9-Ball
WITH THE ANNUAL World Cup of Pool set to get underway on the 23rd September, the full line-up of players can now be confirmed and it is arguably the strongest set of players ever assembled in the nine year history of the event.
There are 12 World Champions competing as well as six US Open Champions and countless European and Asian Champions. In addition the field also contains seven former World Cup winners and nine World Pool Masters champions, making it a must-see tournament for UK pool fans.
Taking place at the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth from Tuesday 23rd to Sunday 28th September, there are 16 first round matches over the first three days.
Europe (17)
Austria - Albin Ouschan & Mario He
Croatia - Ivica Putnik & Karlo Dalmatin
Czech Republic - Roman Hybler & Michal Gavenciak
England A - Darren Appleton & Karl Boyes
England B - Daryl Peach & Chris Melling
Finland - Mika Immonen & Petri Makkonen
France - Stephan Cohen & Alex Montpelier
Germany - Ralf Souquet & Thorsten Hohmann
Greece - Nikos Ekonomopoulos & Alexander Kazakis
Holland - Niels Feijen & Nick van den Berg
Italy - Fabio Petroni & Daniele Corrieri
Poland - Karol Skowerski & Mateusz Sniegocki
Portugal - Manuel Gama & Guilherme Sousa
Russia - Konstantin Stepanov & Ruslan Chinakhov
Spain - David Alcaide & Francisco Diaz-Pizarro
Sweden - Andreas Gerwen & Tomas Larsson
Switzerland - Dimitri Jungo & Ronni Regli
Rest of World (5)
Australia - Phil Reilly & James Georgiadis
Canada - Alex Pagulayan & John Morra
Chile - Alejandro Carvajal & Enrique Rojas
Qatar - Waleed Majid & Bashar Hussain
USA - Shane Van Boening & Earl Strickland
Asia (10)
China - Wang Can & Dang Jinhu
Chinese Taipei - Chang Yu-lung & Hsu Kai Lun
India - Raj Hundal & Amar Kang
Indonesia - Irsal Nasution & Muhammad Zulfikri
Japan - Hayato Hijikata & Masaaki Tanaka
Korea - Jeong Yung Hwa & Ha Minuk
Malaysia - Ibrahim Amir & Alan Tan
Philippines - Dennis Orcollo & Lee Vann Corteza
Thailand - Nitiwat Kanjanasri & Tanut Makkamontee
Vietnam - Nguyen Phuc Long & Dang Thanh Kien
Now in its ninth year, the World Cup of Pool features 32 two-player teams from around the world battling it out for a $250,000 prize fund. The defending champions are the Philippines who will be among the favourites to claim a record-breaking fourth World Cup.
The event starts on Tuesday 23rd September and there are two sessions daily at 12 noon and 6.00pm during weekdays and then 1.00pm and 6.00pm at the weekend. Team USA get their campaign underway on Wednesday 24th September.
All tickets are priced at £5 (afternoons) and £10 evenings and are available from the venue or www.seetickets.com
Diamond Billiards are the Official Table of the 2014 World Cup of Pool; the Official Cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith. Predator is the Official Cue of the event.
Luke Riches, Matchroom Sport: luke.riches@matchroom.com
Notes: Matchroom Sport are one of the world's leading producers of televised sport and are responsible for over 1,000 hours of original programming across a range of sports. Based in the UK and chaired by charismatic founder Barry Hearn, the World Cup of Pool is one of a stable of pool events that include the World Pool Masters and the Mosconi Cup.