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2007 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool
Outland
Prins Alexanderlaan 37
3068 PN
Rotterdam
Holland
www.worldcupofpool.com - for LIVE scoreboard and more!
www.matchroomsport.com
www.outland.nl

Tuesday-Sunday 25-30 September 2007

Team China. (All World Cup of Pool photos by Lawrence Lustig).
Solid China Too Good for Philippines

THE CHINESE pairing of Fu Jianbo and Li He-wen proved a bit too much for Team Philippines as they dumped them out of the PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool at the quarter-final stages.

The 9-6 scoreline was a fair reflection of what was a highly entertaining match but the Chinese were just too strong as they stemmed an emerging comeback from Reyes and Bustamante.

China had reached the quarter-finals thanks to an 8-1 victory over South Africa and an 8-6 triumph over France .

In the other quarter final the Finnish duo of 2001 World Champion and Mika Immonen and Markus Juva enjoyed a good victory over dark horses Switzerland , a team consisting of Dimitri Jungo and Marco Tschudi.

However it was the Philippines v China which was the stand out match of the evening session and the Pinoys won the lag but no one could have expected what happened next as Bustamante recorded a dry break, something that had happened only a handful of times all week.

"Read More..." for the details.

Bustamante then made another surprising error when he missed an escape shot from a snooker to give China ball-in-hand and Li He-wen made it 1-0 to the Chinese.

It was proving to be a poor start from Bustamante as China lost position but Philippines gifted them a route back when Bustamante scratched with only three balls left on the table.

China took the opportunity and quickly moved into a 2-0 lead in this race to nine. Reyes and Bustamante were glued to their seats in the third rack as Li He-wen and Fu Jian-bo broke and ran through the rack to see the defending champions 3-0 down.

Li He-wen had announced himself to the pool world by reaching the semi-finals of the 2006 World Pool Championship and his country were on course to make the last four of another major global competition.

China ran out the fourth rack as Bustamante and Reyes, who have often smiled in the arena, sat in silence as worry set in.

With the winner-break format, Philippines needed some luck and got it at the start of the fifth as Fu Jian-bo came up with a dry break of his own. Bustamante and Reyes, national heroes in their home country and supported by a large number of fans here in Rotterdam , did the rest to finally make their mark on the scoreboard, but still trailed 1-4.

In the next, Bustamante misjudged a safety on the 1 but it was not immediately punished, although Reyes' attempt on the 1-ball that rattled in the top left pocket but would not drop, did prove costly.

A spectacular 6-9 combination from Fu Jian-bo moved China one step closer to victory and gave them a four-rack advantage at 5-1.

Fu went from hero to villain in a very quick space of time as he missed an attempt at the red 3 and the Philippines pulled a rack back at 2-5, as the crowd began to hope of a memorable fight back.

A two-rail safety escape from Li to hit the 2-ball went wrong in the eighth to give ball-in-hand to the Philippines and they clinched their second rack in a row, although were still behind by a 3-5 scoreline.

Bustamante made one of the best pots of the tournament with a stunning table-length attempt on the 1-ball but then got no luck as the cue ball had drifted out of position. As a result, Reyes missed the attempt on the 2-ball and China regained control of the match as the scoreboard now showed 6-3.

China ran out the next as Reyes and Bustamante both looked miserable, only two racks away from being eliminated.

They needed some luck and got it in the next. With the 1-ball over the pocket but another ball between that and the cue ball, it seemed a straight-forward kick-shot off the bottom rail.

However, Li's attempt was unsuccessful and Philippines gratefully grasped the opportunity to win another rack. Li and Fu both left chances in the next rack and it eventually went the Philippines' way as Reyes banked the 4-ball into the 9-ball for 5-7.

In a thrilling 13th rack, with the cue ball on the bottom rail and the 9-ball tight on the top rail, Fu tried a brave attempt of kicking the cue ball off the left side rail. It would have been one of the shots of the tournament if successful but instead left a simple pot for Reyes as they took their third rack in a row for 6-7.

The match had looked to be swinging the Philippines way but they changed in the next as Reyes missed a simple green 6 as China moved to the hill and led 8-6.

With victory in their sights, China ran out what was the final rack of the game to advance to the last four.

FINLAND will meet Canada in one of the semi-finals in the 2007 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool as the Finnish duo of Marcus Juva and Mika Immonen defeated Switzerland 's Marco Tschudi and Dimitri Jungo by 9-4.

The last two European sides met in the third quarter-finals as tenth seeds Finland went up against 15th seeds Switzerland .

Both sides had performed well to reach this stage with Finland defeating Qatar and England , while Switzerland had eliminated Hungary and USA .

Finland won the lag and made a lightning start as they broke and ran out in both the opening racks to move 2-0 ahead with Switzerland not even getting a shot.

When they did finally get to the table, they made a spectacular impact as Jungo kicked in a fantastic 3-9 combination to quickly pull one rack back.

The fourth rack was the longest of the match so far after Switzerland failed to take advantage of an Immonen error when he left the 1-ball hanging over the bottom left pocket. However, Switzerland still managed to win the rack in what was already looking as a tight and tense encounter that could go down to the wire.

Both sides played a nervous fifth rack as Juva left the blue 2 on before Jungo did likewise on the red 3 that remained hanging over the right side pocket. That proved to be the decisive mistake as Finland regained the lead.

There was then some controversy as Switzerland took a toilet break, but the Finnish players were convinced that this was a strategic move and had been done to throw Finland off their game.

Finland , who still had the break, responded in the best way possible as they let their pool do the talking by running out the next for a 4-2 advantage.

The earlier controversy had seemed to fire up the Finnish duo and they moved closer to their victory target of nine by making it 5-2.

Switzerland had a rare chance in the next as Immonen failed to sink a long-range 2-ball and overcut it but Tschudi could also not pocket the same ball and Juva eventually downed the 9-ball for the fourth successive rack for Finland .

The crucial moment in the ninth came when Immonen lost position going to the 8-ball with only two balls left on the table. Juva tried to play safe but left Jungo a long-range attempt on the 8-ball, which the Swiss player made thanks to a thin cut, before Tschudi pocketed the 9-ball for 6-3.

Immonen missed the 1-ball to bring the Swiss back to the table and the fired-up Switzerland players reduced the deficit by 1. It was not long before the gap was back to three racks as a 1-9 carom from Immonen made it 7-4.

It was the same player who finished off the next rack and Finland were now on the hill and looked on course to advance into the semi-final. There was no love lost between the two countries as both teams were desperate to win the match.

Juva attempted a table-length bank but got it wrong to give Switzerland another chance. With a host of other World Cup players watching the action, it should have been a rack that Switzerland won but Jungo choked on a simple-looking 9-ball, which was left over the left side pocket for Immonen to end the match.

"I felt better than in previous games," said Juva. "I was a little bit concerned that I wasn't nervous enough and if you feel more relaxed you start to be over confident but ten minutes before the game the nerves got me again.

"I played very carefully and with this table and this format you have to play carefully."

RESULTS

China 9 � 6 Philippines
Finland 9 - 4 Switzerland

Semi-Final Matches (Sunday 13.00)

Finland v Canada
China v Japan

Team Japan photo by Lawrence Lustig.
Jolly Japan Joke Their Way to Semis

JAPAN became the first side to reach the semi-finals of the 2007 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool as quarter-final play continued on Saturday afternoon at the Outland Nightclub in Rotterdam .

Naoyuki Oi and Satoshi Kawabata had come to Holland with the attitude of enjoying themselves in every match and their constant laughing, smiling and joking has made them firm favourites with the Dutch crowd.

After fine victories against Spain and Japan , Japan defeated Singapore 9-5 and will now meet either Philippines or China in Sunday's semi-final.

Neither Japan or Singapore had been seeded and had performed well throughout to reach the last eight.

All the quarter-finals were a race to nine and Singapore 's Chan Keng Kwang and Toh Lian Han made a fine start by taking the first two racks.

Japan had become one of the most popular sides left in the tournament due to their happy-go-lucky attitude of both players, no matter what had happened on the table.

They had every reason to be happy shortly after as they won the next two racks to make it 2-2.

Both sides clinched one of the next two racks for a 3-3 scoreline in an entertaining start to the fifth day's play. Chan Keng Kwang missed an attempt at the blue 2 and that enabled Japan to take the lead for the first time at 4-3.

The same player was at fault in the eighth rack as Chan sent the cue-ball hurtling towards the left side pocket to give the Japanese side ball-in-hand for a 5-3 advantage.

It should have become 5-4 as Oi left an easy shot for Singapore on the blue 2. Things were going the way of the Singapore side up to the 9-ball when they lost position and Chan, who was having a bad match, failed with his attempt to roll the 9-ball up the left rail.

That left an easy opportunity for Japan and it was 6-3. Seconds later it was 7-3. Oi played a spectacular 1-8-9 combination and the Japanese side were jumping for joy and two away from victory.

Oi failed to down the 1-ball but then bowed to the pool gods as the 1-ball was hidden behind the 9-ball. However, it did not matter as Toh played a fine kick-shot off the top rail to pocket the 1-ball and that enabled Singapore to win their first rack after four successive games for Japan .

Singapore then clinched the next for 5-7. But Japan moved to the hill after a superb shot from Oi. Toh had produced a fine effort for a thin cut on the 4-ball but then lost position on the 5-ball.

Chan failed to make it safe and Oi, shooting into a blind pocket, produced a fantastic shot to roll the 5-ball into the bottom left pocket as Japan then moved to the hill for 8-5.

It had been a memorable tournament for the instantly likeable Japanese side and it got even better as they ran out from the break in the next for a fine 9-5 victory.

CANADA moved into the semi-finals of the 2007 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool.

The team of Edwin Montal and Alain Martel produced a nervous, error-strewn performance but still did enough to win 9-4 against a Belgian side who looked drained after defeating highly-fancied Taiwan last night.

Belgium were not even in the original line-up of nations but got their chance when Malaysia withdrew. But since then Belgium have grasped the opportunity with both hands and recorded a fine win over Holland B in the opening round.

But that result was put in the shade with an incredible 8-6 victory against Taiwan on Friday evening, a scoreline that shook the world of pool.

Canada , the 11th seeds, had been a bit luckier with their route to the quarter-finals with a comfortable victory against India followed by a somewhat fortunate success against Korea .

It was another partisan crowd as a number of Belgian spectators had made the short journey to Holland and packed out the Outland Nightclub with a fantastic atmosphere.

The crowd soon had something to cheer about as a 3-8 combination from Serge Das helped Belgium clinch the opening rack for an early lead.

Canada had a great opportunity to make it 1-1 but Edwin Montal dogged an attempt on the 9-ball and Noel Bruynooghe could not believe his luck as he made it 2-0, to the delight of the majority of spectators.

It became 2-1 when Das failed to pocket the 4-ball and a combination attempt saw the North Americans clinch their first rack. The Canadians had ball-in-hand after Bruynooghe missed his attempted ball and that led to it moving to 2-2.

Montal had to play safe at the start of the next but drew a mistake out of Bruynooghe as he tried a two-rail escape but clipped the 4-ball, which had been positioned in front of his target of 1-ball.

That gave Canada ball-in-hand and they did the rest to move into the lead for the first time.

Belgium were struggling to recreate their efforts of Friday evening with both Das and Bruynooghe making unforced errors. The crowd was kept quiet as Canada benefited from the mistakes from the Europeans.

They won the next three racks to lead 5-2 in this race to 9. Montal was looking very nervous for the Canadians but was constantly reassured by Martel, who was carrying his team on the way to the last four.

The score moved on to 7-2 as the Belgians looked to have peaked in their previous match, despite the crowd trying to will their side into a memorable comeback.

An overhit positional shot from the tense Montal brought Belgium back to the table and they held their nerve to finally record another rack, after seven in a row from Canada . The scoreline was now 3-7 against the Europeans but they at least would now have the break.

Unbelievably, Belgium wasted the opportunity by producing a dry break at just the worse time possible. It did not matter as increasingly-twitchy Montal failed with the jump cue and left the 1-ball on. The majority of the crowd was rooting for Belgium and they clinched their second rack in a row for 4-7.

A misjudged safety by Das ended the Belgians' good run and they were looking a completely different side to yesterday. Canada moved to the hill by winning the 12th rack and had a shot in the next. But Martel gave Belgium one more chance by not potting the pink 4.

But the dream was over for Belgium . Canada , who at no stage in any of their three matches have looked at their best, had moved quietly into the semi-finals and a match against either Finland or Switzerland

RESULTS

Japan 9 - 5 Singapore
Canada 9 � 4 Belgium

THE STATS

2007 PARTY POKER.NET
WORLD CUP OF POOL
THE PRIZE FUND
Winners:	US$60,000 x 1
Runners Up:	US$30,000 x 1
Semi-Finalists:	US$16,000 x 2
Quarter-Finalists:	US$10,000 x 4
Last 16:	US$5,000 x 8
Last 32:	US$3,000 x 16
Total US$250,000 * All prize money is split between the two players.

2007 PARTY POKER.NET
WORLD CUP OF POOL
THE TEAMS
Australia	Stuart Lawler and Shaun Budd
Austria	Martin Kempter and Albin Ouschan
Belgium	Noel Bruynooghe and Serge Das
Canada	Edwin Montal and Alain Martel
China	Li He-wen and Fu Jian-bo
Croatia	Philipp Stojanovic and Ivica Putnik
Denmark	Bahram Lotfy and Kasper Kristoffersen
England	Daryl Peach and Imran Majid
Finland	Mika Immonen and Markus Juva
France	Stephan Cohen and Vincent Facquet
Holland A	Niels Feijen and Nick van den Berg
Holland B	IAlex Lely and Rico Diks
Germany	Oliver Ortmann and Christian Reimering
Hungary	Vilmos Foldes and Balazs Miko
India	Dharminder Singh Lilly and Manan Chandra
Indonesia	Ricky Yang and Muhammed Zulfikri
Italy	Fabio Petroni and Bruno Muratore
Malta	Tony Drago and Alex Borg
Japan	Naoyuki Oi and Satoshi Kawabata
Korea	Ryu Seung-woo and Kim Woong-dae
Malta	Tony Drago and Alex Borg
Philippines	Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante
Poland	Radoslaw Babica and Mateusz Sniegocki
Qatar	Bashar Hussain and Fahad Mohammadi
Scotland	Pat Holtz and Michael Valentine
Singapore	Chan Keng Kwang and Toh Lian Han
South Africa	Juan de Beer and Clinton Rossouw
Spain	David Alcaide and Antonio Fazanes
Switzerland	Dimitri Jungo and Marco Tschudi
Taiwan	Wu Chia-ching and Yang Ching-shun
USA	Rodney Morris and Corey Deuel
Vietnam	Thanh Nam Nguyen and Luong Chi Dung

2007 PARTY POKER.NET
WORLD CUP OF POOL
THE LAST 32
Philippines (1)	8 : 6	Scotland
Croatia	8 : 5	(16) Russia
France	8 : 2	(9) Italy
China (8 )	8 : 1	South Africa
Holland A (5)	8 : 5	Indonesia
Japan	8 : 2	(12) Spain
Austria (13)	8 : 6	Australia
Singapore	8 : 4	(4) Germany
Taiwan (3)	8 : 3	Denmark
Belgium	8 : 2	(14) Holland B
Canada (11)	8 : 3	India
Korea	8 : 5	(6) Vietnam
England (7)	8 : 6	Poland
Finland (10)	8 : 5	Qatar
Switzerland (15)	8 : 5	Hungary
USA (2)	8 : 7	Malta

2007 PARTY POKER.NET
WORLD CUP OF POOL
THE LAST 16
Philippines	8 : 0	Croatia
China	8 : 6	France
Japan	8 : 7	Holland A
Singapore	8 : 2	Austria
Belgium	8 : 6	Taiwan
Canada	8 : 2	Korea
Finland	8 : 5	England
Switzerland	8 : 6	USA

2007 PARTY POKER.NET
WORLD CUP OF POOL
THE QUARTER-FINALS
China	9 : 6	Philippines
Japan	9 : 5	Singapore
Canada	9 : 4	Belgium
Finland	9 : 4	Switzerland

2007 PARTY POKER.NET
WORLD CUP OF POOL
THE SEMI-FINALS
China	0 : 0	Japan
Finland	0 : 0	Canada

2007 PARTY POKER.NET
WORLD CUP OF POOL
THE FINAL
---	0 : 0	---

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