Billiards
Team Philippines off to rousing start in World Pool Team Championship
File photo courtesy of wpa-pool.com
After a failed bid in the World 9-Ball Championship, Filipino bets Efren “Bata” Reyes, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Dennis Orcullo and Rubilen Amit came together as one solid unit Sunday night and took part in the World Pool Team Championship in Beijing, China.
On opening night, Team Philippines brought down Indonesia, 4-2, in a good start in this tournament that drew a strong cast of participants from Great Britain, Germany, Chinese Taipei, and host China, teams that are heavily favored in the tourney.
Great Britain will be led by two-time world champion and former No. 1 player Darren Appleton, who won the World 9-Ball crown recently in Doha, Qatar. His other teammates are as formidable – world women’s champion Kelly Fisher, 2007 World Pool titlist Daryl Peach, Mark Gray and Chris Melling – easily installing the squad as the team to beat.
Germany will be spearheaded by multi-titled cue artist Ralf Souquet and former world champions Thorsten Hohmann and Oliver Ortmann, but they will have to carry a young lady participant – 19-year-old Jasmin Michel.
China is fielding in two teams – one is led by Li He Wen, runner-up to Appleton in the recently concluded World 9-Ball Championship. Other members of the strong China A squad are Fu Jianbo, Liu Haitao, former Women’s World 9-Ball champion Fu Xiaofang and Pan Xiao Ting.
Reigning World 8-Ball champion Chang Jung Lin led a stellar cast for Chinese Taipei, which will also have two-time world junior champion Ko Pin Yi, Fu Che Wei and Chie Yu Chou.
In the World Team Championship, all disciplines in billiards will be played – 8-Ball, 9-Ball and 10-Ball.
One 8-ball match will be men’s scotch doubles, race to 6. The other 8-ball match will be a men’s singles, race to 6.
In 9-ball, the teams will compete in a women’s singles, race to 8, and a men’s singles race to 8.
In 10-ball, the teams will play one mixed doubles match (scotch doubles), race to 7, and one men’s singles match race to 7.
The female player must play in the 10-ball mixed doubles match, and a 9-ball match.
No player is permitted to play more than two matches per session.
The team who gets the most wins in a particular set of six in their match with another country will receive three points on their total in the group. If the match is a tie (3-3), each team will receive one point in their group.
The two teams with the highest total points from each group will advance to the single elimination stage. In the event of a tie between two teams, the team with the best win/loss record will qualify number one.
