Team Chinese Taipei
Round 2
Hungary 7-4 Russia
Philippines 7-3 Singapore
Chinese Taipei 7-1 Greece
UNFANCIED QUALIFIERS Hungary continued where they left off against China on Wednesday as they once again made light work of more exalted opposition as they put paid to Russian hopes at the 888.com World Cup of Pool by a 7-4 score line.
There were also wins at the York Hall for Chinese Taipei and Philippines as the big guns made their move into the quarter-finals.
Balazs Mikos and Gabor Solymosi looked to be enjoying every minute of it and played in the sort of relaxed manner that can count for a lot in a high pressure event like the World Cup.
The Hungarians got off to a fast start as they made the most of some Russian errors and although Stepanov and Chinakhov mounted a comeback it was not enough.
That puts the Hungarian pair in the quarter-finals where they will face the Philippines who came through unscathed against Singapore in the all-Asian clash in the top half of the draw.
Dennis Orcollo and Lee Vann Corteza rarely broke sweat and they appear to have plenty left in the tank for what could be an arduous weekend.
The Singaporean pair of Chan Keng Kwan and the teenaged Aloysius Yapp didn’t have enough firepower to cope as the Philippines eased their way into the quarter-finals where they will face the Hungarians in what could be an intriguing match-up.
The final round two match of the afternoon saw Chinese Taipei step up to plate and eliminate Greece from the competition with a 7-1 rout. After both teams respective first round matches, there were plenty who favoured the Greek pair of Alexander Kazakis and Nick Ekonomopoulus to carry this one off, but the Taiwanese duo showed their true colours in victory.
Chinese Taipei quickly put their lacklustre display against Belgium in the first round behind them as they raced into a 5-0 lead with Greece barely reaching the table. The Greeks finally had their chance in the sixth game and they ran out to get onto the scoreboard.
Kazakis though missed an elementary pot on the 1 ball in the next after a decent break and that gave Chang Jung-lin and Ko Pin-yi an open table from where they reached the hill. A decent break and it was all over and they can look forward to a quarter-final clash on Saturday against either England A or Italy.
The 2013 888.com World Cup of Pool runs from Tuesday September 17 to Sunday, September 22 at the famous York Hall in Bethnal Green, East London. The field features 32 teams from 31 countries in a single elimination format. The total prize fund is US$250,000 with $60,000 going to the eventual champions.
Play continues this evening with the final three second round matches:
USA v Japan
Holland v India
England A v Italy
For live streaming of the 888.com World Cup of Pool go to http://www.pool.livesport.tv/home
The 2013 World Cup of Pool runs from 17 – 22 September and takes place at the York Hall, London. For those wanting to watch the action in person, all tickets are available from www.seetickets.com (Search ‘World Cup of Pool’)
