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The British are coming!…and so are the Filipinos and Taiwanese

THREE POOL POWERHOUSES MAKE UP NEARLY HALF THE FIELD AS THE WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP MOVES INTO THE FINAL 64 BY TED LERNER WPA PRESS OFFICER Photos Courtesy Richard Walker and Takayamo Takao/onthehill.jp (Doha, Qatar)–There’s something about Judgement Day in the World 9-ball Championship that brings out the wild drama, and the crazy pressure that  is unique to professional pool at the highest levels. It makes a high stakes money game seem like child’s play. This is, after all,  the world championship. And this is the moment where, with the field about to be cut in half, with all matches do or die, a player  gets his chance to reach  the final 64 single elimination stage. From there,  in just three days with six more wins, he might just make history and win a world title. Sure, for most players this incredible dream will remain just that. But pool is a sport where the slimmest roll of the ball, even just a millimeter, can mean the difference between staying a nobody or being crowned king. As […]

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Breaking towards some big time showdowns – Day 2 Report from the 2013 World 9-ball Championship

AS THE LACK OF UPSETS CONTINUES ON DAY 2 OF THE WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHP, POOLS BEST ARE SURELY HEADED ON A COLLISION COURSE BY TED LERNER WPA PRESS OFFICER Photos Courtesy of QBSF, Takayama Takao/onthehill.jp, and Richard Walker (Doha, Qatar)–As the long, slow grind of this week-long World 9-ball championship wound its way through Day 2, perhaps the best way to try and understand where it’s all headed at this point is to listen to the words of defending champion Darren Appleton, after he won his opening match on Day 1. Said the Brit: “There are probably only 20 players who you can actually say are favorites to win this tournament, 10 more who are knocking on the door of perhaps winning it, and 20 more who can, on any given night, beat any of those top 30 players.” Add that simple equation together and you’ve got 50 top pros who can wreak massive havoc out on the blue pitch, with  30 who can realistically even consider entering the winner’s circle come September 13th.  I […]