Fedor Gorst’s World Pool Championship defence came to an end at the hands of USA’s Skyler Woodward, who came from 8-4 down to win 11-8 at Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes.
After a shaky start, Woodward was starring down the barrel of defeat but settled himself and won seven consecutive racks, keeping Gorst largely rooted to his seat and unable to stem the tide of the two-time Mosconi Cup MVP, who will now face Denmark’s Bahram Lotfy in the last 32.
“When I was 8-4 down I was waiting for a chance to take control and that’s what I did,” said Woodward. “I knew I couldn’t give him a chance because he was three games away so if I gave him a game off my break he was two away and I would be out of here.
“Having the race to 11 was nice, because at 8-4 if he was on the hill it would have been a little different thinking from me if it was race to 9. I have to keep focussed, keep doing what I am doing and I can go deep.”
Skyler Woodward｜© Taka Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
Jayson Shaw suffered a bruising defeat to Shane van Boening, who has been one of the best and most consistent performers of the tournament so far. The five-time US Open Champion looked in good rhythm as he dumped International Open winner Shaw out of the event.
The last 32 commences at 6pm this evening, live on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live. Among the standout ties is Germany’s former World Champion Thorsten Hohmann against Predator Championship League Pool winner Albin Ouschan. Team USA’s Billy Thorpe faces Dutchman Marc Bijsterbosch, while Karl Boyes’ comeback continues with the World Cup finalist in action against Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz after a 11-5 win over Moritz Neuhausen in the last 64.
Joshua Filler won an entertaining clash with Darren Appleton 11-8 and now faces Naoyuki Oi, who knocked out World Pool Masters winner Alex Kazakis 11-6.
Shane van Boening｜© Taka Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
The full draw and brackets for the knockout stages can be found at matchroompool.com, along with live scoring throughout the event. For all the latest news and announcements follow Matchroom Pool on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.