Ruslan Chinahov
Defending champion, Ruslan Chinahov, still in hunt for second straight title.
As the 15 ladies in the American 14.1 Straight Pool Championships prepared for their second day of round robin competition, the final 16 competitors opened their battles for advancement to the event quarterfinals, scheduled for 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. today (Friday, Oct. 22).
An ‘old school’/’new school’ matchup between defending champion Ruslan Chinahov and Ralf Souquet drew a growing crowd as they moved into the 100s, bound for 150. Chinahov kept his title defense intact with the third-lowest differential of the eight matches, eliminating Souquet 150-107. Chinahov is scheduled to play again at 5 p.m. against Max Lechner, who defeated the Iceman Mika Immonen 150-104, in a match that was tight going into the 120s.
The tightest game of the second, single elimination round went to the battle between Wiktor Zielinski and John Morra, who were separated by 22 balls when the match went to Zielinski 150-128. Zielinski will play again, also at 5 p.m., versus Mieszko Fortunski, who defeated Aloysius Yapp 150-53 to advance.
One of the more highly anticipated matches will see Albin Ouschan and Joshua Filler square off in a 2 p.m. match that is minutes away. Ouschan eliminated Konrad Juszczyszyn 150-118, while Filler downed Alex Kazakis 150-75.
Shane Van Boening was eliminated 150-95 by Oliver Szolnoki, who’ll face Fedor Gorst in the other 2 p.m. quarterfinal matchup. Gorst downed Mario He 150-90.
Free streaming is available on the American 14.1 Facebook page, the AZBtv Facebook page and from Istreampool on Youtube. Online brackets are available at Cuescore.com. All matches are played on Diamond Pro-Am tables with Simonis 866 cloth and Predator balls. Corner pockets are 4.5” and the sides are 5”.
