-table bank to lead 5-7.
The Bosnian took the next game and a golden break had him level at 7-7. The match continued to swing back and forth before it was the Bosnian who arrived first on the hill, and he wasn’t going to let his opportunity slip and he closed out an 11-9 victory.
“I was down 5-1 because I started badly. The last couple of months every match I was losing, I won, so that is good and gives me confidence. I had a little bit of luck, the same as him but I am happy to be in the semi-final. When he scratched on the 7, that was the turning point and I tried to play every rack as if it was the last one.
“It would be a dream to win The World Games. This is an important match tomorrow so I will look forward to it. To be the first player from Boznia to win a billiards gold, for the country, I cannot find the words to describe how big that achievement would be.
Yapp earned his place in the semis with an 11-7 win against in-form Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz of Spain. Sanchez-Ruiz had early leads of 2-1 and 4-2 before Yapp found his stride to open up an 8-5 advantage. Despite winning games on his break, Sanchez-Ruiz wasn’t given chances by Yapp, who closed out an 11-7 win.
The Olympic Channel is live streaming The World Games and billiards will feature on July 16 and July 17 when the finals take place. A full streaming schedule and links are at https://www.theworldgames.org/pages/twg2022streaming. The match schedule, results, and live scores are at esnooker.pl
Follow @wcbsbilliards on social media for full coverage of the billiards program from our team in Birmingham, Alabama.
