Robbie Capito of Hong Kong Click the image to view the full size photograph (use "back" to return here)
17 Year Old Hong Kong Native Capito Stuns Kaci To Reach Final 16
By Ted Lerner
WPA Media Officer *Photo of Robbie Capito courtesy of Dream Sport Management
Up until the very last moments of the round of 32 today, this year’s World 9-ball Championship was notable for its lack of upsets that always seem to be a hallmark of this annual 9-ball extravaganza. That is until Robbie Capito decided he wasn’t going away quietly.
Robbie Capito? Yeah, don’t be surprised that you haven’t heard of him. Not many outside of his native Hong Kong have. But this cool headed and fearless 17 year old of Filipino descent pulled off what is easily the biggest upset of this year’s championship, and one of the biggest we have seen in years here in Doha, when he came back from certain defeat and took down the world number one, Klenti Kaci, 11-10, to move into the final 16.
Only minutes before, Capito looked like he would be exiting the Al Arabi Sports Club as unknown as he was when entered at the start of his match. He trailed the mighty Albanian 7-1. He then slowly clawed his way back into the match, but it didn’t quite seem enough. Down 10-8, surely the steady Kaci would close out the match and move into the round of 16 on Wednesday.
Capito, who had earlier defeated Lebanon’s Mazen Berjaoui in the round of 64, never gave up, and he tied the score at 10 all. Breaking in the final frame and clearly under duress, he held his nerve and closed out the rack to notch an unlikely win, and an even more unlikely spot in the final 16 at the World 9-ball Championship.
Capito, who speaks four languages and is still in high school, will now go on to face Germany’s Joshua Filler when the tournament resumes on Wednesday.(the tournament will have a day off on Tuesday as Qatar celebrates its National Day.) The Hong Kong native will have to reach into his bag of tricks to stop the flashy young German, as Filler has looked unstoppable so far. The German played his trade marked fast and loose style in two easy wins so far, first against Greece’s Nikolas Malaj and then Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Tuan.
If you like the youth movement in pool, you certainly want to pay attention to another 17 year old who has been turning heads this week. Like Capito, Poland’s Wiktor Zielinski is still in high school and can boast world class talent. The young Pole proudly displayed his formidable wares today in two solid wins, first against fellow Pole Tomasz Kaplan, and then the Philippines Johann Chua.
It will surely be fascinating to watch how Zielinski handles the likes of Albin Ouschan in the round of 16. The Austrian, who won this event in 2016, is playing top notch pool and looks impervious to the pressure. Ouschan’s two strong wins today showed he has the goods to go all the way this year.
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Van Boening, Other Top Stars Cruise On Day One In Doha
Shane Van Boening has never won a World 9-ball Championship. He did, of course, come ever so close, finishing runner up in 2015, and 2016. After skipping last year’s championship, however, there is a palpable sense in Doha that the American star is absolutely destined to finally grab the world crown in 2018.
Interestingly there are eight former World 9-ball Champions in this year’s field, all of them still highly capable of pulling off the impossible feat yet again. But nobody is yet talking about them. It’s the moniker â€SVB’ who is on everyone’s lips.
Van Boening has admitted that he is playing his best pool perhaps ever. After a grueling six month training regime, he led Team USA to a thrilling victory in the Mosconi Cup last week. He showed up in Doha saying he intends to win, and that he is playing with zero pressure on his shoulders.
Fans in Doha, and the pro pool community itself seem to agree something is afoot. While most players played in the relative obscure quiet of the cavernous Al Arabi Sports Club on day 1 of this year’s championship, Van Boening’s time in the arena today actually drew a fair amount of watchers. Everyone and anyone who likes pro pool around here seems to feel something special is afoot.
The American didn’t disappoint in his first outing, as he crushed Poland’s Marek Kudlik 9-1. Good breaking, solid potting, deft safeties all showed up in Van Boening’s arsenal today. Combined with his quiet confidence, SVB laid down an early marker stating that nothing short of victory in Doha will suffice.
As all 128 players saw action on the first day of the 2018 World 9-ball Championship, it’s clear, though, that Van Boening will have plenty of serious contenders just as eager and capable of taking the crown on December 20. This year’s field is positively stacked with ferocious talent, both young and not so young. With the Wiraka tables breaking fairly easily—wing ball down, 1 in or near the side pocket—it’s all going to come down to who can handle the almost impossible pressure. Pool fans are in for a real treat over the next six days.
Carlo Biado of the Philippines Click the image to view the full size photograph (use "back" to return here)
It’s Anyone’s Game In Doha
One of the toughest fields in years is set to do battle as the 2018 World 9-ball Championship kicks off in Doha, Qatar, Friday.
By Ted Lerner
WPA Press Officer
Photos Courtesy of Bo Bader
After the raucous excitement of the Mosconi Cup last week in London, the pool world is now braced for a completely different kind of intense and nervy action, as the 2018 WPA World 9-ball Championship gets underway Friday at the Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha, Qatar.
If past years are any measure, there won’t be huge crowds in Doha. But, still, fans will be treated to an incredibly explosive field of the world’s very best pool players doing battle to see who will be crowned king of the 9-ball universe.
This will be the 9th straight year that the tiny Gulf country, through the government sanctioned Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation(QBSF), has put its full backing behind the sport of pool’s most important event.
As is standard, the tournament will be run in two brutally difficult parts. The group stages will run from Dec. 14-17. The players will be broken up into 16 groups of 8 playing a race-to-9, alternate break, double elimination format. Four players from each group will make up the final 64, which marks the start of the always tense and dramatic single elimination phase of the tournament. Matches will then become race to 11, alternate break. The final, which takes place on December 20, will be a race to 13.
The defending champion is the Philippines' Carlo Biado, who became the first Filipino since Francisco Bustamante in 2010, and the fourth Filipino ever, to win the World 9-ball Championship. Biado won his first world title with a convincing win over fellow Filipino Roland Garcia in the final.
Only eight Filipinos make up a somewhat smallish contingent this year but we can rightfully expect one or more to go far in the event. Besides Biado, Pinoy cue fans should look out for Garcia. Just a few days ago the Pampanga native stormed through a stacked field of great Pinoy cueists to win the Manny Pacquiao Open in General Santos, Philippines. With a second place finish last year, and a hot hand this year, Garcia certainly looks like he has the goods to go all the way.
It seems most fans have their eye on the USA’s Shane Van Boening, and for very good reason. After Van Boening pocketed the winning 9-ball in last week’s Mosconi Cup in London, he has admitted that he has arrived in Doha literally brimming with confidence, and is playing under absolutely no pressure. And don’t forget, while Van Boening skipped last year’s event, in both 2015 and 2016 he lost in the finals. It’s no wonder that odds makers have made the American star their betting favorite.
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9 Ball Money Matches - Live Streaming
On December 15th, Elite 8 Ball TV will be going live from Allstars Sports Bar Bristol where they are broadcasting some 9 Ball and 10 Ball pool money matches.
Check out the poster for full details of the games and get yourselves along to Allstars to watch the event live if you are able as this is set to be a hell of a day culminating in some hardcore action in the headline game at 7pm!
Elite 8 Ball TV will be joined by fresh commentators from the world of American pool including the brains behind the event Mr Chris Patient.
Allstars Bristol has no less than 4 full size Snooker tables (2 in private areas) as well as 9 Sam K Steel American Pool tables, and 12 Supreme Winner English Pool tables.
Every table uses state of the art 450watt Luminaire low profile lights for unrivalled lighting quality, and they also got 2 Joy Chinese 8ball tables for those that want to try them.
Other entertainments include a Poker Machine, a Boxing Machine, 4 Dart Boards with electronic scoreboards, and Table Football... So either get down to the club on 15th December and or watch the live stream for a terrific day of pool action.
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Europe 9 – 11 USA
Match 16 Albin Ouschan 4 – 5 Skyler Woodward
Match 17 Jayson Shaw 5 – 3 Tyler Styer
Match 18 Niels Feijen 5 – 1 Corey Deuel
Match 19 Eklent Kaci 5 – 2 Billy Thorpe
Match 20 Alex Kazakis 3 – 5 Shane van Boening
THE partypoker MOSCONI CUP has changed hands for the first time in eight years as Team USA enjoyed a thrilling and dramatic 11-9 victory at the Alexandra Palace tonight. The last time they lifted the Cup was as long ago as 2009 and it was the same man – Shane Van Boening – who deposited the final 9 ball with a 3/9 combination to beat Alexander Kazakis and win the Cup.
For Van Boening it was his second MC win in 12 starts as his combo secured victory; “I’ve never felt so much pressure in my whole life, it was a guess shot! All those years struggling and we’ve finally won. I’m so proud of these guys and all the fans out there.”
“It means a lot to me. We worked hard together and I learned a lot from all these guys and have become a better player. We all get along and respect each other and the other team and that is important and that’s why we won, through working hard together.”
Match 12: Alexander Kazakis 3 – 5 Skyler Woodward
Match 13: Feijen & Kaçi 5 – 4 Deuel & Styer
Match 14: Jayson Shaw 4 – 5 Skyler Woodward
Match 15: Ouschan & Kazakis 5 – 1 Thorpe & Van Boening
TEAM USA are just two points away from winning the partypoker Mosconi Cup for the first time since 2009 as they won their third session in a row following a hard-fought evening at the Alexandra Palace. Incredibly, 2005 at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, was the last time that the USA had won three sessions in a row at the Mosconi Cup.
Having not won for such a long time, America were understandably massive outsiders at the outset of the event but now stand on the brink of a stunning upset as the galvanised team played with heart, grit and a huge amount of skill.
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Europe 4 – 6 USA
Match 6 Jayson Shaw 5 - 2 Shane van Boening
Match 7 Feijen & Kazakis 3 - 5 Woodward & Van Boening
Match 8 Albin Ouschan 5 - 3 Corey Deuel
Match 9 Kaci & Shaw 2 - 5 Thorpe & Styer
Match 10 Eklent Kaci 3 – 5 Billy Thorpe
THERE WAS more drama on Wednesday evening at the Alexandra Palace as the partypoker Mosconi Cup continued with five more matches. In the end it was another 3-2 session win for Team USA and at the half-way stage, the seemingly impossible American victory is now a possibility.
USA captain Johan Ruijsink said, “After the first match we showed we were a team by picking up the next point immediately and get back in the lead.
“It was a nervous day because it was important that if we won two days, and I know a lot of people wouldn’t have thought this before we started, but we now actually have a chance to win the Mosconi Cup.
“That’s how important it was. We don’t care what they do, we don’t care what the audience does, we don’t care about anybody, we just care about us,” he added.
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Europe 2 – 3 USA
Match 1 Europe 5 – 4 USA
Match 2 Ouschan & Shaw 5 – 1 Thorpe & Woodward
Match 3 Niels Feijen 3 – 5 Tyler Styer
Match 4 Kaci & Kazakis 1 – 5 Van Boening & Deuel
Match 5 Jayson Shaw 0 – 5 Shane van Boening
In a thrilling night of pool at Alexandra Palace, Team USA got the better of things to run out 3-2 leaders after the first day of the 25th annual partypoker Mosconi Cup. Lead by former European team captain Johan Ruijsink and his trusted lieutenant Jeremy Jones, the Americans showed plenty of resolve to fight back from 2-0 down in some intimidating conditions at the iconic London venue.
Marcus Chamat, the European captain, will have his mettle tested tomorrow as he attempts to revive his team’s fortunes after a sobering second half of the evening where his team won only four of the 19 racks played.
Ruijsink said, “At 2-0 down I wasn’t panicking; we didn’t really get that many chances. If we did get a chance, though, I knew we’d do better because we’d done better these last couple of weeks and months.”
Posted by admin on Saturday, December 01 2018 @ 13:17:55 UTC (45 reads)
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Snooker Supports Paris 2024 Olympic Bid
Billiard sports launched its bid to become part of the Paris 2024 Olympic Sports programme today at a special ceremony at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Hosted by the Billiards 2024 Committee and supported by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) and World Snooker, the event represents a significant milestone billiard sports’ bid for inclusion at the Paris 2024 Games.
Billiard sports previously applied to join the Olympic programme for the Tokyo 2020 Games and three years on is in a significantly stronger position to be successful as cuesports continue to grow globally.
The first step to securing Olympic status for 2024 was taken earlier this year by the World Confederation of Billiard Sports (WCBS), the umbrella organisation representing snooker, billiards and carom, when the formal submission for billiard sports to be included as an additional sport at the Paris Games was made with the full cooperation of the FFB.
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