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Shaw Survives Day One Scare as Van Boening Cruises

Shane Van Boening (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

Jayson Shaw survived a hill-hill scare in his opening match of the World Pool Championship 2023 in Kielce, Poland as defending champion Shane Van Boening cruised through to Winners Round 1 unscathed live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide.

Brackets / Scores

Van Boening stepped out at Targi Kielce looking to do what only Earl Strickland has ever achieved in defending a world title with Masato Yoshioka offering the first test. The South Dakota Kid was barely troubled by his opponent in a strong showing that saw Yoshioka restricted to few opportunities as Van Boening rattled in a 9-2 opening win. Mats Schjetne awaits tomorrow afternoon for Van Boening in Winners’ Qualification.

Shaw meanwhile had a far from the ideal start being pushed to the final four ball against Italy’s Francesco Candela. Two-time Mosconi Cup MVP Shaw, got off to a comfortable start to lead 5-3 but Candela hit back forcing it all the way to the hill. It was the case of Shaw making plenty of balls off the break but misfortune awaiting at his feet with several in-offs to claw Candela back into the contest. Candela forced a hill-hill finish and looked to have an out after a nervy safety exchange only for the four to be left hanging to allow Shaw in to complete a 9-8 win.

“I played well throughout the match. It was a weird one. Funny little things happened, I am exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open with a lot of pool being played in the last week. I need a good sleep and I will be back tomorrow. I got here at 5 pm yesterday and woke up at 5 pm today! 24 hours, I didn’t know where I was! Hopefully, tomorrow I can be back to where I need to be. I am playing well, there are a lot of good players out here. Hopefully, luck is on your side and you play well. It’s one match at a time for me. Everyone is here to win, we will see what happens.” – Jayson Shaw after beating Francesco Candela 9-5.

Wojciech Szewczyk (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

13 Polish players started their journey on home soil with Wojciech Szewczyk getting the honours of playing the first match on Table 1 with the Warsaw native up against Bashar Hussain Abdul Majeed in front of a packed home crowd.

Nineball World No. 1 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz beat So Shaw in a whitewash before coming from 5-2 down to defeat Wu Kun Lin and book a spot in the Last 64 and a day off tomorrow. Joining Sanchez Ruiz in the Last 64 is two-time winner Albin Ouschan who got the better of SVB Junior Open winner Khalid Alghamdi in Winners’ Qualification whilst Niels Feijen, Ko Ping Chung and Max Lechner also made it through early doors. It was also a delight for Nick Van Den Berg on a triumphant return to the Nineball Arena with back-to-back wins.

Mieszko Fortunski, Mika Immonen, Chris Melling, and Mario He was amongst the names to be placed onto the losers’ side of the bracket with opening day losses to Emil Andre-Gangflot, Gerson Martinez, Duong Quoc Hoang, and Sebastian Batkowski respectively.

Action returns from midday local time tomorrow on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, the Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA and Italy as well as on Matchroom.Live and broadcasters worldwide. Table 2 and Table 3 are on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube Channels respectively and Viaplay in above listed territories. See where to watch here.

Thursday 2 February – from 12pm local

Table 1 Afternoon Session

Match No. 81 – Joshua Filler (GER) vs Alex Pagulayan (CAN) – WQ

Match No. 65 – Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Mats Schjetne (NOR) – WQ

Table 2 Afternoon Session

12pm – Match No. 89 – Wiktor Zielinski (POL) vs Roman Hybler (CZE) – WQ

NB 1:30pm – Match No. 155 – Karol Skowerski (POL) vs James Aranas (PHI) – LR1

NB 2:30pm – TBC

Table 3 Afternoon Session

12pm – Match No. 72 – Alexander Kazakis (GRE) vs Tyler Styer (USA) – WQ

NB 1:30pm – Match No. 140 – Mika Immonen (FIN) vs Marcel Price (GBR) – LR1

NB 2:30pm – TBC

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World Pool Championship 2023 Draw | Van Boening Starts Defense Against Yoshioka

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.

FORMAT

TICKETS

WATCH DRAW

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.

SEED Name Name
1 Shane Van Boening (USA) VS Masato Yoshioka (JPN)
2 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) VS  So Shaw (IRI)
3 Joshua Filler (GER) VS James Georgiadis (AUS)
4 Albin Ouschan (AUT) VS Juan Carlos Exposito (ESP)
5 Mario He (AUT) VS Sebastian Batkowski (POL)
6 Jayson Shaw (GBR) VS Francesco Candela (ITA)
7 Wiktor Zielinski (POL) VS Aziz Moussati (MAR)
8 Alexander Kazakis (GRE) VS Erik Hjorleifson (CAN)
9 Max Lechner (AUT) VS Max Eberle (USA)
10 Ko Pin Yi (TPE) VS James Aranas (PHI)
11 Eklent Kaçi (ALB) VS Dimitris Loukatos (GRE)
12 Abdullah Alyousef (KUW) VS Johann Chua (PHI)
13 Oliver Szolnoki (HUN) VS Marcel Price (GBR)
14 Niels Feijen (NED) VS Muhummed Daydat (RSA)
15 Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL) VS Daniel Guttenberger (AUT)
16 Mieszko Fortunski (POL) VS Emil-Andre Gangflot (NOR)
17 David Alcaide (ESP) VS Billy Thorpe (USA)
18 Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) VS Nguyễn Anh Tuấn (VIE)
19 Sanjin Pehlivanović (BOS) VS Joseph Spence (CAN)
20 Jonas Souto Comino (ESP) VS Karl Gnadeberg (EST)
21 Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) VS Bashar Hussain Abdul Majeed (QAT)
22 Ko Ping Chung (TPE) VS Michal Gavenčiak (CZE)
23 Chang Jung-Lin (TPE) VS Jonas-Kvalsund Hansen (NOR)
24 Ronald Regli (SUI) VS Iker Andoni Echeverría (ESP)
25 Naoyuki Oi (JPN) VS Mickey Krause (DEN)
26 Jose Alberto Delgado (ESP) VS Joey Tate (USA)
27 John Morra (CAN) VS Tayfun Taber (GER)
28 Denis Grabe (EST) VS  Ali Nasser Al Obaidli (QAT)
29 Ralf Souquet (GER) VS Sullivan Clark (NZL)
30 Dimitri Jungo (SUI) VS Hunter Lombardo (USA)
31 Thorsten Hohmann (GER) VS Tanes Tansomboon (THA)
32 Aloysius Yapp (SGP) VS Sharik Sayed (SGP)
33 Tomasz Kaplan (POL) VS Ko Ping Han (TPE)
34 Moritz Neuhausen (GER) VS Lường Đức Thiện (VIE)
35 Aleksa Pecelj (SRB) VS Marco Dorenburg (GER)
36 Daniel Maciol (POL) VS  Sina Valizadeh (IRI)
37 Oscar Dominguez (USA) VS Stephen Holem (CAN)
38 Omar Al Shaheen (KUW) VS Joao Grilo (POR)
39 Skyler Woodward (USA) VS Chris Alexander (GBR)
40 Besar Spahiu (ALB) VS Ramazan Akdag
41 Hseih Chia Chen (TPE) VS Nick Van Den Berg (NED)
42 Chris Melling (GBR) VS Duong Quoc Hoang (VIE)
43 Petri Makkonen (FIN) VS Elliott Sanderson (GBR)
44 Imran Majid (GBR) VS Marco Teutscher (NED)
45 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) VS Mohammad Soufi (SYR)
46 Radoslaw Babica (POL) VS Jan Van Lierop (NED)
47 Robbie Capito (HKG) VS Toh Lian Han (SGP)
48 Jani Uski (FIN) VS Chetan Chhabra (IND)
49 Lo Ho Sum (HKG) VS Lars Kuckherm (GER)
50 Bader Alawadhi (KUW) VS Richard Halliday (RSA)
51 Pijus Labutis (LTU) VS Ajdin Piknjac (BOS)
52 Mika Immonen (FIN) VS  Gerson Martinez (PER)
53 Greg Hogue (USA) VS Mariusz Skoneczny (POL)
54 Shane Wolford (USA) VS  Pia Filler (GER)
55 Karol Skowerski (POL) VS Abdullah Al-Anzi (KUW)
56 Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE) VS Ruben Bautista (MEX)
57 Tyler Styer (USA) VS Mason Koch (USA)
58 Roman Hybler (CZE) VS Matt Edwards (NZL)
59 Tobias Bongers (GER) VS Davy Piergiovanni (ITA)
60 Mustafa Alnar VS  Szymona Kural (POL)
61 Daniele Corrieri (ITA) VS Khalid Alghamdi (KSA)
62 Michael Schneider (SUI) VS Alex Pagulayan (CAN)
63 Wu Kun Lin (TPE) VS Fabio Petroni (ITA)
64 Mats Schjetne (NOR) VS Jakub Koniar (SVK)

WHERE TO WATCH

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.

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64 Remain At 2022 World Pool Championship | Alcaide And Woodward Out

Skyler Woodward (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

David Alcaide and Skyler Woodward became two of the biggest exits so far as the 2022 World Pool Championship field was whittled down to the Last 64 at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes. Coverage live on Sky Sports in the UK/Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria as well as Viaplay and networks worldwide.

LAST 64 BRACKET

Losers’ Round 1 saw the first few scalps of the day as both Woodward and Alex Pagulayan were punished as they exited without a win to their name. Woodward lost out to Daniele Corrieri in the opening match, and he went hill-hill with Qatar’s Ali Al Obaidli who fluked the 9 in the penultimate rack to hold the break in the final one. Elsewhere, Pagulayan was much fancied heading into the tournament, but he faltered against former EuroTour winner Craig Osborne of Great Britain to exist early on the second day.

Rolling into the evening, it was Losers’ Qualification with 32 final players set to join the Last 64 and 32 going home. On Table 1, Jayson Shaw demolished Jakub Koniar 9-3 to see the two-time Mosconi Cup draw Finland’s Petri Makkonen in the Last 64. Alcaide was a World Pool Championship semi-finalist just under 12 months ago and his cueing suggested it would be straightforward’s against Hong Kong’s Lo Ho Sum who was knocked into the losers’ bracket by defending champion Albin Ouschan. Ho Sum though, held his nerve in some cagey early moments to pull through and find himself in the Last 64.

Pia Filler put in a stellar day to beat Ivan Meng Li in the afternoon and Bashar Hussein Abdulmajeed 9-6 to make the Last 64 for the first time and set up an enticing Table 1 match with Mario He at 11 am.

Things didn’t get much better for Mosconi Cup captain Jeremy Jones as he witnessed Billy Thorpe, Chris Reinhold, and Tyler Styer all exit on day two, but positives were taken from seeing Nicholas De Leon beat So Shaw and Toh Lian Han by 9-2 and 9-7 scores respectively. De Leon will now face Ouschan. There was also no such luck for Chris Melling who exited at the hands of Bahram Lotfy who will now meet Shane Van Boening tomorrow.

From now, it is single elimination with matches becoming Race to 11 up until the final. The draw saw the 32 players who won in Winners’ Qualification drawn against the 32 players who won in Losers’ Qualification this evening.

Mosconi Cup USA hopeful Shane Wolford has been drawn against Masato Yoshioka whilst Live (2023) Nineball World Rankings No.1  Francisco Sanchez Ruiz faces two-time World Champion, Thorsten Hohmann. Elliott Sanderson overcome a hill-hill finish with fellow Brit Tom Staveley to set up a clash with Chinese Taipei’s Chang Jung-Lin tomorrow.

FRIDAY 8, APRIL 11 am 

Table 1 – Where to Watch 

Mario He vs Pia Filler

Shane Van Boening vs Bahram Lotfy

Table 2 – Live on Matchroom Pool YouTube 

Darren Appleton vs Tomasz Kaplan

Joshua Filler vs Sanjin Pehlivanovic

For all the latest news and announcements follow Matchroom Pool on FacebookTwitterYouTube and Instagram.

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Shaw vs Lechner for International 9-Ball Title

Jayson Shaw (File photo courtesy of World Pool Series)

Only four men were left standing on Saturday morning at the International 9-Ball Open. The days first match was one-loss side action between Jayson Shaw and Justin Bergman. Bergman controlled the scene during the first part of the contest and jumped out to a 6-2 lead before Shaw could really see any daylight. Even then, the table seemed to work against him. He had a shot at getting within two games but his cue ball went nuts and struck the 8 ball early in the rack and it came out and snookered him. When  Bergman finished the rack out he led 7-3 and the fans of the Scotsman began to feel concern.
 
At 8-3, Shaw finally gained some daylight and began what he thought could be a comeback. His break failed him though, in rack #13 after he had cut the lead to 8-5. and Bergman put him in jail with a safety on the one ball. Shaw scratched on his jump shot, but Bergman had an unexpected miss on the four ball, so Shaw had another shot at the rack. He got out to make it 8-6 and keep the tension high.
 
Shaw scratched on the next break and left an open table. Bergman took that gift all the way home to lead 9-6. Shaw took the next rack, and the next. A safety battle early in the next rack resulted in Bergman scratching off of a kick shot. Shaw took the rack to tie the match at 9 games apiece and suddenly they were in a race to two games to see who would move on and who would settle for fourth place. When Shaw broke and ran the next rack he took his first lead of the match and got  to the hill first, at 10-9. Bergman would not get another shot as Shaw again broke and ran to win the match 11-9. 
 
Next was the winners side finals for the hot seat between Joshua Filler and Maximillian Lechner. Lechner had the first rack in his pocket when he followed the eight ball in and scratched, giving ball in hand and the first win to Filler. Filler took the next rack as well and then Lechner got his first bead off of a 4-9 combination to trail by one game at 2-1. Lechner scratched on the break shot in the next rack and at this level a scratch can be very costly. Filler ran out. 3-1. Filler was on his way to another run when he had to cheat the pocket on the 8 ball and it hung up. 3-2.
 
Filler took the next rack and then had a bit of good fortune as he nicked the 9 ball on a shot on the one ball and the 9 fell into  the side pocket to go up 5-4.  The next racks went as expected until we were tied at six games apiece. Lechner then scratched on the break and Filler cashed that in for  the lead at 7-6. Filler broke and ran the next rack to go up 8-6. 
 
Two racks later we were tied at 8 apiece and the players were shooting nearly dead even. Their TPA’s were at 903 and 905, not enough difference to notice. Lechner ran the next rack to lead 9-8. He then broke and ran the next game to get to 10-8. When he broke and ran the next game for a three-pack, he won the match and the right to take the first seat in our finals. 
 
Shaw took the early lead against Filler, going up 2-0 very quickly. He was about to take the third rack as well, but he got out of line on the 9-ball and hung it in the corner. Filler cashed in for 2-1. In the fourth game, Shaw tried a long-rail bank straight back and missed. The cueball collided with the still-moving object ball and it scratched him into the side pocket. Filler again took advantage of the error and soon we were tied at two games each.
 
Both players were solid for the next few racks and soon we stood at 5-4 with Filler holding the tiny lead. Filler’s game seemed then to reach another level. He was completely snookered on the two ball in the next rack and pulled off a table-length jump shot to stay at the table, run the rack, and take the 7-4 lead. 
 
Filler scratched on the next break shot. Shaw won that rack and the next and the next and once again we found two great players tied going  into the latter stages of the match.The wins had Shaw feeling strong and he broke and ran the 15th rack to go up 8-7. Filler was able to stop the rot by winning the next rack and we were again tied, this time at eight racks each.
 
Jayson won the next rack due to a fluke ball that kept him at the table. A little luck never hurts. His next break shot opened the  table beautifully. Shaw ran the table easily to get to the hill at 10-8. Shaw had broken and run five racks and so needed this one more. He had another great break result and that was all he needed to win and go into the finals against Maximillian Lechner.
 
The finals are scheduled for 8:30 Norfolk time tonight. Follow along with our realtime scoring and watch the final match online as part of the Accu-Stats online PPV

A Fine, Fun Start In Kuwait City

Pin Yi Ko

It was a busy day of high caliber pool  in Kuwait City on Wednesday, as the inaugural Kuwait Open 9-ball Championship got underway at the Al Ardiya Youth Center, with all 128 players seeing action on 16 tables.
 
Whenever this many of the very best pool players in the world gather in one building to do battle, two things always seem to stand out. First, in professional pool the talent level gets more varied and better each and every year. Secondly, because of this first fact, and the nature of the game itself, you can never, ever take anything for granted.  The minute you think you’ve got a match won or you are cruising to victory, is probably the moment when the pool gods will begin to conspire against you.
 
Both of these facets of championship pool were on full display over 12 long hours of play today. And when the proceedings concluded,  32 relieved players had notched two wins and booked their spots into the final 64 knockout stage that begins on Friday.  Those 32 players will enjoy a well -deserved rest on Thursday, which will see all losers side matches in the 16 groups and the field cut in half.
 
Of course that’s when the real fun begins. From there the tournament will be a two day sprint to the finish line and the $50,000 first prize. The total prize fund of $275,000 is the largest in professional 9-ball in 2016.
 
Perhaps it’s the thought of 9-ball’s biggest prize of the year that had early nerves jangling.  Spain’s David Alcaide looked to have former World 9-ball Champion Darrren Appleton on the ropes in their stellar first round match, but at 8-8 and breaking for the match, the Spaniard watched in horror as the cue ball dropped straight into the side pocket off the break. Appleton proceeded to clear and stayed on the winners’ side. The Yorkshireman came back later in the day to beat Indonesia’s Muhammad Bewi to book his spot in the final 64 knockout stage.
 
The Philippines rising young gun Jeffrey Ignacio must have thought he had a clear run to the final 64 after first thrashing Polish veteran Radislaw Babica 9 -4, then standing on the hill with an 8-3 lead over Saudi Arabia’s very capable Abdulrahman Alammar.  But from there it all fell apart for the fancied Filipino, as Alammar clawed back into the match and won at the wire, 9-8, to advance.  
 
 
Two time world champion Thorsten Hohmann had one of those days where he surely felt he had taken out a long term lease on a high wire. The German great first had to fend off a furious fight back from talented Filipino Roland Garcia to barely win, 9-8. Then in the winner’s side match later, Hohmann again got taken to the limit by the USA’s Corey Duel. Tied at 8 and breaking for the match, Hohmann scratched off the break, leaving a clear for the American, who moved on.
 
The USA’s Shawn Wilkie could almost taste his best result in an overseas tournament as he was up 8-5 over former World 9-ball champion Alex Pagulayan in a winner’s side match. But some crafty jumping by the Canadian-Filipino led to some hair raising clears and it was Pagulayan who advanced instead. Wilkie will get another shot at the final 64 on Thursday.
 
A similar fate befell Poland’s Mateusz Sniegocki. Up 8-6 in his winners’ side match versus Russia’s Konstantine Stepanov, the Pole couldn’t close the deal. The Russian stormed back and ran the final rack for a well-deserved spot in the knockout rounds.
 
Not everyone had to put out fires today and, in fact, some looked downright cool as a cucumber in a chest full of ice.  Current World 9-ball Champion Albin Ouschan advanced  with two solid wins today, first over Czech Republic’s Roman Hybler, 9-7, and then the Philippines Elmer Haya, 9-1.   Former World 9-ball champion Niels Feijen of the Netherlands easily handled the Philippines Jeffrey De Luna, 9-4, then took down strong Japanese Naoyuki Oi, 9-6. 
 
2015 World 9-ball champion Ko Pin Yi won two matches to advance, as did recent US Open runner up Chang Jung Lin. Their veteran countryman Yang Ching Shun had a confidence boosting day, first cutting down the Philippines Tommy Dato-On 9-7, then taking a big scalp in top Filipino Dennis Orcollo, 9 – 5.
 
The Philippines needn’t worry about not being represented well in the final 64 as Warren Kiamco, Carlo Biado, Lee Van Cortea, James Aranas Zoren, Oliver Mederilla, and Allan Cuartero all advanced with two wins each today.
 
Everyone expects the recent US Open champion Shane Van Boening to be there when the field reaches the money rounds. But the American great has some difficult work left. After an easy first round win, the Van Boening came up against his traveling buddy and roommate, fellow American Mike Dechaine, in a winner’s side match.  The two played a high quality match but it was Dechaine avenging a recent loss to Van Boening in the US Open who pulled out the win, 9-6. Van Boening will get one more chance on Thursday.
 
While it’s nigh impossible to pick a winner at this early stage, many eyes and bets this week are on Scotland’s Jayson Shaw.  Shaw has been building up a head of steam in pool circles over the last year. He’s won several notable events, recently placed third in the US Open, and is currently a near shoo-in to m
 
Jayson ShawBut it’s not just his actions on the blue pitch that speak volumes about where this man is going. Just listen to Shaw speak about the state of his actual game and his mental game, and you’ll get an idea of where he may very well be headed this week in Kuwait.ake the European Mosconi Cup team.  The Scotsman seems to possess all the right ingredients to go on a memorable tear through the sport. Today in Kuwait, he appeared to be just warming up for bigger things with two easy wins.
 
“I've put a lot of time in over the last year practicing hard and I've got that confidence,” Shaw said after his second win of the day. “Right from the start of the year I won some tourneys and I just kept going, not stopping or taking any little breaks like that.
 
“I’m playing really well and I can see that sometimes my opponents get uncomfortable and I feel people see that in me now, the confidence. So I think I have an edge over a few players now, which is massive. I actually feel that some players want to avoid me now.
 
“Pool is 60% mental, 30% skill and 10% luck.  If you can go out there and you got your head right and you're just in the zone and you play real good, there's only one person that can beat you and that's yourself.  Over the last year I've worked on the psychology of the game by not getting mad, enjoying it, not over-thinking things, just going out there and doing my thing. Last year if I'd been a mistake I’d just blow up and then lost the match. But this year there has been a lot of situations where I've made mistakes and I stayed calm. And then great things happen.”
 
* The 2016 Kuwait Open 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Ardiya Youth Center in Kuwait City from October 24 to November 5, 2016. The winner of the Kuwait Open 9-ball Championship will receive $50,000. The runner up will receive $25,000. The total prize fund is $275,000.
 
The 2016 Kuwait Open 9-ball Championship is being played under the patronage of the Kuwait Olympic Committee.
 
The WPA will be on hand in Kuwait throughout this year’s Kuwait Open 9-ball Championship  providing up to the minute information, live scoring, photographs and in depth articles with insights and analysis from WPA Press Officer Ted Lerner. 
 
Fans can interact with us through the WPA’s official Facebook Page for the event at this link;https://www.facebook.com/worldpoolbilliardassociation/
 
The WPA is also on Twitter; @poolwpa
 
Day 1 Results, Group Stages
 
Group 1
Cheng Yu Hsuan(TPE) 9 – 6 Mark Anthony(PHL)
Allan Cuartero(PHL) 9 – 3 Abdulla Falah(KSR)
Aref Ali Awadhi(KUW) 9 – 8 Ameur Abdelati Riad(MOR)
Marc Bijsterbosch(NED) 9 – 7 John Morra(CAN)
 
Group 2
Hunter Lombardo(USA) 9 -8 Mika Immonen(FIN)
Imran Salem(KUW) 9 – 8 Ahmed Acana Okaily(JOR)
Anthony Raga(PHL) 9 – 6 Khalid Al Mutairi(KUW)
Karl Boyes(GBR) 9 – 6 Abdullah Al Yousef(KUW)
 
Group 3
Naoyuki Oi(JPN) 9 – 4 Chang Yu Lung(TPE)
Niels Feijen(NED) 9 – 4 Jeffrey De Luna(PHL)
Salahaleldeen Alrimawi(KUW) 9 – 4 Saeed Aseeri(KSA)
Nick Van Den Berg(NED) 9 – 5 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz(ESP)
 
Group 4
Han Hao Xiang(CHN) 9 – 6 Tareq Al Mulla(KUW)
Olliver Mederilla(PHL) 9 – 3 So Shaw(GBR)
Payual Valeriano(PHL) 9 – 2 Francisco Diaz Piarro(ESP)
Ko Pin Yi(TPE) 9 – 2 Andreja Klasovic(CEZ)
 
Group 5
Shane Van Boening(USA) 9 – 3 Mohammad Saleh(KUW)
Mike Dechaine(USA) 9 – 1 Khalid Sayaf(KUW)
Artem Koshoviy(UKR) 9 -5 Marcus Juva(FIN)
Aloysius Yapp(SIN) 9 – 5 Daryl Peach(GBR)
 
Group 6
Jayson Shaw(GBR) 9 – 1 Raymund Faraon(PHL)
Mishari Buhaimed(KUW) 9 – 6 Abdullah Alsheha(KUW)
Joshua Filler(GER) 9 – 5 Muhammad Al Gumaiz(KSR)
Wang Can(CHN) 9 – 2 Hamza M. Saeed Ali(ERI)
 
Group 7
Ralf Souquet(GER) 9 – 1 Abdulla Alshammari(KSR)
Ricky boy Godez(PHL) 9 – 4 Omar Al Shaheen(KUW)
Abdulrahman Alammar(KSA) 9 -5 Nadim Okbani(ALG)
Jeffrey Ignacio(PHL) 9 – 4 Radislaw Babica(POL)
 
Group 8
Yang Ching Shun(TPE) 9 – 7 Tommy Dato-on(PHL)
Dennis Orcollo(PHL) 9 – 1 Mohammad Alhmoud(KUW)
Warren Kiamco(PHL) 9 – 7 Mario He(AUT)
Lui Haitao(CHN) Irsal 9 – 0 Nasution(INA)
 
Group 9
Albin Ouschan(AUT) 9 – 7 Roman Hybler(CEZ)
Elmer Haya(PHL) 9 – 3 Dario Hopilito(PHL)
Hsieh Chia Chen(TPE) 9 – 5 Fahad Aljassas(BAH)
Lee Vann Corteza(PHL) 9 -5 Mark Gray(GBR)
 
Group 10
Johann Chua(PHL) 9 – 2 Meshall Al Murdhi(KUW)
William Millares(PHL) 9 – 5 Rodney Morris(USA)
Hayato Hijikata(JPN) 9 – 2 Fawal Abdul Latifal
Ko Ping Chun(TPE) 9 – 5 Wojciech Szewczyk(POL)
 
Group 11
Darren Appleton(GBR) 9 – 8 David Alcaide(ESP)
Muhammad Bewi(INA) 9 – 6 Mohammed Alhosani(KUW)
Bruno Muratore(ITA) 9 – 3 Majed Al Azmi(KUW)
Richard Alinsub(PHL) 9 – 5Wu Kun Lin(TPE)
 
Group 12
Konrad Juszczyszyn(POL) 9 – 6 Ruslan Chinakov(RUS)
Marcus Chamat(SWE) 9 – 1 Cherif Zine-El Abidine(MOR)
Waleed Majid(QAT) 9 – 0 Robert Hart(USA)
Chang Jung Lin(TPE) 9 – 5 Jundel Mazon(PHL)
 
Group 13
Alex Pagulayan(CAN) 9 – 3 Bouchaib Farhat(MOR)
Shaun Wilkie(USA) 9 – 4 Masser Al Mujaibel(KUW)
Corey Duel(USA) 9 – 7 Nick Malai(GRE)
Thorsten Hohmann(GER) 9 – 8 Roland Garcia(PHL)
 
Group 14
Alexander Kazakis(GRE) 9 – 4 Mieszko Fortunski(POL)
Edwin Gamas(PHL) 9 – 4 Brandon Shuff(USA)
Takenaka Hirishi(JPN) 9 – 5 Ali Hadi Al Marri(QTR)
Carlo Biado(PHL) 9 – 3 Ong Zhao Chieng(SIN)
 
Group 15
Dennis Grabe(EST) 9 – 5 Bader Al Awadhi(KUW)
Toru Kuribayashi(JPN) 9 – 6 Imran Majid(GBR)
Ivica Putnik(CRO) 9 – 5 Jalal Yousef(VEN)
Dang Jin Hu(CHN) 9 – 3 Wiktor Zielinski(POL)
 
Group 16
Konstantin Stepanov(RUS) 9 – 5 Li Hewen(CHN)
Mateusz Sniegocki(POL) 9 – 7 Ahmed Naim Ali(JOR)
James Aranas Zoren(PHL) 9 – 2 Mohamed Chakib El Raousti(ALG)
Wu Jiaqing(CHN) 9 – 6 Maksim Dudanet(NED)
 
 
 
Day 1 Winners Side Matches
 
Group 1
Allan Cuartero(PHL) 9 – 6 Cheng Yu Hsuan(TPE) 
Marc Bijsterbosch(NED)   9 – 3 Aref Ali Awadhi(KUW)  
 
Group 2
Imran Salem(KUW) 9 – 7 Hunter Lombardo(USA)  
Karl Boyes(GBR )  9 – 8 Anthony Raga(PHL)
 
Group 3
Niels Feijen(NED)  9 – 6 Naoyuki Oi(JPN)  
Salahaleldeen Alrimawi(KUW) 9 – 6  Nick Van Den Berg(NED
 
Group 4
Olliver Mederilla(PHL)   9 – 2 Han Hao Xiang(CHN)  
Ko Pin Yi(TPE)   9 – 7 Payual Valeriano(PHL)  
 
Group 5
Mike Dechaine(USA)   9 – 6 Shane Van Boening(USA)  
Aloysius Yapp(SIN)   9 – 4 Artem Koshoviy(UKR)  
 
Group 6
Jayson Shaw(GBR)  9 – 3 Mishari Buhaimed(KUW)  
Wang Can(CHN) 9 – 8 Joshua Filler(GER)    
 
Group 7
Ralf Souquet(GER) 9 – 7 Ricky Boy Godez(PHL)  
Abdulrahman Alammar(KSA) 9 – 8 Jeffrey Ignacio(PHL)  
 
Group 8
Yang Ching Shun(TPE) 9 – 5  Dennis Orcollo(PHL)  
Warren Kiamco(PHL) 9 – 7 Lui Haitao(CHN
 
Group 9
Albin Ouschan(AUT) 9 – 1  Elmer Haya(PHL)  
Lee Vann Corteza(PHL)   9 – 1 Hsieh Chia Chen(TPE)   
 
Group 10
 William Millares(PHL)  9 – 5 Johann Chua(PHL 
Hayato Hijikata(JPN) 9 – 6  Ko Ping Chun(TPE)  
 
Group 11
Darren Appleton(GBR)  9- 4 Muhammad Bewi(INA)  
Bruno Muratore(ITA)  9 – 3 Richard Alinsub(PHL)  
 
Group 12
Konrad Juszczyszyn(POL)  9 – 7 Marcus Chamat(SWE)   
Chang Jung Lin(TPE)  9 – 7 Waleed Majid(QAT)  
 
Group 13
Alex Pagulayan(CAN)  9 – 8 Shaun Wilkie(USA)  
Corey Duel(USA) 9 – 8  Thorsten Hohmann(GER)  
 
Group 14
Alexander Kazakis(GRE)  9 – 6 Edwin Gamas(PHL)  
Carlo Biado(PHL)  9 – 5 Takenaka Hirishi(JPN)  
 
Group 15
Toru Kuribayashi(JPN)  9 – 3 Dennis Grabe(EST)  
Dang Jin Hu(CHN)   9 – 7 Ivica Putnik(CRO)  
 
Group 16
Konstantin Stepanov(RUS) 9 – 8 Mateusz Sniegocki(POL)  
James Aranas Zoren(PHL)  9 – 7 Wu Jiaqing(CHN) 

Battle Hardened Hohmann Slugs His Way Through

Thorsten Hohmann

This Gulf nation of 4.2 million people is considered one of the richest countries on earth, a place where big business thrives.  And big business is exactly what the Kuwait Open 9-ball Championship will be all about for the next two days, as the race to 9-ball pool’s biggest prize of the year kicks into high gear.
 
The stellar field of 128 of the world’s best players that began battle yesterday at the Al Ardiya Youth Center in Kuwait City has now been cut in half to 64. The always difficult and dreaded double elimination group stages are now history, and from here on in over the course of the next two days, all matches will be single elimination knockout.   The player that wins six matches will take home this brand new title, and 50,000 tax fee US dollars.
 
With a total of $275,000 on offer, the inaugural Kuwait Open 9-ball naturally attracted a field that was as good as anyone will ever see in this game. Several big names bit the proverbial dust today, –among them Dennis Orcollo, Mika Immonen, Daryl Peach, Rodney Morris and Nick Van Den Berg. But the field that remains has some of the biggest names the game has to offer, along with plenty of rising stars, and upstarts who crashed this prestigious Middle Eastern pool party.
 
It all came into shape after yet another day of tense action, as all 64 matches today were played on the losers’ side of the group stage brackets. That meant all matches were do or die, with one small roll of the ball possibly meaning either quick and brutal elimination, or perhaps a wild ride all the way to 9-ball glory. Pool is perhaps the cruelest and hardest sport to earn one’s living at, and paydays like this don’t come along every day. It’s no wonder the tension in the arena throughout today’s play was palpable.
 
Former World 9-ball Champion Mika Immonen had high hopes coming into the event  this week. But after a stinging 9-8 loss to American Hunter Lumbardo yesterday, the flying Finn had to win two today. Immonen handily won his first match  and was a prohibitive favorite against 18 year old debutante Aton Raga of the Philippines, who was playing in his very first international tournament.
 
Surprisingly, the boyish Raga stayed with Immonen throughout their tight match. Then, down 8-7 in the race to 9 contest, Raga showed the grit of a wily veteran and hung on for a scintillating 9-8 win and a spot in the Final 64.
 
Raga is another in a long list of products from the Filipino pool school of hard knocks. From the southern city of Cebu, he dropped out of school after the 6th grade to earn money for his family playing money games. He makes enough bread playing 10-ball money games that he didn’t even give a thought to playing in international events, until his manager, Rolly Baron, convinced him to give it a try. Here in Kuwait, Baron had booked Raga’s ticket for the day after the group stages. 
 
“I will have to purchase him a new ticket,” Baron said. “I truly believe that this kid will be the new face of Philippine pool.”
 
The Philippines will be well represented in the Final 64 as Pinoys make up one fourth of the remaining field with 16 players. Among those still standing are veterans Warren Kiamco, Lee Vann Corteza, Jeffrey De Luna and young talents Carlo Biado and Jeffrey Ignacio. One disappointment for the Philippines was the surprise exit of Dennis Orcollo.  Orcollo went to the wire in a very tough do or die match with Austria’s steady Mario He, before flubbing an 8-ball in the very last rack, and allowing He to take the match and advance.
 
The USA’s Shane Van Boening got back on the winning track today, outlasting former World 9-ball champion Daryl Peach, 9-6, to advance.  The only other Americans to move on are Hunter Lombardo, who has shown excellent improvement in his game lately, and veteran Corey Duel. Newly minted Hall of Famer Rodney Morris came to Kuwait looking to notch some Mosconi Cup points. But he went away empty handed when he got dumped out of the tournament by top Tawainese youngster Ko Ping Chun, 9-4.
 
Six Taiwanese players  make up the final 64, including 2015 World 9-ball Champion Ko Pin Yi, recent US Open runner up Chang Jun Lin, and current world number 1, Cheng Yu Hsuan. Cheng looked the goods today with a 9-4 drubbing of Canadian John Morra.
 
China’s top two players, Wu Jia Jing and Liu Haitao, came through the losers side today to qualify for the final 64.
 
Fans may want to pay close attention to those top players who have not had an easy ride to the knockout rounds.  Spain’s David Alcaide has been through the gauntlet in the last two days. After a bitter hill-hill loss to Darren Appleton on day 1, Alcaide came back and won two matches today to quality. His last match against the Philippines Richard Alinsub went down to the last rack, with the Spaniard barely holding on for a clutch 9-8 win and a spot in the final 64.
 
The same could be said for England’s Mark Gray. Gray is ranked number one on the Euro tour and his rock steady stroke is always dangerous. After losing his first match yesterday, Gray had two solid wins today against tough opponents to advance to the knockout stage.
 
Perhaps no other top player has taken more heat on his way to the Final 64 then two-time World 9-ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann. After winning his first match 9-8 over the Philippines Roland Garcia on day 1, the German lost a hill-hill thriller to Corey Duel later in the day. Today Hohmann had to contend with stingy upstart Moroccan Bouchaib Farhat, who fought toe to toe with the German for 13 racks until Hohmann pulled away on a single mistake by his young opponent.
 
Whereas some players may prefer to waltz into the money rounds, Hohmann seems to feed off the rough and tumble. In fact, the German has been looking to recapture his mojo lately by doing battle in practice and in competition, and taking inspiration from one of the games hardest working and most successful players.
 
“I was very confident going into this tournament,” the 37 year old Hohmann said after his qualifying win today.  “I was in New York City lately practicing with Hunter Lombardo 8 hours a day at Amsterdam Billiards. I'm just hungry watching Shane win all of these tournaments. Watching him win the US Open for the 5th time was inspiring because he works the hardest in pool. He's the one that complains the least and does the job and that actually inspired me. I remember how it used to be playing that much and being hungry and wanting to win tournaments. And you lose that over the years. So watching him win the US Open inspired me to put in the hours and work.   I'm just happy to be in the last 64. I haven't had a tournament win in over a year and I need to prove myself.”
 
Play in the round of 64 begins on Friday at 10am Kuwait time, GMT +3. The rounds of 64, 32 and 16 will be played Friday, while the quarters, semis and finals will be played on Saturday. All matches in the knockout stage up to the final will be race to 11, alternate break. The final will be race to 13, alternate break.
 
* The 2016 Kuwait Open 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Ardiya Youth Center in Kuwait City from October 24 to November 5, 2016. The winner of the Kuwait Open 9-ball Championship will receive $50,000. The runner up will receive $25,000. The total prize fund is $275,000.
 
The 2016 Kuwait Open 9-ball Championship is being played under the patronage of the Kuwait Olympic Committee.
 
The WPA will be on hand in Kuwait throughout this year’s Kuwait Open 9-ball Championship  providing up to the minute information, live scoring, photographs and in depth articles with insights and analysis from WPA Press Officer Ted Lerner. 
 
Fans can interact with us through the WPA’s official Facebook Page for the event at this link;https://www.facebook.com/worldpoolbilliardassociation/
 
The WPA is also on Twitter; @poolwpa 
 
Day 2
Groups 1-8 First Session
 
Group 1
Mark Anthony(PHL) 9- 5 Abdulla Falah(KSR)
John Morra(CAN) 9 – 2  Ameur Abdelati Riad(MOR)
 
 Group 2
Mika Immonen(FIN) 9 – 4 Ahmed Acana Okaily(JOR)
Abdullah Al Yousef(KUW) 9 – 4 Khalid Al Mutairi(KUW)
 
Group 3
Jeffrey De Luna(PHL) 9 – 7 Chang Yu Lung(TPE) 
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz(ESP) 9 – 2 Saeed Aseeri(KSA)
 
Group 4
Tareq Al Mulla(KUW) 9 – 6 So Shaw(GBR)
Francisco Diaz Piarro(ESP) 9 – 8 Andreja Klasovic(CEZ)
 
Group 5
Khalid Sayaf(KUW) 9 – 5 Mohammad Saleh(KUW) 
Daryl Peach(GBR) 9 – 5 Marcus Juva(FIN)
 
Group 6
Raymund Faraon(PHL) 9 – 7 Abdullah Alsheha(KUW)
Muhammad Al Gumaiz(KSR) 9 – 6 Hamza M. Saeed Ali(ERI)
 
Group 7
Omar Al Shaheen(KUW) 9 – 4 Abdulla Alshammari(KSR) 
Radislaw Babica(POL) 9 – 3 Nadim Okbani(ALG) 
 
Group 8
Tommy Dato-on(PHL)9 – 3 Mohammad Alhmoud(KUW)
Mario He(AUT) 9 – 6 Irsal Nasution(INA)
 
Groups 1 to 8, 2nd Session
 
Group 1
Mark Anthony(PHL) 9 – 5 Aref Ali Awadhi(KUW)
Cheng Yu Hsuan(TPE) 9 – 4 John Morra(CAN)
 
Group 2
Anthony Raga(PHL) 9 -8 Mika Immonen(FIN)
Hunter Lombardo(USA) 9 – 7 Abdullah Al Yousef(KUW)
 
Group 3
Jeffrey De Luna(PHL) 9 – 5 Nick Van Den Berg(NED) 
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz(ESP) 9 – 2 Naoyuki Oi(JPN)
 
Group 4
Han Hao Xiang(CHN) 9 – 8 Francisco Diaz Pizarro(ESP)  
Payual Valeriano(PHL) 9 – 1 Tareq Al Mulla(KUW)
 
Group 5
Artem Koshoviy(UKR) 9 – 1 Khalid Sayaf(KUW)
Shane Van Boening(USA) 9 – 6 Daryl Peach(GBR 
 
Group 6
Raymund Faraon(PHL) 9 – 8 Joshua Filler(GER)
Mishari Buhaimed(KUW)  9 – 2 Muhammad Al Gumaiz(KSR)
 
Group 7
Jeffrey Ignacio(PHL) 9 –6 Omar Al Shaheen(KUW)
Radislaw Babica(POL) 9- 7 Ricky boy Godez(PHL) 9 – 4 
 
Group 8
Lui Haitao(CHN) 9 – 6 Tommy Dato-on(PHL)
7 Mario He(AUT) 9- 8 Dennis Orcollo(PHL)  
 
 
 
Group 9 to 16 1st Session
Roman Hybler(CEZ) 9 – 6 Dario Hopilito(PHL)
Mark Gray(GBR) 9 – 4 Fahad Aljassas(BAH)
 
Group 10
Rodney Morris(USA) 9 – 0 Meshall Al Murdhi(KUW) 
Wojciech Szewczyk(POL) 9 – 0 Fawal Abdul Latifal
 
Group 11
David Alcaide(ESP)9 – 3 Mohammed Alhosani(KUW)
Wu Kun Lin(TPE) 9 – 6 Majed Al Azmi(KUW)
 
Group 12
Ruslan Chinakov(RUS) 9 – 3 Cherif Zine-El Abidine(MOR)
Jundel Mazon(PHL) 9 – 4 Robert Hart(USA
 
Group 13
Bouchaib Farhat(MOR) 9 – 8 Masser Al Mujaibel(KUW)
Roland Garcia(PHL)  9 – 6 Nick Malai(GRE)
 
Group 14
Mieszko Fortunski(POL)9 – 6 Brandon Shuff(USA)
Ong Zhao Chieng(SIN) 9 – 2 Ali Hadi Al Marri(QTR)
 
Group 15
Imran Majid(GBR) 9 – 3 Bader Al Awadhi(KUW) 
Jalal Yousef(VEN) 9 – 5 Wiktor Zielinski(POL)
 
Group 16
Ahmed Naim Ali(JOR) 9 – 7 Li Hewen(CHN) 
Maksim Dudanet(NED) 9 – 2Mohamed Chakib El Raousti(ALG)
 
Group 9 to 16, 2nd Session
 
Group 9
Roman Hybler(CEZ) 9 – 6 Hsieh Chia Chen(TPE)
 Mark Gray(GBR) 9 – 4 Elmer Haya(PHL )
 
Group 10
Wojciech Szewczyk(POL) 9 – 4 Johann Chua(PHL) 
 Ko Ping Chun(TPE) 9 – 4 Rodney Morris(USA)
 
Group 11
David Alcaide(ESP) 9 – 8 Richard Alinsub
Wu Kun Lin(TPE) 9 – 1 Muhammad Bewi(INA)
 
Group 12
Ruslan Chinakov(RUS) 9 – 6 Waleed Majid(QAT) 
Jundel Mazon(PHL) 9 – 2 Marcus Chamat(SWE)
 
Group 13
Thorsten Hohmann(GER) 9 – 6 Bouchaib Farhat(MOR)
Roland Garcia(PHL)  9 – 4 Shaun Wilkie(USA)  
 
Group 14
Takenaka Hirishi(JPN) 9 – 4 Mieszko Fortunski(POL)
Edwin Gamas(PHL) 9 – 5 Ong Zhao Chieng(SIN)
 
 
Group 15
Imran Majid(GBR) 9 – 3 Ivica Putnik(CRO)
Dennis Grabe(EST) 9 – 4 Jalal Yousef(VEN)
 
Group 16
Wu Jiaqing(CHN)  9 – 4 Ahmed Naim Ali(JOR) 
Maksim Dudanet(RUS) 9 – 6 Mateusz Sniegocki(POL) 

Stars Collide in Norfolk

Day two of the U.S. Open Championships had more of the top dogs scrapping. Two of the top Brits, Darren Appleton and Karl Boyes, had to mix it up last night and both men played well but Appleton seems almost infallible at the Open (he has won it twice on the trot in the past) and he was not to be denied as he took the win 11-7.

 

Then Ching Shun Yang had to face young Ko. The Ko brothers have been paving their own road into pool history and no one can just expect to win against either of them. But Yang has his years of experience to kneel on and he prevailed 11-9.

 

Amar Kang had a brilliant match against Konstantin Stepanov of Russia where Kang took control early and just kept stretching out his lead until he emerged victorious 11-5. But that match took a lot out of him and he did not shine so brightly against Brandon Shuff as Shuff rolled out to an 11-7 win to send Kang over the left side of the charts.

 

Shane Van Boening had a narrow escape Monday evening. John Morra took him all the way to the hill before Van Boening could take the win 11-10. Another hill-hill bout found Mark Gray coming out on top of Mike Davis.

 

Raj Hundal finally got a chance to warm his arm after he took a forfeit from So Shaw in the opening round and had a fight on his hands to beat Cleiton Rocha 11-9. But then he seemed to find his gear as he took down Thorsten Hohmann 11-7.

 

Alex Pagulayan had a nervous night as J.H Dang took him to the hill before Pagulayan took control of the final rack for the win. Hall of Fame inductee Rodney Morris was having a fine time this week as he first defeated Oscar Dominquez 11-9 and then dismantled Rob Hart 11-1. But then he ran into Jayson Shaw and Shaw turned up the heat to win that one 11-6.

 

Niels Feijen and Albin Ouschan had an exhausting three hour match that wound up with Ouschan winning 11-9. Then Ouschan had to play Ramil Gallego and his spirit must have been used up as Gallego trounced him 11-3.

 

Other matches of note included Farncisco Sanchez-Ruiz defeating Nick Van Den Berg 11-9, Ko Pin Yi besting Skyler Woodward 11-7 and Lee Van Cortezza besting Mika Immonen 11-9. Y.L.Cheng was able to get by Chezka Centeno 11-8 and Carlo Biado came out on top with Johnny Archer 11-7. Dennis Orcullo got surprised by M.Fortunski 11-8 and David Alcaide beat Nikos Ekonomopoulos 11-9.

 

Play begins at 10:30 AM today and Accu-Stats has replacement equipment coming in today to get your stream going once again. We are not aware of how long it will take to unhook the malfunctioning gear and get the new stuff going but they are confident that the stream should resume today. Check with the Accu-Stats website during the day and they will let you know when they are ready to once again roll out the streams of the worlds best players. And be sure to follow all of the action with our Live Scoring page and our interactive brackets.

US Open 9-Ball Championship Kicks Off On Sunday

The 42nd US Open 9-Ball Championship kicks off at 10:30 EST Sunday morning, with a field of 139 players competing for the most presigious title on US soil. 
 
With 139 players, there are many players with first round byes, but that doesn't mean that the first round doesn't have any marquee matches. Marquee matches in round one include Eklent Kaci vs Ernesto Dominguez, Warren Kiamco vs Poland's Adam Mscisz and Ralf Souquet vs Earl Strickland
 
Fans can follow all of the action with our online brackets and live scoring at http://www.azbilliards.com/tours_and_events/158-us-open-9-ball-championship/7727-us-open-9-ball-championship/live/.
 
Accu-Stats is streaming all seven days of the event and complete information on that stream us available at www.accu-stats.com
 
The streaming schedule for Sunday is already set, with the following matches…
 
10:30 – Warren Kiamco vs Adam Miscisz
12:30 – Earl Strickland vs Ralf Souquet
2:30 – Tony Chohan vs Wu Jia Qing
6:30 – David Alcaide vs Kevin Cheng
8:30 – Ko Pin Yi vs Damianos Giallourakis
10:30 – Shane Van Boening vs Nick Van Den Berg
 

Giants Tumble in Norfolk

Tuesday was the beginning of the days at the U.S. Open where champions clash. Karen Corr's run out to the right ended narrowly when Jayson Shaw beat her 11-10, Carlo Biado took down Thorsten Hohmann 11-3 as Oliver Ortmann defeated Jung-Lin Chang 11-6.

Albin Ouschan continues undefeated as he got past Dennis Grabe 11-4 and Mika Immonen bested Martin Daigle 11-6. Karl Boyes sent Skyler Woodward left 11-6 and J.H. Dang won out over Dennis Orcollo 11-8. Warren Kiamco continues as he passed Jason Klatt 11-9 and Ralf Souquet continues his great play with a victory over Nikos Ekonomopoulos 11-6. Mike Dechaine dominated John Morra 11-2 and Corey Deuel fell 11-6 to the power of Y.H. Cheng. Justin Bergman made his Mosconi Cup declaration clear with a powerful win over defending three-time champion Shane Van Boening 11-7. Finally, Rodney Morris took out Nick Van Den Berg 11-7 and Ruslan Chinakov came out on top over Darren Appleton 11-8.

Some truly great players have already hit the exits after finding their second loss. The list of notables who must wait another year includes Scott Frost, P.C. Ko, Frankie Hernandez, Amar Kang, Imran Majid, Oscar Dominguez, Ernesto Dominguez, So Shaw, Allen Hopkins, Tom D'Alfonso, Tommy Kennedy and Raj Hundal.

Powerful matches lie ahead. Jayson Shaw will take on Carlo Biado, Oliver Ortmann faces Albin Ouschan, Warren Kiamco will stare across the table at Ralf Souquet, and Rodney Morris will do battle with Ruslan Chinakov.

On the one-loss side of the charts the desperate ones will fight for survival. Here we find Ko Pin-Yi awaiting Kenichi Uchigaki, Tony Drago prepares for Jeremy Sossei, Mike Davis will war with friend Johnny Archer, Stevie Moore must face Justin Hall and Earl Strickland will cue up against Jeffrey Ignacio. Shaun Wilkie awaits David Alcaide, Brandon Shuff is loading up for Kevin West, and Jundal Mazon will take on Michael Wong.

For the rest of the week the matches will just get tougher and tougher. Which means it is a good time to slide over to Accu-Stats.com and purchase the remaining pay-per-view. The sound problems noticed earlier in the week have been solved and the broadcast is now pristine with nothing but world-class matches in every round.
 

Appleton, Hohmann, Gomez, Van Boening 3-0: Shaw Runs 99 & Out

Patron Sponsor Randy Goldwater with Thorsten Hohmann

In some savory showdowns on Day 1, UK's Appleton looked strong and ready to defend his title in his one sided wins, while Scotland's young gun Jayson Shaw ran a 99 to capture the high run of the event thus far. The Andy Cloth World Tournament of 14.1 . A who's who of world class players are in attendance to etch their name into history's elite of the father of all pool games. Darren Appleton, Thorsten Hohmann, Stephan Cohen, Shane Van Boening, Johnny Archer, Earl Strickland, Mika Immonen, Tony Robles and many, many more. The main event will take place once more in New York City. As usual, a star studded field is expected this year at Steinway Billiards Cafe, who is once more hosting this world class event. The World Tournament Official Equipment include Viking Cue with all matches played on Andy Cloth. Event partners include Mr.Tom Gleich, Dr. Gregory Diehl, Mr. Greg Hunt of Amsterdam Billiards, & Mr. Jim Gottier of Greenleaf's Pool Room. Patron sponsors include Mr. Harold Siegel of Excelsior Graphics, Dr. James Heller, Mr. Charles Eames of Charles Eames Photography, Frank Scharbach of Frank's Billard Cafe, Focused Apparel and the National Amateur Pool League. 
 
The World Tournament will be live streamed on AZBTV , order by going to www.worldstraightpool.com . Official media partners are www.NYCGrind.com , Pool & Billiard Magazine, & tech support by Gotham City Technologies. 
 
Complete group schedule at www.worldstraightpool.com for all matches. Tickets to watch live in person sold on site.
 
The day started with last year's semi-finalist Max Eberle defeating strong Kevin Clark of PA 100-15.  Shaw looking really good with a 99 and out over Dobosenski of WI and alSo Shaw annilhilated junior European champion Joshua Filler 100-14. 
 
Roberto Gomez of the Philippines makes his debut in 14.1 and had an impressive win over Mika Immonen and also won three more matches making him the favorite to win his Group 7 and earn a first round bye the next stage.
 
Van Boening looked stout with his three wins including a marquee win over Danny Harriman. Harriman took the bronze in 2007 World 14.1. Van Boening also had a personal best 305 ball run during practice on Sunday night which was on the livestream.
 
In the final marquee match, Appleton was too much to handle as he gave Strickland no out in a 100-32 rout. Appleton had a 87 ball run earlier in another match.
 
Germany's Reiner Wirsbitzki also went 3-0 included an escape from Eberle in a 100-93 win when Eberle scratched with an open table needing only 8 balls.
 
Tues Day 2 July 14 TV Stream
 
10:30 AM  Joshua Filler GER vs Tony Robles USA
12:00 PM Corey Deuel USA vs Jim Gottier USA
1:30 PM Mika Immonen FIN vs Dieter Johns GER 
3:00 PM Shane Van Boening USA vs Tom Karabotsos USA
5:00 PM Tony Robles USA vs Jayson Shaw SCO
6:30 PM Thorsten Hohmann GER vs Warren Kiamco PHL
8:00 PM Johnny Archer USA vs Danny Barouty USA 
 
Wed Day 3 July 15 TV Stream
 
10:30 AM Johnny Archer USA vs Jude Rosenstock USA
12:00 PM Warren Kiamco PHL vs Ivica Putnik CRO
1:30 PM Darren Appleton ENG vs James Landrum USA
3:00 PM Dennis Orcullo PHL vs Corey Deuel USA
8pm Hall of Fame Banquet Live Streamed for FREE at www.Ustream.tv/channel/azbtv
 
Each of the three players will have to play 6 matches each in the first stage of the championship. If they qualify in their respective groups, they advance to a double elimination knockout stage. If they advance again, they qualify for the final stage of 16 players in a single knockout stage, but with longer match races. The finals will be a race to 300 balls made first, which could take as long as 6 hours.
 
In addition to the World Tournament will be the 5th Annual Straight Pool Hall of Fame. A gourmet banquet dinner along with speeches from celebrity guests will take place July 15th at 8pm at Steinway Billiards. A special video presentation of each inductee will be produced and presented by www.NYCGrind.com's Jerry Tarantola.  The HOF Live Streamed for FREE at www.Ustream.tv/channel/azbtv
 
Support straight pool and the 14.1 Hall of Fame by joining the World 141 Club & for a very inexpensive sponsorship, become one of the 141 special people joining the 141 Club which will fund this year's events. The list of benefits & gifts are huge. Goto http://worldstraightpool.com/tickets.html . Tickets will be sold at the door during the event. Sponsors and private contributors can still join this year's event. Final added money and fundraising for the 5th Annual Straight Pool Hall of Fame are still being generated. To help be a part of this treasured event, please contact Dragon Promotions and join the World 141 Club.
Get the latest news and complete results of all years at www.worldstraightpool.com and daily year round updates on  www.facebook.com/Worldstraightpool  . Follow Dragon Promotions news at  www.twitter.com/Dragonpromoter
 
Vendor spaces are also available, for more information on player registration, sponsorship, or if you would like to submit a comment, please email worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or contact Dragon Promotions at 1-407-782-4978. Full event info is atwww.dragonpromotions.com