Targi Kielce Exhibition & Congress Centre
St. Zakładowa 1
25-672 Kielce
Poland
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www.targikielce.pl
Wednesday - Sunday 1-5 February 2023
All photography courtesy of ©Taka G.Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport.
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NEW NAME TO BE ETCHED ON WORLD POOL CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY
A new name will be etched onto the World Pool Championship trophy tomorrow in Kielce, Poland live on Sky Sports, Matchroom.Live, Viaplay, DAZN, and TV networks worldwide as Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Mario He, Wu Kun Lin, and Mohammad Soufi reached the final day.
The tournament of upsets and drama continued at pace on day four as two-time champion Albin Ouschan fell at the hands of Soufi who continues to play the tournament of his life to reach a world semi-final for the first time. Soufi's fast-paced nature has caught the imagination of many as the Syrian once again showcased his quick thinking to leave Ouschan waiting for a third world title in a 11-8 win.
Soufi geed on by an earlier hill-hill Last 16 win over Sebastian Batkowski was halted early on by Ouschan who led 6-2 but that was the turning point he needed. Ouschan left opportunities for Soufi and with a slice of fortune was back on Ouschan's tail at 8-7. The pinnacle moment came in the 16th with a massive fluke on the six that left him hooked on the eight before another extraordinary fluke to put it to 8-8. From there, Soufi didn't look back as he rattled in the next three racks to book his spot in the semi-finals, his best finish in a Matchroom event before this week coming at the European Open last year where he reached the Last 32.
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Niels Feijen's hunt for a second world title was abruptly halted by He. He came from the losers bracket earlier on in the week due to a defeat to Batkowski and since then made comeback after comeback and that was at the heart of this showing once again. At 8-6 down, He missed some gilt-edged chances to cut the deficit to one, with two missed moments Feijen was 9-6 up and cruising. At that point, He came back into the contest with a fluke to kickstart momentum that saw him edge over the line in another tight contest this time 11-9.
Wu ended the dreams of Vietnam's Duong Quoc Hoang in emphatic fashion racing into a 5-0 lead in quick time. The Chinese Taipei star continued on his ascendancy towards the semi-finals with a clinical edge that kept Hoang cold as he wrapped up a 11-4 victory in QuickTime.
The final action of the day came from Nineball World No.1 Sanchez Ruiz against Chang Jung-Lin. Chang left Sanchez Ruiz breathless winning the opening three racks but the tides turned quickly as El Ferrari found his gears to accelerate away like an Italian stallion. Nine racks later and it was 9-3 and Sanchez Ruiz was two away from a World Pool Championship semi-final. The hard work was nearly done for Sanchez Ruiz with Chang facing a mountain to climb. He did pull one back but it was too little too late as Sanchez Ruiz underlined why he's the best in the world.
The afternoon action begins at 12pm (CET) where the finalists will be decided.. See the action live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, the Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA and Italy as well as on Matchroom.Live and broadcasters worldwide. See where to watch here.
Sunday, 5 February - 12pm (CET)
Semi-Final 1 - Wu Kun Lin (TPE) vs Mohammad Soufi (SYR)
Semi-Final 2 - Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) vs Mario He (AUT)
Final - from 6:30 pm
WHERE TO WATCH
Table 1 will be live on broadcasters worldwide including Sky Sports in the UK, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA, Canada, and Italy, as well as on Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide. See where to watch here.
Table 2 will be live on Viaplay in selected territories as well as on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel.
Table 3 will be live on Viaplay in selected territories as well as on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom Multi Sport YouTube channel.
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