Day three of the WPBA Atlanta Classic ended with several tight matches. Three of the quarterfinal matches resulted in 9-8 scores.

Another hill-hill match that closed out the day of play on Saturday was Karen Corr vs. Kelly Fisher. In the final game, tied 8-8, Karen Corr broke clean with shot on the 1-ball. Corr left herself long shape on the 2-ball, which resulted in bad shape on the 3-ball as well. After playing an unsuccessful safety on the 3-ball, Kelly Fisher fired in a long, tough back cut to combo on the 3-ball to pocket the 9-ball and advance to the semifinals on Sunday.

The always consistent Kim Shaw also remains undefeated into Sunday play with a hill-hill match in the quarter finals. Her winning streak continued on Saturday with wins over Helena Thornfeldt and the former European Champion, Line Kjorsvik. Jasmin Ouschan joined the ladies in the semifinals by first defeating Ewa Laurence. Next she would have to get past the Allison Fisher. Fisher recently took over the top spot in the WPA rankings with 2 second place finishes at the World 9-Ball Championships and the China Open so this would prove to be a competitive match. In the end, Ouschan was victorious and will face Kelly Fisher. The match with Monica Webb and Kim Shaw will open play on Sunday.

Semifinals and Finals coverage of the 2010 Atlanta Classic will air Sunday, Nov. 14, 1–4pm EST on ESPN2.

WPBA extends many thanks to its sponsors: American Poolplayers Association, Cuetec Cues, Simonis Cloth, Delta-13 Rack, Diamond Billiards, SalucSA/Aramith, Pooldawg, and Mueller Recreational Products.

by InsidePOOL Staff

The 2010 WPA Women’s World 9-Ball Championships saw Xiaofang Fu of China crowned the new victor after she bested Allison Fisher in the finals. This grueling, week-long event was held in Shenyang, China, and saw a total of 128 of the world’s best female 9-ball players compete for the prestigious title.

The 2010 WPA Women’s World 9-Ball Championships saw Xiaofang Fu of China crowned the new victor after she bested Fisher in the finals.

Her opponent was the defending champion, fellow countrywoman 17-year-old Shasha Liu. Earlier in the event Liu had eliminated Miso Lin of Taipei, Kelly Fisher of Great Britain, and Siming Chen of China. Liu was unable to hold on to her title, though, and had to content herself with a third-place finish as Fu advanced to the final.

Allison Fisher, a four-time winner of this coveted crown, was waiting for her. Fisher had faced down Xioachun Zheng of China, Angelina Paglia of the U.S., and the WPBA’s number-one-ranked player, Ga Young Kim, to make it to the semifinals. There she had to go up against Shu-Man Chang, who had eliminated Yun Mi Lim of Korea, Monica Webb of the U.S., and Yuan Chun Lin of Taipei. Hoping to take a fifth title, Fisher pressed on to victory and defeated Chang as well.

But another victory was not in the cards for Fisher this time. The extended race to 9 was a hotly contested battle, but in the end it was Xiaofang Fu who took top honors with a 9-7 final score.

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Cavalcade of World Champs Manila Bound

Matchroom Sport can announce the teams and players to contest the forthcoming Partypoker.net World Cup of Pool which takes place in Manila, Philippines from Tuesday to Sunday 7th to 12th September.

With 32 teams representing 31 countries – home nation Philippines has two sides in the competition – the World Cup of Pool sees the gathering of some of the most decorated stars of the pool firmament.

Defending champions Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante along with Johnny Archer, Daryl Peach, Rodney Morris, Dennis Orcollo, Niels Feijen, Jasmin Ouschan, Mika Immonen, Oliver Ortmann, Karl Boyes, Fu Jianbo, Ga Young Kim, Tony Drago and Marcus Chamat are just some of the greats of the game who will be going for the $250,000 prize fund on offer.

In fact, the 64 players competing in the tournament possess 10 World 9 Ball Championships, three World 8 Ball crowns, two World Straight Pool titles, six US Open titles, 11 World Pool Masters crowns and four World Junior Championships between them. In addition nine of the competitors have contested a World Cup of Pool final in the past.

This is the fifth running of the PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool and defending Philippines team of Reyes and Bustamante have recorded two wins in the event – 2006 and last year. Fu Jianbo and Li Hewen won for China in ’07 while the American duo of Rodney Morris and Shane Van Boening collected the silverware in Rotterdam in 2008.

With a total purse of $250,000, the winning pair split $60,000 between them while first round losers are guaranteed $1,500 each. All the action will be carried live on Solar Sports in the Philippines and other broadcasters across the region.

Matchroom Sport can announce the teams and players to contest the forthcoming Partypoker.net World Cup of Pool which takes place in Manila, Philippines from Tuesday to Sunday 7th to 12th September.

‘Last year’s final was a fantastic occasion with the old campaigners Reyes and Bustamante completing a fairy tale week as they held off Germany in arguably the most exciting pool final of recent times.

‘Those two are back and Bustamante’s recent World Championship triumph would indicate that they still have all the ammunition at their disposal to make it a third World Cup triumph.

‘That said, half the teams in this competition are capable of winning it and I’m delighted that I will be in Manila to watch the final weekend’s play,’ he added.

2010 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool – Teams & Players

Australia James Delahunty / Ricky Emery

Austria Mario He / Jasmin Ouschan

Belgium Serge Das / Noel Bruynooghe

Canada John Morra / Jason Klatt

China Fu Jianbo / Li Hewen

Croatia Carlo Dalmatin / Philipp Stojanovic

England Daryl Peach / Karl Boyes

Finland Mika Immonen / Markus Juva

France Stephan Cohen / Francois Cottance

Germany Ralf Souquet / Oliver Ortmann

Holland Niels Feijen / Nick Van Den Berg

Hong Kong Lee Chenman / Kenny Kwok

India Raj Hundal / Dharminder Singh Lilly

Indonesia TBC

Italy Fabio Petroni / Bruno Muratore

Japan Naoyuki Oi / Toru Kuribayashi

Korea Yu Ram Cha / Ga Young Kim

Malaysia Ibrahim Bin Amir / Lee Poh Soon

Malta Tony Drago / Alex Borg

Philippines 1 Efren Reyes / Francisco Bustamante

Philippines 2 Roberto Gomez / Dennis Orcollo

Poland Radoslaw Babica / Mariusz Skoneczny

Qatar Mohammad Al Bin Ali / Bashar Hussain

Russia Konstantin Stepanov / Ruslan Chinakhov

Singapore Chan Keng Kwang / Toh Lian Han

Slovenia Matjaz Erculj / Matej Sulek

Spain David Alcaide / Francisco Sanchez Ruiz

Sweden Marcus Chamat / Thomas Mehtala

Taiwan Ko Pin –Yi / Chang Jung-Lin

Thailand Nitiwat Kanjanasri / Surathep Phoochalam

USA Rodney Morris / Johnny Archer

Vietnam Luong Chi Dung / Do Hoang Quan

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 1,100 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 Mosconi Cup and the World Pool Masters.

The 2010 World Cup of Pool is sponsored by PartyPoker.net, the world’s leading online poker room. Tables are supplied by Brunswick Billiards, cloth by Iwan Simonis, Super Aramith balls by Saluc and the Official Cue is Predator.

We are down to the final four in Doha at the WPA World 9-Ball Championships. The four men left from the filed of 128 who began the week are Johnny Archer of the USA, Kuo Po Chen of Taipei, and Filipino countrymen Antonio Lining and Francisco Bustamante. As luck would have it Bustamante and Lining will face one another on July 5th and so one of them will be in the finals and one will finish in a tie for third place. Our other semi-final, of course, will find Johnny Archer doing battle with Kuo Po Chen.

These four all had tough paths to get to this point. Kuo Po Chen lost his very first match of the event (to Thomas Engert 9-5) and then went on a tear through the one-loss side to make it through to the final 64. Once there he knocked out John Morra 11-9, Ibrahim Bin Amir 11-10, Yang Chin Shun 11-9 and former World 9-Ball Champion Ronnie Alcano 11-5.

Johnny Archer may truly lay claim to a tough draw in the round of 64. His first foe was Efren Reyes. This one gave the fans all they could ask for as Archer avoided the Magician’s spell and emerged with an 11-10 win. Then he took out Bruno Muratore (11-7) and Jason Klatt (11-8) before gaining his seat in the semi’s by defeating Sandor Tot (11-6).

We are down to the final four in Doha at the WPA World 9-Ball Championships.

View the World 9-Ball Single Elimination tournament brackets

Antonio Lining had a tough start as well. He had to get by Corey Deuel and he did so in a close match that wound up 9-7 in his favor. Then he just set his game on cruise control and skated through Khalid Al Kamale 9-5, Lee Poh Soon 11-6, Nguyen Phuc Long 11-6, and Dimitri Jungo 11-8. Making that final step into the fab four was a high jump. Oliver Mendenilla took Lining all the way to double-hill before Lining grabbed the final table to win 11-10.

It can only get more exciting from here. One of these four is only two wins away from a World Championship!

Sometimes being a World Champion puts a big target on your back. Defending Champion Daryl Peach will not repeat his feat as he has gone two and out in Doha and his countryman and former World 10 Ball champion Darren Appleton shared that fate.

Peach lost his matches to Israel Rota of Qatar and Artem Koshovoj of the Ukraine, Appleton lost first to Jason Klatt of Canada and then to Taqi Moustafawi of Algeria. Today was mostly a day for the one-loss side to weed itself, but four men have made it through the winner’s side without a loss and so have graduated from the group stages into the final rounds. They are Shane Van Boening of the USA, Ibrahim Bin Amir of Malaysia, Lui Hui Chan of Taipei and Scott Higgins of Great Britain.

Van Boening of the USA, Ibrahim Bin Amir of Malaysia, Lui Hui Chan of Taipei and Scott Higgins of Great Britain are still undefeated.

View the 2010 WPA World 9-Ball Championships tournament brackets

Imran Majid had a bad stay in Doha. Another two and out victim, he lost to two very fine players in the form of Martussz Skoneczny of Poland and Bruno Muratore of Italy. Most of the other big names are still alive, but there are many more one-loss matches to be played so some of them will no doubt bite the dust and never reach the last stage.

Play resumes on Thursday and we will keep you updated as to the fates of all the players.

The World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) World 9-Ball Championship has now begun the second stage in Doha, Qatar at the headquarters of the Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation (QBSF). The first round of the group stage matches began today. Each contestant is in a group that contains four other players and they will play down inside those groups until there are only two players left on both the winners side and on the one-loss side. Those 64 players will then progress to the championship round of play.

The World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) World 9-Ball Championship has now begun the second stage in Doha, Qatar at the headquarters of the Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation (QBSF).

View the 2010 WPA World 9-Ball Championships tournament brackets

It is tough in Doha. Lots of tournament info can be found at www.QBSF.info. We will send you reports, brackets and photos as we receive them.

The World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) is pleased to announce that the World 9-Ball Championship will be conducted in Doha, Qatar from June 25 until July 5, 2010. Qualifiers for this event will be held in Doha from June 25 until June 27 and the main event will be conducted from June 28 until a champion is crowned on July 5.

The prize fund for this initial appearance and in 2011 in Qatar is $250,000 and will increase to $300,000 for both 2012 and 2013. Invitations will be done according to WPA rankings, and via the WPA members. Invitations will be done according to WPA rankings, and via the WPA members and should commence during the spring of 2010.

The World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) is pleased to announce that the World 9-Ball Championship will be conducted in Doha, Qatar from June 25 until July 5, 2010.

More details will be forthcoming shortly but the WPA wishes to take this opportunity to thank the organizers in Qatar who have worked so diligently to make this event a reality. The world has been awaiting the return of the World 9-Ball Championships and it is their efforts who have made this possible.

Two rounds were completed on Saturday at the Kappa 209 Women’s World 9-Ball Championship. In the first round the field was reduced from sixteen players to eight. This round found number one seed Chou Chieh-Yu (CHN) upset 9-4 by Zhou Doudou (CHN) and Allison Fisher (GBR) eliminated from the field 9-8 by Chen Xue (CHN). The top-bracket action also found Fu Xiafang (CHN) beating Han Fang (CHN) 9-8 and Karen Corr (GBR) rolling over Tsai Pei Chen (TPE) 9-3, making Ms. COrr the only western player to survive into the round of the great eight.

The bottom bracket found crowd favorite Pan Xiaoting ((CHN) defeating qualifier Gao Meng (CHN) 9-4, Korean powerhouse Yu Ram Cha beating Gao Shu Pin (TPE) 9-3, Liu Shasha (CHN) getting by Chen Siming (CHN) 9-7 and former world champion Liu Shin-Mei ((TPE) progressing 9-5 over Gerda Hofstatter (AUT).

Two rounds were completed on Saturday at the Kappa 209 Women’s World 9-Ball Championship.

View the Kappa 2009 Women’s World 9-Ball Championships Double Elimination tournament brackets

View the Kappa 2009 Women’s World 9-Ball Championships Final Single Elimination tournament brackets

The round of the great eight began with five Chinese players still in the mix, an incredible feat for the representatives of the host nation. But Karen Corr kept western hopes alive as she defeated Zhou DouDou (9-3) to make the final four. She is joined in the elite group by Fu Xiofang, who easily escaped Chen Xue 9-2. The last two slots are filled by Pan Xiaoting with her victory over Yu Ram Cha (9-4) and Liu Shasha who steamrolled Liu Shin-Mei 9-1.

Sunday will find a single victor.

by Jerry Forsyth, WPA Press Officer

The qualifying rounds are over and the main event has begun at the sports complex of the Shenyang Jianzhu University in Shenyang. The day was highlighted by the grand opening ceremony where local government and sports officials welcomed the players and fans to the event.

The venue at the university is well suited for the competition. The tables are all located well beneath the main seating area so that the fans have a great view of several tables at once. There is also a separate television arena and the event is being broadcast live throughout China.

It is, of course, still very early in the event but there have been some surprising exits made already. Among notables who have been knocked out of the tournament are Julie Kelly of the USA, Yukiko Oui of Japan, Pang Xueling of China, and Angel Paglia of the USA.

View the Kappa 2009 Women’s World 9-Ball Championships tournament brackets

The qualifying rounds are over and the main event has begun at the sports complex of the Shenyang Jianzhu University in Shenyang.

The knockouts will come in earnest tomorrow as more of the one-loss rounds progress. This stage of the tournament is a double-elimination group stage with eight players in each group. Of those eight only four of each group will survive to make it into the final stage, which will be a single-elimination format of thirty-two players. Eight players have already made it through to the single-elimination stage: Karen Corr, Pan Xiaoting, Chen Xue, Liu Shasha, Chou Chieh-Yu, Sarah Rousey, Gao Shu-Pin, and Jasmin Ouschan have completed their initial task.

Live Internet streaming of the event is found at my147.com and the brackets may be found at wpa-pool.com. They are updated after each round, so it is easy to follow the progress of your favorite players.

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The first day at the Kappa 2009 Women’s World 9-Ball Championships began with a press conference where local officials welcomed the players to the tournament. A briefing was given on the number of players (64) and the qualifying stages and an explanation of when the players meeting and draw would be held. Sponsors were recognized and thanked for their contribution to the event. Players and attendees were also informed as to the massive participation of the Chinese media in this event with newspapers, magazines, television and radio all participating in the coverage.

In addition to the large staff responsible for carrying out the event, it was also announced that 40 volunteers were chosen to assist in these efforts. After the government officials made their welcomes the General Manager of our title sponsor, Kappa Sportswear, also made a welcoming address and spoke of how pleased they were to be associated with such a prestigious undertaking.

WPA President Ian Anderson then expressed his gratitude to everyone involved in the event and his pleasure that the event has been presented in a first-class order. He specifically thanked everyone for the skill of the referees, the quality of the equipment and the beauty of the venue. He also spoke of how he looked forward to returning to Shengyeng next year.

View the Kappa 2009 Women’s World 9-Ball Championships tournament brackets

The first day at the Kappa 2009 Women’s World 9-Ball Championships began with a press conference where local officials welcomed the players to the tournament.

Next was the player’s meeting. The head referee took the floor first and explained the format of the event. He explained that there would be 8 players seeded into the eight initial groups. These players, chosen by their WPA rank, will be joined by 7 other players in each group and the 8 groups will play a double-elimination format to get down to the final 32. Two losers and two winners from each group of eight will pass through to the final stage. These 32 players will then play a standard single-elimination tournament to determine our champion. All of the rules were explained in detail so that there could be no question as to how the event would be run.

Then it was off to the grand welcoming banquet. 250 players and honored guests were feted to a massive 20-course meal that left no appetite unsatisfied. Gymnasts entertained the crowd as they ate. It must be said, this was a magnificent opening to what portends to be an event that will be difficult for others to match.