Round 1 Scores
Poland (13) 7-3 New Zealand
Chinese Taipei (4) 7-5 Estonia
Japan (14) 7-3 Italy
THERE were comfortable wins for seeded teams Poland, Chinese Taipei and Japan as action continued in East London in the first round of the Dafabet World Cup of Pool. The opening day had seen a host of upsets with Germany, China and Canada departing but everyone stuck to the script and survived to reach round 2.
Taking place at the York Hall in London, the Dafabet World Cup of Pool features 32 two-man teams from around the globe competing for a $250,000 prize fund. Televised live in over 40 countries around the world, the event is now entering its tenth year.
Chinese Taipei, one of the highly fancied teams here in London this week, overcame an Estonian team of Dennis Grabe and Erki Erm, winning by a 7-5 scoreline. Estonia took the opening rack before Erm missed an easy 9 ball to go 2-0 and allowed Ko Pin Yi and Chang Yu Lung to take four consecutive legs for a 4-1 lead.
The Estonian pair battled and enjoyed some fortune but in the end it was the Taiwanese who took the match 7-5. Ko and Chang certainly have the pedigree to become the first team from their nation to lift the World Cup and they should only improve from this performance as they look ahead to their second round match against Poland.
The impressive Polish duo of Mateusz Sniegocki and Wojciech Szewczyk recorded the first win of the second day’s play at the York Hall as they beat debutants New Zealand in a high quality match.
The Poles got off to a great start courtesy of a slice of luck as Sniegocki’s jump shot saw the 7 ball miss the intended pocket and then roll across the table to drop into the middle bag.
A couple of break and runs saw the score move to 3-0 and the New Zealand duo of Matt Edwards and Nick Pera were facing a bit of a mountain.
That became even steeper when the score moved to 5-0 but the All-Blacks battled back to take the next two. However, a scratch on the break handed the onus back to Poland who made it 6-2. New Zealand got to the table to claw one back but Poland closed it out for a 7-3 win and now faces Chinese Taipei in the next round.
Commented Szewczyk, “We played very well, I would say we played our A-game but we had to get familiar with the conditions so there were a few positional shots which were not perfect but I am sure we will get that right in the next match.
Sniegocki added, “We felt confident at 5-1 up but then New Zealand began to play very well and got two racks and the pressure which was there all through as the match grew. “
In the final match of the session seeded Japan had too much for Italy, running out 7-3 winners. Naoyuki Oi & Toru Kuribayashi are both veterans of the competition while the Italians were a bit short of experience.
The Japanese pair came with some great shots while Italy – Daniele Corrieri and Antonio Benvenuto – could not capitalise on some dry breaks from their opponents and showed some nerves. Japan now faces the winners of Holland and India.
Results
England A (1) 7-5 Australia
Korea (16) 7-6 Malaysia
Indonesia 7-3 Germany
Romania 7-4 China
Austria (5) 7-5 Peru
France 7-6 Canada (12
The following broadcasters are screening live coverage of the Dafabet World Cup of Pool:
Sky Sports - GB and Ireland; Sky - New Zealand; CCTV – China; Nova TV - Czech Republic & Slovakia; OSN - Middle East & North Africa; ESPN 3 – USA; ESPN Latin America –Central & South America; Viasat – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria & the Baltic states.
For fans outside those territories, Perform Group will be streaming the event via their www.livesport.tv service. In addition the Dafabet World Cup of Pool is syndicated around the world as 31 x 1 hour programmes by Matchroom Television.
Featuring 32 two-man teams from around the world, the Dafabet World Cup of pool is celebrating its tenth year as defending champion England attempt to become the first team ever to successfully defend the title. The event runs from 22ndto 27th September.
Tickets are now on sale at www.SEETickets.com and are priced at 10.00 per evening session (Tuesday to Friday), 12.50 per evening session on the Saturday and Sunday. Weekend afternoon sessions are 7.50 while Tuesday toFriday afternoons are free!
A season ticket covering all sessions is priced at 65.00.
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 then syndicated internationally as 31 x 1 hour programmes.
Diamond Billiards are the Official Table of the 2015 World Cup of Pool; the Official Cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith. The Official Cue, Chalk and Rest are supplied by Predator.
