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Snapshot9

Snapshot9

son of 3 leg 1 eye dog ..
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America Made To Work Hard

USA were given a massive fright in their opening round match of the PartyPoker.com World Cup of Pool.

The Americans had been 4-2 behind against an under-rated Singapore side before Mosconi Cup regulars Rodney Morris and Earl Strickland turned on the style to win 9-6.
This victory keeps them in contention to become the first ever World Cup winners and claim the top prize of $60,000.
Strickland admitted the match had been tougher than he had expected. He said: “I was surprised as Singapore sounds easy but they were good players. We played very well apart from the scratch early on. They went ahead 4-2 and they were unfortunate from the breaks as they didn’t have many shots from the break.
“But overall it was a really good match and Rodney and I had to play well to beat them. We ran out six out of nine frames from the break and it was a good match for television.”
When USA, who were clear favourites to comfortably win this match, sealed the first rack it appeared this would be the start of a procession into the second round.
The Singapore team of Chan Keng Kwang and Toh Lian Han brought the game level but Morris had a touch of fortune in the next as he fluked the 9-ball to put America back in front.
However, Singapore showed what they were capable of as they took the next three racks to move into a surprise 4-2 lead and leave the players and majority of the crowd stunned.
But Morris and Strickland, who had partnered each other on numerous occasions, won three racks themselves to move ahead 5-4. This lead only lasted minutes as Singapore won the tenth to make it tied again, this time at 5-5.
American broke in the 11th and ran through the balls as Morris kept his composure to restore Team USA's advantage.
In the 12th Morris had a long attempt at the orange five and ran the ball along the rail but was unlucky to see the ball left hovering over the pocket and that was all that Singapore needed to cling on to America at 6-6.
Already today seeded teams Sweden and England A had been knocked out and USA were having to work hard to ensure they were not the next big name casualty.
They claimed the 13th to keep their noses in front and when America moved 8-6 ahead Strickland dropped to his knees as he showed the relief of being on the verge of victory.
USA still had one more rack to win and they did this in the next to seal a hard-fought 9-6 victory and set up a second round encounter with England B.
Strickland was confident of USA's chances of making at least the quarter-finals. He added: “I think England will be a softer match than the one we just played. But it will still be tough as you do not get a soft team after the first round.”
 
Wales goes down to Germany

Wales' World Cup Dream Ends

IN the final match of the evening session on day two the German team of Thomas Engert and Oliver Ortmann made light work of home hopes as they demolished Wales 9-2.


But in all fairness to Ben Davies and Rob McKenna they did not enjoy the best of luck in the early stages but the Germans' finishing was clinical.

McKenna was disappointed with the outcome but felt the Welsh side had not performed badly. "Germany played fantastic but we played OK and did next to nothing wrong," said McKenna.

“If we could have got our hands on the table then it would have been a similar scoreline but to us. We didn’t have the chances but they played very strongly."

Germany took the opener as they broke and ran out the first rack with ease and there was further woe for Wales in the second as McKenna unluckily scratched on the break as the white was kicked into the middle pocket. With ball in hand Germany advanced to a two rack lead.

The Germans looked comfortable in breaking and running the next before Davies nearly made a golden break in the fourth. There was nothing much available for the Welsh and an error handed the onus back to Germany.

Ortmann and Engert pulled away with an elementary 7/9 combination to leave the Welsh in deep trouble at 4-0 down.

It was strictly one way traffic now as the Germans took the next two racks to go into what looked like an unassailable 6-0 lead.

A weak attempt on the 1 ball by Engert failed to drop but Davies was forced to jump. He managed to fluke the yellow up table into the corner pocket and from that position the Welsh dragons cleared the table to get their name on the scoreboard.

Wales had a great chance to take the next but Davies left McKenna in trouble after potting the 7 ball. He left the white tucked right up against the 9 ball and with awkward bridging, McKenna missed the slow rolled 8 ball to give the rack to Germany.

Germany took the next from the break to go to 8-1 but there was some fight left in the Welsh as at last, McKenna avoided the bad luck on his break and he and Davies ran out in their quest for respectability.

That was to be it for the Welsh though as the Germans wrapped up the final rack to run out 9-2 winners.

Engert believed the German team had handled the partisan crowd well. He said: “We knew we had to well at the beginning because the crowd goes crazy.

“We only missed one ball in the whole game so it wasn’t bad. Sometimes in the first round you struggle, aren’t confident and don’t know the table but it was a really good performance.”
 
Russia wins - needs to play better for 2nd round

Russia March On

RUSSIA moved into the last 16 with a 9-3 success against Hungary in the first of the matches on day two.
However, the Russians, who are seeded 11, will know they will have to play much better in their next encounter as both players were guilty of missing simple-looking chances.
Konstantin Stepanov said: “It’s a very nice tournament and you have to change how you would normally think to play well. You have to know the rhythm and the atmosphere, you can speak to each other and it’s fanastic.”
Hungary won the lag but all four players were showing their nerves in the first rack as everyone failed to convert shots they would normally pocket.
The crucial error came from Vilmos Foldes who failed to sink the pink four and that enabled the Russians to gain a 1-0 lead against the break.
They ran out in the second but a couple of errors from Zolotilov proved costly. He firstly missed the green six and Foldes finished the rack off before Zolotilov scratched on the break in the next and it quickly became 2-2 in the race to nine.
Hungary started the fifth well as Solymosi produced a 1-7 combination but then the Hungarians fell out of position and a safety exchange followed until Solymosi was the first to slip up as Russia again moved in front.
Their advantage again moved to two when Foldes left a chance on the orange five after Zolotilov had missed an earlier opportunity and Konstantin Stepanov wrapped the rack up.
Zolotilov scratched off the break in the seventh as Hungary reduced the arrears to one. Hungary should have drawn level again but threw it away when Gabor Solymosi was trying to gain position from the eight to the 9-ball and scratched as it become 5-3.
Russia again capitalised on Hungarian errors in the next rack. Russian Zolotilov missed a pot at the green and left it hanging over the pocket but Solymosi, who tried to hit the cue ball off a rail first to avoid the 9, failed to connect with any ball and giftwrapped the frame to Russia.
The 11th seeds ran out the 10th rack and then secured the 11th, their fourth successive rack, to give Hungary a mountain to climb as Russia moved to the hill.
They sealed the victory but will know they were not at their best, although they did enough to stay in the hunt for the $60,000 top prize.
 
Japan advances - Will Play Taiwan next

Japan Advance Into Last 16
JAPAN have moved into the last 16 with a walkover victory as their opponents Indonesia were not granted a visa.

That meant the Indonesians, on very short notice, could not arrive in England so Japan, who they would have played, now go into the second round where they will play Taiwan on Friday.
 
Little Napoleon met his Waterloo!

Hong Kong Record Memorable Upset

HONG Kong produced a heroic performance to stun sixth seeds Sweden in the biggest shock so far of the PartyPoker.com World Cup of Pool.

Sweden, whose side consisted of former World Championship finalist Tom Storm and former World Championship semi-finalist Marcus Chamat, had been 4-1, 6-2 and 8-5 ahead in the race to nine.

But the Hong Kong pairing of Lee Chenman and Kong Man-Ho showed their character to win the last four racks to secure a place in the last 16 where they will now face 11th seeds Russia on Friday afternoon.

A delighted Chenman said: “All through the match we were thinking ‘stay strong’ and when we went to 8-7 down I really thought we could win it.

“We were a bit nervous in the early stages as we weren’t really used to that type of set up and arena. Tom and Marcus have been playing under these type of conditions for years so I knew it would take a little time to adjust.

“When we went 4-1 down the pressure was off a bit and we knew we had nothing to lose. We were 2/1 to win the match with the bookmakers and the fact that no-one fancied us to win made it all the more satisfying. I think you could say we’re very happy with the result!”

A distraught Chamat said, “We gave that away because we should have won it. We made a couple of mistakes and they became more comfortable but in 9 ball if you don’t take advantage of your chances you can lose.”


The turning point came when the score was 8-5 in Sweden ’s favour and they were only four shots from victory but Storm failed to pot a relatively simple-looking green six.
Hong Kong had made a poor start when Chenman scratched on the lag and Sweden took full advantage to take the opening rack.

But Hong Kong leveled it in the second although the third went with break to restore the Swede’s lead.

A scratch by Kong, kicking out of a snooker, gave ball in hand to the Swedes who cleared the remaining four balls to increase their lead to 3-1.

Another mistake from Hong Kong, this time from Chenman, as he scratched trying to cut the 1 ball into the centre pocket, gave ball in once again to Sweden and Storm and Chamat comfortably cleared to go 4-1.

Sweden turned on the style to move 6-2 ahead but Hong Kong kept their hopes alive by winning the next two to pull it back to 6-4. Storm produced a fine long pot on the eighth and was immediately praised by presenter Jim Wych for “the shot of the tournament so far” to help extend the lead to 7-4.

Each side took one of the next two and it looked game over as Sweden ran through the balls until Storm missed the green, it what would become the turning point of the match.

Chenman held his nerve to pot the decisive ball in the next two racks before Hong Kong ran out the next to take it to double hill. Sweden had the advantage in the last rack but lost position and that enabled Hong Kong to record a memorable victory.
 
Taiwan tested by India

Taiwan Made To Work Hard

TAIWAN secured their place in the second round with a hard-fought 9-6 win against an impressive India side.
But fifth seeds Taiwan were made to work harder than they would have liked against the Indian pairing of Alok Kumar and Dharminder Singh Lilly.
However, Wang Hung-hsiang and Yang Ching-shun did enough to reach the last 16 where they will play on Friday afternoon against the winners of tomorrow’s clash between Japan and Indonesia.
Yang said: “It’s our first time we have played together and we’ve never played a doubles match, maybe with other people but never together.
“At the start of a tournament it’s a little bit more difficult but we will improve for the next match.”
Taiwan, who were hoping to follow in Philippines' footsteps after they recorded an impressive 9-0 victory against Malta, won the lag in the fourth first round match of the first day.
However, India, who had been tipped as an outside bet for the tournament, stunned Taiwan by taking the first rack but it was soon all square at 1-1.
The next two racks followed the same pattern as India moved ahead but Taiwan again equalised with no side winning any of the first four racks off their own break.
But that pattern ended in the fifth as Taiwan moved ahead for the first time but that lead only lasted seconds.
Dharminder Lilly’s break left the one near the pocket with the nine hanging over it so Kumar comfortably made a 1-9 combination to make it level for the third time in the match.
For the first time in the match a team recorded two racks in succession as Taiwan moved to a 5-3 advantage in this race to nine.
The hotly-fancied Taiwanese side finally started playing near their best as they ran through the ninth rack to get a decisive three-rack advantage.
India nearly grabbed the tenth in fortunate style as the 9-Ball was left hanging from Kumar’s break. Dharminder Lilly failed with a potential game-winning effort as he missed with a 2-9 combination but Taiwan showed them how to do it with a 2-9 carom to go 7-3 ahead.
Wang Hung-hsiang gifted India the next as he shot the cue ball off the table from the break and India, with ball in hand, kept things interesting.
It became 7-5 shortly afterwards but a foul by versatile cue man Kumar, when he scratched trying to escape a snooker, let in Taiwan. However, a missed bank attempt on the green six by Wang let in India and Lilly kept his composure to make it 7-6 and take India ’s third rack in succession.
But Taiwan stopped the rot and moved to the hill with a chance to break for the match by winning the next. Yang missed a risky attempt at the yellow one when he tried to roll it down the rail but India could not fightback anymore and Taiwan eventually sealed the victory with a 9-6 success.
 
Czechs send Polish home to make Sausage...

Czechs Cash In On Polish Errors

POLAND became the first seeded side to crash out of the PartyPoker.com World Cup of Pool as they slumped to a 9-6 defeat against Czech Republic.
Ninth seeds Poland produced an error-filled performance as the Czechs moved into round two where they now face eighth seeds Canada on Friday afternoon.
The Polish side of Radoslaw Babica and Mariusz Roter fell 6-1 behind and, despite fighting back to 7-6, had left themselves with too much to do and Babica admitted a lack of teamwork had proved costly.
He said: “We didn’t practise too much together and have only been playing for two days before the tournament. But that was a mistake and we should have played more because we didn’t think the same.
“I always thought we could win, even if I’m losing 6-1, but I didn’t understand how he (Roter) was feeling. We were losing 6-1, not because they played well but because we made three easy mistakes from the beginning of the match.”
Poland won the lag but failed to take advantage as Radoslaw Babica scratched off the break and the Poles did not get out of their chair again as the Czech Republic pairing of Roman Hybler and Michal Gavenciak moved 1-0 ahead.
In the second rack Hybler ran out of position while potting the pink 4 and that left Gavenciak with a difficult shot on the orange 5 that Poland should have brought it back to 1-1.
But Roter missed a simple-looking 9-Ball to gift Czech Republic a 2-0 lead while another Roter error in the third rack, when he scratched while potting the red three, was again punished as the Czechs bounced into a 3-0 lead.
Roter was having a shocking time and when he scratched again in the fourth it looked as if Poland were about to go 0-4 behind.
But Czech Republic could not capitalise as Roter sunk a simple 9-Ball to get some confidence back and put Poland on the scoreboard, however, moments later Czech Republic regained their three-rack advantage.
Hybler overcut an attempt on the orange five in the next but it did not prove crucial as Babica failed to down the brown seven before Hybler made up for his mistake by sliding the 9-Ball down the rail for 5-1.
Roter, a three-time Polish champion, was struggling to find his form and had a lucky reprieve when a miss on the brown seven was not punished in the seventh and he was soon back at the table.
However, another miss, this time on the black eight let the Czechs in again but, in an error-filled rack, Gavenciak missed the 9-Ball before Babica did likewise and Hybler was in no mood to pass this opportunity by to move into a 6-1 advantage.
Poland regained some pride in the eighth to make it 6-2 and made the score look more respectable as they took the next for 6-3.
Hybler hit the cue off the table in the tenth and Babica, with ball in hand, produced a 2-9 combination to rekindle hopes of a memorable fightback.
But Poland’s winning run of three racks came to an end as Czech Republic again moved three ahead and inched closer to the victory line before Babica potted the 9-Ball in the next to make it 7-5.
Another foul by Roter was again not punished by a Czech Republic side that were now the ones making the basic mistakes as Hybler failed at an attempt to hit the red three as Poland, who looked dead and buried, pulled it back to 7-6. Czech Republic won the next two as they finally convinced a victory that they had made harder than it should have been.
 
I really think pool has needed an event similar to this for quite some time, looks like there should be some good second round matchups including Taiwan vs Japan and USA vs England B (Davis and Peach) just to name a couple.
 
Italy wins and looks good doing it...

Stylish Italians Looking Good

ITALY turned on the style to cruise into the second round of the PartyPoker.com World Cup of Pool.
The Italian pairing of Fabio Petroni and Angelo Millauro comfortably won 9-2 to set up a match in the last 16 against highly-rated Finland, the tournament's seventh seeds.
“We played great, fantastic,” said Petroni. "The game looked easy because they got unlucky and missed a few balls at the start of the match. That made it look easy but it never was.
“If we play like that we have a chance of beating Finland as we only missed two or three balls.
“I don’t think they are one of the tournament favourites. Mika Immonen is a great player but what about Ortmann and Engert (Germany), Feijen and van den Berg (Holland), Reyes and Bustamante ( Philippines) and Morris and Strickland (USA).”
Italy, the tenth seeds, won the lag and ran through the opening rack to move into an early lead. They extended their advantage soon afterwards when South African Yulan Govender over-cut an attempt to slide the black eight down the rail and that mistake was punished by the tenth seeds.
The Italians would have a won a competition for most stylish looking team as they wore matching shirts with Italia 9 on the back and they were looking good on the table as well as Millauro pocketed the 9-ball to seal another rack to move 3-0 ahead.
South Africa were not having much luck on their breaks and when they came up dry, only the second time that had happened in the tournament so far, they looked like falling 4-0 behind.
But Millauro missed a shot at the pink four, although Anderson then did exactly the same and the Italians were in no mood to let another chance pass by and Millauro sunk the 9 for their fourth successive rack.
Having the break again, Italy were never in any danger during the fifth, which they won comfortably, as the prospect of only the second 9-0 victory of the competition grew larger.
South Africa had a chance to gain their first rack of the game in the next but lost position going from green six to brown seven and a spectacular one-rail bank on the same ball from Petroni looked to make it 6-0.
However, Millauro then missed the black eight before Govender scratched from his next shot to gift-wrap the rack to the Italians for a 6-0 lead.
A fortunate deflection off the 9-ball took the pink four into the top right hand corner as it became clear it was Italy’s day as it become 7-0 with South Africa now just playing for pride.
The South Africans managed to secure just that as they chalked up their first rack of the tournament as David Anderson slotted the crucial 9-ball to give the scoreline a bit of respectability.
But that proved to be a brief respite as Italy moved to the hill by winning the next and they should have wrapped up the but Millauro missed a shot for the match and left the 9-ball hanging over the pocket and the South Africans could not believe their luck to win only their second rack.
This only delayed the inevitable and Italy took the next to claim a comfortable 9-2 victory. Despite the impressive performance, Petroni remained sceptical about Italy ’s hopes of lifting the trophy.
“We have a small chance of winning it,” said Petroni. "If we win it I would be really surprised but you never know. You need to be lucky but we do not have the experience to win a competition like this.
“Our game is not so bad but we have never won a big tournament.”
 
Mika & Marcus beat Irish Tommy and Paddy

Finland Go Through Into Round Two

FINLAND looked good as they eased their way into the second round of the PartyPoker.com World Cup of Pool at the expense of Ireland's Tommy Donlon and Paddy McLaughlin on Thursday afternoon.

In the end the class and top-level experience of the Scandinavian duo, consisting of 2001 World Pool Champion Mika Immonen and former Euro Tour event winner Markus Juva, told against the plucky Irish opposition.

“I’m very pleased with the result,” said Immonen after the match. "I reland made a few break and runs but also a few decisional errors and I think their lack of experience was the reason they lost.”

Things started bad for Team Ireland as a miss by Donlon on the 2 ball allowed the Finns to take the rack against the head and a confident break and run by the Finns increased their lead to two.

The Irish got their confidence up in the third game as McLaughlin executed a text-book break and from there they cleared to get to 2-1. However, Finland responded well themselves with a great break shot from Juva and from there the rest of the rack was elementary.

In the next, Donlon fired home a powerful break shot but saw the 1 ball hidden up table so was forced to push out. A less-than-tight safety from Immonen allowed Donlon to play an excellent cross table bank on the 1 ball and leave perfect position for the 2 ball.

But the run broke down with a 5/8 combination that saw the 8 drop but the 5 stay tight on the top rail and the Irish were forced to play safe.

Finland got the better of the exchange as Immonen left Donlon with a very difficult escape. The clock though, ran out to leave ball in hand for Finland and they cleared to go into a 4-1 lead.

There was further safety play in the next game and once again Finland proved stronger at the critical point to go to 5-1.

The Irish though are renowned for their fighting qualities and Donlon and McLaughlin won the next two to give the Finns something to think about at 5-3 down. But the seventh seeds responded well to take the next two and put themselves in a very strong position at 6-3.

The Irish hung in to take the next but Immonen and Juva soon reached the hill, but Donlon and McLaughlin again kept there hopes alive as they took the next game to make the score 8-5.

Ireland got to the table in the next as both teams exchanged safeties. It was McLaughlin though who cracked first though as he failed to make a rail to give Finland cue ball in hand. From there they made no mistakes to close out a tidy 9-5 win and move into tomorrow night’s second round.
 
Vietnam comes from behind ...

Vietnam comes from being 7-8 down to Croatia, to win 9-8.
Detailed report to follow later.
 
The Dutch beat the Scots ....

Holland Complete Round Two Line-up

SECOND seeds Holland showed their worth as they made their way into the last 16 of the PartyPoker.com World Cup of Pool with a victory over Scotland.

The Scottish side of Michael Valentine and Pat Holtz gave it a good go but a succession of clinical run outs by the Dutch pairing of Niels Feijen and Nick van den Berg, who are ranked numbers two and three in Europe respectively, was the difference.

“We played very well,” said van den Berg. “We scratched twice on the break but that was unlucky and that was our only mistake - there were no big errors.”


In front of a large crowd, both teams shared the opening racks before Holland took the third, assisted by a fluked 1/3 combination, as van den Berg and Feijen completed the run out with ease.

They then broke and ran in the fourth game to put some space between themselves and the Scots.

Holtz was a little unlucky in the next as the cue ball caught the middle pocket knuckle when playing safe to leave a clear path for van den Berg and the Dutch proceeded to run out to take the score to 4-1.

However, the Scots battled back to take what appeared to be a big rack in the sixth with a quality 1/5 combination from Michael Valentine setting up the run out.

But the Scotsman missed a tricky cut on the 1 ball in the next and the Dutch looked imperious as they restored their three rack lead.

The Scots performed well to take the next as they worked their way through the table but Holtz over ran going from eight to nine to leave Valentine a very tough cut with the cue ball too close to the 9 ball. But the big Scotsman played it perfectly to reduce the deficit to 5-3.

Holtz though missed the brown seven with the rest in the next and the Dutch showed no hesitation in clearing the remaining three balls to go to 6-3. There was more woe for the Scots in the next as Holland took it with the break to leaving their opponents with an ever-rising mountain to climb.

Holtz and Valentine dug deep in the next to keep their hopes alive at 7-4 but the Dutch hit their stride in the next to complete a tricky run out and get to the hill.

The Scots stayed in it as they won the game from the break but the Dutch prevailed to reinforce their position of second seeds for the championship.

“Unfortunately we got off to such a poor start going 4-1 down so they were very relaxed,” said Pat Holtz after the match.

“They are definitely a very strong team though and have plenty of experience on these types of conditions. I think they can go all the way and it will take a very good team to stop them.

Holland can look forward to a round two match up against Vietnam who won their first round match against T
 
Filapinos made to work a little

Philippines Made To Work Hard
TOURNAMENT favourites Philippines moved into the last eight but were made to work hard against 16th seeds Malaysia.

The Filipino pairing of Francisco Bustamante and Efren Reyes were the most impressive of all the sides in the first round as they defeated Malta 9-0 in the only whitewash of the tournament so far.

But the meeting with the Malaysian team of Patrick Ooi Fook Yuen and Ibrahim Bin Amir proved far tougher and the Philippines will be glad to have won, having secured a 9-5 success.

Bustamante was happy his side won the match. He said: “We played well enough – we missed some balls, but the most important thing is the win.

“The crowd was great and they prayed for me and Efren. But it was good support and we really appreciate all the Filipino people in the UK coming out to cheer for us.”

Ooi Fook Yuen won the lag but Philippines were soon at the table again although Bustamante missed an attempted pot on the blue two when he had to jump over the pink four.

That left the blue two in open play and Malaysia won the rack, the first that Philippines had conceded in the competition.

Things got worse for the No.1 seeds as Bustamante missed a shot on the yellow one into the top right pocket that left the ball hanging over the pocket but when Ooi Fook Yuen scratched on the brown seven that enabled Philippines to equalise.

Malaysia ran out the next from the break but Philippines, who had every successful shot cheered by a large, partisan crowd at the Newport Centre, quickly levelled to make it 2-2.

Ooi Fook Yuen successfully jumped over the brown seven to pocket the yellow one but the cue ball was left in a bad position so his teammate Ibrahim Bin Amir also grabbed the jump cue.

However, this time it was not as successful as he failed to down the red three and offered Philippines the chance to move into the lead for the first time, which they accepted.

When they broke and ran out in the next rack the lead was suddenly two racks and, considering how well Philippines had played so far in this tournament, it meant Malaysia already had an uphill task.

But a poor safety shot by Bustamante on the 1-ball saw the lead reduced to one and Django was not at his best as he missed an attempt on the red three along the rail as Malaysia fought back from 4-2 down to 4-4.

Another Bustamante mistake, when he failed to make the 1-ball safe, again let in Malaysia and they should have taken their third rack in succession but Bin Amir missed the 9-ball and it became 5-4 to Philippines when they could have easily fallen behind.

Philippines made it 6-4 in the next but Malaysia refused to give up and took the 11th rack to make it 6-5.

However, Philippines turned on the style to take the next three racks as they became the first team to secure their place in the quarter-finals.

Reyes believed the Philippines still had a lot of work to do for them to secure the $60,000 top prize.


He said: “It’s hard to say if we will win the tournament but we can play well and if we make the final, maybe we can win it.”
 
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