Round 1 Results
Austria 8-2 Kuwait
Philippines 8-3 Hong Kong
DOUBLE PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool champions Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante (Philippines B) are on course for a third title as they disposed of Hong Kong hopes Lee Chenman and Kenny Kwok in front of a huge, enthusiastic crowd of locals at Robinsons Place in Manila.
The Hall of Famers have won this event twice before – in 2006 in Newport, Wales and in 2009 amidst chaotic scenes Manila – and they never looked in any danger as they overwhelmed the opposition.
At ages 58 and 48 respectively, they may not quite be the players they once were but they will be very hard to beat in front of the vast crowds they attract in their home country and only a foolish man would back against them.
“We played good today,” said the veteran Reyes.
“If we play like that in our next match we can win. But our break is still no good but if we can get the break we like our chances.
Francisco Bustamante added, “We’re always nervous here. There’s always pressure. Everyone expects us to win.”
“Efren played really good today. He controlled the cue ball really well. When Efren controls the cue ball, there’s nobody who can beat him. But this is doubles, 9-ball, short races, so anyone can win. But if we can start breaking good, we got a good chance.”
By sharp contrast, the Austrian duo of Albin Ouschan (22) and Mario He (19) made light work of Middle Eastern minnows Kuwait and look to be a good outside bet for this championship.
Both are improving fast and while their future opponents will surely be a little weary, these two will fear no one.
Albin Ouschan said, "We're young and playing good and having fun. That's how you win a tournament like this. Just have fun.
"We're the underdogs in most of these matches but we like being the underdogs because then we can play with nothing to lose."
Mario He added, "We were a little nervous at the beginning but we went up 6-0 and we didn't miss a shot. Then we noticed that they were more nervous."
"We've got good harmony. We know each other well. We always go to tournaments together and practice together so we know each other's games. We only practiced two hours together for this tournament but that's not a problem."
The 2012 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool runs from Tuesday September 4 to Sunday, September 9 at Robinson’s Place, Ermita, Manila. Once again the total prize fund is US$250,000 with $60,000 going to the eventual champions. Tickets for the extravaganza will be available at the venue on the day of play but with plentiful balconies offering superb views of the playing arena, organisers are anticipating crowds in the thousands rather than hundreds.
The 2012 PARTYPOKER.NET 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 Diamond Billiards and the Official Cue is Predator.
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For complete up to date brackets go this link.
