2013 World Cup of Pool Event set for London debut

AFTER FOUR years in Manila and two in Rotterdam, the eighth annual World Cup of Pool will be making a welcome return to UK shores when it takes place at the historic York Hall, Bethnal Green in London from 17th to 22nd September.

Following on from last year’s victory in the Philippines, the Finnish pair of Mika Immonen and Petri Makkonen will back to defend their title at a venue that has gained a place in pool folklore following a 16 year association with the Mosconi Cup.

With 32 two-player teams representing 31 countries chasing the lion’s share of the $250,000 prize fund, there will be plenty of teams in with a shout. That will include two from the home country who will sure to be well supported in the East London pocket billiards mecca.

The event will be played to a single elimination format over six days with two sessions a day. In addition to the home nation and defending champions, all of the strongest countries in world pool will be sending teams and that includes the Philippines, Holland, Germany, China, the USA and Taiwan.

 Promoters Matchroom Sport will be building the exact same arena as that used at the Mosconi Cup and will be looking to generate a similar atmosphere as the tournament progresses.

Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn said, “After six years on the road, we thought the time was right to bring the World Cup back to the UK and with its Mosconi Cup connotations, the York Hall seemed the perfect choice for a venue.

“Being in London, it will give teams as well as fans the opportunity to sample this wonderful city and we will be hoping for massive crowds throughout the week.

“Aside from all the big guns, the World Cup has had its fair share of lesser nations go all out for glory – Poland last year, and Thailand in 2011 almost managed to pull off famous victories.

“All in all this will be a feast of top class pool that no European cue sports fan can afford to miss!” he added.

Tickets will be on sale shortly via www.seetickets.com


The World Cup of Pool will carry a $250,000 prize fund including $60,000 for the champions. The event will be produced by Matchroom Sport Television who will be making 31 x 1 hour programmes of the tournament for international syndication.

The 2013 World Cup of Pool has its cloth supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith.

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.

Olhausen Announces Title Sponsorship of the 2013 World 14.1 Tournament

New York City, NY - American billiard table giant Olhausen has announced it has taken over the title position of the now Olhausen World Tournament of 14.1.

Championship Cloth Tour Edition 3030 has been selected as the Official Cloth of the championship for the second year in a row and Olhausen the Official Table for the third year. Dragon Promotions and Dr. Michael Fedak will bring another star studded field at this year's 73rd Olhausen World Tournament hosted by Steinway Billiards in New York on August 19th-24th,2013.  Through additional support from such sponsors such as Aramith Balls, Amsterdam Billiards, Pool & Billiard Magazine and Master Chalk, the absolute best pool players from around the world will arrive on the birth country of 14.1 once more to attend this prestigious event, and vie for the coveted title of greatest straight pool player in the world.

“Olhausen is pleased to take on the role of the title sponsor of the oldest pool tournament in the world. This is our third year of supporting the World Tournament and we enjoy seeing its success and growth. Olhausen values its relationship with Dragon Promotions and their committed support of professional pool",  said Donny Olhausen, Founder and owner of Olhausen Tables.

All Olhausen Tables are built in Portland, Tennesssee and have been American made since our beginning in 1973. Olhausen knows a little something about pool tables and pool players and The World Tournament brings the best of both together."

"We are extremely pleased to see Olhausen step up as the title sponsor of the World Tournament. And having Championship Cloth on board again gives the event the top two American brands. Pro players and fans, we welcome everyone to the Olhausen World Tournament! ," said Cindy Lee, CEO of Dragon Promotions.

Efren Bata Reyes Tours Bangkok

With the help of our good friend Allan Chua from Thailand, pool fans in Bangkok were given a rare treat a couple of weeks ago. The one and only pool legend, Efren "Bata" Reyes was invited to do a tour around Bangkok to showcase his talent and play a couple of friendly racks with fans as well as play a couple of exhibition matches.



On the first day of the tour, Molly Malone's, a lovely Irish Pub hosted us for dinner and Efren played some racks with the patrons of the place.

After that, we were ushered out to another place, this time a proper pool hall instead of a pub and the atmosphere was electric! Loads of pool fans were waiting for Efren and we also bumped into a bunch of Filipinos which is always a good thing. 

This kid caught Efren's attention immediately. It looks like more and more young players are being developed in Thailand!

There were some interesting Murals all over the walls at Hustler's.

What do you think of this Jassy?

Several players challenged Efren to a rack and this girl actually did better than a lot of the others...or maybe Efren was nicer to her?

Lovely crowd at Hustlers.

The second day brought us to a new Pub called The Game. This time, I suggested that we play 8-ball instead of 9-ball and make it three racks for each of the participants so that they get better chances. (I kinda felt bad for those who didn't get a shot in from the previous night since it was only one rack each).

Efren played with several people and even joined two rounds of killers which he both lost! 

I had my usual fish n' chips (I know, I know that's not really Irish). And of course, how could we resist a proper ice cold San Miguel Beer. This one is brewed and bottled in Thailand!

Everything was perfect until I ordered some water and they brought me this. Oh my. what a mistake. I guess, I'm sticking to the beer all night!

The last day of the tour was dedicated to challenge matches. Efren was scheduled to play against top Thai player Kobkit Palajin and Stuart Petman 

Efren 15-5 Kobkit

Stuart went barefoot for most of the match!

In the end, Efren outclassed both players and won easily. We were treated to a great celebration af a place I dare not mention. 

It was a great trip and I hope that everyone in Bangkok enjoyed it as much as we did. Thanks again to Allan Chua for arranging everything. Special thanks to Molly Malone's, Hustlers, The Game, our driver One and Toshi for the lovely pictures.

ABP Statement on the World 10-ball in Manila

Dear ABP Pro Player,

As the only unified body of professional players worldwide, we feel obligated to protect the interests of all professional pocket billiard players.
Thus we must inform you that we have investigated and researched info on this year's men's World 10-Ball in Manila Oct 8-14th which is sanctioned by the WPA, and they have informed us this year's event in October is NOT requiring the promoter Raya Sports to have the money in advance with the WPA. This info was not included in your info sheet for the event. We recommend you confirm this with your national federation.

Previously, the WPA did announce last year it would hold Raya Sports prize money in advance due to several incidents of lack of payments and extreme tardiness which affected many of you members.

Our local association partners in the Philippines has also notified us that there are no confirmed sponsors as of yet for the event, and they are withholding their players participation until money is secured. Also STAR Billiards, a partner of the event every year, announced last week it will not sponsor the event unless the full prize money is secured. Because most of you will be traveling very far and must secure hotel and flight in advance, it is important for us to make you fully aware of any pertinent news on this.

Please note that this email is not demanding you to not play, nor is it discouraging you to participate. This email is to simply share important info and to protect the interest of the professional players. Any of our players are free to play in the event, but we wish everyone to travel there to know , that as for now, there is no guarantee or protection of finances and prize money by the WPA nor any association for players traveling to the Philippines men's World 10-Ball .

If anything changes to our knowledge, we will inform you immediately. Please feel free to share with any players that you feel this info may concern.
Thank you and best wishes.

ABP
Association of Billiard Professionals

Reyes, Bustamante Reunite for World Cup of Pool. Orcollo teams up with Corteza

Team Philippines A: Dennis Orcollo/Lee Vann Corteza
Team Philippines B: Efren Reyes/Django Bustamante

Two-time World Cup of Pool Champions Efren "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante will revive their celebrated partnership to launch yet another World Cup of Pool campaign. The pair won the first-ever staging of the even back n 2006 and again in 2009. The event takes place from Sept 4-9 at the Robinson's Place Manila.

Being fast friends off the table undoubtedly helps them maintain a partnership that is tough to defeat. In yesterday's press conference, Reyes points out that many young players nowadays are capable of beating them beacuse of their superior physical condition and accurate shot-making. However, the other teams recognize that a strong partnership and deep knowledge of each other's playing styles are big advantages that the older pair possess.

Efren Reyes is also a back-to-back World Mixed Doubles champion with Rubilen Amit. This just proves that the man is not only a great player but is also an ideal doubles partner. His understanding of the game and his ability to adjust and manipulate the game to suit his partner's strengths and weaknesses make his doubles game a notch above the rest.

Meanwhile, after several hits and misses over the years most notable of which is last year's semi-final, Dennis Orcollo has found a new partner in Lee Vann Corteza for this year's tournament. This is a well-anticipated pair-up and one which the local and foreign fans alike have high hopes for.

Doubles quickly negates individual talents since personalities and varying strategies can change the way the game is played. Orcollo pairs up with Corteza for the first time and surprises are expected from the dynamic pair. Both are known to be introverts in the tour but this might just work to their advantage. Dennis mentioned last year that it is easier to just let your partner do his thing and shoot what you are left with rather than fussing over each shot.

The other teams also fielded their best teams but most notable of which is the unknown pair fielded by Chinese Taipei. Despite the success and fanfare around the adorable Ko brothers last year, They are bringing in  Han En Hsu and Hsing Ting Chen. Who? I don't know them either but hey, If there is anything that I've learned in many years in this industry, The Taiwanese are always a threat. This new pair is definitely one to watch.

Defending champions Germany composed of Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann looked upbeat and ready for their title defense. Last year Souquet swept the back-to-back Matchroom events in the country and have gained legions of Filipino fans yet again. However, I can't promise that the fans won't be rabid once their team faces the local bets.  Ralf pointed out during the presscon that he's hoping for more sportsmanship from the fans this year. Haha. Sorry Ralf. not gonna happen but hey, It doesn't mean they don't love you too. In the end they will still be huge fans of yours and will support you. Bashing you while you play against the hme team is just part of the way they enjoy the game.

The event will be aired LIVE over Solar Sports from 12 noon until 9:00 pm daily. Find the latest news and match schedules on www.matchroompool.com.

This event is produced by Matchroom Sport in cooperation with Party Poker.com and their local media partner Solar Sports.

The official table for this event is Diamond.

Ga Young Kim Crowned Yalin World 10-Ball Champion

Manila, Philippines-  Korea's Ga Young Kim finally overcame her demons to claim World Championship glory for her country. Kim on her second appearance in the finals of the the Yalin Women's World 10-Ball Championship, faced last year's #1 in the world Siming Chen of China, and completely dominated the championship match. Kim's victory has put South Korea back on top of women's pool.

The Dragon Promotions produced 4th Annual Yalin Women's World 10-Ball Championship is the most followed women's event of the year. In the host country of the Philippines, it is the biggest female sporting event of the country. The event is supported by Yalin Billiards, OB Cues, Championship Tour Edition Cloth, Aramith Balls, Tour Edition Chalk,  and #1 TV network broadcaster ABS-CBN. Pool & Billiard Magazine are also proud supporters. This year's edition took place August 20th-24th once again at Robinson's Galleria, which has now become synonymous for creating the dynamic atmosphere of the coveted championship. Robinson's Galleria is connected to the host hotel Crowne Plaza Galleria. With massive media and global networks covering the Yalin Women's World 10-Ball Championship, it will continue as still the biggest and most watched women's billiard event in the world.




In the semi-finals, China #1 Xiaofang Fu faced off with 19 year old Siming Chen for a spot into the finals. Neither had ever reached this far into this event. It was a tightly contested match, with Chen leading by 1 game margins throughout. But it was Fu's fatal scratch on the 7-Ball in game 14 where she had a chance to tie the match at 7. Instead Chen was given a sigh of relief and was able to close the rest of the match out at 9-6. 

The bottom bracket featured an all Korea semi-final between Korea's #1 and #2 women with Ga Young Kim and Yu Ram Cha. The match was epic. Both women played superb with non-stop exciting jumps, kicks, powerful break shots, and awesome offensive firepower.

"The final score of 9-5 is not even close to showing how great and tight that match really was", commented Yahoo Sports writer Bob Guerrero.

In the final match, China would face South Korea. China has had an army of strong top notch players, and Korea has produced perhaps not quite as many in quantity, but makes up for it in quality with gems such as Ga Young Kim, Yu Ram Cha, Yun Mi Lim, and Eun Ji Park.

The finals began with Kim continuing her lightning fast pace from her last match. She took the first 3 games in a blink of an eye. In about 15 minutes, she already commanded a 4-1 lead. Chen seemed overcome with the blitz of Kim and was never really able to shake her off. Chen pocketed some nice shots, but wasn't able to control her cueball well. Kim on the other hand, looked to be in supreme confidence at the table coming with every challenging shot and executing intricate safeties and positional play.

Leading eventually at 9-3, Chen was given another chance off a Kim safety. Chen made a nice carom shot off the 3-Ball sending the cueball down table off the short cushion and neatly hit the 10-Ball perfectly where she called , and pocketed it. Score was now 9-4 and the crowd cheered wildly hoping for a tighter contest. Chen then broke and ran the next making the audience hopeful for a comeback. But it was not to be, Chen made a positional error in the next rack and was forced to kick the 6-Ball. The effort was half hearted as the disappointment was apparent on her face from the earlier mistake. Kim faced the final 4 balls that stood in her way, and pocketed the first 3. As the cueball landed perfectly for the final 10-Ball shot, Kim showed her first emotion in the whole event by looking up to the sky, as if to say, this is what I've been fighting for the whole week. She pocketed the final shot and clenched her fist in the air in victory!

"I have improved my result from last year, so I am happy about that. I am getting closer", said Chen in the finalists speech.

"I really did not practice any more than usual for the event, but I was doing a "Dancing with the Stars" TV show in Korea leading up to the World Championship, and so I was really in a happy mood. So I think my happiness and positiveness carried over to here this week", explained Kim when asked if she did anything differently this year to prepare.

Ga Young Kim will enjoy a full year of reigning in women's pool most highest challenge and honor, as the World Champion of 10-Ball.

*Photo courtesy Chito Ines, Alison Chang, Bruce Li Xiaolong & Emille BBoy Soriano,

Stage 1 of Yalin Women's World 10-Ball Championship Fields International Talent

Taiwan's former 2x World Champion Shin Mei Liu will be one of the tough players seeking out a qualifier spot in the coveted Yalin Women's World 10-Ball Championship

Manila, Philippines-  Talented female cueists from around the world will be coming to Manila a few days early to take one of the 8 qualifying spots for the Yalin World Championship. It's open to anyone woman willing to take a shot at the world's biggest title in lady's billiards. Players from China, Japan, Taiwan, and Philippines will be the dominant forces in the Stage 1 field fighting their way into Stage 2 to become one of the elite 48 players of the Yalin Women's World 10-Ball Championship. The matches start this Saturday August 18th and continue on the 19th for a total of 4 qualifying heats.

The Dragon Promotions produced WPA 4th Annual Yalin Women's World 10-Ball Championship is the most followed women's event of the year. In the host country of the Philippines, it is the biggest female sporting event of the country. The event is supported by Asian table mammoth Yalin Billiards, advanced cue engineer OB Cues, long lasting Championship Tour Edition Cloth, top playing Aramith Balls, and #1 TV network broadcaster ABS-CBN. This year's edition will take place August 20th-24th once again at Robinson's Galleria Mall, which has now become synonymous for creating the dynamic atmosphere of the coveted championship. Robinson's Galleria is connected to the host hotel Crowne Plaza Galleria. An elite 48 world class pros and international women superstars will attend the event to fight it out. With the one goal in mind: to become the World Champion of 10-Ball.


"There were a lot of heartbreaks last year as well as glorious triumphs in the qualifying stage 1 at Star Billiards Center. One young teenage player missed the winning 10-Ball to qualify, as well as top tier champions such as Akimi Kajitani of Japan getting through and making it all the way to the top 16. Everyone plays so hard and you wish everyone could qualify. But there will definitely be some heartbreaks again. It's just a part of the game", said Charlie Williams, Dragon Promotions promoter and world renown player and coach.

Other notable players in the qualifiers include Taiwan's Ho Yun Tan, a former World Championship semi-finalist and Japan's Li Jia. Japan has a big contingent including WPBA pro Kyoko Sone and up and comer Noriko Onoda.

The Yalin Women's World 10-Ball Championship Stage 1 will feature foreign skilled beauties such as Nollie Onoda & Kyoko Sone 

Players that qualify will be paired in groups with the likes of Jasmin Ouschan, Siming Chen, Ga Young Kim, and reigning World Champion Kelly Fisher of the United Kingdom, who will be defending her title against all comers. The comers will be hailing from countries such as Netherlands, China, Iran, Germany, Japan, Belgium, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, France, Philippines, the United States and many more. The best of the best female talents from over 20 countries will be represented at the World Championship.