THE EUROPEAN QUALIFYING event for the 2014 World Cup of Pool gets underway tomorrow (Tuesday) in Portoroz, Slovenia with a first round match-up against China awaiting the victors. There are eight two-man teams taking part with the winning team gaining a sport at the Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouth where the World Cup takes place from 23rd to 28th September.
With a $250,000 prize fund on offer, there will be everything to play for and the European qualifiers have got a superb record of upsetting the odds in recent years. Last year, Hungary KO’d China in the first round and then Russia to reach the quarter finals and in 2011 both Switzerland and Estonia turned the form book on its head when they beat China and England respectively in the first round in Manila.
The Teams
- Macedonia (Zika Mihajlovski / Novo Serafimoski)
- Czech Republic (Roman Hybler / Michal Gavenciak)
- Belgium (Serge Das / Olivier Mortier)
- Hungary (Balasz Miko / Gabor Solymosi)
- Bosnia Herzegovina (Sanjin Pehlivanovic / Alen Muratovic)
- Norway (Mats Schjetne / Ausun-Risan Heimsjo)
- Estonia (Denis Grabe / Mark Mägi)
- Slovenia (Matjaz Eculj / Miha Sinkovec)
All qualifying matches will be streamed live by Kozoom via their streaming platform. Please go to www.eurotouronline.eu or www.eurotouronline.com and click on the logo ‘Qualifier World Cup of Pool’.
Commented a Matchroom Sport spokesman, “There is plenty of strength in depth in European pool and the performances of the qualifiers down the years is testament to that. “The winners will go into the main event as unknowns and will have nothing to lose and every chance of upsetting the odds!”
The 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 and other stations around the world and then syndicated internationally as 31 x 1 hour programmes.
All tickets are priced at £5 (afternoons) and £10 evenings and are available from the venue or www.seetickets.com
Diamond Billiards are the Official Table of the 2014 World Cup of Pool; the Official Cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith. Predator is the Official Cue of the event.
