International

2016 WPA World 9 Ball Championship

Albin Ouschan (AUT) gewinnt 2016 WPA World 9 Ball Championship im Finale gegen Shane Van Boening (USA) mit 13-6. Den 3. Platz belegen Alex Pagulayan (CAN) und Hsuan Yu-Cheng (TPE). Am nächsten Montag, den 25. Juli 2016 starten in Doha/Katar die WPA 9 Ball Weltmeisterschaften. Dieser Titel ist nach wie vor der wichtigste im Welt Pool Billard und für jeden Spieler die größte Herausforderung. Nicht nur das extrem starke Teilnehmerfeld, sondern auch die besonderen Umstände tragen dazu bei. Die hohen Außentemperaturen und der stark klimatisierte Spielort, der Al Arabi Sports Club, sind für viele Spieler kaum zu beherrschen. Im letzten Jahr gewann Ko Pin-Yi aus Taiwan diesen Titel im Finale gegen Shane Van Boening aus den USA. Im Finale 2015 wurde erneut deutlich das leider nicht immer der bessere Spieler gewinnt. Shane Van Boening spielte ein überragendes Turnier und dominierte selbst die stärksten Konkurrenten nach Belieben. Im Finale spielte Shane Van Boening, der wohl beste Spieler der Welt, ebenfalls fehlerfrei und unterlag am Ende mit 11-13. Im Laufe des Finals streute Ko Pin-Yi einige unerwartete […]

International

2015 WPA World 9 Ball Championship

Ko Pin-Yi (TW) gewinnt 2015 WPA World 9 Ball Championship im Finale gegen Shane Van Boening (USA) mit 13-11. Den 3. Platz belegen Ko Ping-Chung (TW) und Wu Jiaqing (CHN). Ab dem 07. September 2015 wird in Doha/Katar die diesjährige 9 Ball Weltmeisterschaft ausgetragen. Die 2015 WPA World 9 Ball Championship läuft bis zum 18. September 2015 und es werden so ziemlich alle Stars der Pool Billard Welt in Doha anzutreffen sein. Die 9 Ball WM gehört jedes zu den Events mit der größten Strahlkraft und dem größten Prestige. Und kaum ein anderes Turnier ist wohl so schwer zu gewinnen wie die Titelkämpfe im Al Arabi Sports Club. Extreme Temperaturen draußen, Klimaanlagen die den Spielort ziemlich runterkühlen und die besten Spieler der Welt. Leider hat es dieser WM in den letzten Jahren ein wenig an Atmosphäre gefehlt, gerade dann wenn die „Local Heroes“ ausgeschieden waren wirkte die Stimmung ziemlich zurückhaltend, wir werden sehen, wie es sich in diesem Jahr verhält und sind gespannt auf den Auftritt des Lokalmatadoren Waleed Majid. Titelverteidiger ist der Niederländer Niels […]

News

The Big One is Finally Here!

128 of the world’s best pool players to contest 9-ball supremacy as the WPA World 9-ball championship begins September 7 in Doha, Qatar. BY TED LERNER – WPA Press Officer Photos Courtesy Richard Walker Pool fans you’ve waited long enough. Now, the big event you’ve been longing for, is just about here. 15 months after Holland’s Niels Feijen sank the final 9-ball and stood on top of the pool world, the finest pool players from each and every corner of the globe will once again descend upon the desert capital of Doha, Qatar to contest the sport’s most important and most prestigious prize, the 2015 WPA World 9-ball Championship. The star-laden event runs from September 7-18th at Doha’s Al Arabi Sports Club. This will be the sixth straight year that that the tiny Gulf country of Qatar hosts the World 9-ball Championship, and the 24th time, dating back to 1990, that the World Pool Billiards Association(WPA) has held a World 9-ball Championship. Once again 128 players from over 40 countries will clash to see who […]

News

Round Of 32 Begins In A Wild Ride

With the knockout stages underway at the Women’s World 9-ball Championship in Guilin, China, the pressure is already proving too much to bear for some players. By Ted Lerner – WPA Press Officer Photos Courtesy Jin/ my147.com (Guilin, China)–If you like your pool to resemble a roller coaster ride with plenty of hair raising twists and turns, then the next two days here at the Women’s World 9-ball Championship in Guilin in southern China will surely be everything you could have ever wanted. This prediction is based on the drama that transpired today inside the Guilin gym, where Judgement Day jitters affected not only the wannabes, but even the sport’s biggest stars. Even straight in 9-balls normally made a thousand out of thousand times in practice were bobbling in the jaws under the intense pressure. The first order of play today was to trim the field down to 32 where the players would switch to a single elimination knockout, race to 9. (If anyone had any doubts that Asia is the dominant region in pool, […]

News

Fisher Rises From The Depths

Facing sudden elimination on Day 1, Great Britain’s Kelly Fisher shows Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan the door and survives to play another day at the Women’s World 9-ball Championship. By Ted Lerner – WPA Press Officer Photos Courtesy of Jin/my147.com (Guilin, China)–Kelly Fisher has been around professional pool long enough to know that sometimes in this sport, as in life, you have to go through hell to get to heaven. Hell in this case for the 2012 World 9-ball Champion was losing her first round match on day 1 today at the Women’s World 9-ball Championship against hall of famer and pool’s most recognized personality, Jeanette Lee, 7-4. The Brit, who three months ago had open heart surgery to repair a congenital defect, had trouble with the lightning quick speed of the table. The match was even halfway, but Fisher gave away too many shots and the Black Widow waltzed. In the double elimination group stages, Fisher knew her back was suddenly against the wall. “Now it’s cutthroat time,” she said while waiting for her next […]

News

Glamour Girls, Ethnic Culture And 9-Ball Pool

The 2104 Women’s World 9-ball kicks off with a lavish opening ceremony that could only happen in the world’s most populous nation. By Ted Lerner – WPA Press Officer Photos Courtesy Jin/my147.com & Alison Chang (Guilin, China)–Visitors to China, especially those traveling here for events, conferences, trade shows, and other gatherings are often left in awe at the over-the-top hospitality that their Chinese hosts generously put on offer. This is especially true prior to the event beginning as attendees can find themselves being  treated to lavish meals, cultural performances, sometimes copious amounts of fire-starting alcohol, long winded and important sounding speeches by dignitaries, and plenty of good natured back slapping and glad handing. I have been to China perhaps one dozen times over the last five years to cover pool tournaments. The size of the welcome is not always the same prior to the beginning of a tournament, as it depends on who is promoting the event. One thing you can be sure of in China, however, is that the organizers will want to make […]

News

The Ladies Go For Glory This Week In Guilin, China

64 of the best women players in the world head for the gorgeous Chinese city of Guilin, the new host of the WPA World 9-ball Championship  By Ted Lerner – WPA Press Officer A veritable slug fest on the cloth pitch awaits fans around China and throughout the world this week, as the 2014 WPA Women’s World 9-ball Championship kicks off in the world famous Chinese city of Guilin.L 64 of the absolute finest women players from 25 countries will square off for what is by far the biggest and most prestigious prize in women’s professional pool, $300,000, with $40,000 going to the winner. The qualifiers run from October 13-14, while the main tournament kicks off Wednesday, October 15th and finishes up on Saturday October 18th. This is now the 6th straight year that the Women’s World 9-ball Championship will be held in China, and the first year in the tourist enclave of Guilin. One of the better known tourist destinations of Southern China, and indeed the whole of China, Guilin, situated on the gorgeous […]

News

Experience carries the opening day

Experience carries the opening day The Philippines‘ Dennis Orcollo barely survives an early test as most favorites win on Day 1 at the 2014 World 9-ball Championship. By Ted Lerner, WPA Press Officer Photos Courtesy of Richard Walker (Doha, Qatar)–Long time followers of the WPA World 9-ball Championship know that the event is always full of surprises. The upstarts, the unknowns, the unexpected seem to make a splash in each and every edition of pool’s crowning glory. As this slowly building drama begins to rise towards a guaranteed thunderous climax six days from now, fans already know the upsets and shocks are going to start mounting. But while the newbies and nobody’s of pool will definitely make their noise, even more true is that good old fashioned sporting standards like experience, possessing a history of winning and performing under crushing pressure are generally going to carry the day. As day one of the 2014 World 9-ball Championship commenced in this fabulously wealthy desert kingdom this most valuable of athletic tenants carried the storyline in one […]