Imran Majid and Daryl Peach
Japan 7-2 Thailand
Philippines 7-4 Qatar
England B 7-0 Indonesia
It was an early night at the York Hall, East London as Japan, the Philippines and England B, all enjoyed comfortable wins at the 2017 12BET World Cup of Pool. Of the nine first round matches completed, the favourites have won on eight occasions with just India, who overturned England A on Tuesday the sole underdog victors.
The pairing of Daryl Peach, a finalist last year with Mark Gray, and Imran Majid, looked in top form as they hammered the Indonesian pairing of Irsal Nasution and Muhammad Simanjuntak 7-0. Arguably the best showing of the first round, the English pair put their opponents under the type of pressure that limited their visits and forced errors.
Majid said, “We came up with a good couple of breaks at the beginning to get the momentum and we smashed it – that’s what we are here for.
“We came here and we are going about our own business – it is irrelevant what any other team does, we have to concentrate on our own game.
Peach added, “We both gelled brilliantly. We have been playing a lot over the last couple of days and we knew we were on it. We are looking forward to the Scotland match, it is another tough match for us. It will be the same attitude, head on and do what we do.”
Featuring 32 two-man teams from around the globe, the 12BET World Cup of Pool is into its 11th year as reigning champions Chinese Taipei attempt to become the first team ever to successfully defend the title at the York Hall.
Earlier, Japan, led by internet sensation Naoyuki Oi, overcame a sticky start, trailing 2-0 to defeat Thailand 7-2. Japan were semi-finalists at this event in 2015 and look to have the pedigree to go deep in this tournament.
The Philippines represented by Johann Chua and Carlo Biado looked in trouble as they found themselves 2-4 down against Qatar. The pairing of Waleed Majid and Bashar Hussain have upset some top teams in previous World Cups but their opponents had other ideas as they came together in the closing stages to start playing.
They won five racks on the bounce to close out the match and set up a second-round match against Holland or Hungary.
Play continues Thursday afternoon with three more matches:
China (3) v Portugal
Holland (6) v Hungary
Austria (2) v Sweden
Broadcast for six days live on Sky Sports in the UK; the tournament is available live in over 100 countries around the world. A comprehensive list of countries and networks broadcasting the World Cup of Pool can be found here: http://www.matchroompool.com/world-cup-of-pool/#watchlive
The 12BET World Cup of Pool will carry a $250,000 prize fund including $60,000 for the champions. The event will be produced by Matchroom Sport Television and televised live on Sky Sports as well as other stations around the world.
12BET World Cup of Pool Tickets are on sale now at www.matchroompool.com priced at just £10.00 per evening session (Tuesday to Sunday) and £8.00 per weekend afternoon session. Tuesday to Friday afternoons are free. A season ticket covering all sessions is priced at £60.00.
2017 12BET World Cup of Pool is sponsored by Rasson Billiards who supplies the Official Table; the cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith by Saluc. Predator is the Official Cue and Chalk of the event.
