Francisco Sanchez Ruiz has won the 2023 Premier League Pool title beating Jayson Shaw in the final 7-4 at the Morningside Arena, Leicester, England live on Matchroom.Live, Viaplay, and networks worldwide.
- World Cup of Pool to follow Spanish Open from June 27 to July 2 2023
- Second of three announcements this week for Nineball in Spain
- Nineball World No.1 Spain’s Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and David Alcaide looking to defend title on home soil
- Nineball World Ranking used as qualification and seedings for first time
Defending World Cup of Pool champions Spain will get the opportunity to defend their crown on home soil with the 2023 edition set to take place from June 27 to July 2 at Pazo De Feiras E Congresos De Lugo just days after the completion of the inaugural Spanish Open Pool Championship live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in Spain.
World champion and Nineball world number one Francisco Sanchez Ruiz alongside confidant 2019 World Pool Masters winner David Alcaide will step out in Lugo looking to become the first country in the tournament’s history to defend their title and they will do it in front of a rapturous home crowd.
Defending champions Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (R) & David Alcaide (L) of Spain｜©Taka G. Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
15 of the 32 countries competing have qualified from the Nineball World Rankings with the likes of two-time champions Austria, Great Britain, the USA, and Chinese Taipei amongst the sides to be on the seeded half of the draw. As host nation, Spain will also field a B team with rising stars Jose Alberto Delgado and Jonas Souto Comino set to join forces as the 16th seeded side.
The unseeded side will offer plenty of danger for the seeded countries with the 16 wild cards set to include China’s return to the international stage and three-time champions the Philippines with further countries to be confirmed over the coming weeks on the Matchroom Pool social media pages.
Guaranteeing each team at least £3,625, the World Cup of Pool is the only scotch doubles event on the Nineball World Tour with a total prize fund of $250,000 on offer.
Matchroom Multi Sport Managing Director Emily Frazer said: “What a festival of pool Lugo is going to have with an inaugural Spanish Open Pool Championship with 256 players and the prestigious World Cup of Pool, led by our new Nineball World No.1 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz after an impressive 15-month run. We truly believe Spain is an untapped market for professional pool. The Nineball World Rankings are becoming the backbone of the tour, allowing players to fully earn their place in these events with the 15 top counties on the Nineball World Rankings seeded.”
“Both events will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and locally on DAZN in Spain as well as our extensive coverage worldwide. Thanks to our partners at the AGP to make this event happen.”
Matchroom’s World Cup of Pool will be played alongside an amateur tournament called XXXI Campeonato Gallego Billar Pool hosted by the AGP.
Tickets will go on sale Thursday, 6 April from only €5 a day. Sign up for ticket alerts here.
Jose Alberto Delgado (file: 2022 European Open)｜©Taka G. Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
16 seeded sides confirmed as below:
Spain 西班牙
USA 美國
Germany 德國
Austria 奧地利
Great Britain 英國
Poland 波蘭
Greece 希臘
Chinese Taipei 中華台北
Netherlands 荷蘭
Syria 敘利亞
Albania 阿爾巴尼亞
Kuwait 科威特
Hungary 匈牙利
Canada 加拿大
Japan 日本
Spain B 西班牙 B隊
Alcaide cannot wait to defend the title: “Defending any title is always special, but in Spain, we will try even more to make it happen, I am super excited about the possibility of such a feat. Since we’ve known each other (Fran) we’ve always dreamed of this title, it was a dream when it happened, and now we are living out another one. It will be an extra motivation and I hope that for our rivals, the Spanish public will make them feel that pressure.”
Sanchez Ruiz added: “It’s amazing because last year, I said to David, this was the one we wanted to win. It meant so much to us both. It will be special. The Spanish fans will be unbelievable, we have a lot of knowledgeable fans. I think it will be the best World Cup of Pool ever. It will be tough, we have all the pressure, everyone expects us to win it, but I will not think of that. We will think round by round. It’s rare to defend this title.”
Broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in Spain, Italy, USA and Brazil, the World Cup of Pool will be broadcast on Matchroom.Live for those without a broadcaster. See broadcasters so far below:
- AMC Network Hungary
- Dazn Italy
- Dazn Spain
- Dazn USA & Brazil
- Fox Sports Australia
- Nova Czech Rep/Slovakia
- Sky Network New Zealand
- Sportklub Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia
- Supersport South Africa & Africa
- Tap Philippines
- Viaplay Baltics
- Viaplay Iceland
- Viaplay Netherlands
- Viaplay Poland
- Viaplay Scandinavia
- Vietcontent Vietnam
In a string of announcements as part of Matchroom’s investment into Spain this week, the Spanish Open Pool Championship became the fifth signature 256-player field event on the Nineball World Tour calendar when announced yesterday. Find out more about that here.
第16屆雙打世界盃今夏移師西班牙 衛冕冠軍有望主場衛冕
第16屆雙打世界盃 (World Cup of Pool) 定檔於 6月27日至7月2日在西班牙盧戈登場；2023年賽事總獎金為 25萬美元，參賽的每支球隊均保底至少獲得 £3,625 英鎊的獎金。Nineball 世界排名第一與8、9號球雙料世界冠軍的 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz 與 2019 世界花式撞球大師賽冠軍 David Alcaide 將踏上盧戈會展中心在主場迎戰各國，並有希望成為雙打世界盃史上首個衛冕的國家。
本屆賽事將有32個國家/地區隊伍，其中15個國家/地區是從 Nineball 世界排名中獲得參賽資格；而作為東道主的西班牙也將派出第二支隊伍，其將由兩位年輕的潛力新星 Jose Alberto Delgado 與 Jonas Souto Comino 搭檔合作組成B隊參賽。另外的16支外卡隊伍將包括有重返國際賽的中國和三屆冠軍菲律賓，更多的國家/地區將於未來幾週確認後陸續公布。
Jonas Souto (file: 2022 European Open )｜©Taka G. Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
Matchroom 總監 Emily Frazer: “西班牙盧戈 (Lugo) 將於今夏 6月20日至7月2日迎來一撞球盛會，率先登場的是首屆西班牙公開賽，比賽將有256名選手參加，結束之後雙打世界盃將緊接其後的登場。我們相信西班牙的職業撞球仍唯一尚未開發的市場，極具發展潛力。這兩項賽事都將在英國的天空體育 (Sky Sports) 與西班牙本地的 DAZN 直播，並在全球各地合作夥伴頻道上直播。最後要感謝我們的合作夥伴 AGP 為此所付出的努力，促成了此次的撞球盛會。”