The Philippines created World Cup of Pool history by claiming a record fourth title beating Germany 11-7 at Pazo de Feiras e Congresos de Lugo, Spain in partnership with The Asociación Gallega de Billar Pool (AGP), Xunta de Galicia, and EIDF Solar live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in Spain, the USA, Italy, and Brazil, Viaplay in Scandinavia, the Baltics and Poland and broadcasters worldwide.
Philippines win 2023 World Cup of Pool
Germany 7-11 Philippines
From the outset, a meeting of two powerhouses of Nineball was always going to deliver drama and there was no let up from the start in a rematch of the 2009 World Cup of Pool final where it was the Philippines who came out on top.
Germany’s Joshua Filler alongside Moritz Neuhausen was tasked with taking down the powerful Pinoy duo of Johann Chua and James Aranas and they had the initial upper hand by winning the lag. Despite that, it was the Philippines who took the opening rack after Filler scratched from the break whilst the second rack swung the other way after Aranas missed the nine. A brilliant break and run out in the third put Germany ahead. The Philippines hit back in the fourth after a loose Filler safety put them in to clear the table from the two.
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Aranas and Chua put their nation back in front in the fifth rack after Neuhausen was forced to go airborne to find any contact on the two at 3-2.
The Philippines were gathering momentum in the contest and ramped up to a 5-2 lead after a costly foul from Germany gave the former ball in hand to extend their advantage and be six racks away from victory. A break and run in the following took the Philippines over the halfway stage toward victory. As in the previous two matches, the Philippines were doing all the early running and they built on their lead to 7-2, it was a magnificent showing of cueing.
Chua was incredible and Aranas was sublime as the lead extended to 8-2 after one of the shots of the match from Bad Koi Chua saw him draw back from the three to perfect position to aid the break and run, another one on their tally. Germany had their chance in the 11th rack but Filler fluffed his lines on a rare occasion which allowed Aranas in for the 6-9 combo to be two away from victory.
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A rare slip from the Philippines in the 12th rack allowed Germany back in but it was still 9-3, a long way to go for the Europeans. The distance was soon narrowing by the rack as Germany built up momentum to pull things to 9-6 after 15 racks, it was indeed the case of history repeating itself for the Philippines who had already gone through back-to-back matches that ended up going the distance from strong winning positions.
At 9-7, Germany pushed out from the break and it proved to be decisive as the Philippines ran out to reach the hill first. In what was the final rack of the tournament, the Philippines made a brilliant safety which meant Germany made a deliberate foul hoping that Aranas and Chua would not make the two but with the way the pair were playing, it was calling all pockets as the Philippines closed out a historic performance following in the footsteps of Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante.
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Chua said: “I feel great. It feels amazing to win a world title. It’s such an honour to win with James. We’ve known each other since we were 13 years old. We went to school together. To win with him is amazing. This has always been our dream. It’s a special achievement to win the World Cup of Pool. I am aggressive at the table. I cannot sleep if I do not approach it like that. It’s my first achievement at this sort of prestigious event. It’s my first world title. “
Aranas started the week with no cues having been lost in transit but felt it was a sign of better things to come: “For me, I have so many memories, it’s so exciting. This week is unforgettable, spending this moment with Johann too. My cues arrived right on time because they didn’t arrive for the Spanish Open. I want to thank my friends and family and all the Filipinos back home. Without my family, I would not be here.”
Filler said: “It was a tough final. They were breaking better. I said to Moritz we still have to believe. Aranas played a crazy two ball and after that all in all they played better and deserved to win.”
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The 2023 World Cup of Pool will be played alongside the 31st Galician Team Pool Billiards Championship, which will bring together more than 1,000 players in the Pazo de Ferias y Congresos de Lugo, where more than 40 tables will be in action. The participants in this tournament considered the biggest in Europe, will compete for the regional titles and the prizes arranged by the Galician Association of Pool Billiards.
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Additional tickets for the 2023 World Cup of Pool are now on sale with allocations selling out within 24 hours. Buy tickets here from only €10
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菲律賓擊敗德國 成為雙打世界盃史上 “四冠王”
2023 撞球雙打世界盃於今天凌晨在西班牙盧戈的展覽會議中心落下帷幕。本屆賽事表現近乎完美的菲律賓隊打出完美開局，最終 11-7 擊敗 Filler 領軍的德國隊，成為雙打世界盃史上首個 “四冠王”，獨自領跑冠軍榜。分別惜敗於德國與菲律賓的中國隊和波蘭則以季軍收官；中華台北則於本屆賽事止步於八強。
本屆世界盃，菲律賓隊 (Johann Chua/James Aranas) 前兩輪連克東道主西班牙的兩支隊伍，而就是這樣一支非種子隊伍，又在隨後抵擋住了中華台北和奧地利隊的猛撲，憑藉主將 Johann Chua 整屆賽事的完美發揮，挺進決賽。
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另一方面，德國隊 (Joshua Filler/Moritz Neuhausen) 可謂磕磕絆絆，不過始終能在最後時刻頂住壓力實現翻盤。在半決賽中，中國隊在 7-5 領先的情況下出現致命失誤，年輕的德國隊抓住機會連下4局，挺進決賽。
冠亞軍決賽，菲律賓隊與德國隊各打半場好球，菲律賓隊在 1-2 落後的情況下憑藉 99%的進攻成功率連拿7局，9-2 似乎奠定勝局。德國隊抓住了唯一的機會連搬 5局，不過最終功虧一簣，菲律賓隊先後兩次防守獲益，搭檔 James Aranas 又在關鍵時刻頂住壓力完成高難度的致命一擊。最終菲律賓隊 11-7 擊敗德國，時隔10年再奪冠軍。他們成為雙打世界盃史上首個 “四冠王”，也就此甩開三冠的中國隊，獨自領跑冠軍榜。另外，隨著菲律賓隊的奪冠，亞洲球隊也以八冠領先著歐洲球隊的七冠。
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Chua 說道: “贏得世界冠軍的感覺太棒了! 我與 James 13歲就認識，我們一起上學，能與他一起贏得比賽實在榮幸之至。贏得雙打世界盃一直是我們的夢想，而那下它更是一個特殊的成就，這也是我的第一個世界冠軍。”
Aranas 則談論到: “對我而言，這一周有著太多令人難忘的回憶，我的球桿雖然在西班牙公開賽期間仍不法抵達，但很高興它在賽前終於到達。我要感謝我的朋友、家人以及所有家鄉的球迷們。沒有我的家人，就沒有今天站在這的我。”
Filler 賽後訪問說道: “這是一場艱難的決賽。 他們的表現更好了。 我對莫里茨說我們仍然必須相信。 阿拉納斯打出了瘋狂的兩球，總而言之，他們打得更好，理應贏得比賽。”
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