Qatar’s Mohammad Sulthan is seen in action during the World 9-Ball Championship in Doha.Kammutty VP
Doha: The 2013 World Pool-Billiards Association (WPA) World 9-ball Championship Stage 2 is set to kick off today with most of the leading players of the game in attendance.
Ten Qatari players have been seeded directly into the main draw of the 12-day championship, sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and the Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU) which is contested by players from 43 countries.
The 10 Qatari players who feature in Stage 2 are Bashar Hussain, Mohammedd Al Bin Ali, Abdulatif Al Fawal, Khamis Al Obaidly, Ali Al Obaidly, Mohamed Al Buainain, Mohanna Al Obaidly, Waleed Majed, Israel Rota and Antonio Gabica.
The 12-day championship, held in two stages, Stage 1 and stage 2, is been held at the Al Arabi Indoor Hall. In Stage 2, 128 players are vying for a place in the September 13 final.
The Stage 2 draw reads like a veritable who’s who of greats from across the globe.
Defending champion and World number one Darren Appleton of Great Britain looks set to make a spirited defence of his title. Appleton won his first World 9-ball championship in June, 2012, with an incredible 13-12 win over China’s Li Hewen, in Doha.
Almost all of the top 30 players in the world are in Doha.
These include China’s Li Hewen(4), Hall of Famer Ralf Souquet (5) of Germany, Finland’s Mika Immonen(6), Karl Boyes(7) of Great Britain, and three greats from Taiwan, Chang Jun Lin(8), Ko Pin Yi(9), and Fu Chei Wei(10).
Also in the line-up are Germany’s Thorsten Hohmann(11), the USA’s Shane Van Boening(13), as well as Dutch pool stars Niels Feijen(18) and Nick Van Den Berg(22).
The Philippines looks set to make its usual splash.
Leading the way for the Philippine contingent is world number 2 Dennis Orcollo, and world number 3 Lee Vann Corteza. Also joining Team Philippines is the young up and comer, Carlo Biado, the legend and 1999 World 9-ball Champion Efren “Bata” Reyes, and 2010 World 9-ball Champion Francisco Bustamante.
The Stage 1, qualifying rounds of the tournament, followed a single elimination, race to 7 matches, with 12 qualifiers, making it to the qualified for the main draw.
The main draw players have been divided into 16 groups of 8.
Players will play a double elimination format, race to 9, alternate break. The top four players in each group, two from the winner’s side, and two from the loser’s side, will advance into the final 64.
From the final round of 64, the tournament will follow the knockout system, with all matches single elimination race to 11, alternate break.
The semi-finals and finals will take place on September 13. The finals will be a race to 13, alternate break.
The winner of the 2013 World 9-ball Championship will receive $36,000. The runner-up will take home $18,000. The total prize fund is $250,000. THE PENINSULA
