SM City North EDSA Mall
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1-6 September 2009
Defending Champs USA Given Scare - Plucky Malta Falter at Final Hurdle
TEAM USA, who 12 months ago held the World Cup of Pool aloft in Rotterdam, Holland, edged their way into the last 16 of this year’s tournament following a heart-stopping victory over Malta at the SM Mall North Annex in Manila.
These two nations met at the 2007 World Cup and just like then, the Americans squeezed through by a single rack as the Maltese pairing of Tony Drago and Alex Borg fought them every step of the way and even found themselves breaking for the match.
Instead it was Rodney Morris and Shane Van Boening who clinched victory as Borg’s dry break allowed them to run out for the win.
There was nothing to separate them at 4-4 as the experienced pool player Drago coached his less seasoned team mate through some trickier moments. A break and run in the next followed by a fluked carom on the 9 saw the USA move into a 6-4 lead and when a missed bank shot in the next by Drago left the table on for the Americans, they moved comfortably to the hill.
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Some sloppy play from the USA though gave chances to Malta and they steamed through the next two to go 6-7 and when they took the next there was excitement in the arena as a massive upset looked on the cards.
It wasn’t to be though as a dry break sealed Maltese fate in a thrilling encounter. America now face Indonesia in the last 16.
“We’re just pleased to have won. I was in the team two years ago so I know what Tony and Alex can do. Hopefully things can get easier for us,” said a relieved Morris after the match.
In the final match of the day, home town heroes Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante, winners of the inaugural World Cup of Pool in Newport, Wales in 2006, made light work of Middle East hopes Qatar by 8-3 to advance to the next round.
Worshipped by a pool-loving nation, the dynamic duo may not be the youngest kids on the block in these parts but they still possess all the skill as well as plenty of experience to make them great contenders for this title.
The Qataris by contrast were a little overawed in front of a big crowd and live on TV, and they gifted their opponents plenty of chances. Trailing 7-1 after having won the opener, the boys from Qatar, Bashar Hussain and Mohammed Ali Bin Ali, showed some good play at the close of the match as they won two racks to gain some respectability.
“My partner played great he knows exactly what to do in every situation. At the beginning we were a bit scared but that’s what you have to do and we went out and did it,” said Bustamante.
Team Spain - David Alcaide and Rafael Guzman.
Photographs by Joseph Ventura and © Matchroom Sport.
Spain and Indonesia March On - India and Australia on Way Home
SPAIN, the 13th seeds at this year’s PartyCasino.net World Cup of Pool advanced to the second round as they overcame Australia 8-3 at the SM Mall North Annex as the pairing of David Alcaide and Rafael Guzman had too much for the seasoned Aussie duo of Greg Jenkins and Louis Condo.
The Australians had never won a match at the World Cup before and that miserable run continued despite them taking the opener. Spain took the next two games before Condo over-screwed the cueball down table and into the pocket to give the Spaniards ball-in-hand.
That advanced the score to 3-1 and looking in complete control, that soon became 4-1. They shared the next two before a Guzman mistake let the Aussies back in and at 5-3 down, they were back in it.
The next game was filled with errors with the last, a miss on the 8 ball from Condo, putting Spain right back in command. They secured the next two racks to take the match and set up a last 16 clash with either England or Malaysia.
Team Indonesia keep Team India in their seats.
Photographs by Joseph Ventura and © Matchroom Sport.
In the fourth match of the tournament, the happy-go-lucky Indonesian pair of Muhammad Simanjuntak and Muhammad Zulfikri had too much for India as they came out 8-3 winners in front of a full crowd at the Mall.
The Indian pair never really settled while the Indonesians rode their luck as they romped to victory.
Simanjuntuak said afterwards "I liked this match and we're very confident in this tournament. I know India played well, especially Raj Hundal, but maybe this score was a good one. This is a big tournament, this is the World Cup and everyone in our country would be happy if we win this."
Team France - Stephan Cohen and Vincent Faquet.
Photographs by Joseph Ventura and © Matchroom Sport.
France Hammer the Canadians
TEAM FRANCE, consisting of Stephan Cohen and Vincent Facquet, recorded the first win at the 2009 PartyCasino.net World Cup of Pool, as they brushed aside the challenge of Canada for a comfortable 8-1 victory.
A combination of solid play from the French and some mistakes from the Canadian duo of Tyler Edey and Jason Klatt saw France open up a 6-0 lead in the race to 8, winner breaks match.
A dry break in the seventh game gave Canada the opportunity to stop a whitewash and Edey duly dropped the 9 ball to save face but that was it as France took the required two racks to run out easy winners.
"We had a bit of luck but we also played well and had some good shots. When you're down 6-1, as Canada were, it is very difficult and the pressure can get to you, that's what happened when they missed the 9-ball but that's the way it goes," said Vincent Facquet after the match.
The only ladies team in Manila this week - Team Korea are eliminated.
‘07 Champs China are Through
2007 PARTYCASINO.NET World Cup of Pool victors Team China, made up of Fu Jianbo and Li Hewen, are over the first hurdle as they beat the all-girl Team Korea 8-5 to advance to the second round.
The Koreans, made up of the elegantly glamourous pair of Ga Young Kim and Yun Mi Lim, gave them a good game of it, much to the enjoyment of the sizeable crowd at the SM North Mall Annex in Manila.
The first all-female side in the four year history of the competition, Korea went into an early 2-0 lead as they looked composed against the Chinese pair. They had a great chance to move 3-0 ahead but Yun missed the 8 ball and the Chinese were back in the match.
That was the first of six consecutive racks for China, and at 6-2 down, Korea had it all to do.
They took the next and an excellent shot down the rail on the next took it to 4-6 but Ga’s next break saw the cue ball hit the carpet to derail their hopes.
There were some tense exchanges in the closing stages but China held on to run out winners and take their place in round two.
The official opening ceremony in Manila this morning.
USA Break Off in Manila Spectacle - Morris Confident of World Cup of Pool Glory
RODNEY Morris is confident Team America can successfully defend their World Cup of Pool title this week.
Morris and team-mate Shane Van Boening triumphed in 2008 and will be reunited in Manila, Philippines for this year's competition, which will be sponsored by PartyCasino.net and staged at the SM North City Mall EDSA.
However, Morris believes the strongest threat will come from the two host sides, the Philippines A pairing of Ronnie Alcano and Dennis Orcollo and the Philippines B duo of Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante.
"Home advantage will be massive for both of them," said Morris. "Everytime you make a mistake you have to be prepared that the crowd will be cheering but we're prepared for that.
"Reyes and Bustamante is the toughest of the two Filipino teams because they have already won the competition before (in 2006) and showed they can do it in this format. They could both be 100 years old and would still be the toughest opponents.
"But anyone can win it and Germany and Holland also look good. You just have to deal with whoever you play and treat them as the toughest match."
America begin their defence of the trophy on Tuesday evening with a match against the Maltese pairing of Tony Drago and Alex Borg.
The two nations met in 2007 and USA scraped an 8-7 victory after a thrilling encounter and Morris is expecting another tough clash.
"Tony is a very dangerous player so we will have to concentrate fully," added Morris. "It's only a short race to eight so it's about a matter of getting yourself prepared mentally.
"Shane and I were the first US team to win the competition and it's a big deal - a world title. It showed we can still perform at that level and get the job done, especially in the first year I was in the US team that finished second.
"If we win it this year, in the Philippines, then it would be unbelievable but we're really confident and I'm definitely playing better than I was last year.
"Shane is a fearless machine and has ice in his veins so we don't have anything to worry about."
Reyes and Bustamante will also be in action on the opening day against outsiders Qatar, while China, who won the World Cup in 2007, meet Korea.
The other matches see France play Canada, Australia enterain Spain and Indonesia meet India.
2009 PARTY CASINO.NET | ||
WORLD CUP OF POOL | ||
THE LAST 32 - THE DRAW | ||
(1) USA | 8 : 7 | Malta |
Indonesia | 8 : 3 | India (16) |
(9) China | 8 : 5 | Korea |
( 8 ) Finland | - : - | Sweden |
(5) Philippines B | 8 : 3 | Qatar |
(12) Italy | - : - | Austria |
(13) Spain | 8 : 3 | Australia |
(4) England | - : - | Malaysia |
(3) Germany | - : - | Hong Kong |
France | 8 : 1 | Canada (14) |
(11) Japan | - : - | Croatia |
(6) Holland | - : - | Vietnam |
(7) Taiwan | - : - | Singapore |
(10) Poland | - : - | Belgium |
(15) Russia | - : - | Denmark |
(2) Philippines A | - : - | Thailand |
2009 PARTY CASINO.NET | ||
WORLD CUP OF POOL | ||
THE LAST 16 | ||
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2009 PARTY CASINO.NET | ||
WORLD CUP OF POOL | ||
THE QUARTER FINALS | ||
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2009 PARTY CASINO.NET | ||
WORLD CUP OF POOL | ||
THE SEMI FINALS | ||
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2009 PARTY CASINO.NET | ||
WORLD CUP OF POOL | ||
THE FINAL | ||
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2009 PARTY CASINO.NET | ||
WORLD CUP OF POOL | ||
THE PRIZE FUND | ||
| Winners: | US$60,000 x 1 | |
| Runners Up: | US$30,000 x 1 | |
| Semi-Finalists: | US$16,000 x 2 | |
| Quarter-Finalists: | US$10,000 x 4 | |
| Last 16: | US$5,000 x 8 | |
| Last 32: | US$3,000 x 16 | |
2009 PARTY CASINO.NET | ||
WORLD CUP OF POOL | ||
EUROPE | ||
| 1. | Austria | Martin Kempter & Jasmin Ouschan |
| 2. | Belgium | Serge Das & Pascal Budo |
| 3. | Croatia | Ivica Putnik & Philipp Stojanovic |
| 4. | Denmark | Kasper Kristoffersen & Bahram Lotfy |
| 5. | England | Imran Majid & Darren Appleton |
| 6. | Finland | Markus Juva & Mika Immonen |
| 7. | France | Stephan Cohen & Vincent Facquet |
| 8. | Germany | Ralf Souquet & Thorsten Hohmann |
| 9. | Holland | Niels Feijen & Nick van den Berg |
| 10. | Italy | Bruno Muratore & Fabio Petroni |
| 11. | Malta | Tony Drago & Alex Borg |
| 12. | Poland | Mateusz Sniegocki & Radoslaw Babica |
| 13. | Russia | Ruslan Chinakhov & Konstantin Stepanov |
| 14. | Spain | David Alcaide & Rafael Guzmann |
| 15. | Sweden | Marcus Chamat & Tom Storm |
ASIA | ||
| 16. | China | Li Hewen & Fu Jianbo |
| 17. | Hong Kong | Kenny Kwok & Lee Chenman |
| 18. | India | Dharminder Singh Lilly & Raj Hundal |
| 19. | Indonesia | Muhammad Bewi Simanjuntak & Muhammad Zulfikri |
| 20. | Japan | Satoshi Kawabata & Hayato Hijikata |
| 21. | Korea | Ga Young Kim and Yun Mi Lim |
| 22. | Malaysia | Ibrahim Bin Amir & Lee Poh Soon |
| 23. | Philippines A | Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante |
| 24. | Philippines B | Dennis Orcollo & Ronnie Alcano |
| 25. | Singapore | Chan Keng Kwang & Toh Lian Han |
| 26. | Taiwan | Yang Ching Shun and Lai Chia Hsiung |
| 27. | Thailand | Nitiwat Kanjanasri & Surethep Phoochalam |
| 28. | Vietnam | Luong Chi Dung & Nguyen Thanh Nam |
REST OF THE WORLD | ||
| 29. | Canada | Tyler Edey & Jason Klatt |
| 30. | USA | Rodney Morris and Shane van Boening |
| 31. | Australia | Lou Condo & Greg Jenkins |
| 32. | Qatar | Bashar Hussain & Mohammed Ali Bin Ali |
2009 PARTY CASINO.NET | ||
WORLD CUP OF POOL | ||
SCHEDULE | ||
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 1 | WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2 | |
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 3 | FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 4 | |
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 5 | SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6 | |
Matchroom Sport are one of the world’s leading producers of televised sport and are responsible for over 1,100 hours of original programming across a range of sports. Based in the UK and chaired by charismatic founder Barry Hearn, the World Cup of Pool is one of a stable of pool events that include the Mosconi Cup and the World Pool Masters.
Solar Entertainment Corp, based in Makati, Philippines, is an established media with prominent positions in broadcast and cable television. The company is a leader in the creation, promotion and distributions of entertainment and sports programming services.
Solar Sports launched in 2002, the network has showcased all types of sports action both local and foreign. Solar Sports has situated itself to be the ultimate sports channel in the country.
The 2009 World Cup of Pool is sponsored by PartyCasino.net, the world’s leading online casino. Tables are supplied by Brunswick Billiards, cloth by Iwan Simonis, Super Aramith balls by Saluc and the Official Cue is Predator. The Official Rack is the Predator AeroRack.
Team USA - Rodney Morris and Shane van Boening.
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