JEDDAH: A thrilling penultimate day awaits at the 2024 World Pool Championship in Jeddah following a marathon 48 matches on Thursday that included a shock upset as the reigning champion was eliminated.
After three days of elimination encounters at the Green Halls, the 128-strong field has been narrowed down to the last 16, with 12 matches taking place on Friday.
Thursday illustrated that anyone could win the crown jewel of the World Nineball Tour.
Denmark’s world No. 53 Mickey Krause produced a sensational performance to knock out defending champion and world No. 1 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz. The 23-year-old overcame Ruiz 11-7 in the afternoon session before beating America’s Billy Thorpe to seal his spot in the last 16.
Krause said: “It was races to 11 out there but I break down matches into races to three. It’s all about small wins, small wins, small wins. I find this easier whilst playing and it helps me to focus. I was 0-2 down but came back and this approach helped me to dig deep and come through.”
He considers Friday to be a whole different competition as the latter stages begin. “I really see them as separate tournaments — the last 128, 64 and 32 as one tournament and the last 16 onwards as another.
“I’m really looking forward to it and I’m focused on going as far as I possibly can. I reached the last 16 of the UK Open last month and I’d love to go beyond that this time. It’s always been a dream to be a world champion.”
A highlight on day four included an all-Arab last-32 showdown with Syria’s world No. 29 Mohammad Soufi beating Kuwait’s Bader Alawadhi.
Soufi, the 2023 world championship runner-up, remained on course for a second successive final. He followed up his 11-5 win against world No. 9 Aloysuis Yapp with another solid performance to overcome Alawadhi 11-7.
In addition, world No. 8 David Alcaide defeated fifth seed Jayson Shaw in a mouthwatering top-10 matchup while world No. 2 Fedor Gorst, No. 3 Shane Van Boening, and No. 7 Joshua Filler also remained in title contention.
This year’s World Pool Championship is held in partnership with the Saudi Arabian Billiard & Snooker Federation, Ministry of Sport, and Matchroom Multi-Sport.
Tickets are available at webook.com
