Sanjin Pehlivanovic (Taka Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)
Sanjin Pehlivanovic remains top of the Premier League Pool table after five days of action in Leicester with the bottom six now eliminated from the tournament ahead of the final three days live on Viaplay, Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide.
Pehlivanovic holds a two-point advantage over Naoyuki Oi after only losing two matches so far. The Bosnian has had a week to remember so far and looks in a strong place to make Monday’s final day even with two days to go until then, that’s after a brilliant fifth day that saw Pehlivanovic get the better of Shane Van Boening, Jayson Shaw, and Earl Strickland.
Oi goes into the day as the closest to Pehlivanovic with 11 points to his name with another solid day for the final wild card pick. Chou Chieh Yu put up a fight against Oi but came up short before Chris Melling faced the wrath of Sushi Boom who was on a roll to bag another win and put Melling in the drop zone.
Shaw struggled for a win on day five but he remains inside the top four going into the weekend action whilst Francisco Sanchez Ruiz also holds a strong position in third spot two points behind Pehlivanovic and one behind Oi. Konrad Jusczyszyn had a wobble midweek but recovered yesterday and today to move into the weekend whilst Wu Kun Lin’s abysmal opening day proved not to be detrimental as he progressed. Van Boening meanwhile will know he needs to find an improvement in his game if he is to make the final six on Monday.
As mentioned previous, Melling’s fate was all but sealed after defeat to Oi but there was still a chance if Skyler Woodward fell at the hands of Strickland but that didn’t pan out as the former triumphed 5-2. Woodward progressed with another win, this time over Alex Pagulayan 5-3. The win saw Woodward tie up the ninth spot going into the sixth day. Strickland’s tournament meanwhile ended with a 5-1 defeat to the ever-impressive Seo Seoa of South Korea who gave a superb account of herself.
SVB Junior Open winner Khalid Alghamdi got things going late on but it wasn’t enough for him to progress whilst Chou’s late flurry of wins proved to be too little too late all be it, a memorable week that included victory over Albin Ouschan. Ouschan booked his place in the top six with a win over Sanchez Ruiz 5-4 after an earlier 5-1 defeat to Wu. Luong Duc Thien got things going but again it was too late for him, the Vietnamise rising star came good against Shaw 5-3.
24 matches and 20 hours of Pool live daily from 11 am UK time tomorrow morning on Matchroom.Live, Viaplay, and networks worldwide. Full broadcaster list available below. Coverage can also be found on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube channels in selected countries.
Pehlivanovic will begin Table 1 coverage tomorrow with a doubleheader against Wu and Van Boening respectively before Sanchez Ruiz will meet Pagulayan. Table 2 begins with Ouschan against Pagulayan live on the Matchroom Multi Sport YouTube channel.
- Matchroom.Live – UK & Ireland
- AMC Network Hungary
- Fox Sports – Australia (Final Day Only)
- Nova – Czech Republic & Slovakia
- SSC – Mena region
- Supersport – South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tap – Philippines
- Viaplay – Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, Poland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands
- Vietcontent – Vietnam
- Matchroom.Live – Rest of the World
The 16-player league format invitational sees the world’s best pitted against each other over the opening five days to vie for position in the top ten. After five days, the bottom six are eliminated with the remaining 10 players facing off again across days six and seven before four more players exit. The remaining six then play each other once more on the final day before the top four content the playoffs. All league matches are Race to 5 with the alternate break in action.
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