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2015 WPA World 9-Ball Championships
Qatar Billiards & Snooker Federation
Al Sadd Sports Club
Al Sadd Street
Sport Roundabout
Doha
Qatar
www.qbsf.qa - facebook - live stream - brackets
www.wpa-pool.com - Twitter - facebook
www.kozoom.com

Monday - Friday 7 - 18 September 2015

Photography courtesy of �Richard Walker - used by Pro9 with express permission
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Qatar's Mishel Turkey saves the day while South Korea's Ryu Seang Woo stuns defending champion Niels Feijen at the wire to advance to the Final 64 at the World 9-ball Championship.

Ryu Seang Woo has about as unassuming a personality as you can find in pool. So when the low key 30 year old South Korean found himself down 5-1, then 8-5 in a race to 9 to the defending World 9-ball Champion Niels Feijen, nobody in the Al Arabi Sports Club gave Ryu even a sliver of a chance to pull off the shocking upset against the fiery Dutchman.

But this was Judgement Day at the 2015 World 9-ball Championship, when strange and amazing things happen. On this day a single millimeter roll of the ball, or a funny kick can change lives and careers. You might go through to the Final 64 knockout stages--where from there it�s six wins to pool history-- or you could just as easily find yourself heading for the exits in a state of depression, having never made it out of the group stages.

And so it was that Ryu showed he has a lion�s fortitude that belies his soft demeanor. The Korean battled to 8-7 down, then found himself in jail courtesy of a lockdown safety by Feijen. Ryu looked finished, until he hit the shot of his life, a full table kick on the 1-ball that caromed off the 7-ball and into the pocket. Ryu ran the balls to tie, then stood up, battled the unbearable tension, and broke and ran for the stunning 9-8 win and an unlikely spot in the Final 64 knockout stage.

�This is really unbelievable, so unbelievable,� Ryu said shaking his head in disbelief as a shell shocked Feijen packed up his case and left the arena. �I just concentrated very hard every game. The important shot was the 1-ball when I was down 8-7. After I make that I think I have a chance. Beating the defending champion is really very amazing. I will never forget this game. But of course now I have to concentrate on my next match.�

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Photography courtesy of �Richard Walker - used by Pro9 with express permission
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While Ryu pulled off the upset of the tournament on Judgement Day, a far more obscure player brought out the biggest celebrations at the Al Arabi. Qatar�s Mishel Turkey entered his match against England�s Daryl Peach on the TV table today as the lone Qatari player left standing in this year�s world championship. Qatar�s two most prominent players, Waleed Majid and Bashar Hussain, had been eliminated earlier in the day and the hopes of the host nation rested on an unknown 19 year old, who spends most of his time these days serving in the Qatari army.

Turkey, however, turned what looked to be certain misery for the hosts into sheer delight. The youngster played the match of his life, while former world champion Peach never got untracked. Turkey held fast and won going away, 9-4. He is now the lone Qatari to advance to the final 64 knockout stage.

�Daryl Peach is a big name. I try my best on the table and I won so I�m very happy,� Turkey said afterward as he was mobbed outside of the arena by members of the Qatar billiard community. The youngster revealed that one of the keys to his sudden rise in pool was joining the army early in 2015 and shedding a whopping 35 kilos(77lbs.)

�This year I really improved and I feel more confident that I can win on the table,� Turkey said. �Before when I played, I�m scared, but after joining the army I lost a lot of weight and I feel so much stronger. Today I took my time and I walked around the table and I was thinking very clear. I�m still an unknown player and I don�t have a lot of experience. It�s an honor to be the one to represent Qatar. I don�t want to think how far I can go in this tournament. All I can say is that I will try my best. I will always try my best.�

Photography courtesy of �Richard Walker - used by Pro9 with express permission
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The surprise results kept coming throughout the day. When it was over, the last 64 standing represented what is one of the most diverse and wide open fields pool has seen in years. New names and new countries, combined with plenty of familiar faces promises to make the run for pool�s biggest prize over the next three days not only dramatic, but fascinating as well.

The Philippines leads the way with nine players making the grade. Next up is Taiwan with eight players having qualified. China brings six of its players to the knockout stage, while four Japanese qualified. Poland has looked very strong and has three players in the final 64. And the USA, the ancestral home of this game, has, for the first time in many years, three players in the knockout round.

Photography courtesy of �Richard Walker - used by Pro9 with express permission
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World number one Albin Ouschan of Austria very nearly didn�t get through as he was pushed to the limit by Indonesia�s Irsan Nasution. Ouschan, who recently became a father just two weeks ago, didn�t seem to have the fire in him today but he prevailed 9- 8.

Holland will now be without two of its familiar names as veteran Nick Van den Berg joined Feijen at the exit door as he fell to Russia�s Rusland Chinakov, 9-4. Dutch fans, however, will not be left out in the cold as two of their young up and coming players, Marc Bijsterbosch and Marco Teutscher, both qualified.

Photography courtesy of �Richard Walker - used by Pro9 with express permission
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Spanish veteran Francisco Diaz-Pizarro notched one of the biggest wins of his career, as he eliminated former two-time world champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, 9-4.England�s Darren Appleton drew a relatively light opponent in Bangladhesh�s Sinha Fahim, winning easily 9-2. But Appleton�s World Cup doubles partner will be missing from the knockout rounds for the first time in many years. Karl Boyes and two time former champion Fong Pang Chao of Taiwan went toe to toe before the Taiwanese veteran pounced on several glaring errors by the Brit, and booked his spot in the knockout round with a 9-7 win.

The Philippines Johan Chua finally got on track with a gritty win over the always strong Chang Jung Lin of Taiwan. Veterans Warren Kiamco and Lee Vann Corteza played well and made it to the business end of the tournament.

All matches will now be race to 11, alternate break, single elimination through to the semi-finals. The final will be a race to 13. The round of 64 will take place on Wednesday, while the rounds of 32, 16 and the quarterfinals will be held on Thursday. The semi-finals and final will be held on Friday.

2015 WPA WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
DOHA - QATAR
THE GROUP STAGE RESULTS
Winners qualify for the Final 64. Losers are out of the tournament Group 1 Albin Ouschan(AUT) 9 � 8 Irsan Afrinneza Nasution(INA) Hunter Lombardo(USA) 9 � 8 Bashar Hussain(QAT)
Group 2 Kuribayashi Tohru(JPN) 9 - 8 Radoslaw Babica(POL) Marc Bijsterbosch(NED) 9 � 8 Abdullah Al Yousef(KUW)
Group 3 Yang Ching Shun(TPE) 9 � 5Rasekhi Medhi(IRI) Justin Campbell(AUS) 9 � 5 Waleed Majid(QAT)
Group 4 Zhou Long(CHN) 9 � 5 Mohammad Saeed(QAT) Marco Teutscher(NED) 9 � 3 Pordel Mohammadali(IRI)
Group 5 Warren Kiamco(PHL) 9 � 6 Shannon Ducharme(CAN) Oliver Medenilla(PHL) 9 � 6 Vegar Kristiansen(NOR)
Group 6 Johann Gonzales Chua(PHL) 9 � 6 Chang Jun Ling(TPE) Ralf Souquet(GER) 9 � 5 Ali Obaidly(QAT)
Group 7 Ruslan Chinakov(RUS) 9 � 4 Nick Van Den Berg(NED) Lee Van Corteza(PHL) 9- 2 Tom Teriault(CAN)
Group 8 Mishel Turkey(QAT) 9 � 4 Daryl Peach(GBR) Muhammad Bewi Simanjuntak(INA) 9 � 7 Daniele Corrieri(ITA)
Group 9 Denis Grabe(EST) 9 � 7 Oliver Ortmann(GER) Matey Ullah(NOR) 9 � 6 Zhu Xi He(CHN)
Group 10 Omran Salem(UAE) 9 � 7 Christopher Teves(PER) Cheng Yu Hsuan(TPE)9 � 6 Richard Jones(GBR)
Group 11 Mario He(AUT) 9 � 2 Hesam S.A. Abdulaziz(EGY) Toh Lian Han(SIN) 9 � 8 Chu Bing Jie(CHN)
Group 12 Ryu Seang Woo(KOR) 9 - 8 Niels Feijen(NED) Tomasz Kaplan(POL) 9 � 7 Francisco Felicilda(QAT-PH)
Group 13 Francisco Diaz-Pizarro(ESP) 9 � 4 Thorsten Hohmann(GER) Goh Chin Teck(SIN) 9 � 5 Hosain Sayeem(BAN)
Group 14 Liu Haitao(CHN) 9 � 5 Lo Ho Sum(HKG) Chao Fong Pang(TPE) 9 � 7 Karl Boyes(GBR)
Group 15 Andreas Gerwen(SWE) 9 � 7 Matt Edwards(NZL Jason Klatt(CAN) 9 � 2 Petri Makkonen(FIN)
Group 16 Darren Appleton(GBR) 9 � 2 Sinha Fahim(BAN) Aloisius Yapp(SIN) 9 � 5 Omar Alshaheen(KUW)
TOTAL PRIZE FUND = US $200,000

2015 WPA WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
DOHA - QATAR
THE LAST 64 DRAW
Raymund FARAON	0 : 0	Warren KIAMCO
Jalal YOUSEF	0 : 0	Zhou LONG
Carlo BIADO	0 : 0	Lee VAN CORTEZA
Ko PIN YI	0 : 0	Justin CAMPBELL
Mika IMMONEN	0 : 0	Goh CHIN TECK
Wu KUN LIN	0 : 0	Ryu SEANG WOO
John MORRA	0 : 0	Omran SALEM
Mark GRAY	0 : 0	Ralf SOUQUET
Oi NAOYUKI	0 : 0	Yapp ALOISIUS
Jeffrey IGNACIO	0 : 0	Jason KLATT
Imran MAJID	0 : 0	Liu HAITAO
Alexander KAZAKIS	0 : 0	Chao FONG
Antponio GABICA	0 : 0	Ruslan CHINAKHOV
Wang CAN	0 : 0	Kuribayashi TOHRU
Satoshi KAWABATA	0 : 0	Albin OUSCHAN
Wu JIA QING	0 : 0	Muhammad BEWI
Ko PIN CHUNG	0 : 0	Mario HE
Akagariyama YUKIO	0 : 0	Johann GONZALES CHUA
Li HEWEN	0 : 0	Denis GRABE
Mike DECHAINE	0 : 0	Cheng YU HSUAN
David ALCAIDE	0 : 0	Yang CHING SHUN
Abdulrahman AL AMAR	0 : 0	Toh LIAN HAN
Liu CHING CHIEH	0 : 0	Adreas GERWIN
Wojciech SZEWCZYK	0 : 0	Marco TEUTSCHER
Chang YU LUNG	0 : 0	Marc BIJSTERBOSCH
Karol SKOWERSKI	0 : 0	Oliver MEDENILLA
Shane VAN BOENING	0 : 0	Tomasz KAPLAN
Dan JIN HU	0 : 0	Francisco DIAZ PIZARRO
Mateusz SNIEGOCKI	0 : 0	Hunter LOMBARDO
Dennis ORCOLLO	0 : 0	Mishel TURKEY
Reuben BAUTISTA	0 : 0	Darren APPLETON
Nikos EKONOMOPOULOS	0 : 0	Matey ULLAH

2015 WPA WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
DOHA - QATAR
THE PRIZE FUND
1st	$ 30,000
2nd	$ 15,000
3rd ~ 4th	$ 7,500
5th ~ 8th	$ 5,000
9th ~ 16th	$ 3,000
17th ~ 32nd	$ 2,000
33rd ~ 64th	$ 1,500
65th ~ 96th	$ 500
97th ~ 128th	$ 0
TOTAL PRIZE FUND = US $200,000

WPA WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
THE WINNER'S LIST
1990 - 2015
1990	Earl Strickland	USA
1991	Earl Strickland	USA
1992	Johnny Archer	USA
1993	Fong-Pang Chao	TPE
1994	Takeshi Okumura	JPN
1995	Oliver Ortmann	GER
1996	Ralf Souquet	GER
1997	Johnny Archer	USA
1998	Kunihiko Takahashi	JPN
1999	Nick Varner	USA
1999	Efren Reyes	PHI
2000	Fong-Pang Chao	TPE
2001	Mika Immonen	FIN
2002	Earl Strickland	USA
2003	Thorsten Hohmann	GER
2004	Alex Pagulayan	CAN
2005	Chia-Ching Wu	TPE
2006	Ronnie Alcano	PHI
2007	Daryl Peach	GBR
2008	*Not held	---
2009	*Not held	---
2010	Francisco Bustamante	PHI
2011	Yukio Akakariyama	JPN
2012	Darren Appleton	GBR
2013	Thorsten Hohmann	GER
2014	Niels Feijen	NED
2015	---	---

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