Team Germany
Last 16 Results
Germany 8 – 3 Malaysia
Korea 8 – 6 Japan
Thailand 8 – 4 Estonia
Poland 8 – 3 Singapore
Sweden 8 – 6 Switzerland
Philippines B 8 – 5 India
GERMANY came from 3-2 down against Malaysia to win six racks on the spin and secure a The PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool quarter final spot where they will take on Philippines B – Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante in a replay of 2009's epic final.
After the early stutter, Thorsten Hohmann and Ralf Souquet continued in the same form that saw them whitewash Australia in the opening round. The veteran Malaysian pair of Ibrahim Bin Amir and Patrick Ooi looked confident in the early exchanges but was out the game once the Germans stepped up the pace.
"We made some slight positional errors at the beginning and there were some good rolls for them but you have to expect that in a game," said Hohmann after the match.
"I think when it was 3-3 we just finished the set. We had some tough opening shots and just kept running out and running out.
"I'd rather be playing Philippines in the final but it will be a big revenge match and I think we're playing better than two years ago."
Souquet reminisced about the last time the two teams met: "Two years ago it was looking very good for us in the final. I wouldn't say we blew it but we had them. As a team we made one mistake and we were 9-7 up and that would've taken us to the hill.
"Beating two legends in the World Cup of Pool final in the Philippines would've been amazing and unfortunately we play in the quarter-finals now - a couple of rounds too early and one of the teams has to go out earlier than anticipated.
"The loss didn't stay on my mind as if you let it stay with you then you could ruin your next four or five tournaments or maybe even your career. You have to try and get over it as soon as possible.
"The further you get in the tournaments the tougher the opponents get. No team that makes it that far into a tournament does so by luck. It seems certain brackets are tougher than others but at the end of the day all matches are tough.
"Playing two legends in front of their home crowd maybe makes it tougher but tougher for them. They have more to lose than we do and I'm really looking forward to it and have a good feeling about it."
In the other opening session match, Korea overcame the odds to put in a good performance and defeat the Japanese pair of Yukio Akagariyama and Lo Liwen. The unknown Koreans are a blend of youth and experience and Lee Gun Jae (38) and Hwang Yong (27) will be tough to beat in their next match.
The PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool features 32 two-player teams representing 31 nations – hosts Philippines have two sides. The total prize-fund is $250,000 with $60,000 going to the winning pair.
The other two matches in the earlier sessions saw wins for Thailand and Poland. Nitiwat Kanjanasri and Kobkit Palajin easily overcame the Estonian duo of Dennis Grabe and Erki Erm by 8-4.
The Estonians made too many errors in a lacklustre game and the Thai pair was solid enough for the win. They go on to play Poland in the quarter-finals, who made light work of an out of sorts Singapore duo of Bernard Tey and Chan Keng Kwan. The final score was 8-3 as Radoslaw Babica, who is now something of a veteran, and Karol Skowerski had too much in every department.
The 2011 World Cup of Pool is sponsored by PartyPoker.net, the world's leading online poker school. Cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis, Super Aramith balls by Saluc, tables by Star Xing Pai and the Official Cue is Predator.
Results to date – Round One
Chinese Taipei 8 – 4 Russia
Italy 8 – 6 Hong Kong
Singapore 8 – 7 USA
Philippines A 8 – 2 Austria
Estonia 8 – 6 England
Thailand 8 – 4 Holland
Germany 8 – 0 Australia
Malaysia 8 – 6 France
India 8 – 7 Finland
Philippines B 8 – 4 Kuwait
Korea 8 – 5 Spain
Japan 8 – 3 Croatia
Switzerland 8 – 5 China
Sweden 8 – 7 Indonesia
