Thorsten Hohmann and Joshua Filler (Taka Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)
Defending champions Germany sailed through their opening encounter with New Zealand 7-1 as the 2022 World Cup of Pool got underway 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.
Germany’s near pairing of UK Open and World Pool Masters winner Joshua Filler and former World Champion Thorsten Hohmann come into the tournament as one of the favourites as they look to become the first nation to defend the title whilst New Zealand’s Matt Edwards and Simon Singleton were flying their countries flag for the first time since 2019.
New Zealand won the lag but that was a rare highlight early on as Germany looked to build up some steam. Both teams struggled with the early pace of the table with Singleton missing the three to the middle pocket and opening the table for Filler and Hohmann to make the early move at 1-0. There were chances for New Zealand despite being 4-0 down but they seized their chance in the fifth rack after a brief exchange led to Filler missing a bank on the 9-ball and allowing their opponents the chance to be on the board at 4-1.
It was a tough day at the office for New Zealand through with errors being their downfall early on and Germany just too hot to handle late on as they wrapped up a 7-1 victory to set up a second round clash with either the Netherlands or Morocco later this week.
Chinese Taipei are no strangers to the World Cup either as they made a triumphant return to the fold for the first time since 2019 against debutants Argentina. Ko Brothers of Pin Yi and Ping Chung will be feared throughout the tournament, and they sent their warning signs as they moved past Ariel Casto and Sebastian Rodriguez 7-2 to do their work early in the tournament.
Casto and Rodriguez could count themselves to be unfortunate early on as Chinese Taipei took the early rolls to lead 3-1. Pin Yi won the tournament in 2015 with Chang Yu-Lung and with his younger brother alongside him this time, Ping Chung upped the ante to put them two away at 5-1. Argentina was soon gifted their second rack to be 5-2 behind after Chinese Taipei lost their position on the eight. Argentina’s optimism soon came crashing down though as the Ko brothers rattled up a 7-2 victory to meet either Greece or Cyprus next.
The afternoon session concluded with Albania’s Eklent Kaçi and Besar Spahiu who met Italy’s duo of Francesco Candela and Daniele Corrieri. Corrieri is no stranger to big moments much like Kaçi with success in beating Skyler Woodward at the World Pool Championship back in April whilst Kaçi’s Mosconi Cup pedigree came to roost as Albania did their work in a 7-2 win.
There were some early nerves from both sides but Kaçi’s know-how around the table eased Spahiu into proceedings. Spahiu broke well in the second rack to leave a carom on for the 9 to sink and put Albania 2-0 up. That momentum continued at 3-0 before Italy got on the board with a neat piece of safety. Albania continued on their way at 5-1 with relative ease as Italy did get back another rack only for Kaçi and Spahiu to wrap up their win and face either Spain or Australia next.
Germany (Joshua Filler & Thorsten Hohmann) will begin the defence of their World Cup of Pool crown against New Zealand (Matt Edwards & Simon Singleton) whilst hosts Great Britain A have been drawn a huge clash against Great Britain B in their opening encounter at the Brentwood Centre, Essex from June 14-19 live on Sky Sports in the UK and networks worldwide. Tickets are still available from £10 here.
The top 16 sides were seeded based on the 2022 Nineball World Rankings with the remaining 16 teams becoming the unseeded players for the draw. Teams were picked based on the below criteria
16 x – WPA Federation Allocations
8 x – 2022 Nineball World Rankings
8 x – Matchroom Wild Cards
Format – Winner Break
Round 1 – Race to 7
Round 2 – Race to 7
Quarter/Semi Finals – Race to 9
Final – Race to 11
Session Times (UK Time)
Afternoon – 11 am – 3 pm
Evening – 5 pm – 9 pm (except for 19, June 6 pm start)
Match Schedule
Tuesday, 14 June – Afternoon
Germany (1) vs New Zealand
Chinese Taipei (9) vs Argentina
Albania (13) vs Italy
Tuesday, 14 June – Evening
USA (2) vs Canada
Hungary (10) vs Czech Republic
Spain (4) vs Australia
Wednesday, 15 June – Afternoon
Philippines (5) vs South Africa
Poland (15) vs Hong Kong, China
Greece (8) vs Cyprus
Wednesday, 15 June – Evening
Great Britain A (12) vs Great Britain B
Estonia (14) vs Serbia
Austria (3) vs Finland
Thursday, 16 June – Afternoon
Singapore (6) vs Qatar
Kuwait (11) vs Vietnam
Netherlands (16) vs Morocco
Thursday, 16 June – 1 x Round 1 match / 2 x Round 2 matches
Japan (7) vs Switzerland
TBC
TBC
Friday 17 June – Round 2 – both sessions
Saturday, 18 June – Quarter-Finals – both sessions
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.
