Propping up the league table and in desperate need of two points, Germany's Thorsten Hohmann got the best possible start as he won the lag and ran the first rack to open up an early lead.
Babica ran out of position in the second rack and the players exchanged safety shots. In the end it was Hohmann who played a loosener to leave the 5 ball available for Babica and he went on to complete the rack for 1-1.
Hohmann, looking all business took the third rack. Babica made a good break in the next but began to lose position culminating in him missing a long angled pot on the 8 ball. Hohmann stepped up to the plate and dished the remaining two balls to go into a 3-1 lead.
A very tidy snooker from the Pole saw Hohmann escape but he left an open table. Babica though missed on the 7 ball, looking under pressure and from there Hohmann cleared to further increase his lead.
Babica made the unusual decision to play a deliberate foul with the bulk of the balls in a tight cluster. Hohmann though was the master of the situation as he released the balls, snookered his opponent and ran the table to go to 5-1.
Babica had a chance in the next with a brave attempt on a 2/9 combo but the 9 was left hanging in the pocket with the 2 ball conveniently positioned. Hohmann completed the formality to take both points at 6-1.
The Pole was now playing for pride and he dug deep to take the next two racks to reduce the deficit to 3. He took the final rack too, and who knows, it may be critical come the final reckoning tomorrow afternoon.
Ralf Souquet 5 - 5 Dennis Orcollo
The second match of the evening saw Ralf Souquet duke it out with the Philippines Dennis Orcollo with the winner in a position to put clear distance between himself and the rest of the field.
However, a five-all draw was the outcome as neither player was able to assert himself sufficiently in the alternate break match.
The contest was tight in the early stages with the opening four racks being shared, with neither player giving an inch.
Orcollo jumped out of a snooker in the fifth and although he made a solid contact with the blue 2, he left it on for Souquet. The 'Kaiser' took it and cleared to table to re-establish his one rack lead at 3-2.
Orcollo, the self-styled 'Robocop' from Bislig in the Philippines, was equal to it as he leveled the match from the break at 3-3 in the sixth.
The Filipino fouled in the next, failing to hit a rail whilst playing safe and with ball in hand, Souquet cleared to regain his lead.
Orcollo won the next as the match was beginning to heat up but it was the resilient German who took the next after his opponent missed a cut on the 1 ball.
The Filipino crashed home the break in the final rack of the match but had no available pot on the 1 ball. He played safe leaving the 5 ball covering the yellow1.
Souquet escaped but Orcollo laid another snooker, this time on the 3 ball. Souquet failed to hit the 3 ball and with ball in hand Orcollo cleared to record the fifth drawn match of the tournament.
Niels Fiejen 8 - 2 Chang Pei-wei
The final match of the evening saw Holland's Niels Feijen take on Chang Pei-wei of Taiwan with the Dutchman needing at least a point to keep his PartyCasini.com World Pool League hopes alive.
Feijen played his best match of the tournament so far as he cashed in on Chang's tentative play to record the biggest victory of the event so far, winning 8-2.
Feijen took the first and had a great opportunity to increase his lead in the second as Chang missed a 3 ball down the rail. The Dutchman took his chance as he worked his way through the rack to establish a 2-0 lead.
Feijen's momentum went in the next as he scratched trying to reach the 1 ball off of two rails and with ball in hand Chang ran out to get to 2-1.
A rare dry break from Chang in the fourth saw Feijen leap out of his chair. The Dutchman's visit ended with him putting Chang in a table length snooker and the Taiwanese, jumping out, nearly made the 6/9 combo to take the rack.
It narrowly missed and Feijen cleared the 6 to 9 to go into a 3-1 lead. The Hague-based Feijen, sensing victory was imperative looked purposeful as he cleared the next to put some serious daylight between himself and his opponent.
Chang enjoyed a timely fluke in the sixth rack as he missed the 1 ball and then saw it nudged in as the cue ball returned up the table. The Taiwanese rode his luck and took the rack to reduce the deficit.
Feijen though ended Chang's remaining hopes of victory as he coolly ran out the seventh rack to seal at least a point and a win the next game meant he took both points to give his chances of reaching Sunday night's play-offs a real boost.
The remaining racks were one-way traffic as Feijen went into overdrive.
Play continues tomorrow with three remaining round-robin matches in the afternoon and the play-offs in the evening.
Sun Oct 1 2.00 pm
Niels Fiejen v Dennis Orcollo
Thorsten Hohmann v Ralf Souquet
Chang Pei-wei v Radoslaw Babica
Sun Oct 1 7.30 pm
Play-Offs - Semi Final 1
Play-Offs - Semi Final 2
Play-Offs - Final
Table After 12 Matches
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Away | Pts | +/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D. Orcollo | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 19 | 5 | +2 |
| 2 | R. Souquet | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 19 | 5 | +2 |
| 3 | N. Feijen | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 18 | 4 | +4 |
| 4 | R. Babica | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 20 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | T. Hohmann | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 3 | -2 |
| 6 | P.W. Chang | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 23 | 3 | -6 |
