#Ruslan Chinakhov

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Del Smith, Gabe Owen, Gary Lutman, Jalal Yousef, Jeffrey de Luna, Jeffrey Ignacio, Jeremy Jones, Konrad Piekarski, Kostas Koukiadakis, Luu Minh Phuc, Manny Perez, Nick Malaj, Omar Alshaheen, Raymund Faraon, Ruslan Chinakhov, Tyler Styer, Vilmos Foldes - World Pool Association

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55446

2019 WPA Players Championship Matches Released on YouTube

CueSports International (CSI) is pleased to announce that recorded matches from the 2019 WPA Players Championship have been released on the CSI YouTube Channel. Forty-three (43) matches featuring many of the world’s best players such as Shane Van Boening, Jeffrey De Luna, James Aranas, Jayson Shaw, Alex Pagulayan, Skyler Woodward, Yu-Hsuan Cheng, Carlo Biado and more can be viewed in their entirety – absolutely free!

The $50,000 added event, which was held April 12-19 at Griff’s Billiards in Las Vegas, was a collaborative effort between CSI and the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA). The format was 9-ball and limited to 64 players in a single elimination format with a 32-player consolation event for those eliminated in the first round. The main event was a race to seven (7) with the semi-final and final being a race to nine (9) win by two (2). The consolation event was a race to five (5) with the semi-final and final being a race to seven (7).

Forty-eight (48) of the sixty-four (64) players were chosen by the WPA rankings and WPA member federations. The remaining sixteen (16) spots were determined by four (4) stage 1 qualifiers. For more information about the event, visit www.playcsipool.com/2019-wpa-players-championship.

RECORDED MATCHES STAGE 1 – QUALIFIERS Match 1: Ruslan Chinakhov (Russia) vs Vilmos Foldes (Hungary) Match 2: Omar Alshaheen (Kuwait) vs Jui-An Hsu (Taiwan) Match 3: Manny Perez (USA) vs Donny Branson (USA) Match 4: Del Smith (Great Britain) vs Chris Lawson (USA) Match 5: Jeffrey Ignacio (Philippines) vs Yu-Lung Chang (Taiwan) Match 6: Konrad Piekarski (Poland) vs Vang Bui Xuan (Vietnam) Match 7: Raymund Faraon (Philippines) vs Che-Wei Fu (Taiwan) Match 8: Jeffrey De Luna (Philippines) vs Yu-Lung Chang (Taiwan) Match 9: Jalal Yousef (Venezuela) vs Omar Alshaheen (Kuwait) Match 10: Vilmos Foldes (Hungary) vs Kings Santy (USA) Match 11: Gabe Owen (USA) vs Ian Costello (USA) Match 12: Gary Lutman (USA) vs Vang Bui Xuan (Vietnam) Match 13: Ruslan Chinakhov (Russia) vs Tyler Styer (USA) Match 14: Jeffrey Ignacio (Philippines) vs Szu-Ting Kuo (Taiwan) Match 15: Nick Malaj (Greece) vs Che-Wei Fu (Taiwan) Match 16: Jeffrey De Luna (Philippines) vs Mitch Ellerman (USA) Match 17: Luu Minh Phuc (Vietnam) vs Chris Alexander (Great Britain) Match 18: Tyler Styer (USA) vs Vilmos Foldes (Hungary) Match 19: Kostas Koukiadakis (Greece) vs Daniel Baker (Great Britain) Match 20: Gabe Owen (USA) vs Dean Goddard (Great Britain) Match 21: Jeffrey De Luna (Philippines) vs Chris McDaniel (USA) Match 22: Jeremy Jones (USA) vs Ian Costello (USA) Match 23: Raymund Faraon (Philippines) vs Blake Baker (USA) Match 24: Ruslan Chinakhov (Russia) vs Jeffrey De Luna (Philippines) STAGE 2 – MAIN EVENT Match 25: Alex Kazakis (Greece) vs Toru Kuribayashi (Japan) Match 26: Jeffrey Ignacio (Philippines) vs Mika Immonen (Finland) Match 27: Darren Appleton (Great Britain) vs Thorsten Hohmann (Germany) Match 28: Alex Pagulayan (Canada) vs Yu-Lung Chang (Taiwan) Match 29: Niels Feijen (Holland) vs Waleed Majid (Qatar) Match 30: Billy Thorpe (USA) vs Gerson Martinez (Peru) Match 31: Jung-Lin Chang (Taiwan) vs Alex Kazakis (Greece) Match 32: Thorsten Hohmann (Germany) vs Niels Feijen (Holland) Match 33: Johann Chua (Philippines) vs Mika Immonen (Finland) Match 34: Jeffrey De Luna (Philippines) vs Jayson Shaw (Scotland) Match 35: Skyler Woodward (USA) vs Carlo Biado (Philippines) Match 36: James Aranas (Philippines) vs Naoyuki Oi (Taiwan) Match 37: Yu-Hsuan Cheng (Taiwan) vs Shaun Wilkie (USA) Match 38: Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Eklent Kaci (Albania) Match 39: Jayson Shaw (Scotland) vs Yu-Hsuan Cheng (Taiwan) Match 40: Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Carlo Biado (Philippines) Match 41 SEMI-FINAL: Yu-Hsuan Cheng (Taiwan) vs Johann Chua (Philippines) Match 42 SEMI-FINAL: Carlo Biado (Philippines) vs Yu-Lung Chang (Taiwan) Match 43 FINAL: Yu-Hsuan Cheng (Taiwan) vs Carlo Biado (Philippines)

Please SUBSCRIBE to the CSI YouTube Channel to be notified whenever we upload new content.

CueSports International (CSI) is an international pool league and event leader and is currently comprised of three divisions: CSI leagues, CSI events and CSI media. CSI leagues manages the BCA Pool League and USA Pool League, CSI events produces numerous amateur and professional events around the globe and CSI media creates live streaming and digital content. Through its vision and strategic alliances, CSI is “shaping the future of pool.”  For more information about CSI or any of its divisions, visit www.playcsipool.com or find CueSports International on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Fedor Gorst, James Delahunty, Justin Sajich, Mika Immonen, Ruslan Chinakhov - World Cup of Pool

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=53430

Australia record first ever win at World Cup

Finland (11) 7-3 Malaysia Japan (10) 5-7 Sweden Russia (15) 4-7 Australia

Two of the unseeded sides upset the applecart as they made their way into the second round of the 2018 World Cup of Pool against fancied opposition as three further round one matches took place at the Luwan Arena, Huangpu District in Shanghai.

The $250,000 tournament originated in 2006 and has since moved around the world before touching down in Shanghai. The World Cup features 32 pairs from across the globe including two from host nation China. Running from 15th to 20th May, the event is on live TV in over 100 countries around the world.

The Australian pair of James Delahunty and Justin Sajich became the first Australian team to win a match at the World Cup of Pool as they progressed at the expense of the fancied Russian pairing of Fedor Gorst and Ruslan Chinakhov.

A delighted Sajich said, “It was tough out there, we were nervous but we fought hard, kept it together and we managed to pull it off. I think we knew we were the underdogs, although we wouldn’t have admitted it to each other. We will go back to the pool hall before the next round. We have been practicing six hours a day since we got here.”

Delahunty was equally thrilled, “We knew it wouldn’t be an easy match and we had to play as well as we could and I think we performed pretty well. We didn’t miss many pots and that’s what we needed to do. We weren’t looking too far ahead in the draw but we will have to play well in the next round – it is on us again, if we play well then we give ourselves the best chance to win.”

Earlier, underdogs Sweden (Christian Sparrenloev-Fisher and Tomas Larsson) put in an equally fine performance to bring down the fancied Japanese duo of Naoyuki Oi and Toru Kuribayashi. The score was 7-5.

Fischer said, “We are really happy, of course. We knew we needed to play well to win it and we played okay. We know the Spanish players well, they are friends to us and we know we can beat them, we just need to play our game and anything can happen.”

Finally, in the opening match, Finland looked a bit shaky but still had too much for the Malaysian duo of Muhammad Almie and Darryl Chia.

Mika Immonen: “It wasn’t our best performance but we got through. We played better at the start of the match even though we were settling in. Then we gave them a little window, but they didn’t take it.

“We are looking forward to playing USA. We played them in the quarter-finals last year and we lost, but we are confident we can improve from this match. We will need to improve against USA because they are a formidable team. We are looking forward to that and avenging the loss from last year.”

Play continues on Thursday evening with the final first round match and two second round matches.

Rnd 1 China A (2) v Estonia Rnd 2 Austria v Poland Scotland v Holland

2018 World Cup of Pool sponsored by Iwan Simonis who supply the Official Cloth; the Official Balls are Super Aramith by Saluc, and Predator is the Official Cue of the event.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Fedor Gorst, James Delahunty, Justin Sajich, Mika Immonen, Ruslan Chinakhov - World Cup of Pool

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=53430

Australia record first ever win at World Cup

Finland (11) 7-3 Malaysia Japan (10) 5-7 Sweden Russia (15) 4-7 Australia

Two of the unseeded sides upset the applecart as they made their way into the second round of the 2018 World Cup of Pool against fancied opposition as three further round one matches took place at the Luwan Arena, Huangpu District in Shanghai.

The $250,000 tournament originated in 2006 and has since moved around the world before touching down in Shanghai. The World Cup features 32 pairs from across the globe including two from host nation China. Running from 15th to 20th May, the event is on live TV in over 100 countries around the world.

The Australian pair of James Delahunty and Justin Sajich became the first Australian team to win a match at the World Cup of Pool as they progressed at the expense of the fancied Russian pairing of Fedor Gorst and Ruslan Chinakhov.

A delighted Sajich said, “It was tough out there, we were nervous but we fought hard, kept it together and we managed to pull it off. I think we knew we were the underdogs, although we wouldn’t have admitted it to each other. We will go back to the pool hall before the next round. We have been practicing six hours a day since we got here.”

Delahunty was equally thrilled, “We knew it wouldn’t be an easy match and we had to play as well as we could and I think we performed pretty well. We didn’t miss many pots and that’s what we needed to do. We weren’t looking too far ahead in the draw but we will have to play well in the next round – it is on us again, if we play well then we give ourselves the best chance to win.”

Earlier, underdogs Sweden (Christian Sparrenloev-Fisher and Tomas Larsson) put in an equally fine performance to bring down the fancied Japanese duo of Naoyuki Oi and Toru Kuribayashi. The score was 7-5.

Fischer said, “We are really happy, of course. We knew we needed to play well to win it and we played okay. We know the Spanish players well, they are friends to us and we know we can beat them, we just need to play our game and anything can happen.”

Finally, in the opening match, Finland looked a bit shaky but still had too much for the Malaysian duo of Muhammad Almie and Darryl Chia.

Mika Immonen: “It wasn’t our best performance but we got through. We played better at the start of the match even though we were settling in. Then we gave them a little window, but they didn’t take it.

“We are looking forward to playing USA. We played them in the quarter-finals last year and we lost, but we are confident we can improve from this match. We will need to improve against USA because they are a formidable team. We are looking forward to that and avenging the loss from last year.”

Play continues on Thursday evening with the final first round match and two second round matches.

Rnd 1 China A (2) v Estonia Rnd 2 Austria v Poland Scotland v Holland

2018 World Cup of Pool sponsored by Iwan Simonis who supply the Official Cloth; the Official Balls are Super Aramith by Saluc, and Predator is the Official Cue of the event.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Alex Pagulayan, Chang Jung Lin, Fedor Gorst, Ko Ping Chung, Ruslan Chinakov, World 9-Ball - World Pool Association

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55472

World 9-Ball Championship Comes Down To Four

Ko Ping Chung, Fedor Gorst, Chang Jung Lin and Liu Haitao stand on the brink of history in Doha.

By Ted Lerner WPA Media Officer

(Doha, Qatar)–After nearly ten hours of some of the most grueling and pressure packed pool seen in years, the 2019 World 9-ball Championship has now come down to the Final 4.

The four players left, Taiwan’s Ko Ping Chung and Chang Jung Lin, Russia’s Fedor Gorst, and China’s Liu Haitao are, to a man, already proven monsters of the game. Now each is poised on the cusp of history and will get their crack at pool immortality.

In one semi-final, the current World 10-ball Champion Ko will battle it out against Gorst. In the other semi-final, Chang will match wits with Liu.   Both semis, which will be race to 11, alternate break, will begin at 11am Tuesday in Doha(GMT +3) at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation.  The Final, which will be race to 13, alternate break, will begin at 3pm Doha time.

Pool fans around the world looking at that list of talent on their betting sheet might be hard pressed to pick who to put their money on to take the sport’s most coveted crown. But anyone who has been lucky enough to be on hand in Doha for the last week, or watch the action online, would probably not hesitate to favor the man fondly known as “Little Ko.”

Ko got that endearing moniker by being the sweet younger brother to the great Ko Pin Yi, himself a two time former world champion. Fans have known Little Ko to have as much prodigious talent as his older brother, but it wasn’t until he won the World 10-ball Championship in Vegas in July this year that the diminutive 24 year old clearly had stepped out of that long shadow and started to establish his own greatness.

Indeed over the last four days in Doha, the 24 year old Ping Chung has exhibited an almost surreal-like confidence to do whatever it takes to win. His shot making is from another planet, he never, ever gets flustered, and he seemingly can do what he wants, when he wants. 

These other-worldly skills were on full display in his three tough matches over ten hours today. In the round of 32 match against talented compatriot Lin Wu Kun, Ko got out to an early lead and held off Lin at every turn to win 11-8. In the round of 16, Ko came up against Russian veteran Ruslan Chinakhov who was playing some of his best pool in years. But Ko was in no mood to play nice, and he dominated Chinakhov 11-4.

By the time his quarterfinals battle against Vietnam upstart Do The Kien began, Ko looked a bit worn, and he fell behind 6-2.  But as he did against Hungary’s Oliver Slzolnoki the night before in the round of 64, Ko grinded his way back in the match. In this case the Taiwanese absolutely put his boot down hard, winning 9 racks in a row for an emphatic 11-6 win and a spot in the semi-finals.

Little Ko’s battle with Russia’s Gorst promises to be a fascinating match up of two of pool’s great young talents. Gorst, just 19 year’s old, is a former  World Junior Champion and has also won one Euro Tour event. His game and his personal demeanor appear well beyond his years, and this is not surprising when you discover that he has traveled and played extensively, especially in the US. He even speaks excellent English.

Like Ko, Gorst has a rock-solid game and low-key demeanor that serves him well when under pressure.  His three fine performances today showed he is certainly ready for the big time. Should he win here in Doha, he would become the second youngest player, after 16 year old Wu Chia Ching in 2005, to win the World 9-ball Championship.

Gorst started the day with a very impressive 11-7 win over Taiwan’s Kevin Chang. In the round of 16 he blew a 7-1 lead over Poland’s Mateusz Sniegocki, and the match headed for the cliff and a sudden death rack. Gorst held his nerve with a very fine break and run to advance to the quarterfinals.

Without so much as having a bite to eat, he met up with Ko Pin Yi for what promised to be another slug fest. The early part of the match remained tight and nervy, but the young Russian stayed loose and calm and pounced on the few mistakes by Ko for an impressive 11-6 win.

The other semi final between Liu and Chang could well be described as pool’s battle of the hard core men. Both players are known for their tough, grinding style and it will be fascinating to see who blinks first.

With his many trips to the US and other countries over the years, Chang has certainly endeared himself to worldwide fans. Over the last few years the 34 year old Chang, the 2012 World 8-ball champion, has taken his game to new heights, including a win at the International in 2018. Another world title for Chang would certainly surprise nobody.

Chang played like a champion today, at least up until the end where he literally limped over the finish line. In the round of 32 he manhandled Poland’s Mieszko Fortunski, 11-5. In the round of 16 Chang came back from an early deficit to beat Spain’s Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, 11-7. Then in the quarters he looked to be in total control over Finland upstart Casper Matikainen, with an 8-2 lead.

Matikainen, who had defeated defending champion Joshua Filler in the round of 64, and had just beaten 2016 World 9-ball Champion Albin Ouschan in the round of 16, was a total revelation this week in Doha. And just when the quiet Finn looked like he would run out of gas, he began a glorious fight back against Chang. The pair ended up tied at 10 in a battle of sheer will and stamina. Chang, though, mustered one last bit of energy and skill and held on to break and run the very last rack for a nail-biting ticket to the semis.

China’s Liu has been knocking on this door of greatness for the last several years, and his three matches today showed he is ready to finally kick it in. In the round of 64, he came from two down late against Greece’s Alexander Kazakis to win 11-9. In the final 16 he came back from 6 -2 down to defeat Japan’s Naoyuki Oi, 11-9. In the quarters the Chinese went toe to toe with a streaking Alex Pagulayan. The pair had nothing between them for the first half, until Liu decided this time was his, and he put the Filipino-Canadian away, 11-8.

Should Liu win it all on Tuesday, he would become the first Chinese player to ever win the WPA World 9-ball Championship.

The winner of the 2019 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The total prize fund is $150,00.

*The 2019 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Qatar from December 10-17, 2019. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

Fans around the world will be able to view live scoring, results, brackets and live streaming of many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform at esnooker.pl.  Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public.

SEMI-FINALS

Tuesday, December 17 11am, GMT +3

Race to 11, Alternate Break

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) vs. Lui Haitao (CHN)

Ping Chung Ko (TPE) vs. Fedor Gorst (RUS)

FINALS

3PM Doha

Race to 13, Alternate Break

RESULTS QUARTERFINALS

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 10 Casper Matikainen (FIN)

Lui Haitao (CHN) 11 – 8 Alex Pagulayan (CAN)

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 6 Do The Kien (VET)

Fedor Gorst (RUS) 11- 6 Pin Yi Ko (TPE)

RESULTS FINAL 16

Casper Matikainen (FIN) 11 – 6 Albin Ouschan (AUT)

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 7 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP)

Lui Haitao (CHN) 11 – 9 Naoyuki Oi (JPN)

Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 11 – 9 Billy Thorpe (USA)

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 4 Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)

Do The Kien (VET) 11 – 8 Waleed Majid (QAT)

Pin Yi Ko (TPE) 11 – 9 Aloysius Yapp (SIN)

Fedor Gorst (RUS) 11 – 10 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)

RESULTS FINAL 32

Casper Matikainen (FIN) 11 – 8 Yip Kin Ling (HKG)

Albin Ouschan (AUT) 11 – 8 Denis Grabe (EST)

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 5 Mieszko Fortunski (POL)

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) 11 – 5 Xu Xiaocong (CHN)

Liu Haitao (CHN) 11 – 9  Alexander Kazakis (GRE)

Naoyuki Oi (JPN) 11 – 6 Johann Chua (PHL)

Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 11 – 7 Chang Yu Lung (TPE)

Billy Thorpe (USA) 11 – 10 Carlo Biado (PHL)

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 8 Lin Wu Kun (TPE)

Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) 11 – 8 Maximilian Lechner (AUT) 

Do The Kien (VET) 11 – 7 Chris Melling (ENG) 

Waleed Majid (QAT) 11 -10 Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) vs.

Pin Yi Ko (TPE) 11 – 9 Jeffrey Ignacio (PHL)

Aloysius Yapp (SIN) 11 – 5 Darren Appleton (ENG)

Fedor Gorst (RUS)11 – 7 Yu Hsuan Cheng (TPE)

Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) 11 – 7 Liu Ri Teng (TPE)

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Albin Ouschan, Alex Pagulayan, Alexander Kazakis, Aloysius Yapp, Bashar Hussain, Billy Thorpe, Carlo Biado, Casper Matikainen, Chang Yu Lung, Chris Melling, Chung Ko Ping, Corey Duel, Daminanos Giallourakis, Dang Jinhu, Darren Appleton, Denis Grabe, Do The Kiem, Do The Kien, Eklent Kaci, Fedor Gorst, Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, Jakub Koniar, Jalal Al Sarisi, Jang Moonseok, Jeffrey Ignacio, Johann Chua, Jung Lin Chang, Karol Slowerski, Lin Ta Li, Lin Wu Kun, Liu Haitao, Liu Ri Teng, Marc Bijsterbosch, Masato Yoshioka, Mateusz Sniegocki, Maximilian Lechner, Mieszko Fortunski, Mohammad Berjaoui, Naoyuki Oi, One loss side group matches, Pin Yi Ko, Radoslaw Babica, Results Final 64, Ruslan Chinakhov, Stephen Holem, Thorsten Hohmann, Tomasz Kaplan, Waleed Majid, Wojciech Szewczyk, Wu Jiaqing, Xu Xiaocong, Xue Zhenqi, Yip Kin Ling, Yu Hsuan Cheng, Yukio Akagariyama - Uncategorized

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55467

FILLER FALLS IN DRAMATIC UPSET, WHILE VAN BOENING ALSO CRASHES OUT

FILLER FALLS IN DRAMATIC UPSET, WHILE VAN BOENING ALSO CRASHES OUT

Finland’s Casper Matikainen takes down the defending champion in wild day in Doha as 32 players set for a sprint to the World 9-ball crown.

By Ted Lerner WPA Media Officer Photos Credit WPA

(Doha, Qatar)–Finland’s Casper Matikainen came into his round of 64 match at the World 9-ball Championship today versus the defending champion and world number 1 Joshua Filler feeling relaxed and ready for battle. He figured the German great would bring his usual fire, but he also knew that Filler might also take his eye off the proverbial ball. After all, the 23 year old Finn wasn’t exactly the most feared name in a field of absolute monsters.

So even when the self-described “King” of pool jumped out to a 4-1 lead, Matikainen never lost hope, as Filler had gotten a few lucky rolls and wasn’t playing all that great, while the Finn had a few rolls go against him.

The mental strategy soon started to bear fruit for the cool-headed blonde. Slowly, and increasingly surely, Matikainen crawled even, and then took the lead while at the same time Filler started to get sloppy, lose focus and even showed some signs of panic. From 4-1 down Matikainen calmly won 9 out of the next ten frames.  After a brief hiccup on the hill that allowed Filler to claim two quick racks, the steady Finn held his nerve and closed out the biggest shock of the tournament so far, an 11-7 upset of the defending champion.

“He’s the world champion and he’s playing and I’m not there in the big tournaments and maybe he’s thinking it’s an easy win,” the 22 year old Matikainen said afterward.  “I felt that Joshua had the pressure because he’s the world champion and I was really relaxed at the table and that helped me and I just got it done.”

Matikainen’s massive win was but one huge result on a dramatic day in Doha that saw some of pool’s biggest names dumped out, while others were taken to the absolute limits. With the field now down to the final 32, the next two days promises to be one of the most exciting and fascinating Battle Royale’s of 9-ball we’ve seen in years.

America’s Shane Van Boening had come to Doha a heavy favorite this year and for good reason. His last three starts here ended with two runner ups and a spot in the semis last year. But several early mistakes against Taiwan’s Liu Ri Teng was all it took for the Taiwanese to grab a commanding lead at 10-4. The American mounted a valiant fight back, but the alternate break format meant the hole was too deep. Liu sent Van Boening packing in the round of 64 with a humbling 11-8 defeat.

After his runner up finish at the US Open in Las Vegas last April, former champion Wu Jiaqing figured to go far here in Doha. But Wu came up against fellow compatriot Xu Xiaocong, who is one of a slew of quality young talents coming out of China. Xu has impressed all week here and  against Wu he turned his game up several notches, crushing the former Boy Wonder 11-5.

The Taiwanese are almost sure to have one, possibly two players in the semis after tomorrow as Team Taipei looked absolutely marvelous today. It isn’t easy picking a favorite out of these world beaters but World 10-ball Champion Ko Ping Chung would probably be at the top of most punters betting sheets.  The slightly built and painfully shy 22 year old is clearly at the top of his game but he even he barely escaped in a harrowing match against Hungary’s talented Oliver Szolnoki.

Szolnoki, another bright European prospect, played the match of his young career and had “Little” Ko on the ropes, shooting out to a 7-3, then 8-5 lead. The fresh-faced Hungarian reached the hill first, but Ko then displayed the courage and guts that only champions can pull off.  In a nervy and tense sudden death rack, the Taiwanese made a series of surreal pressure shots to eek out the victory.

Little Ko’s older brother and two-time former world champion Pin Yi also won today, easily defeating Japan’s Yukio Akagariyama, 11-5. Fellow Taiwanese Chang Jung Lin, Chang Yu Lung, Lin Wu Kun and Kevin Chang all won their round of 64 matches today. In all seven Taiwanese made it through to the round of 32.

2016 World 9-ball champion Albin Ouschan of Austria looks to be in very fine form this year, as he easily defeated Taiwan’s Lin Ta Li 11-5.  Fellow Austrian Max Lechner continued his rise this year with an 11-4 win over Lithuania’s Pijus Labutis. 

The Russian contingent also put in solid performances today. Veteran Ruslan Chinakhov took down American Corey Duel 11-3, while youngster Fedor Gorst stayed alive with an 11-8 win over Slovakia’s Jakub Koniar.

2012 World 9-ball Champion Darren Appleton has been quietly playing himself back into game shape over the last few months and his solid victory today over Albanian star and European Mosconi team member Eklent Kaci could be a portent for the rest of the field. The Englishman battled back from a 4-0 deficit, and then turned the screws on the Albanian for a quality 11-6 win. In his remarkable heyday from 2008 to 2015, Appleton famously grinded out championships by the truckload and that bulldog mentality definitely was on display this afternoon.

The Philippines had only three players in the final 64 but all three made it through today. 2017 World 9-ball champion Carlo Biado got taken to the limit by Qatari veteran Bashar Hussein, before breaking and running the last rack for an 11-10 win. Also winning today for the Team Pinoy were Johann Chua and Jeffrey Ignacio.

The Polish contingent has been getting stronger by the year and they showed their quality today with three of their stars pushing through to the final 32. Mieszko Fortunski, Wojciech Szewczyk, and Mateusz Sniegocki all won handily.

Also advancing today were the USA’s Billy Thorpe, Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp, China’s Liu Haitao, Greece’s Alexander Kazakis, Spain’s Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Estonia’s Dennis Grabe, England’s Chris Melling, Canada’s Alex Pagulayan, Qatar’s Waleed Majid, Vietnam’s Do The Kien, and Hong Kong’s young upstart Yip Kin Ling.

The penultimate day of the World 9-ball championship will be extremely busy as the field will be whittled down to the final four at the end of the days’ action. 

Play on day 3, Monday, Dec. 16th will begin at 10am Doha time(GMT +3). All matches will be single elimination knockout race to 11, alternate break.  

The winner of the 2019 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The total prize fund is $150,00.

*The 2019 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Qatar from December 10-17, 2019. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

Fans around the world will be able to view live scoring, results, brackets and live streaming of many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform at esnooker.pl.  Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public.

Results Final 64

Casper Matikainen (FIN) 11 – 7 Joshua Filler (GER)

Yip Kin Ling (HKG) 11 – 5 John Morra (CAN)

Albin Ouschan (AUT) 11 – 5 Lin Ta Li (TPE)

Denis Grabe (EST) 11 – 8 Marc Bijsterbosch (NED)

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 9 Dang Jinhu (CHN)

Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 11 – 8 Thorsten Hohmann (GER)

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) 11 – 6 Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL)

Xu Xiaocong (CHN) 11 – 5 Wu Jiaqing (CHN)

Alexander Kazakis (GRE) 11 – 8 Radoslaw Babica (POL)

Liu Haitao (CHN) 11 – 9  Jalal Al Sarisi  (VEN)

Naoyuki Oi (JPN) 11 – 7 Petri Makkonen (FIN)

Johann Chua (PHL) 11 – 5 Enrique Rojas (CHL)

Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 11 – 3 Karol Skowerski (POL)

Chang Yu Lung (TPE) 11 – 9 Masato Yoshioka (JPN)

Billy Thorpe (USA) 11 – 6 Kong Dejing (CHN)

Carlo Biado (PHL) 11 – 10 Bashar Hussain (QAT)

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 10  Oliver Szolnoki (HUN)

Lin Wu Kun (TPE) 11 – 7 Damianos Giallourakis (GRE)

Maximilian Lechner (AUT) 11 – 4 Pijus Labutis (LTH)

Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)  11 – 3 Corey Duel (USA)

Chris Melling (ENG)  11 – 7 Mohammad Berjaoui (LEB)

Do The Kien (VET) 11 – 5 David Alcaide (ESP)

Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) 11 – 6 Jang Moonseok (KOR)

Waleed Majid (QAT) 11 – 10 Ralf Souquet (GER)

Pin Yi Ko (TPE) 11 – 5 Yukio Akagariyama (JPN)

Jeffrey Ignacio (PHL) 11 – 6 Stephen Holem (CAN)

Aloysius Yapp (SIN) 11 – 9  Xue Zhenqi (CHN)

Darren Appleton (ENG) 11 – 6 Eklent Kaci (ALB)

Fedor Gorst (RUS) 11 – 8 Jakub Koniar (SVK)

Yu Hsuan Cheng (TPE) 11 – 10 Tomasz Kaplan (POL)

Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) 11 – 7 Ivar Saris (NED)

Liu Ri Teng (TPE) 11 – 8 Shane Van Boening (USA)

One loss side group matches

Winner moves on to final 64 KO stage. Loser is out

Group 1

Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) 9 – 4 Hasan Hwaidi (IRQ)

Bashar Hussain (QAT) 9 – 6 Jerico Bonus (PHL)

Group 2

Fedor Gorst (RUS) 9 – 2 Mohammad Soufi (SYR)

Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) 9 – 3 Kong Bu Hong (HKG)

Group 3

Dang Jinhu (CHN) 9 – 1 Gerson Martinez (PER)

Wu Jiaqing (CHN) 9 – 3 Saki Kanatlar (TRK)

Group 4

Jalal Al Sarisi (VEN) 9 – 8 Matt Edwards (NZL)

Thorsten Hohmann (GER) 9 – 1 Marc Vidal (ESP)

Group 5

Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) 9 – 8 Mohammad Al Amin (BAN)

Waleed Majid (QAT) 9 – 5 Woo Seung Ryu (KOR)

Group 6

Do The Kiem (VET)  9 – 6 Ali Alobaidli (QAT)

Tomasz Kaplan (POL) 9 – 4 Ricky Yang (IND)

Group 7

Radoslaw Babica (POL) 9 – 6 Abdulatif Alfawal (QAT)

Liu Ri Teng (TPE) 9 – 1 Nadim Okbani (ALG)

Group 8

Carlo Biado (PHL) 9 – 4 Hassan Shahada (JOR)

Lin Ta Li (TPE) 9 – 6 Abdullah Alyusef (KUW)

Group 9

Stephen Holem (CAN) 9 – 4 Khaled Alghamdi (KSR)

Casper Matikainen (FIN) 9 – 5 Phone Myint Kyaw (MYR)

Group 10

Mohammad Berjaoui (LEB) 9 – 5 Max Eberle (USA)

Yukio Akagariyama (JPN) 9 – 4 Ali Maghsoud (IRA)

Group 11

Karol Slowerski (POL) 9 – 4 Hunter Lombardo (USA)

Eklent Kaci (ALB)  9 – 3 Ahmad Aldelaimi (KUW)

Group 12

Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) 9 – 5  Niels Feijen (NED)

Daminanos Giallourakis (GRE)  9 – 3 Abdullah Alshammari (KSR)

Group 13

Masato Yoshioka (JPN) 9 – 4 Clark Sullivan (NZE)

Xue Zhenqi (CHN) 9 – 7 Luis Lemus (GTM)

Group 14

Darren Appleton (ENG) 9 – 6 Richard Halliday (RSA)

Jakub Koniar (SLV) 9 – 3 Fayaz Hussain (MAL)

Group 15

Jang Moonseok (KOR) 9 – 2 Robbie Capito (HKG)

Corey Duel (USA) 9 – 8 Wang Can (CHN)

Group 16

Xu Xiaocong (CHN) 9 – 0 Mohamed El Raousti (ALG)

Lin Wu Kun (TPE) 9 – 3 Riccardo Sini (ITA)

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Aloysius Yapp, Bashar Hussain, Billy Thorpe, Chang Yu Lung, Chris Melling, Chung Ko Ping, Damianos Giallourakis, Dang Jinhu, David Alcaide, Denis Grabe, Do The Kien, Enrique Rojas, Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, Hunter Lombardo, Ivar Saris, Jakub Koniar, Jalal Al Sarsi, Jang Moonseok, Jeffrey Ignacio, Johann Chua, John Morra, Joshua Filler, Jung Lin Chang, Kong Dejing, Konrad Juszcayszyn, Lin Ta Li, Liu Haitao, Liu Ri Teng, Masato Yoshioka, Max Eberle, Max Lechner, Mieszko Fortunski, Naoyuki Oi, Oliver Szolnoki, Petri Makkonen, Phone Myint Kyaw, Pijus Labutis, Pin Yi Ko, Radoslaw Babica, Ralf Souquet, Results, Richard Halliday, Ruslan Chinakhov, Shane Van Boening, Stephen Holem, Tomasz Kaplan, Waleed Majid, World 9-Ball - World Pool Billiard

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55459

32 Players Book Their Spots In The KO Rounds In A Roller Coaster First Day In Doha

By Ted Lerner WPA Media Officer Photo Credits WPA

(Doha, Qatar)–If the first day’s play of the 2019 World 9-ball Championship is any indication–and by all measures it certainly is just that–then fans around the world better be prepared for a wild roller coaster ride over the next three days.  Drama, upsets, nerves, revelations, suprises, excitement and downright brilliant 9-ball at the highest levels were all on display as play commenced in the 28th running of pool’s premier crown. And with a loaded field just getting warmed up, it’s only going to get better leading to the final on Tuesday.

With 64 matches played on 16 tables at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Day 1 saw 32 players book their spots in the final 64 knockout stage which begins Sunday.  None of the 96 players have yet to see the exits, but there were plenty of upsets, near upsets, and upstarts making their mark on pool’s biggest stage.

The top 32 seeds were given a bye in the first round of their groups, so these players only had to win one match to reach the single elimination knockout rounds.  Defending champion Joshua Filler of Germany did just that, but not before a shaky start which saw him tied at 4-4 in the race to 9 alternate break match against Qatari veteran Bashar Hussain. The World number one was never in trouble, though, and cruised to a 9-5 win.

2017 champion and runner up last year Carlo Biado of the Philippines didn’t fair as well as he got dumped over to the one loss side of his group with a shocking 9-3 loss to Chile’s Enrique Rojas. It was Rojas’ second straight victory of the day, the first coming over Kuwait’s Abdullah Alyusef. Rojas now books his well deserved spot in the Final 64 tomorrow.

The USA’s Shane Van Boening is one of the favorites here this week, but he looked a bit cold early on in his match with young talented Chinese player Xu Xiaocong. Xu is part of a large crop coming from China’s youth movement and he had the American down three quarters of the way through their match.  But SVB pulled it together at the last minute and squeaked by the Chinese, 9-8. Xu will get one more chance on Sunday.

Fellow American and Mosconi teammate Billy Thorpe also booked his spot in the final 64 with a 9-5 win over Canada’s Stephen Holem.

It was a solid day for team Taiwan. World 10-ball Champion Ko Ping Chung went up against Myamar’s rising star Phone Myint Kyaw, who also goes by the moniker, Muang Muang. Kyaw is a player that pool fans will want to pay attention to. He’s a former snooker player who has been winning regularly on the brutally tough Chinese 8-ball circuit, and he just grabbed two gold medals in the Southeast Asian games in Manila.  His stroke is one of the most solid in the game and anyone who watches him play instantly can see the potential in this young man.

But of course, Ko is a young prodigy who has already proven his metal in American pool with his recent win at the World 10-ball in July in Vegas.  Little Ko didn’t have much trouble with Muang Muang, winning handily, 9-4.

Little Ko will join his older brother Pin Yi in the final 64, who defeated the always stingy Jalal Al Sarisi of Venezuela, 9-4.  Other Taiwanese cruising into the final 64 include Chang Jung Lin, Chang Yu Lung, and Kevin Cheng.

The Philippines is surprisingly unrepresented in Doha this year with only four players in the field. With Biado losing early it was up to Johann Chua and Jeffrey Ingacio to save the day for the Pinoys. Both looked the goods and nabbed spots in the final 64.

It was a mixed bag for the European Mosconio Cup team. Greece’s Alexander Kazakis is one of Europe’s top bets here this week and he qualified for the knockout round with an easy 9-5 win over Qatar’s Waleed Majid.  But Albania’s Eklent Kaci and former World 9-ball Champion Niels Feijen of the Netherlands weren’t so fortunate. Kaci lost big to the Netherlands’ Ivar Saris, who had earlier looked solid in a 9-6 win over Poland’s Karol Skowerski. Feijen went down to upstart Hong Konger Yip Kin Ling, 9-7, who took his spot in the Final 64 with his second  win of the day.

The surprises kept coming throughout the day. Lithuania’s Pijus Labutis first squeaked by Peru’s Gerson Martinez, 9-8. Then he took on former World 9-ball Champion Wu Jiaqing, and shocked the Chinese great with a 9-7 upset, and a spot in the knockout rounds.

Also booking a spot in the final 64 was Canada’s John Morra, who continued his return to fine form with a 9-8 win over Poland’s Mateusz Sniegocki. Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp showed that he’s clearly a dark horse to watch here in Doha with a 9-4 drubbing of China’s talented Dang Jinhu.  England’s Chris Melling came back from 6-2 down to defeat Vietnam’s Do The Kien, 9-7. Also advancing today were Japan’s Naoyuki Oi, Austria’s Max Lechner, China’s Lui Haitao, Estonia’s Dennis Grabe, Finland’s Petri Makkonen, Germany’s Ralf Souquet,  and Spaniards David Alcaide and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz.

Play on day 2 on Sunday, Dec. 14th will begin at 10am Doha time(GMT +3). The field will be whittled down to 64 players playing single elimination knockout race to 11.  The round of 64 will be completed in the first two session, and by the end of the day, the field will be down to the final 32. 

The winner of the 2019 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The total prize fund is $150,00.

*The 2019 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Qatar from December 10-17, 2019. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by the World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

Fans around the world will be able to view live scoring, results, brackets and live streaming of many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform at esnooker.pl.  Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public.

Results

Group 1

Bashar Hussain (QAT) 9 – 6 Hasan Hwaidi (IRQ)

John Morra (CAN) 9 – 7 Jerico Bonus (PHL)

Group 2

Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)  9 – 5 Mohammad Soufi (SYR)

Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 9 – 6  Kong Bu Hong (CHN)

Group 3

Pijus Labutis (LTH) 9 – 8 Gerson Martinez  (PER)

Dang Jinhu (CHN) 9 – 7 Saki Kanatlar (TKY)

Group 4

Kong Dejing (CHN) 9 – 6 Matt Edwards (NZL)

Jalal Al Sarsi (VEN)  9 – 7 Marc Vidal (SPN)

Group 5

Waleed Majid (QAT) 9 – 5 Mohammad Al Amin (BAN)

Oliver Szolnoki (HUN) 9 – 3 Woo Seung Ryu (KOR)

Group 6

Tomasz Kaplan (POL)  9 – 5 Ali Alobadili (QAT)

Do The Kien (VET) 9 – 3 Ricky Yang (IND)

Group 7

Liu Ri Teng (TPE)  9 – 5 Abdulatif Alfawal (QAT)

Radoslaw Babica (POL) 9 – 1 Nadim Okbani (ALG)

Group 8

Lin Ta Li (TPE) 9 – 1 Hassan Shhada (JOR)

Enrique Rojas (CHL) 9 – 7 Abdullah Alyusef (KUW)

Group 9

Phone Myint Kyaw (MYR) 9 – 3  Khaled Alghamdi (KSR)

Stephen Holem (CAN) 9 – 6 Casper Matikainen (FIN)

Group 10

Yukio Akagariyama (JPN) 9 – 7 Mohammad Berjaoui (LEB)

Max Eberle (USA) 9 – 7 Ali Maghsoud (IRA)

Group 11

Ivar Saris (NET) 9 – 6 Karol Skowerski (POL)

Hunter Lombardo (USA) 9 – 1 Ahmad Aldelaimi (KUW)

Group 12

Damianos Giallourakis (GRE) 9 – 7 Marck Bijsterbosch (NED)

Yip Kin Ling (HKG) 9 – 8 Abdulla Alshemari (KSR)

Group 13

Xue Zhenqi (CHN) 9 – 5 Clark Sullivan (NZE)

Masato Yoshioka (JPN) Luis Lemus (GUY)

Group 14

Jakub Koniar (SLV) 9 – 8 Darren Appleton (ENG)

Richard Halliday (RSA) 9 – 4 Fayaz Ussain (MAL)

Group 15

Konrad Juszcayszyn (POL) 9 – 7 Robbie Capito (HKG)

Jang Moonseok (KOR) 9 – 6 Wang Can (CHN)

Group 16

Petri Makkonen (FIN) 9 – 0 Mohamed El Raousti (ALG)

Xu Xiaocong (CHN) 9- 2  Riccardo Sini (ITL)

Winners Side Matches Day 1.

Winner is through to the Final 64, Loser goes to one loss side of their group for one more chance

Group 1

Joshua Filler (GER) 9 – 5 Bashar Hussain (QAT)

John Morra (CAN) 9 – 8 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)

Group 2

Denis Grabe (EST) 9 – 7 Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)

Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 9 – 4 Fedor Gorst (RUS)

Group 3

Pijus Labutis (LTH) 9 – 7 Wu Jiaqing (CHN)

Aloysius Yapp (SIN) 9 – 4 Dang Jinhu (CHN)

Group 4

Kong Dejing (CHN) 9 – 6 Thorsten Hohmann (GER)

Pin Yi Ko (TPE) 9 – 5 Jalal Al Sarisi (VEN)

Group 5

Alexander Kazakis (GRE) 9 – 5 Waleed Majid (QAT)

Oliver Szolnoki (HUN) 9 – 3 Wojciech Szewczyk (POL)

Group 6

Chang Yu Lung (TPE) 9 – 6 Tomasz Kaplan (POL)

Chris Melling (ENG) 9 – 7 Do The Kien (VET)

Group 7

Johann Chua (PHL) 9 – 3 Liu Ri Teng (TPE)

Max Lechner (AUT) 9 – 6 Radoslaw Babica (POL)

Group 8

Liu Haitao (CHN) 9 – 3 Lin Ta Li (TPE)

Enrique Rojas (CHL) 9 – 3 Carlo Biado (PHL)

Group 9

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 9 – 4 Phone Myint Kyaw (MYR)

Billy Thorpe (USA) 9 – 5 Stephen Holem (CAN)

Group 10

Yu Hsuan Cheng (TPE) 9 – 8 Yukio Akagariyama (JPN)

Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 9 – 3 Max Eberle (USA)

Group 11

Ivar Saris (NED) 9 – 4 Eklent Kaci (ALB)

Naoyuki Oi (JPN) 9 – 1 Hunter Lombardo (USA)

Group 12

Jeffrey Ignacio (PHL) 9 – 7 Damianos Giallourakis (GRE)

Yip Kin Ling (HKG) 9 – 7 Niels Feijen (NED)

Group 13

Ralf Souquet (GER) 9 – 8 Xue Zhenqi (CHN)

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) 9 – 8 Masato Yoshioka (JPN)

Group 14

David Alcaide (ESP) 9 – 7 Jakub Koniar (SLV)

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 9 – 4 Richard Halliday (RSA)

Group 15

Konrad Juszcayszyn (POL) 9 – 8 Corey Deuel (USA)

Albin Ouschan (AUT) 9 – 4 Jan Moonseok (KOR)

Group 16

Petri Makkonen (FIN) 9 – 5 Lin Wu Kun (TPE)

Shane Van Boening (USA) 9 – 8 Xu Xiaocong (CHN)

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Darren Appleton - Euro-Tour

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55315

Appleton comes back and leaves a mark in the tournament

The first day in Antalya of the Dynamic Billard Antalya Open 2019 started sunny as expected. Most players of the first round matches were on time for the beginning of their competition. In the first round, Nick Malai (GRE) and Marcel Price (GBR) had the toughest challenges. Both of them won their opening matches with 9:8 over their respective opponents which took a lot of energy out of them at such an early time of the day.

As the day continued, more remarkable matches could be witnessed. In the first winner’s round, Nick Malai took down Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) surprisingly clear with 9:1 and sent him to the loser’s side of the bracket. Jan Rempe (NED), young player from the dutch contingency, managed to overpower Fedor Gorst (RUS) with 9:5 in the same round. Jani Siekkinen (FIN) wasted no time with Alex Montpellier (FRA) wiping the floor with him with 9:0. Siekkinen’s teammate Jani Uski (FIN) also won his match against Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) with 9:7. One of the two big clashes in the first winner’s round was the all British match between Mark Gray and Darren Appleton. Both players have earned their merits in the past and it was clear that the one with the better daily form would probably succeed over the other. Additionally, Appleton had been absent for a long time and just started his Euro-Tour play again last tournament in Klagenfurt, Austria, while Gray has been a regular on the tour for many years now. Today, the match went in favour of Appleton since Gray had no break at all. Appleton took him down 9:5 and Gray stated on his facebook page later: „Horrible game that lost 9-5 to Darren Appleton. Better player undoubtedly won. Break killed me but didn’t feel good so good luck to Daz… Granite back to the beach!!“ The other „big match“ in that round was the encounter between Pijus Labutis (LTU) and Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz (ESP). That match was controlled by the Spaniard and won with 9:6 by Sanchez-Ruiz.

The Dynamic Billard Antalya Open 2019 will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 local time with matches from winner’s round 2.

Every day, up to two matches will be streamed LIVE over the EPBF Facebook page and on the EPBF YouTube channel. Check for updates and announcements.

The Dynamic Billard Antalya Open are played in the Limak Atlantis Resort in Belek, Turkey, on up to 20 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be obtained at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.

The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.com or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Damianos Giallourakis, Eklent Kaci, Joshua Filler, Maksim Dudanets, Miguel Silva, Ruslan Chinakov, Sanjin Pehlivanovic, Wojciech Szewczyk - Euro-Tour

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55256

Bad night for Austrian team

In the round of the last 32 players single elimination of the Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open 2019, all remaining three Austrian players have been eliminated,

Albin Ouschan (AUT) was up against young Wiktor Zielinski (POL). The Polish youth player has demonstrated last year when he won the Euro-Tour in Treviso, Italy, how strong he can perform. That also happened tonight. he succeeded in playing his A-game, using his chances and keeping Ouschan always at a distance. After 2:2, Zielinski dominated the match and did not allow Ouschan to get back into it. He made no mistakes while the Austrian struggled and could not find a recipe to break Zielinski’s run. 9:6 was the clear result in favour of Zielinski which leaves a 17th rank finish for Ouschan.

Ouschan’s teammates Mario He and Max Lechner had even worse experiences in the same round. Both of them lost with 1:9. Mario He fell against Eklent Kaci (ALB) while Lechner was overpowered by Ruslan Chinakhov. Having three top class players in the round of the last 32 players with all of them losing more or less clearly is definitely not the result that the Austrian organiser would have wished to see at the end of this day.

Loser’s Round 2

The day started with most matches displaying „business as usual“. Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) seemed to be back on track and eliminated Adam Stankiewicz (POL) 9:4. Wiktor Zielinski (POL) handed a doughnut to Marco Schmitt (GER) winning his match 9:0. The first small upset was provided by Pierfrancesco Garzia (ITA) when he ousted teammate Fabio Petroni (ITA) surprisingly with 9:5. Another interesting result was Marcus Chamat (SWE), the captain of the European Mosconi Cup Team, winning with 9:5 over Imran Majid (GBR). The next round however brought a huge surprise. Ralf Souquet (GER), multiple World, European and Euro-Tour Champion, was kicked out by Michael Huetter (AUT), local player from Austria. That exit came completely unexpected for Souquet and does also not help him to advance in the rankings. While Souquet was out, other high profile players on the loser’s side such as Tomasz Kaplan (POL), Thorsten Hohmann (GER) and Darren Appleton (GBR) continued their quest through the loser’s rounds.

Loser’s Round 3

The next capital casualties were recorded in loser’s round 3. Thorsten Hohmann fell to the sharp blade of Alex Montpellier (FRA) with 7:9. The same round saw Pijus Labutis (LTU) fall to Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE) with 0:9. Francesco Candela (ITA), dark horse from Italy ended Darren Appleton’s journey here at the Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open 2019 with an impressive 9:7 victory over the former World Games Gold Medallist.

Clockwise: Kazakis, Kaci, Filler and Dudanets

Loser’s Round 4

This round saw the end of Europe’s Mosconi Cup captain Marcus „Napoleon“ Chamat (SWE) who was defeated by Konstantinos Koukiadakis (GRE) with 9:8. Karol Skowerski (POL) took down „The Terminator“ Niels Feijen (NED) with 9:6 in the same round.

Last 16 players single elimination

Joshua Filler GER v Oliver Szolnoki HUN Wojciech Szewczyk POL v Marc Bijsterbosch NED Miguel Silva POR v Mark Gray GBR Maksim Dudanets RUS v Denis Grabe EST Sanjin Pehlivanovic BIH v Wiktor Zielinski POL Damianos Giallourakis GRE v Mats Schjetne NOR Ruslan Chinakhov RUS v Fedor Gorst RUS Alexander Kazakis GRE v Eklent Kaci ALB

Tomorrow, the Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open 2019 will continue at 10:00 CET with matches from the round of the last 16 players single elimination. The final match is scheduled for 18:00 local time.

Every day, up to two matches will be streamed LIVE over the EPBF Facebook page and on the EPBF YouTube channel. Check for updates and announcements.

The Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open are played in the Sportpark Klagenfurt Arena in Klagenfurt, Austria, on up to 20 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be obtained at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.

The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.com or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - David Alcaide, Evgeny Stalev, Tyler Styer - Independent

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55235

3 European Countries with an Active Cue Sports Scene

There are many who don’t think of cue sports as actual sports but rather as something you do for fun. This probably has to do with how accessible it is to the general public: it doesn’t need superior fitness and stamina, only a good aim and a free table at the local pool club. The image of cue sports in popular culture doesn’t help either – it is often depicted as something done by bikers (usually the bad guys) in roadside bars, and usually for money. This doesn’t stop them from being not only a popular recreational activity but also a serious sport in Europe and the Americas, even if cue sports barely qualify for one of the most beloved sports in Canada and the US. There are, in turn, countries that may not be famous for their vivid cue sports scene but are serious about it.

Hungary

Hungary is famous throughout the world for its amazing association football team – the Golden Team – that played its way to the top in the 1950s. While soccer is still the most popular sport in the country, there are many others that are played seriously in the country – and cue sports are among them. The country has an official “Billiards Association” that organizes country-wide tournaments for its members – the next National Pool Championship is set to take place this week, and its Masters Tournament will be played in December.

Estonia

Estonia is perhaps better known for its thriving startup business scene than for its billiards but make no mistake, it is quite the popular sport over there. The local cue sports association – the Eesti Piljardiliit – has sections for pool, snooker, and Russian pool, perhaps better known as pyramid billiards. Pyramid is considered one of the most difficult billiard variants – it is played on a large table (similar in size to the snooker table, usually thinner) with the corner pockets only millimeters wider than the balls themselves, and sixteen numbered balls that are all white (plus a cue ball that’s even larger). The game is played with more massive cues (the tips are usually 15 millimeters wide) and the rules forbid the use of jump shots and massé shots in tournament play (which are already very difficult due to the larger and heavier balls).

Russia

Even if we don’t count that it has its own billiard variant, Russia is a big name in the world of cue sports. It not only has its world governing body regulating Pyramid but it is also hosting a major annual Ten-ball pool tournament known as the Kremlin World cup. This year’s winner was Tyler Styer, defeating two-time World Pool Masters winner David Alcaide. Russia’s own Ruslan Chinakhov has won the event the most times – twice, in 2014 and 2015, defeating Mika “The Iceman” Immonen and 2000 World Champion Evgeny Stalev.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Eklent Kaci, Niels Feijen, Richard Halliday, Ruslan Chinakov, Vincent Halliday - World Cup of Pool

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=54735

CHINA CRUSH SWEDEN AS ALBANIA AND NETHERLANDS ADVANCE

BetVictor World Cup of Pool – Round One

China 7-1 Sweden Russia 3-7 Albania Holland 7-2 South Africa

Defending champions China are safely through to the second round of the BetVictor World Cup of Pool after a commanding performance over Sweden, in a session which also saw Albania beat Russia and Netherlands see off South Africa at the Morningside Arena, Leicester, live on Sky Sports, DAZN and networks around the world.

The opening session of the $250,000, 32-team event saw China’s Wu Jaiqing and Liu Haitao fire a warning shot to the rest of the field with a resounding 7-1 win as they look to become the first team to successfully defend a World Cup title.

They were gifted the first rack when Tomas Larsson missed a simple 6 and took the subsequent three racks for a 4-0 lead. Sweden, whose team also included European Mosconi Cup captain Marcus Chamat, got one on the board after Wu failed to cut a 4 up table but lost position on the 7 in the following rack. After a brief safety battle, US Open finalist Wu was left an open shot and China completed the set for a 5-1 advantage.

In winning the World Cup last summer, it was Wu who led the attack for China, with Liu perhaps not at his best. It was noticeable in this match that Liu was already performing better than he had 12 months ago, an ominous sign for the 31 teams hoping to rip the title from China’s grasp.

The final two racks required for victory came without Sweden returning to the table, and the reigning champions progressed through to round two with a 7-1 victory.

The second match saw some of Europe’s best young pool talents take to the table. For Albania Eklent Kaci was joined by Besar Spahiu, while Russia featured the fearsome pairing of Fedor Gorst and Ruslan Chinakhov.

The first six racks were shared but from 3-3 Albania opened up a two-rack advantage. They were then given ball in hand when Chinakhov missed the 5 ball, which was sat invitingly in the jaws of the corner pocket. Kaci was struggling with his cueing and couldn’t take immediate advantage, however on their next visit Albania did clear the table to move to the hill before securing their progression to round two with a 7-3 victory.

“We are very happy to progress to round two,” said Spahiu, who works as a full-time police officer. “We enjoyed the match, but we will hope to play better in the next round. The police force is good to me – if we keep winning they will let me take more time off, so let’s hope we keep winning.”

The session’s final match saw Netherlands up against South African twins Vincent and Richard Halliday. The Dutch pair of Niels Feijen and Marc Bijsterbosch raced to a 3-0 lead but the latter scratched with just three balls remaining, allowing their opponents to clear.

The Dutch moved 6-1 ahead before South Africa got another rack on the board, but it took just one more rack for the Netherlands to complete the victory and join China and Albania in round two. All three will find out their next opponents during this evening’s session, which begins at 7pm local time.

The BetVictor World Cup of Pool is sponsored by Rasson Billiards, who supply the Official Table; the cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith by Saluc. Predator are the Official Cue of the event and Kamui the Official Chalk and Tip.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, Imran Majid, Jan Kjetil Nordrum, Marcus Chamat - Euro-Tour

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=55243

Sanchez-Ruiz defeated Sola while Schneider took down Chinakhov

At the Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open 2019, Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz (ESP) just defeated Ante Sola (CRO) with 9:4.

In winner’s round 2, #9 ranked player Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz encountered Ante Sola, an unheralded 20-year-old player from Croatia. Sanchez, having won the junior’s World 9-ball title in 2010, had a furious start and won the first 3 consecutive racks to get a head start with 3:0 over Sola. The young Croatian always tried to keep a foot in the door but Sanchez used his experience and managed to always stay ahead of Sola. In the end, Sanchez got to a well-deserved and clear 9:4 victory over Sola which was never endangered at any time during the match. Sanchez will now face Roman Hybler (CZE) in the next winner’s round while Sola waits for the winner of the match between Matthias Blim (AUT) and Jani Uski (FIN). Both matches are scheduled for tomorrow.

Other remarkable results include Mats Schjetne (NOR) winning 9:5 over Ralf Souquet (GER) in winner’s round one. In the same round, Roberto Bartol (CRO) pipped „Napoleon“ Marcus Chamat (SWE) to the post with 9:8. Jani Siekkinen (FIN) overpowered „The Maharaja“ Imran Majid (GBR) with 9:6. After a long time of being absent from the Euro-Tour, former World Games Champion Darren Appleton (GBR) attended the Klagenfurt Open. In his first round match, he overcame Jan Kjetil Nordrum (NOR) with 9:4. Then he had to give in to Jakub Koniar (SVK) with 8:9. On the loser’s side, Appleton managed to stay alive in the event by winning 9:3 over Andrea Milioli (ITA).

Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz

Probably the biggest upset of the day happened in the match between Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) and Michael Schneider (SUI). Chinakhov, currently ranked #17 on the Euro-Tour rankings was the favoured player by miles. The Russian has already won a Euro-Tour event in Leende in 2017 and became second in Treviso in the same year and in Leende earlier this year. He is definitely one player to count in when guessing who is taking the victory in a Euro-Tour event. His opponent is not even listed in the current Euro-Tour rankings. But Schneider took down Corrieri in his first match with 9:7 which should have rung all alarm bells with Chinakhov. However, the course of the match between the two was very amazing. Chinakhov could not find any rhythm in his game and Schneider consequently used that to his benefit. Chinakhov underestimated his opponent obviously. It took nine racks for Ruslan Chinakhov to open his account against Schneider who was already on the hill with 8:0. After Chinakhov won rack #9, the Swiss player wasted no more time and won another rack to wipe the floor with Chinakhov, winning 9:1 over the disappointed Russian who now needs to come up with a good performance over the loser’s round in order to make it to the Mosconi Cup team this year.

Tomorrow, the Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open 2019 will continue at 09:00 CET with matches from loser’s round 2.

Every day, up to two matches will be streamed LIVE over the EPBF Facebook page and on the EPBF YouTube channel. Check for updates and announcements.

The Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open are played in the Sportpark Klagenfurt Arena in Klagenfurt, Austria, on up to 24 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be obtained at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.

The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.com or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Fedor Gorst, Jasmin Ouschan, Pijus Labutis - Euro-Tour

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=54531

9-ball titles awarded at the final day of the European Championships

The last day of the Dynamic Billard European Championships 2019 saw the finals in the 9-ball individuals in all four divisions. The titles were grabbed by Fedor Gorst (RUS), Jasmin Ouschan (AUT), Pijus Labutis (LTU) and Jouni Tahti (FIN).

Fedor Gorst had a thriller against Joshua Filler (GER) in the men’s 9-ball division. Both player performed tremendously well throughout the event and deserved their spot in the final match. Gorst was always ahead of Filler whose break let him down big time in the match. But the German  struck back whenever he could and kept the match open for a long time. Then Gorst got some momentum and went on the hill, taking a nice 8:4 lead over Filler. But one of „Killer Filler’s“ most important talents is that he keeps his nerves together and plays rock solid even when under fire. Filler took some racks off Gorst since the Russian himself had some problems with his break shot in the latter part of the match. Filler even got to the hill and created an 8:8 situation. The heat was on for both players with Gorst having the break shot. He had 2 balls down and an open layout. From there, Filler never got back to the table and Gorst sneaked past the winning line, taking the match with 9:8 over brave Filler.

Top 8 9-ball Men 1. Fedor Gorst RUS 2. Joshua Filler GER 3. Tomasz Kaplan POL     Kim Laaksonen FIN 5. Edmond Zaja ALB     Ruslan Chinakhov RUS     Zoran Svilar SRB     Mario He AUT

The women’s final match between Jasmin Ouschan and Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS) turned into a demolition for the Russian. Ouschan determined the match from the start to her liking and Seroshtan could not get a foot on the floor. Having in mind that Ouschan was far below her expectations during this championship, she played up to her standard in the final match and handed a whitewash to Seroshtan with 7:0.

Top 8 9-ball Women 1. Jasmin Ouschan AUT 2. Nataliya Seroshtan RUS 3. Vivien Schade GER     Ana Gradisnik SLO 5. Elise Qiu NED     Veronika Ivanovskaia GER     Oliwia Czuprynska POL     Kristina Zlateva BUL

In the Under 23 division, Pijus Labutis was the favoured player over Oliver Szolnoki since he had already taken a title in 8-ball earlier this week. Though Szolnoki performed quite convincing, Labutis was a bit ahead of him because of his focus being set on another title. 9:7 was the final result that brought the second title for Labutis for this week.

Top 8 9-ball Under 23 1. Pijus Labutis LTU 2. Oliver Szolnoki HUN 3. Casper Matikainen FIN     Aleksa Pecelj SRB 5. Vitaliy Patsura UKR     Osman Sanlisoy TNC     Samet Degirmanci TUR     Jan van Lierop NED

In the wheelchair division, all-time favoured Jouni Tahti wasted no time with his opponent Fred Dinsmore. He simply outplayed the Irish and took the match pretty easy with 7:1.

Top 8 9-ball Wheelchair 1. Jouni Tahti FIN 2. Fred Dinsmore IRL 3. Matej Brajkovic SLO     Tony Southern GBR 5. Kurt Deklerck BEL     Henrik Larsson SWE     Leszek Blumczynski POL     Roy Kimberley GBR

The final medal table displays Russia as the winner of the event, having won 3 Gold Medals, 2 Silver Medals and 2 Bronze Medals. Runner-Up is Poland with 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 4 Bronze Medals with Finland coming in third with 2 Gold Medals, 1 Silver Medal and 3 Bronze medals.

That concludes the coverage of the 2019 Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women, Under 23 and Wheelchair Athletes from Treviso, Italy. We will be back tomorrow with more news from the upcoming Euro-Tour events for Men and Women.

Left to right: Ouschan, Tahti, Gorst and Labutis

The Championships were played on 24 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be obtained at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.

The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Albin Ouschan, Joshua Filler - Euro-Tour

New Post on https://thepoolscene.com/?p=53648

Big surprises as well as usual suspects among the title holders in 10-ball

The 10-ball individuals have been decided at the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 in NH Conference Centre in Veldhoven, The Netherlands. Among the title holders, there are a few underdogs as well as very expected candidates.

Joshua Filler (GER) took the title in the men’s division with an 8:5 victory over Albin Ouschan (AUT). What a dramatic week for Ouschan so far. He lost two finals within 3 days. But for Filler this is a major achievement. His first European Champion title in the men’s division so far. After winning 8 Gold Medals in the Youth so far, Filler now entered the stage in the men’s titleholder group. His only medal in the men’s division so far was the Silver Medal in 2016 in 9-ball. Today, he dominated the final match over Ouschan who also had a bit of tough luck when he miscued on an important shot. However, Filler appeared to be the fresher player in this final match and deservedly took the title this year. „This is my first Gold Medal and European Champion title in the men’s division“, said Filler after the final, „it makes me really proud and I’m over the moon with this achievement.“ „Losing to Joshua in the final match is nothing to be ashamed about“, mentioned Ouschan, „I had some tough days and he was probably fresher than myself. I’ve been in two final matches now and lost both. If I make another final match here this week, I’ll win it. Promise!“ added Ouschan.

Top 4 Men

1. Filler, Joshua GER 2. Ouschan, Albin AUT 3. Chinakhov, Ruslan RUS     Skowerski, Karol POL

A huge surprise winner came out off the women’s division in 10-ball. Unheralded Yana Shut (BLR) made it to the final match and even overpowered Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) there with a more than clear 6:2 victory. „I was so nervous in my matches, not only in the final,“ told Shut. „I know I always look quite cool and relaxed but inside of me it looks, different, believe me“ added Shut when asked about her coolness in the final match.

Top 4 Women

1. Shut, Yana BLR 2. Ouschan, Jasmin AUT 3. Czuprynska, Oliwia POL     Kjoersvik, Line NOR

In the senior’s division, Sandor Tot (HUN) met with Miroslav Kremenovic (SRB). Tot is all known for his high speed way of playing the game. After 18 minutes, the scoreboard already displayed a 6:0 lead for him which meant he was on the hill already. What a performance! No chance for Kremenovic so far. 3 minutes later, the match was over. Tot handed a whitewash to Kremenovic in 21 minutes! When asked after the match about this, he replied: „Yes I know, sorry. In 9-ball, I will play faster!“

Top 4 Seniors

1. Tot, Sandor HUN 2. Kremenovic, Miroslav SRB 3. Correia, Henrique POR     Cipriani, Danilo ITA

In the Under 19’s, Wiktor Zielinski (POL) continued his triumphant march from last year in the Under 17’s and won the second discipline, handing a 7:5 defeat to strong opponent Mustafa Alnar (TNC).

Top 4 U19

1. Zielinski, Wiktor POL 2. Alnar, Mustafa TNC 3. Krause, Mickey DEN     Pehlivanovic, Sanjin BIH

Just like in the Under 19’s, the Under 17’s are dominated by one player so far in this European Championship. Christoffer Lentz (DEN), who had already taken the Gold Medal in straight pool, won the 10-ball discipline as well with a 6:3 victory over Ivan Galic (CRO).

Top 4 U17

1. Lentz, Christoffer DEN 2. Galic, Ivan CRO 3. Gangfløt, Emil-Andre NOR     Neuhausen, Moritz GER

In the girls’s division, Nina Torvund (NOR) won the title with a close 5:4 victory over Daria Cheprasova (BLR).

Top 4 Girls

1. Torvund, Nina NOR 2. Cheprasova, Daria BLR 3. Trushevskaia, Valerija RUS     Brummer, Alina GER

The ladies’ division saw Ine Helvik (NOR) defending her title with a very solid performance throughout the whole event. In the final match, she defeated Wienke Thamsen (GER) with 5:2 and demonstrated her supremacy in that division and discipline.

Top 4 Ladies

1. Helvik, Ine NOR 2. Thamsen, Wienke GER 3. Moscetti, Cristina ITA     Wessel, Susanne GER

In the wheelchair division, multiple-Champion Jouni Tahti (FIN) snatched another title for his collection, winning the final match over Roy Kimberley (GBR) with 6:3.

Top 4 Wheelchair

1. Tahti, Jouni FIN 2. Kimberley, Roy GBR 3. Southern, Tony GBR     Dinsmore, Fred IRL

Medal table after 1 of 5 events

The Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 will commence tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with matches in the 8-ball individuals competition.

The Jubilee Championships are played on 60 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be obtained at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.

The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Abdullah Alyusef, Ahmad Naiem, All Matches Do or Die, Bader Alawadhi, Chu BingJie, Dang Jinhu, Daniel Tangudd, David Alcaide, Francisco Felicilda, Hiroshi Takenaka, Hsieh Chia Chen, Israel Rota, John Morra, Kong Dejing, Lo Li Wen, Maksim Dudanets, Mateusz Sniegocki, Maung Maung, Md Al Amin, Mieszko Fortunski, Nguyen Anh Tuan, Niels Feijen, Nien Rong Chih, Results Day 3, Roland Garcia, Ruslan Chinakhov, Samuel Santos, Thorsten Hohmann, Warren Kiamco, Wiktor Zielinski, Wojciech Szewczyk, Woo Seung Ryu, Xu Xiao Cong, Yu Li Si - Independent

New Post on http://thepoolscene.com/?p=22709

Day 3 Report from the World 9-ball Championship

IT’S ALL BUSINESS FROM HERE ON IN

The final 64 single elimination field is set for a sprint to the World 9-ball crown.

By Ted Lerner WPA Press Officer Photos courtesy of Bo Bader

(Doha, Qatar)–It’s time to get down to the serious business end of things in Doha, as the field of 128 has been cut in half after three days of group play at the 2017 World 9-ball Championship.  From here the remaining 64 players will engage in a three day sprint to pool’s most prestigious title. Whoever wins six straight matches will be crowned the new WPA World 9-ball Champion on December 14th.

There was no escaping the tension on Monday inside the cavernous Al Arabi Sports Club as all 32 matches played were do-or-die. “Judgment Day” as it’s known in pool circles always brings out the drama as players, many of them who could just as easily find themselves lifting the title, scramble for their pool playing lives trying to escape the always dreaded group stages. One single roll of the ball could spell the difference between total disaster and a life changing run at glory.

Myanmar’s Maung Maung is not one player pool fans would expect to be a serious contender over the next few days. But the 23 year old ex-snooker player, who has lived and practiced in Beijing, China for the last three years, certainly turned some heads yesterday with a scintillating performance against the Philippines talented Johann Chua. Chua, who recently won the All Japan Championship in Osaka a few weeks back, is one Filipino player many fans thought might make a run at the title this year. But the sharp shooting Pinoy never had a chance as Maung cruised to an impressive 9-3 win. It’s the first time in the history of the World 9-ball Championship that a player from Myanmar has made it to the knockout rounds.

Die hard Filipino fans need not worry, however, as seven other Pinoys passed the grade and made it through to the knockout rounds.  On Monday, veteran Warren Kiamco, Roland Garcia, and Qatar based Israel Rota and Francisco Felicilda all won handily to punch their tickets to the Final 64.  There they’ll join Carlo Biado, Jeffrey De Luna and Jeffrey Ignacio in the quest for pool glory. A Filipino has not won the World 9-ball Championship since legend Francisco Bustamante pulled off the feat here in Doha in 2010.

In terms of numbers via country, the Taiwanese are the clear winners at this point.  10 Taiwanese make up the final 64, including world number one Chang Jung Lin, and 2015 World 9-ball Champion Ko Pin Yi. The pressure of Judgement Day certainly didn’t affect the Taiwanese as four players made it through including Lo Li Wen, Nien Rong Chih, Hsieh Chia Chen and Yu Li Si. The only Taiwanese player not to make it through yesterday was Cheng  Yu Hsuan, who just happened to be up against a compatriot, Lo Li Wen.

The Polish side has been quietly putting in a stellar performance in this year’s championship with six Poles qualifying for the final 64.  On Monday, players from Poland stepped up big time, going 4-1 for their best performance perhaps ever. Winners included Mateusz Sniegocki, Mieszko Fortunski, Wojciech Szewczyk, and Wiktor Zielinski. Zielinkski, it should be noted, is just 16 years old and is one of the rising stars on the European pool playing circuit, having recently won a Euro Tour event.

The Chinese team also cashed in their chips on Monday with four out of six   winning and going through.  Team China will have 5 players competing for the title starting today. One noted player who will not be among them, however, is former World 9-ball Champion, Wu Jiaqing. Wu fell to 21 year old Swede Daniel Tangudd, 9-5 and was eliminated from the event.  

Prominent Europeans who made it through on Monday include two time World 9-ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, 2015 World 9-ball Champion Niels Feijen, Spain’s David Alcaide, and Russia’s Ruslan Chinakhov.

One player that seems to have caught the eye of many fans around the world is Canada’s John Morra. Two years ago Morra was a definite rising star in the pool world, and proved it by reaching the quarterfinals at the World 9-ball Championship in Doha in 2015. Morra then briefly stepped away from the game only to return with a renewed hunger for the winner’s circle.  Several months back he won the Canadian 9-ball championship which won him a paid trip to Doha. Yesterday, Morra  took down Argentina’s Arial Castro, 9-6, to advance to the knockout rounds. Nobody in the pool  world would be surprised if the talented Canadian makes some serious noise over the next few days.

“Today I played pretty well,” a refreshed looking Morra said after qualifying. “I’m over the jet lag and I feel pretty well. The last few months I’ve been playing really well. I’ve been traveling all over the US. I got in some big money matches.  I got the hunger back. I had lost it last year.  I didn’t feel like playing the game.  I had problems in my neck and I was stressed. I’m an emotional player.  But right now I feel great and I’m motivated.   I feel I can go all the way.”

Play in the round of 64 begins at 10am Doha time(GMT +3.) The round of 64 and 32 will be played today, with 16 players remaining at the end of the three sessions.

All matches will be race to 11, alternate break. The final on Thursday will be a race to 13, alternate break.

Live stream:  http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/video_new.php?stol=1

Live scoring: http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/tsnew.php

Complete Brackets:  http://esnooker.pl/turnieje/2017/w9bc/en/show_drabinka.php?id_t=197

The players will compete on Wiraka DYNASTY  Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament  Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.

The 2017 World 9-ball Championship is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and was sanctioned by the The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

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

Visit the official website of the WPA at www.wpapool.com

  Results Day 3 All Matches Do or Die Group 1 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) 9 – 3 Jorge Llanos (ARG) Francisco Felicilda (PHI) 9 – 1 Takhti Zarekani (IRA)

Group 2 Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 9 – 7 Hassan Zeraatgar (IRA) Maung Maung (MYA) 9 – 3 Johann Chua (PHI)

Group 3 Bader Alawadhi (KUW) 9 – 7 (KOR) Woo Seung Ryu (KOR) 9 – 5 Muzammil Hussain (QAT)

Group 4 Dang Jinhu (CHN) 9 – 0 Majed Alazmi (KUW) Warren Kiamco (PHI) 9 – 6 Teck Goh Chin (SIN)

Group 5 Niels Feijen (NED) 9 – 6 Fawaz Al Rashedi (KUW) Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) 9 – 7 Luu Minh Phuc (VIE)

Group 6 Kong Dejing (CHN) 9 – 5 Han Haoxiang (CHN) Ahmad Naiem (JOR) 9 – 8 Damianos Giallourakis (GRE)

Group 7 Roland Garcia (PHI) 9 – 6 Mohammad Berjawi (LEB) Maksim Dudanets (RUS) 9 – Yukio Akagariyama (JPN)

Group 8 Lo Li Wen  (TPE) 9 – 6 Cheng  Yu Hsuan  (TPE) Wiktor Zielinski (POL) 9 – 8 Mario He (AUT)

Group 9 Nien Rong Chih  (TPE) 9 – 8 Mohammadali Pordel (IRA) Hsieh Chia Chen (TPE) 9 – 3 Fedor Gorst (RUS)

Group 10 Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) 9 – 5 Ali Alobaidli (QAT) Nguyen Anh Tuan (VIE) 9 – 7 Ralf Souquet (GER)

Group 11 Chu Bingjie (CHN) 9 – 1 Waleed Majid (QAT) Hiroshi Takenaka (JPN) 9 -8 Sebastian Ludwig (GER)

Group 12 Md Al Amin (BAN) 9 – 0 Mhanaa Alobaidli (QAT) David Alcaide (ESP) 9 – 5 Henrique Correia (POR)

Group 13 Xu Xiao Cong (CHN) 9 – 8 Denis Grabe (EST) Samuel Santos (POR) 9 – 4 Richard Halladay (RSA)

Group 14 Yu Li Si (TPE) 9 – 6 Abdulkhizar Hasanin (IRQ) Thorsten Hohmann (GER) 9 – 7 Petri Makkonen (FIN)

Group 15 Daniel Tangudd (SWE) 9 – 5 Wu Jiaqing (CHN) John Morra (CAN) 9 – 6 Ariel Castro (ARG)

Group 16 Israel Rota (PHI) 9 – 4 Andre Lackner (GER) Abdullah Alyusef (KUW) 9 – 3 Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL)

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Abdullah Alyusef, Ahmad Naiem, All Matches Do or Die, Bader Alawadhi, Chu BingJie, Dang Jinhu, Daniel Tangudd, David Alcaide, Francisco Felicilda, Hiroshi Takenaka, Hsieh Chia Chen, Israel Rota, John Morra, Kong Dejing, Lo Li Wen, Maksim Dudanets, Mateusz Sniegocki, Maung Maung, Md Al Amin, Mieszko Fortunski, Nguyen Anh Tuan, Niels Feijen, Nien Rong Chih, Results Day 3, Roland Garcia, Ruslan Chinakhov, Samuel Santos, Thorsten Hohmann, Warren Kiamco, Wiktor Zielinski, Wojciech Szewczyk, Woo Seung Ryu, Xu Xiao Cong, Yu Li Si - Independent

New Post on http://thepoolscene.com/?p=22709

Day 3 Report from the World 9-ball Championship

IT’S ALL BUSINESS FROM HERE ON IN

The final 64 single elimination field is set for a sprint to the World 9-ball crown.

By Ted Lerner WPA Press Officer Photos courtesy of Bo Bader

(Doha, Qatar)–It’s time to get down to the serious business end of things in Doha, as the field of 128 has been cut in half after three days of group play at the 2017 World 9-ball Championship.  From here the remaining 64 players will engage in a three day sprint to pool’s most prestigious title. Whoever wins six straight matches will be crowned the new WPA World 9-ball Champion on December 14th.

There was no escaping the tension on Monday inside the cavernous Al Arabi Sports Club as all 32 matches played were do-or-die. “Judgment Day” as it’s known in pool circles always brings out the drama as players, many of them who could just as easily find themselves lifting the title, scramble for their pool playing lives trying to escape the always dreaded group stages. One single roll of the ball could spell the difference between total disaster and a life changing run at glory.

Myanmar’s Maung Maung is not one player pool fans would expect to be a serious contender over the next few days. But the 23 year old ex-snooker player, who has lived and practiced in Beijing, China for the last three years, certainly turned some heads yesterday with a scintillating performance against the Philippines talented Johann Chua. Chua, who recently won the All Japan Championship in Osaka a few weeks back, is one Filipino player many fans thought might make a run at the title this year. But the sharp shooting Pinoy never had a chance as Maung cruised to an impressive 9-3 win. It’s the first time in the history of the World 9-ball Championship that a player from Myanmar has made it to the knockout rounds.

Die hard Filipino fans need not worry, however, as seven other Pinoys passed the grade and made it through to the knockout rounds.  On Monday, veteran Warren Kiamco, Roland Garcia, and Qatar based Israel Rota and Francisco Felicilda all won handily to punch their tickets to the Final 64.  There they’ll join Carlo Biado, Jeffrey De Luna and Jeffrey Ignacio in the quest for pool glory. A Filipino has not won the World 9-ball Championship since legend Francisco Bustamante pulled off the feat here in Doha in 2010.

In terms of numbers via country, the Taiwanese are the clear winners at this point.  10 Taiwanese make up the final 64, including world number one Chang Jung Lin, and 2015 World 9-ball Champion Ko Pin Yi. The pressure of Judgement Day certainly didn’t affect the Taiwanese as four players made it through including Lo Li Wen, Nien Rong Chih, Hsieh Chia Chen and Yu Li Si. The only Taiwanese player not to make it through yesterday was Cheng  Yu Hsuan, who just happened to be up against a compatriot, Lo Li Wen.

The Polish side has been quietly putting in a stellar performance in this year’s championship with six Poles qualifying for the final 64.  On Monday, players from Poland stepped up big time, going 4-1 for their best performance perhaps ever. Winners included Mateusz Sniegocki, Mieszko Fortunski, Wojciech Szewczyk, and Wiktor Zielinski. Zielinkski, it should be noted, is just 16 years old and is one of the rising stars on the European pool playing circuit, having recently won a Euro Tour event.

The Chinese team also cashed in their chips on Monday with four out of six   winning and going through.  Team China will have 5 players competing for the title starting today. One noted player who will not be among them, however, is former World 9-ball Champion, Wu Jiaqing. Wu fell to 21 year old Swede Daniel Tangudd, 9-5 and was eliminated from the event.  

Prominent Europeans who made it through on Monday include two time World 9-ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, 2015 World 9-ball Champion Niels Feijen, Spain’s David Alcaide, and Russia’s Ruslan Chinakhov.

One player that seems to have caught the eye of many fans around the world is Canada’s John Morra. Two years ago Morra was a definite rising star in the pool world, and proved it by reaching the quarterfinals at the World 9-ball Championship in Doha in 2015. Morra then briefly stepped away from the game only to return with a renewed hunger for the winner’s circle.  Several months back he won the Canadian 9-ball championship which won him a paid trip to Doha. Yesterday, Morra  took down Argentina’s Arial Castro, 9-6, to advance to the knockout rounds. Nobody in the pool  world would be surprised if the talented Canadian makes some serious noise over the next few days.

“Today I played pretty well,” a refreshed looking Morra said after qualifying. “I’m over the jet lag and I feel pretty well. The last few months I’ve been playing really well. I’ve been traveling all over the US. I got in some big money matches.  I got the hunger back. I had lost it last year.  I didn’t feel like playing the game.  I had problems in my neck and I was stressed. I’m an emotional player.  But right now I feel great and I’m motivated.   I feel I can go all the way.”

Play in the round of 64 begins at 10am Doha time(GMT +3.) The round of 64 and 32 will be played today, with 16 players remaining at the end of the three sessions.

All matches will be race to 11, alternate break. The final on Thursday will be a race to 13, alternate break.

Live stream:  http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/video_new.php?stol=1

Live scoring: http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/tsnew.php

Complete Brackets:  http://esnooker.pl/turnieje/2017/w9bc/en/show_drabinka.php?id_t=197

The players will compete on Wiraka DYNASTY  Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament  Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.

The 2017 World 9-ball Championship is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and was sanctioned by the The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.

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

Visit the official website of the WPA at www.wpapool.com

  Results Day 3 All Matches Do or Die Group 1 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) 9 – 3 Jorge Llanos (ARG) Francisco Felicilda (PHI) 9 – 1 Takhti Zarekani (IRA)

Group 2 Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 9 – 7 Hassan Zeraatgar (IRA) Maung Maung (MYA) 9 – 3 Johann Chua (PHI)

Group 3 Bader Alawadhi (KUW) 9 – 7 (KOR) Woo Seung Ryu (KOR) 9 – 5 Muzammil Hussain (QAT)

Group 4 Dang Jinhu (CHN) 9 – 0 Majed Alazmi (KUW) Warren Kiamco (PHI) 9 – 6 Teck Goh Chin (SIN)

Group 5 Niels Feijen (NED) 9 – 6 Fawaz Al Rashedi (KUW) Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) 9 – 7 Luu Minh Phuc (VIE)

Group 6 Kong Dejing (CHN) 9 – 5 Han Haoxiang (CHN) Ahmad Naiem (JOR) 9 – 8 Damianos Giallourakis (GRE)

Group 7 Roland Garcia (PHI) 9 – 6 Mohammad Berjawi (LEB) Maksim Dudanets (RUS) 9 – Yukio Akagariyama (JPN)

Group 8 Lo Li Wen  (TPE) 9 – 6 Cheng  Yu Hsuan  (TPE) Wiktor Zielinski (POL) 9 – 8 Mario He (AUT)

Group 9 Nien Rong Chih  (TPE) 9 – 8 Mohammadali Pordel (IRA) Hsieh Chia Chen (TPE) 9 – 3 Fedor Gorst (RUS)

Group 10 Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) 9 – 5 Ali Alobaidli (QAT) Nguyen Anh Tuan (VIE) 9 – 7 Ralf Souquet (GER)

Group 11 Chu Bingjie (CHN) 9 – 1 Waleed Majid (QAT) Hiroshi Takenaka (JPN) 9 -8 Sebastian Ludwig (GER)

Group 12 Md Al Amin (BAN) 9 – 0 Mhanaa Alobaidli (QAT) David Alcaide (ESP) 9 – 5 Henrique Correia (POR)

Group 13 Xu Xiao Cong (CHN) 9 – 8 Denis Grabe (EST) Samuel Santos (POR) 9 – 4 Richard Halladay (RSA)

Group 14 Yu Li Si (TPE) 9 – 6 Abdulkhizar Hasanin (IRQ) Thorsten Hohmann (GER) 9 – 7 Petri Makkonen (FIN)

Group 15 Daniel Tangudd (SWE) 9 – 5 Wu Jiaqing (CHN) John Morra (CAN) 9 – 6 Ariel Castro (ARG)

Group 16 Israel Rota (PHI) 9 – 4 Andre Lackner (GER) Abdullah Alyusef (KUW) 9 – 3 Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL)

[thepoolscene]

The Pool Scene - Wiktor Zielinski - Euro-Tour

New Post on http://thepoolscene.com/?p=22611

16-year-old Zielinski snatches the title in Treviso

The winner of the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open 2017 is 16-year-old Wiktor Zielinski (POL). In the final match, he outclassed his opponent Mario He (AUT) 9:1.

Wiktor Zielinski (POL), youngest Euro-Tour winner ever

  The final event of the 2017 Euro-Tour series has a sensational winner. He is probably the youngest and also fastest player to ever win a Euro-Tour event. So far, Zielinski’s best achievement in the Euro-Tour was a 5th place finish in Albufeira, Portugal, earlier this year. Here in Treviso, Zielinski started his quest with a 9:5 victory over his teammate Piotr Ostrowski (POL). His next victim was Gentjan Gega (ALB) 9:6. Then, he was defeated by Stefan Huber (AUT) 6:9 and sent to the loser’s side. Zielinski finished Jakub Koniar (SVK) 9:5 to get to the single elimination stage. In the round of the last 32 players, Zielinski wiped the floor with Abdulrahman Alammar (KSA) 9:1. Then, he outplayed local hero Daniele Corrieri (ITA) who had also played a strong tournament until then. In the quarter-final, Zielinski eliminated former World Champion Daryl Peach (GBR) 9:5. Said Peach on Facebook: „I lost 9:5 to Wiktor Zielinski from Poland in the quarterfinal so that’s a 5th place finish for me. He played excellent and I didn’t see a shot until 5:0 down, I battled back but it was a lot to ask. Watch out for this kid, he is 16 years old and an unreal talent in the game…. yeah another up and coming star from European pool.“ Peach was dead right with this estimation. In the semi-final, Zielinski took down Denis Grabe (EST) 9:2, winning nine consecutive racks against the Estonian. Then he got to the final match against Mario He. The Austrian also played pretty strong so far and he had an impressive list of opponents who he had taken down here in Treviso this time. Maksim Dudanets (RUS), Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, Niels Feijen (NED) and Eklent Kaci (ALB) were all ousted by He. The expectations for the final match were a bit in favour of Mario He since he was the more experienced player by far. So far, he has achieved one victory, one runner-up and 4 third places on the Euro-Tour. Today, the final match was a one man show by Zielinski only. He demolished Mario He 9:1 in a final match that only lasted 23 minutes !! Probably that was the fastest final in the history of the Euro-Tour. „I practiced very hard for this“, stated Zielinski after the match, „ and I’m so happy now that it is hard for me to express my happiness in words“, he added. This victory is for the record book in two aspects: the youngest winner and the fastest final match ever.

Top Eight Players 1. Wiktor Zielinski POL 2. Mario He AUT 3. Denis Grabe EST Eklent Kaci ALB 5. Albin Ouschan AUT Daryl Peach GBR Niels Feijen NED Aleka Pecelj SRB

As for the final rankings of 2017, Ralf Souquet (GER) has taken the lead position over from David Alcaide (ESP) who dropped three places. Souquet is the only player who has won two events in 2017. The two Austrian powerhouses Mario He and Albin Ouschan are right on Souquet’s heels.

Top Ten Euro-Tour rankings 1. Ralf Souquet GER 2. Mario He AUT 3. Albin Ouschan AUT 4. David Alcaide ESP 5. Nick van den Berg NED 6. Denis Grabe EST 7. Niels Feijen NED 8. Ruslan Chinakhov RUS 9. Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz ESP 10. Wiktor Zielinski POL

That concludes the coverage from the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open 2017. The next event to be covered will be the Dynamic Billard Italian Open in March 2018.

The event was hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.com  visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.