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2024 UK Open Pool Championship – Only 64 Remain In Telford

Ko Ping Yi and Ko Ping Chang (Taka Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

Only 64 players remain after day three of the BetVictor 2024 UK Open Pool Championship at the Telford International Centre with Eklent Kaçi continuing his title defence into the single elimination stage live on broadcasters worldwide, including DAZN, Viaplay, and Sky Sports in the UK.

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Kaçi secured his spot by defeating the Danish viking Mickey Krause with a solid 9-6 victory, joining top World Nineball Tour players like Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Shane Van Boening, Fedor Gorst, and Joshua Filler in the last 64.

Tough matches for both Mosconi Cup captains, with Skyler Woodward making a terrific comeback winning 5 racks after being down 8-4. Meanwhile, Jayson Shaw narrowly secured his place, after capitalising on Besar Spanhiu missed a 6-9 combo at 7-7, allowing Shaw to execute a carom to win the rack and take back control.

Ko Pin Yi and Ko Ping Chung delivered dominant 9-3 victories side by side on tables one and two to secure their places, while Ko Ping Han fell short against Petr Urban, losing 8-7 and exiting the tournament.

Kledio Kaçi, brother of the defending champion, maintained his winning momentum with a convincing 9-2 win over Thorsten Hohmann from Germany. Carlo Biado also advanced to the last 64, dominating the table once more with a commanding 9-0 victory over Phuong Nam Pham.

James Aranas and the Austrian Trio Albin Ouschan, Mario He, and Max Lechner fell into the loser brackets but rallied in their ‘second chance’ matches to secure spots in tomorrow’s single elimination stage.

Snooker champion Garry Wilson clinched a tense 9-8 victory over two-time World Pool Masters champion David Alcaide, advancing further in the tournament. Alcaide moved into the losers’ qualification but failed to find redemption, losing to Tobias Bongers. Amongst the casualties on the third day were Ralf Souquet, Pia Filler, Sanjin Pehlivanovic, Moritz Neuhausen, and Karl Boyes.

Last 64 Draw

The Last 64 draw was done at the completion of play with the pick of the round including a tasty encounter between defending champion Eklent Kaçi and Mario He. Other stand out ties include Jayson Shaw against Tobias Bonger and Wiktor Zielinski against Alvin Anggito.

For the full draw and live rack-by-rack scoring will be available throughout the event at www.wntlivescores.com.

Wherever you are in the world, you will be able to catch the action with broadcasters globally and live on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube channels in selected territories and on Matchroom.Live. UK-based fans can see the final two days on Sky Sports with the opening four on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom YouTube. Fans in the USA and Brazil will be able to watch all six days live on DAZN whilst those in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Poland, Netherlands, and Iceland can watch live on Viaplay.

See where to watch in your country here.

Spectators will be able to catch the action live from the Telford International Centre throughout the week, with day tickets available from £22 and weekend passes for fans to take in the final two days for just £50.
Secure your ticket here

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Duong Quoc Hoang wins loss-side five, four in double-elimination to win Jacoby Scottish Open

Duong Quoc Hoang

Oscar Dominguez wins loss-side three, three more in double-elimination to finish as runner-up

They call him “The Martian,” which, as best as we can figure, is in reference to his ‘other-worldly’ skills at the table. He’s been demonstrating those skills for a while now (about seven years, according to our records), but when Vietnam’s Duong Quoc Hoang prevented Shane Van Boening from defending his 2022 World Pool Championship title by eliminating him (double hill) in the 2023 event, and then, finished 5th, people started to notice. Though he cashed in a total of eight events, all over the world that year, including a 3rd place finish in last February’s Alfa Las Vegas Open, he didn’t win an event in what turned out to be his best recorded earnings year, to date. 

In an international field of 104 that got together this past weekend (May 1-5) at McGoldrick’s Pool & Sports Bar in Glasgow, Scotland, Hoang got off to shaky start, losing his opening match to Taipei’s Ko Ping Han 10-7. He won the next five matches on the loss side to qualify for the event’s single-elimination, final 16 and then won four more to claim the title. This caused quite a stir in Vietnam, where reportedly (by Vietnam media) hundreds of thousands of people watched him win his first international title and the first international title won by a player from Vietnam. 

Sacramento, California’s Oscar Dominguez, who (as far as we know) started earning cash payouts during the first term of George W. Bush (2003), didn’t attract as much (streaming) attention here in the US as Hoang did in Vietnam, but he made enough noise in finishing as the runner-up to attract the kind of international notice that accompanied Hoang’s defeat of Shane Van Boening a year ago.

The two of them came into the event ranked 42nd (Dominguez) and 44th (Hoang) on the World 9-Ball Tour rankings. They were playing ‘way above their pay grade,’ at least in World 9-Ball ranking terms, which measures success strictly in terms of finance. And wait’ll you hear the people they beat to get to the finals.

As Hoang was busy at work on the loss side of the double-elimination bracket, Dominguez was working on the winners’ side. For two matches, defeating UK’s Bash Maqsood 10-2 and Italy’s Francesco Candela 10-6. Then he ran into the #1 competitor in the World 9-Ball Tour rankings, Spain’s Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, who defeated him 10-6.

Sanchez-Ruiz’ winners’ side run ended in the next round, when he was defeated by Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Sanjin Pehlivanovic 10-5.  Joining Pehlivanovic in single-elimination from the winners’ side were David Alcaide, Joshua Filler, Thorsten Hohmann, Shane Van Boening, Tyler Styer, Aloysius Yapp and Fedor Gorst. In other words, (in order, as named) World 9-Ball-ranked competitors #19, #8, #6, #34, #2, #32, #10 and #3.

On the loss side, Hoang got his five-match, loss-side streak underway with a shutout over Jake-Dylan Newlove, an 8-2 win over Benji Buckley, an 8-3 win over Elliot Sanderson, and an 8-1 victory over Mustafa Alnar. Then, it started getting interesting when he and Carlo Biado fought to double hill before Hoang closed it out to meet up with the guy that his eventual opponent in the finals had sent over, Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, who only had to win the single, loss-side match to get himself back on track in single-elimination. Didn’t happen, as #44 took down #1 10-7. 

Dominguez had to win three to get back to single elimination. He did so by defeating Ko Ping Han 8-2, Dawud Qadir 8-4 and in the qualifying match, Japan’s Naoyuki Oi 10-6. Joining the two who’d be the last men standing, from the loss side, were Albania’s Eklent Kaci, Spain’s Jonas Souto, UK’s Jayson Shaw (who’d lost his opening match to Liu Ri Teng and defeated Karl Boyes to advance back), Albania’s Albin Ouschan, Taipei’s Ko Pin-Yi and the Netherlands Neils Feijen (last year’s addition to BCA’s Hall of Fame).

While neither Tyler Styer, Eklent Kaci, nor Ko Pin Yi would be considered ‘easy’ draws by any stretch of the imagination, it could be argued that Hoang had the softer, single-elimination path to the finals, because while Hoang was going through that gauntlet, Dominguez had to get through Josh Filler, Thorsten Hohmann and Jayson Shaw, whose ranking numbers, in total (45), are just three over Dominguez’ #42. 

Hoang eliminated Styer 10-7, Kaci 10-5 and punched his ticket to the final with a double-hill, semifinal win over Ko Pin-Yi. Dominguez, more than likely taking a huge breath after every step along his path to the same destination, got into a double-hill tussle against Filler right off the bat (breath). Thorsten Hohmann stayed close, until Dominguez edged out in front near the end to win it 10-7 (another breath). 

Anyone who has ever played against him or just watched Jayson Shaw play will tell you that he can be an intimidating opponent. He doesn’t try to throw you off stride by acting particularly aggressive. In fact, at times, he can look as though he’s ready for a nap. What settles into your head more than anything is the quick and decisive ways that he approaches the table, finds the shot he needs to make, gets down on it and pulls the trigger. In less time than it takes him to get onto his feet and get to the table. One shot after another; see it, get down and shoot, faster than you can say 1, 2, 3. Over and over. He’ll make an unforced position error every once in a while, but rarely makes a shot error. And again, if you’ve watched this, as competitor or spectator, you know that a significant or satisfying win will have him roaring like the MGM lion, only louder. And if all that doesn’t rattle your cage a bit, you might want to check yourself for a pulse.

By the same token, it wasn’t Dominguez first rodeo and over the years, he’s squared off against some of the best in the business. Shaw’s ‘routine’ appeared to have little effect, as Dominguez pulled out in front early and joined Hoang in the finals with a 10-5 win over Shaw in the other semifinal (another breath).

And then, the final. After working their way through some of the best competitors on the World 9-Ball Tour stage (they’d both defeated the WNT’s #1-ranked competitor, Sanchez-Ruiz), their match between each other had to offer Dominguez and Hoang a measure of relief. Not underestimating their opponent, but confident enough with their work to that point that they might actually have settled into enjoying themselves a bit. Relaxing, not when it got down to the business of shot-making, but just in the minute-by-minute reality of absorbing all that had gone before and paying attention to what was happening at the table.

It got close. One of those almost double-hill matches, with all the tension of double hill, minus the agonizing fact that after all the work that’s gone into a sizeable tournament, winning or losing has come down to a single game. There was a $6,000+ difference between 1st and 2nd place, so there was a lot at stake in the final match, although given what they’d gone through to get there, I suspect they both figured on ending up as ‘happy campers’ no matter how it turned out.

As he had done in all four of the single-elimination tournaments, Hoang came from behind to claim the final “W.” They traded racks to a 3-3 tie before Dominguez won five of the next six to take an 8-4 lead. Hoang took it over from there, winning it 10-8 to claim his first international title at the Jacoby Scottish Open. According to reports in Vietnamese media, Hoang raised his cue in celebration and later posted on social media “I made it.”

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The Hitman Targets Onboard

We are delighted to announce and welcome Thorsten Hohmann ‘The Hitman’ to the #teamonboard family. The Three Time World Champion and current WNT ranked #34 Professional is the latest addition to our team.

Thorsten was conducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 2021 to honour his outstanding skills and dedication to the sport and industry. With multiple World Titles to his name, the German maestro is a fantastic additional to the team and we look forward to working with him in developing a brand new Hitman Product Line!

Thorsten had this to say on his appointment:

“I’m delighted to join the ever growing team of Onboard. Iv’e been a brand fan for a long time already and pretty much have a full wardrobe of their clothing. I can’t wait to look fresh at every event from now on and throw my own Hitman fashion sense into the mix!”

Look out for Thorsten this week on the World Nineball Tour as he will be wearing some of his new Jerseys. He goes into this event in fine form with his target set only on one thing – the UK Open Trophy!

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Diamond Open 9-Ball Pro Players Championship down to its quarterfinals eight

Brandon Shuff

Total prize fund is growing as the SBE contributes to prize fund from live streaming passes

As a matter of perspective, the 30th Annual Diamond Open 9-Ball Professional Players Championships at the Super Billiards Expo was at a ‘120 down, 8 to go’ juncture when the sun rose over the Greater Philadelphia Convention Center in Oaks, PA this morning (Sun., April 14). With a little bit of luck, it should be over before the sun goes down. 

This may be the first tournament anywhere at which players are content to not know the payouts until the final day. That’s because the prize fund is growing, day by day. That is happening because Allen Hopkins’ Super Billliards Expo is contributing directly to the prize fund with a portion of every Streaming Pass purchased as the event goes on. The money-added to the prize fund has also grown with Sponsorship Opportunities and is currently at $24.5k. The total payouts as of 10:30 a.m. this morning was at $83,514. If you have an interest in any of the matches that remain, you’ll know that when you sign on to watch through the SBE Web site (link listed below), you’ll personally be contributing to what the top finishers are paid.

We noted in a report that appeared here on Friday that the 128 initial entrants “made for a diversified, skill-level field that blended upper-tier, regional tour players with some of the best in the world.” That dynamic has survived four winners’ side and five loss-side rounds of double elimination, along with one ‘in the money’ single-elimination round. 

The final eight were an hour away from beginning their day as this report was being written and the eight will likely be down to the four semifinalists before somewhere between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. (EST) this afternoon. The tour directors are playing the scheduling ‘close to their vest’ to allow for any long matches that could (and often do) delay progress. Their calculations incorporate opportunities for competitors to take a breath between the three remaining rounds; not a big one that might interrupt momentum or too short to be of any value. Just enough, combined with the uncertainty of match lengths to keep the balls rolling at a steady pace to the final.

Of the eight competitors who lost their opportunity to advance to single elimination in the last winners’ side qualification round, six of them chalked up a successful, single round on the loss side to join the final 16 from that side of the bracket. Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, who’d lost his first match to Darren Appleton 11-9 in that last qualifying round, downed Eddie Abraham 11-5 on the loss side to join the final 16. He drew Michael Feliciano, who’d lost his winners’ side qualifying round to Jonas Souto Comino, the event’s defending champion.

Thorsten Hohmann, who’d lost to fellow countryman Moritz Neuhausen 11-8, returned from the loss side after defeating another fellow countryman; The Kaiser, Ralf Souquet 11-7. In the opening round of single-elimination, Hohmann drew Shaun Wilkie, who’d won three on the loss side, including an 11-7 victory over Jeremy Sossei to the join the final 16. David Alcaide, who’d been defeated by Shane Wolford 11-6 on the winners’ side, eliminated Jeffrey DeLuna on the loss side and joined the final 16, drawing Lukas Fracasso-Verner. Fracasso-Verner, who’d lost a double-hill match to Hohmann on the winners’ side, survived an opening, double-hill loss-side round to Raphael DaBreo before eliminating Rodney Morris 11-5 and Mika Immonen 11-9 to join the final 16.

Tyler Styer, who’d lost to Canada’s John Morra 11-5 on the winners’ side, defeated Cong Thanh Nguyen 11-6 on the loss side to join the final 16 party. Styer had the daunting task of facing Jayson Shaw in the opening, single-elimination round. Shaw had been defeated in the last winners’ side qualification round by BJ Ussery, Jr. 11-7 and on the loss side, ended the run of Earl “The Pearl” Strickland 11-7.

The opening round of single elimination got underway just after 9 p.m. on Saturday, with a number of intriguing matchups that reflected the ‘skill-level diversity of the field.’ Spain’s Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, who topped the AZBilliards Money Leaderboard in 2022, dropped just a bit in 2023 (to #4) and is currently in the #7 spot, faced Filipino Michael Feliciano, who’s never been higher than #66 on that same list (his current position). To our knowledge, he has not recorded a major win, anywhere, so definitely the ‘underdog’ to Sanchez-Ruiz’ status as a ‘favorite.’ Last night, the ‘underdog’ sent the favorite ‘home,’ so to speak, 11-8.

In this morning’s opening round (ongoing), Feliciano drew Shaun Wilkie, a mid-Atlantic journeyman who was runner-up to Shane Van Boening at this event in 2008. Wilkie had joined the final 16 from the loss side and in the first, single-elimination round had eliminated Thorsten Hohmann, double hill. As of just after noon, Wilkie was leading Feliciano 5-3 in the quarterfinals.

Lukas Fracasso-Verner, who’d defeated David Alcaide 11-5 in the first single-elimination round was facing Jayson Shaw, who’d eliminated Tyler Styer 11-7 to reach him. Shaw was ahead 5-4.

Brandon Shuff eliminated Shane Wolford last night 11-9 and in the morning matchup, faced BJ Ussery, who’d previously defeated John Morra 11-9. Shuff was leading this morning action 4-3. Darren “Dynamite” Appleton, who’d spoiled defending champion Jonas Souto Comino’s shot at a second straight title with an 11-4 win last night, was facing Pijus Labutis, who’d previously defeated Moritz Neuhausen 11-8. Last heard, Labutis was ahead of Appleton 8-5.

If you have interest in streaming what’s left of the SBE’s Diamond Open 9-Ball Players Championship, the semifinals are up next, as noted, at around 2 p.m., with the finals loosely ‘expected’ to get underway somewhere in the vicinity of 5 p.m; possibly sooner, possibly later. To catch the action, go to https://superbilliardsexpo.com/watch/ and to follow along with the online brackets, head to https://digitalpool.com/tournaments/2024-diamond-open-at-super-billiards-expo/viewer/stage-1.  

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Friday-night at the SBE sends up some drama at the Diamond Pro Players Championships

Jayson Shaw

Sanchez-Ruiz defeats The Pearl, as Kennedy/Shaw create drama that sends Kennedy over

It’s difficult at best, approaching impossible, to watch two pool matches at the same time. While you can certainly pay attention to more than one at a time, your divided attention has a way of missing some of the action. The modern technology of multiple screens offered by a streaming service exacerbates this problem because it makes shifting your attention from one screen to another that much easier. You end up doing it more and while you’ll certainly be able to track the score progress of multiple matches, you tend not to really ‘see’ any of them; the give and take between two competitors, the ebb and flow that defines individual games and match progress as it plays out over time. The basics of what makes a good pool match so much fun to watch in the first place. 

So it was, that on Friday night (March 12), at the evening session of the 30th Annual Diamond Open 9-Ball Professional Players Championships at the Super Billiards Expo, in-person spectators and distant streamers had some tough choices to make. What to do when, for example, Earl Strickland and Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz are playing a match, while at the same time, Tommy Kennedy and Jayson Shaw are doing so a matter of a few feet away? And those were just two of the 16 matchups that got started at (or near) 9:15 p.m. last night.

The two most-likely-to-be-popular matches (a subjective opinion) are generally placed in front of the two risers that accommodate the Championship Arena’s seating capabilities. There are about 32 seats in each two-level riser. There are 11 folding tables that surround the arena, seating about four per table.  

The ’feature’ match on the digitalpool streaming system with its visible scoring and commentary, was between Strickland and Sanchez-Ruiz, but you could choose to watch any of the other 15 matches, as long as you were willing to keep score yourself. Or, if you had an appropriate device, you could monitor the ‘live’ brackets on digitalpool.com, switching back and forth between streaming the match and the score. Tuning in to watch a match that doesn’t provide a score is almost pointless because a lot of a match’s inherent entertainment value derives from a spectator’s awareness of where the match is ‘at,’ so to speak, at any given moment; whether the competitors are tied or one is ‘on the hill’ or in the midst of three games in a row, or . .  whatever.

Sanchez-Ruiz got out to an early 2-0 lead over Strickland that he never relinquished. By game 6, it was a four-point lead (5-1), by game 13, it was five points (9-4) and two games later, Sanchez-Ruiz closed it out at 11-4. Sanchez-Ruiz was scheduled to play at 4 p.m. today (Saturday) against Darren Appleton, who’d defeated Alex Osipov 11-9. The (Saturday) afternoon, winners’ side matches will put eight players into the 16-entrant, guaranteed money, single-elimination phase of the event. Strickland was scheduled to take on Bucky Souvanthong on the loss-side at 1:45 p.m.  

The Kennedy/Shaw match was only a matter of feet away, next to the Strickland/Sanchez-Ruiz table, but closer to the opposite seating area. It offered some instantaneous drama as Kennedy, almost assuredly the ‘underdog’ in the matchup, got out to a 4-0 lead that by game #9 had become a five-point lead at 7-2. Shaw was literally and figuratively ‘cold’ at the outset.

“It was so cold,” he would comment after the match, “that I didn’t even want to be here. It was like 61 degrees, blowing on the back of your neck.”

The two offered distinct differences in ‘style.’ Shaw’s performance in a match is characterized by a very business-like attitude. When he’s at the table, there is no wasted energy. He finds his shot, aims and strokes in almost one movement that would reset a shot clock (not used at this event) before it counted down more than 10 seconds. Shaw doesn’t waste any energy when he steps away from the table either.  He sits down and looks like one of those newer cars that shuts off the engine when it stops moving. Until he gets back up, he looks as though he could be waiting for a bus, idly wondering what he might want to order for dinner. 

Kennedy’s ‘work’ is much more of a production. He spends as much time looking for (or at) a shot and deciding to get down on it than Shaw generally spends between getting up and getting back down. The amount of time Kennedy spends between getting down to take his shot and then actually taking it, will vary widely. Though rarely long enough to challenge a shot clock, his ‘routine’ at the tables tends to be more deliberate and thoughtful as he takes the time available to double-check things before finally letting the stroke go. He tends to ‘look’ more engaged when he’s waiting for his turn at the table. 

Shaw got warmed up at the conclusion of Kennedy’s 7th game win. One game at a time, he kept chipping away at Kennedy’s lead. He banked the 9-ball into a hole to tie things up at 7-7, then took his first lead and added another at 9-7. Kennedy took advantage of a ready-made combo on the 9-ball to come back to within one, but Shaw came right back to reach the hill. Kennedy got within one a second time, but Shaw finished it 11-9. 

At 4 p.m. today (Saturday), Shaw is scheduled to face BJ Ussery, Jr., who defeated Sam Henderson 11-7 last night. Kennedy moved to the loss side and at 4 p.m., will take on Wiktor Zielinski. 

Also advancing to the 16-player winners’ side matches for a 4 p.m. meetup today were Jonas Souto Comino and Michael Feliciano, Moritz Heuhausen and Thorsten Hohmann, Pijus Labutis and Jeremy Sossei, David Alcaide and Shane Wolford, Brandon Shuff and Mika Immonen and John Morra and Tyler Styer.

As of 2 p.m. this afternoon, other players still in contention for the eight, loss-side slots for single elimination included (though not restricted to) Matt Krah, Oscar Dominguez, Raphael DaBreo, Lukas Fracasso-Verner, Rodney Morris, Donny Mills, Dylan Spohr, Ralf Souquet and Shaun Wilkie.

If you have interest in streaming SBE’s Diamond Open 9-Ball Tournament, go to https://superbilliardsexpo.com/watch/ and to follow along with the online brackets, head to https://digitalpool.com/tournaments/2024-diamond-open-at-super-billiards-expo/viewer/stage-1.  

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A diversified, skill-level talent pool completes Day One at the SBE

Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz

Featuring a range of Fargo Rates from 495 (Eric Martin) to 841 (Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz), the 30th Annual 2024 Diamond Open at the Super Billiards Expo in Oaks, PA got underway yesterday (Thurs., April 11). Of the 118 competitors, who (literally) got the ball(s) rolling on Thursday morning, 29 of them entered the event without a (reported) Fargo Rate, leaving 89 competitors with an average Fargo rate of just under 700. The ‘700’ range had the most players (49), with unrated (29), ‘600’ (25), ‘500’ (8) ‘800’ (4) and a lone ‘400.’ 

It made for a diversified field that blended upper-tier, regional tour players with some of the best in the world, like Sanchez-Ruiz, Jayson Shaw, David Alcaide, Thorsten Hohmann and Wiktor Zielinski (to name just a few). Though there weren’t a lot of surprises in the opening two rounds on the winners’ side of the bracket, there were a few compelling matches.

Earl Strickland (772) got by his first opponent, Gary Serrano (618) readily enough 11-5 in the opening round, but had a local competitor, Kevin Clark (716), who’d shut out his first opponent, throw him a double-hill scare in the second round. Joss Tour veteran and winner of the 2023 New England Pool & Billiards Hall of Fame 9-Ball Open, Jeremy Sossei, sent this year’s US 8-Ball Open and McDermott Classic Champion, Poland’s Wiktor Zielinski to the loss side 11-8.

US Open 9-Ball Champion (1992), Tommy Kennedy brought his (Corrected) 735  Fargo Rate to the table and defeated two ‘698’s in a row; Jimmy Rivera and Matt Krah. In a marquee match-up promoted on the SBE Web site, Darren “Dynamite” Appleton defeated Johnny “The Scorpion” Archer 11-8 in the opening round. Jeffrey DeLuna gave up just a single rack in his first two matches. Jason Shaw, who played his first match at 11:30 p.m. last night (Thursday), had his opponent open by dropping the 9-ball on the break, but recovered nicely to win 11-6.

Thorsten Hohmann, Jeremy Seaman fight representative battle for winners’ side advancement

Arguably, most indicative of the skill-level(s) caliber of play at this year’s Diamond Open, and the relative unpredictability of any handicapping system in the world of pool was a second round match between a journeyman competitor from Battle Creek, MI – Jeremy Seaman (762), who’s been cashing in events all over the US map since 2003, though, as far we know, has never won an event – and World Champion Thorsten Hohmann (789), whose career started two years earlier than Seaman’s.

Hohmann opened the race to 11 with a win off Seaman’s break and broke and ran his own rack for a quick 2-0 lead; ‘off to the races,’ you’d think, but not so fast. Seaman won a rack and Hohmann added two to make 4-1. Seaman won two to pull within one and Hohmann chalked up another to make it 5-3. At that point, Seaman stepped to the table and chalked up three in a row to tie and then take a lead at 6-5. It proved to be the longest run of racks in the match. The two traded racks, back and forth, to a 7-7 tie when, off his own break, Seaman ran to the 8-ball, which stubbornly rattled in a corner pocket and did not fall. Hohmann took the 8-7 lead.

Hohmann dropped two on his break in Rack 16, but scratched. Seaman ran the table to tie it up again and broke Rack 17. He did not, however, win it. Hohmann, at a critical juncture, took the lead 9-8 and on his break, reached the hill, ahead by two. Seaman came back to win the 19th rack, setting up the fateful last rack of the match at which Hohmann broke dry. They chased the 1-ball for what seemed like ages before Seaman broke through, advancing to the 6-ball, at which point he made a critical unforced error that cost him the game and the match, as Hohmann closed it out. 

And in so doing, provided a generalized answer to the question “Which of the upcoming matches should I watch, either in person, or via digitalpool streaming?” Answer: Any of them.    

All of the Diamond Open matches on Opening Day were winners’ side matches, allowing that side of the bracket to get through two rounds. As a result, the winners from yesterday will not be competing until this evening (Friday), beginning at around 9:15 p.m. 

The winners’ side 9:15 matches are:

Earl Strickland/Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz                     David Alcaide/Hunter Lombardo
Darren Appleton/Alex Osipov                                     Shane Wolford/Shaun Wilkie
Jonas Souto Comino/Eric Roberts                               Ralf Souquet/Brandon Shuff
Michael Feliciano/Dylan Spohr                                   Konrad Juszczyszyn/Mika Immonen
Rodney Morris/Moritz Neuhausen                              John Morra/Nicholas DeLeon
Thorsten Hohmann/Lukas Fracasso-Verner                Tyler Styer/Francesco Candela
Pijas Labutis/Jeffrey DeLuna                                       BJ Ussery, Jr./Sam Henderson
Jeremy Sossei/Jake Sollman                                        Jayson Shaw/Tommy Kennedy

Notable competitors currently on the loss side: Johnny Archer, Danny Olson, Jonathan Pinegar, Wiktor Zielinski, Robb Saez, Bucky Souvanthong, Donny Mills, Nathan Childress, Ray Linares, Oscar Dominguez.

Dependent on the timely advance of both sides of the bracket, there may be 11:30, winners’ side matches or they may just bring the 16 competitors looking to advance to single elimination back on Saturday.

If you have interest in streaming SBE’s Diamond Open 9-Ball Tournament, go to https://superbilliardsexpo.com/watch/ and to follow along with the online brackets, head to https://digitalpool.com/tournaments/2024-diamond-open-at-super-billiards-expo/viewer/stage-1.

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Ouschan Perfect while Woodward Stumbles Late on Day 1 of Alfa Las Vegas Open

Skyler Woodward

Skyler Woodward managed to escape his first match of the day with a victory but wasn’t so fortunate in the next round.

Jeffrey De Luna stood at the table on the hill in the second set of his opening day match against Woodward, leading 3-0 losing the first set and a game away from forcing a sudden death shootout.

De Luna broke and failed to pocket a ball, handing Woodward all of the opportunity that he needed as the American rattled off four straight games to snatch the clinching set and secure the win on the opening day of the 192-player Alfa Las Vegas Open at the Rio All-Suites Casino Wednesday.

After Woodward won the first set, 4-2, De Luna came out on fire in the second before he forfeited the table in the fourth game then leaving a combination shot on the 10 ball after a safety. The American pocketed the shot to climb onto the scoreboard and broke and ran to pull within a game but forfeited the table when he broke dry in the sixth rack.

De Luna began to struggle as he misplayed a safe on the 3 ball and left his opponent a wide-open shot. The Filipino was bailed out when his opponent missed but he ultimately misplayed position on the 8 ball and was forced to play a safety. Woodward jumped in the object ball and tied the match then used a safety exchange on the 2 ball in the next rack to secure the second set and the victory, 4-3.

Facing Jonas Souto in the next round, the Spaniard used a dry break and a missed shot by Woodward to build a 2-0 advantage but missed a chance to increase his lead when he failed to pocket a combination shot on the 10 ball. After Woodward cleared the table to cut the lead to 2-1, he took advantage of missed shots by his opponent in back-to-back racks then added a break-and-run to finish off the comeback, 4-2. Having lost the lag, Souto had breaking privileges in the second set and capitalized, using a break-and-run, a safety exchange and a missed shot by his opponent to shut out the American and force a sudden death shootout.

Woodward missed his opening shot of the extra frame while Souto was perfect, pocketing four straight to win the set.

The American moves to the one-loss side of the bracket where he will face Lian Han Toh Thursday morning at 9 a.m. local time.

Albin Ouschan

Meanwhile, Albin Ouschan was feeling it in his opening match against Billy Thorpe, blanking the American in straight sets in his opening round match.

Using a one-rail kick in, a bank shot that sent the cue ball three rails for position on the next shot and tricky carom shot on the 1 ball, the Austrian built a commanding 3-0 lead but scratched on a kick shot at the in the fourth rack. Thorpe had a chance to capitalize but missed the 2 ball in the side, allowing the Ouschan to clear the table and pitch a 4-0 opening set shut out.

Ouschan took the first rack of the second set when Thorpe failed to make a ball on the break, then snagged another rack when his opponent missed the 9 ball in the second game. After winning a safety battle in the next rack he closed the match out with a break and run.

Ouschan will face Germany’s Ralf Souquet in the next round Thursday afternoon.

In other matches, Austria’s Mario He took advantage of a handful of unforced errors by opponent Omar Al Shaheen to win in straight set, 4-2, 4-0, Japan’s Yoshihiro Kitatani defeated Estonia’s Denis Grabe in a shootout and

Play resumes today with notable matches including Shane Van Boening versus Jun-Ling Chang and David Alcaide taking on Thorsten Hohmann on the winner’s side. Matches can be watched on Billiard.TV and on World Billiard TV, the official YouTube channel of CueSports International. A schedule of televised matches will be posted daily on the Pro Billiard Series and CSI Facebook and Instagram pages.

Watch Live on World Billiard TV YouTube channel, Billiard TV and at tv.kozoom.com

Brackets and scores can be found at https://probilliardseries.com/2023-men/2023-alfa-las-vegas-open/

Follow @probilliardseries on Facebook, @probilliardseries on Instagram or @PBilliardSeries on Twitter.

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Three Polish Players Lead Final 16 Remain At World Pool Championship 2023

Wiktor Zielinski (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

Only 16 remain at the World Pool Championship 2023 in Kielce, Poland with the likes of Shane Van Boening, Albin Ouschan, and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz all looking to make a run to the finish line live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and TV networks worldwide.

Van Boening came up against his stiffest test yet in his mission to keep ahold of the title he won 12 months ago with a victory of Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp in a 11-9 win that saw the South Dakota Kid struggle to shake off the 2022 US Open runner-up. 2021 champion Ouschan was taken to the dying ember by Daniel Maciol of Poland to secure his passage whilst Sanchez Ruiz got the better of former world champion Thorsten Hohmann to book his place in the Last 16.

There was upset for Poland’s Wojciech Szewczyk who was knocked out by the Vietnamese hotshot Duong Quoc Hoang who is starting to make a name for himself whilst Alex Pagulayan‘s dream of a second world title was ended by Aleksa Pecelj of Serbia on an evening of high-octane drama. Poland’s hopes now rest on the shoulders of Wiktor Zielinski who came from 6-1 down to defeat Moritz Neuhausen; Sebastian Batkowski who continues a dream run after beating James Aranas 11-9; and Mateusz Sniegocki who knocked out Lars Kuckherm by the same scoreline.

Mohammad Soufi, Denis Grabe, Max Lechner, and Wu Kun Lin all progressed to the penultimate days with wins over Mika Immonen, Nguyễn Anh Tuấn, Johann Chua, and Japan’s Naoyuki Oi. Neils Feijen meanwhile came from behind to beat Petri Makkonen of Finland as he hunts for a second world title.

The final moments of the day were John Morra‘s to be had with a remarkable 11-10 thriller win over Jayson Shaw from 6-4 and 10-8 down. Shaw had his opportunities to seal the win but a poor safety let Morra in to complete a huge victory in a World Pool Championship classic. It sees Morra meet Mario He next after the Austrian beat Ko Ping Chung 11-9.

Saturday 4, February – Last 16 from 12:00 pm (CET)

Table 1 

Wiktor Zielinski (POL) vs Chang Jung-Lin (TPE)

Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Duong Quoc Hoang (VIE)

Table 2

Albin Ouschan (AUT) vs Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)

NB 2:00pm – John Morra (CAN) vs Mario He (AUT)

NB 3:30pm – Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) vs Denis Grabe (EST)

Table 3

Max Lechner (AUT) vs Wu Kun Lin (TPE)

NB 2:00pm – Sebastian Batkowski (POL) vs Mohammad Soufi (SYR)

NB 3:30pm – Aleksa Pecelj (SRB) vs Niels Feijen (NED)

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Pagulayan Downs Filler At World Pool Championship 2023

Alex Pagulayan (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

Alex Pagulayan has knocked Joshua Filler out of the World Pool Championship 2023 in Kielce, Poland at the Last 64 stage by Alex Pagulayan live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and TV networks worldwide.

Brackets / Scores

Filler was up against Pagulayan for the second time in a matter of days but this time with no second lifeline as the tournament reached single elimination. The pair traded blows yesterday as Pagulayan remained on the winners’ side with victory forcing Filler through Losers’ Qualifcation. Pagulayan prevailed once again 11-9 to set up a clash with Serbia’s Aleksa Pecelj in the Last 32 this evening.

Another member of Team Europe’s victorious 2022 Mosconi Cup side tumbled on Friday afternoon as David Alcaide fell at the hands of home favourite Wojciech Szewczyk 11-9 whilst the other three members of that Mosconi Cup side in Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Albin Ouschan and Jayson Shaw all made sure of spots in the Last 32.

Chris Melling suffered defeat to Aloysius Yapp in the opening match of the day on table one whilst Shane Van Boening‘s title hunt gathered momentum with an emphatic win over Finland’s Jani Uski 11-2. 2015 champion Ko Pin Yi came from 10-7 down to defeat Jan Van Lierop to meet compatriot Chang Jung-Lin this evening. Meanwhile, Thorsten Hohmann got the better of Khalid Alghamdi to face Sanchez Ruiz later this evening.

Action returns from 6pm CET tonight 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.

Friday 3 February – Evening Session – 6pm (CET)

Table 1 

Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Aloysius Yapp (SGP)

Jayson Shaw (GBR) vs John Morra (CAN)

Table 2 

Wojciech Szewycyk (POL) vs Duong Quoc Hoang (VIE)

NB 8pm – Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) vs Thorsten Hohmann (GER)

Table 3

Max Lechner (AUT) vs Johann Chua (PHI)

NB 8pm – Ko Pin Yi (TPE) vs Chang Jung-Lin (TPE)

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64 Remain In Poland At World Pool Championship 2023 Inbox

Joshua Filler (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

Joshua Filler survived being knocked to the loser’s side by Alex Pagulayan on day two of the World Pool Championship 2023 in Kielce, Poland as only 64 remain after two days of action live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and TV networks worldwide.

Brackets / Scores

Filler faced Pagulayan early on for a spot in the Last 64 to avoid an extra match in Losers’ Qualification round this evening. The Killer fell to a 9-7 defeat, his second defeat to the Canadian in a matter of days after a loss at the Derby City Classic. It left Filler having to beat Daniele Corrieri to ensure his hunt for a second world title would continue and he did so in emphatic fashion in a 9-1 dismantling. Crucially, defeat to Pagulayan meant Filler lost his seeded position in the bracket ahead of the Last 64 redraw.

Other top seeds had less trouble as Shane Van Boening stepped past Mats Schjetne 9-2 whilst two-time winner Albin Ouschan put Khalid Alghamdi onto the losers side. Jayson Shaw meanwhile took out young German Tobias Bongers 9-5 and World Cup of Pool winner David Alcaide whitewashed Jani Uski to secure an afternoon off.

Last year’s semi-finalist Abdullah Alyousef suffered a 9-3 defeat to USA hotshot Shane Wolford to be sent home at the first major hurdle whilst Oliver Szolnoki suffered the same fate in a hill-hill finish against Ajdin Piknjac. 2021 runner-up Omar Al-Shaheen struggled for his groove against Denis Grabe as the Estonian came good to knock the 2021 runner-up out the competition. There was frustration for 1996 champion Ralf Souquet also, the Kaiser well beaten by Pole Daniel Maciol in Winners’ Qualification before defeat at the hands of Dimitri Jungo. Home favourite Mieszko Fortunski was also knocked out with the World Pool Masters semi-finalist knocked out by Lars Kuckherm.

The 32 players who qualified through Winners’ Qualification were seeded in the Last 64 redraw against an unseeded player who came through the Losers Qualification matches with Karl Boyes completing the draw with Rachel Casey on the Matchroom Pool YouTube page. Pagulayan and Filler will have to dance again after being drawn against each other whilst defending champion Van Boening will come up against Uski.

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.

Last 64 Draw

Shane Van Boening VS Jani Uski
Aloysius Yapp VS Chris Melling
David Alcaide VS Wojciech Szewczwk
Lo Ho Sum VS Duong Quoc Hoang
Max Lechner VS Ruben Bautista
Nick Van Den Berg VS Johann Chua
Naoyuki Oi VS Emil-Andre Gangflot
Alexander Kazakis VS Wu Kun Lin
Sebastian Batkowski VS Francesco Candela
Ali Nasser Al Obaidli VS James Aranas
Imran Majid VS Mika Immonen
Mariusz Skoneczny VS Mohammad Soufi
Gerson Martinez VS Lars Kukcherm
Mateusz Sniegocki VS Fabio Petroni
Daniel Maciol VS Dimitri Jungo
Albin Ouschan VS Tyler Styer
Alex Pagulayan VS Johshua Filler
Aleksa Pecelj VS Roman Hybler
Sanjin Pehlivanovic VS Petri Makkonen
Niels Feijen VS Adjn Piknjac
Eklent Kaci VS Mario He
Ko Ping Chung VS Shane Wolford
John Morra VS Luong Duc Thien
Jayson Shaw VS Besar Spahiu
Wiktor Zielinski VS Mickey Krause
Jose Alberto Delgado VS Moritz Neuhausen
Chang Jung-Lin VS Hunter Lombardo
Ko Pin Yi VS Jan Van Lierop
Konrad Juszczyszyn VS Nguyen Anh Tuan
Robbie Capito VS Denis Grabe
Thorsten Hohmann VS Khalid Alghamdi
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz VS Oscar Dominguez

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