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Philippines Are Predator World Teams Champions
Reporter: Predator Group
Photography: Predator Group
Philippines defeated Great Britain 3-0 in the final in Klagenfurt, Austria to be crowned 2022 Predator World Teams Champions, eight years after finishing runners-up the last time the event was staged.
The team of Rubilen Amit, Carlo Biado and Johann Chua won 4-3, 4-3, 4-1 against the British trio of Kelly Fisher, Jayson Shaw and Darren Appleton. Both Biado and Amit were part of the silver-medal winning team of 2014, when they lost to China in the final.
Philippines had reached this year’s final with a shootout victory over Germany, who fought back from 2-0 down to force the decider. Britain’s semi-final was against Chinese Taipei, who were defeated 3-1 with Shaw in practically good form for his nation.
The final was much closer than the scoreline might suggest; the first two sets - women’s singles and a men’s match contested by Shaw and Biado - both finished 4-3, before the victory was completed by Amit and Chua in a 4-1 mixed-doubles win over Fisher and Appleton.
“It feels amazing to be champions,” said Amit. “We're, we're very, very happy, and very and relieved. Finally, no more matches, we can rest and just enjoy it and enjoy Austria and Klagenfurt!
“Last time we placed 2nd and now we are finally the champions. I am very happy that I have Johann and Carlo as my teammates because they are awesome, they are very good players.”
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Biado added: “Finally we made it. My job was to win in this event and with my team, and I want to thank them because we all played well. We have to celebrate now!”
The final’s first set went the way of Amit, but it would have been easier had she not missed the 7 at 3-2 up. Fisher made it with a great shot to the corner and then took a difficult 9 to the middle before rolling in the 10 to make it 3-3.
The Brit had the break but after she missed a 3-ball jump, control passed to Amit, who produced a solid run out to take the first set of the final.
Shaw had been imperious in the semi-final, beating Wu Kun Lin 4-0 and Chang Jung-Lin 4-1. He fired himself to a 2-0 set lead in no time against Biado, before the reigning US Open champion escaped a safety with a 1-ball bank to open the table and pull it back to 2-1.
A kick shot on the 3 opened up the next rack for Biado, who drew level at 2-2. He had the break next but with a chance to lead for the first time, snookered himself on the 7 and a hopeful double bank failed, allowing Shaw to steal the point.
Shaw came up dry on the hill. Biado made the 1 and went safe on the 2, but when Shaw’s reply went wrong, Biado was able to join his opponent on the hill.
The Filipino was put back in after a push out and what followed was a high-quality safety battle. A great kick from Shaw made the 2, but there was no shot on the 3. After a visit from Biado, Shaw made another great shot - a 3/8 carom - only to be left still without a shot on the 3. Biado’s failed jump finally gave Shaw an opening but there was still work to do and he caught the 10 coming back for position on the 9. Eagle Eye played safe but Biado produced a great bank down the length of the table to take Philippines within a set of the title.
Clearly, the team didn’t want to wait for their crowning moment. The doubles pair of Chua and Amit were quickly 2-0 ahead against Appleton and Fisher. Britain were up against it but produced a calm clearance to cut their deficit in half. The fourth rack went to Philippines, and after Appleton lost the cue ball and Fisher then missed the 5, the title belonged to the Philippines, and the winning 10 ball to Johann Chua.
“I am so happy and so proud,” said Chua. “It is my first medal from a World Championship, and I am so thankful and so happy to make it with this team. We knew our opponents are really tough, but we came here to enjoy it.”
In yesterday’s Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship semi final, Kelly Fisher had suffered a 9-4 defeat to eventual champion Chou Chieh-Yu. The opening set of the Chinese Taipei vs Great Britain semi-final threw up a repeat of that semi-final, and Fisher was able to exert a small amount of revenge with a 4-2 win.
Jayson Shaw was next up in men’s singles, facing Wu Kun Lin. The Scot is a ruthless operator and had his Eagle Eyes set on title, and wasting no time in dispatching Wu 4-0 as he produced a masterclass performance.
Taipei needed a response and Chang Jung-Lin alongside Chou brought it with a hill-hill win in mixed doubles against Fisher and Darren Appleton. That left Chang needed a win against Shaw to force a shootout, but the Brit brought his fine form from the earlier set against Wu to deliver a 4-1 win.
Rubilen Amit’s 4-2 women’s singles win against Pia Filler gave Philippines first blood in the second semi final. Biado then came from 2-1 down to reach the hill first against Thorsten Hohmann. A masse around the 2 then saw Biado escape from a safety and make the 1, playing a lot of draw to come back and make the 2. From there he ran the rack for a 4-2 set victory and to take Philippines to the hill of the match.
But Germany fought back; first the Fillers against Amit and Johann Chua, and then Joshua Filler in singles against Chua won 4-0 to force the fifth set shootout.
In the shootout, Biado and Joshua Filler both opened with successful shots from the right. Amit and Pia Filler then both made their shots from the left. Shooting from the right, Chua found the very heart of the pocket but Hohmann missed his. That afforded Biado a chance to take Philippines to the final, and he made no mistake from the spot.
Matches from the Predator World Teams Championship can be replaying in full on the World Billiard TV YouTube Channel.
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship can be seen here: https://probilliardseries.com/event/1677/.
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Teams Championship is at https://probilliardseries.com/event/1678/.
Follow @probilliardseries on Facebook, @probilliardseries on Instagram or @PBilliardSeries on Twitter to follow the next events.
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UPDATE
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Blockbuster Final Day Set For Predator World Teams Championship
Reporter: Predator Group
Photography: Predator Group
Great Britain will face Chinese Taipei and Germany will take on Philippines in an all-star line-up for the semi-finals of the Predator World Teams Championship in Klagenfurt, Austria.
Friday’s quarter-finals saw Great Britain beat Japan 3-0, Chinese Taipei knock out hosts Austria 3-1, Germany overcome Spain 3-1, and Philippines defeat Poland, also by 3 sets to 1.
It means Sunday’s semi-final line-up is littered with World Champions, and three more will be crowned by the end of the weekend, as well as another in the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship.
Austria took center stage on the main feature table with a home crowd behind them. However, they lost the first set as ‘Rita’ Chieh-Yu Chou won 4-3 over Jasmin Ouschan; both players had earlier in the day qualified for the semi-finals of the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship, which take place on Saturday.
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Mario He levelled for his country with a 4-1 singles win against Wu Kun Lin, but siblings Jasmin and Albin Ouschan then suffered a 4-0 reversal to Chou and Chang Jung-Lin, before Chang completed the win with another 4-0, this time against He.
“In the women’s singles I didn’t play very well but in the doubles Chang Jung-Lin gave me a lot of power, he made me feel very comfortable,” said Chou.
Chang added: “I played well today but so did Rita. We have to support each othjer, trust each other and enjoy the match. On Sunday we hope to play better.”
Great Britian’s progression to the semi-finals, where they will meet Chinese Taipei, was completed in straight sets. Kelly Fisher won a hill-hill women’s singles tie against Yuki Hiraguchi 4-3, and Jayson Shaw dispatched Masato Yoshioka 4-1 in the men’s singles match. Victory was completed with a 4-2 mixed doubles win for Fisher and Darren Appleton over Hiraguchi and Toru Kuribayashi.
For Fisher, she believes the experience of playing alongside two elite-level team-mates, who also happen to be close friends, is helping elevate her individual game too.
“We have known each other for years and we all get on so well,” said Fisher, who plays in the semi-finals of the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship on Saturday.
“They have so much testosterone between them, it’s no wonder they are champions. I think they might be helping me because they are gearing me up, they are really supportive and some of the shot selection, how men think compared to women, it is really amazing when you spend that time with them.
“I love teams, I wish we had more team events. We are here to win, and with the testosterone and ego you can see that, but win or lose we get on great and whatever happens we will give it 110%”
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Sunday’s second semi-final will see Germany face Philippines after both teams registered 3-1 semi-final wins. Pia Filler got things started for Germany with a 4-2 win over Amalia Matas and Thorsten Hohmann continued the momentum by beating Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, also 4-2. Matas and David Alcaide kept Spain in it with an emphatic 4-0 success over husband and wife pairing Joshua and Pia Filler, but Joshua put that behind him and turned the scoreline around on Sanchez-Ruiz to avoid the shootout and send Spain to the last four.
Philippines are also guaranteed a medal after they defeated Poland 3-1. Rubilen Amit scored a 4-1 success over Oliwia Zalewska in the women’s singles set, but men’s World 10-Ball Champion Wojciech Szewczyk beat Carlo Biado 4-2 to level for Poland.
Szewczyk’s racks were the last won by Poland, however, as first Zaleska and Tomasz Kaplan and then Szewczyk suffered 4-0 defeats, to Amit and Johann Chua in doubles and Chua in singles.
“We are very happy that we are into the semi finals now,” said Amit. “I am glad that the boys played very well and we didn’t have to go through another shootout, because my heart couldn’t bare another shootout.”
Chua added: “Tomorrow we will practice, rest well and on Sunday we will come for you guys!”
The semi-finals and final all take place on Sunday, beginning at 9am local time. Matches will be streamed live and free on the World Billiard TV YouTube Channel, watchbilliard.tv and on Kozoom.com.
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship can be seen here: https://probilliardseries.com/event/1677/.
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Teams Championship is at https://probilliardseries.com/event/1678/.
Follow @probilliardseries on Facebook, @probilliardseries on Instagram or @PBilliardSeries on Twitter to follow the next events.
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PREVIEW
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Preview: Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship & World Teams Championship
Reporter: Predator Group
Photography: Predator Group
The Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship and Predator World Teams Championship commence in Klagenfurt, Austria on Tuesday and on Monday morning media were welcomed to the SportPark Klagenfurt for the official press conference to open the event.
Jasmin Ouschan’s Billiard Sport Academy is a major promotional partner of the events and the 36-year-old herself has been a leading driving force behind them. Ouschan was World 10-Ball Champion in 2010 but this is the first time the event has been staged since 2013, when Rubilen Amit was champion. Ouschan is a well-known name in Austria, she finished second the country’s Dancing With The Stars last year and has her eyes set on another 10-Ball title this week.
“Bringing a World Championship women's event and team event to Klagenfurt is absolutely indescribable,” she said. “My brother and I are really known here but the people never really get to see anything.
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“There’s not much pool on television so bringing a big tournament to my hometown is so special. I know I have an extra portion of pressure that comes with it. Winning a World Championship in my hometown is just a crazy thought.
“We have so much support from the city of Klagenfurt, from our county Carinthia, but also with Predator. Together we created such a cool team. I have to say, in the last couple of weeks, I did less and less because I am an athlete at the end of the day. But of course, I was always involved, and seeing what we have all done together here makes me extremely proud. I'm hoping that all the players and also the federations will see what we're doing here for the sport and for the athletes.”
Ouschan’s first match will be against Kristina Grim of Slovakia at 4pm on Tuesday. As well as competing in the Women’s World 10-Ball Championship, Ouschan will also feature in the World Teams Championship, partnering with Mario He and her brother Albin on Austria’s ‘A’ team.
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Austria A is one of eight teams seeded into the winners’ side of the brackets. They will face the winners of Portugal vs New Zealand, which plays at 7pm on Tuesday.
Klagenfurt was host venue of last year’s Pro Billiard Series Austrian Opens, where Kelly Fisher took home the Women’s title. The Brit won the last Women’s World 9-Ball title and is excited to have the opportunity to compete for two World titles this week.
“It is very nice to be back in this beautiful city of Klagenfurt,” Fisher told the assembled media. “It is such a great event, not just because I won here last year, but because of the effort that goes into putting on such an event. The arena is awesome and players can only but love playing here.
“I am looking forward to the event. It is very exciting to have both the Teams and the Women’s World 10-Ball Championship, which we haven’t had for ten years. To have two massive events happening at the same time is spectacular, and I’m looking forward to a great, action-packed week. It is going to be a very special and a very memorable week.”
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship can be seen here: https://probilliardseries.com/event/1677/. Play begins at 9am on Tuesday.
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Teams Championship is at https://probilliardseries.com/event/1678/. Play begins 7pm on Tuesday.
The event will broadcast two tables with full live coverage and commentary every day. One will be available on the World Billiard TV YouTube Channel and another will be at watchbilliard.tv. All tables can be viewed live at Kozoom.com.
Follow @probilliardseries on Facebook, @probilliardseries on Instagram or @PBilliardSeries on Twitter to follow the next events.
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