Day
1 at the 2014 World Pool Team Championship at the Tongzhou Luhe High School in
Beijing may have been short, with only one session played, but the results
were indicative of just how the remainder of the group stages will most likely
proceed over the next few days.
16 out of the 25 teams saw action today,
including both Chinese squads, and all the favorites won by landslides or
comfortable margins.
What this shows is that the multi-discipline
format of the event makes surprises about as difficult to come by as a school
playground here in Beijing full of blonde Chinese students. The World Pool
Team Championship is not an ordinary 9-ball event, where an upstart can get
red hot and catch a big favorite by surprise. Yes, it can happen here. But
that surprise would be just one match out of a total of six matches played
between the two countries in one contest. (one 8 ball men’s doubles, one
8-ball men’s singles, one 9-ball women’s singles, one 9-ball men’s singles,
one 10-ball mixed scotch doubles, one 10-ball men’s singles.) Any pool players
knows what happens when you play long sets, or multiple sets against an
opponent. The age old phrase, “the crème always rises to the top,” comes to
mind.
The cream of professional pool didn’t have to
even rise anywhere today as it began the evening’s action already at the top
and stayed firmly there throughout. Defending champions Chinese- Taipei, with
its powerhouse line up of stars Chang Jun Lin, Ko Pin Yi, Hsu Kai Lun, Fu Che
Wei, Chou Cheih Yu demolished an overmatched New Zealand squad 6 -0. The
Taiwanese played in the same smooth and calm manner throughout this event in
2012 and were practically untouchable then. Any team lined up against this
juggernaut better be prepared.
Several
hundred people turned out to cheer on their hometown heroes and they didn’t
leave disappointed. China 1, with Li He Wen, Wu Jiaqing, Chu Bing Chia, Han
Yu, and Chen Siming manhandled Mongolia 6 -0. China 2—stacked with Liu Haitao,
Dang Ching Hu, Wang Can, Fu Xiaofang, and Liu Shasha had no issues with
Singapore, winning handily 5-1.
The Philippines is surely going to qualify for
the final 16 and contend for the title. Dennis Orcollo, Lee Vann Corteza,
Carlo Biado and Rubilen Amit had a few early issues with a fired up Bulgarian
squad. But the Pinoy stars buckled down for a 5-1 win.
In other matches, Great Britain defeated South
Africa 6-0, Sweden outlasted Hong Kong 4-2, while Japan, which always seems to
have the most fun in these types of events, easily beat Malaysia 5 -1.
The best and most even match of the evening
took place between the USA and Poland. The USA was up 2-1 when the USA’s
Jennifer Baretta, playing 9-ball singles, missed a long 8-ball at hill-hill.
Poland’s Katazyna Weslowska cleared the table for the win and the 2-2 tie. The
win gave Poland a shot of confidence and they went on to win both their
10-ball matches for a 4-2 win.
The 2014 World Pool Team Championship continues
on Tuesday with all teams seeing action over two sessions. The 25 teams, each
featuring at least three men players and one woman player, have been divided
into 6 groups playing round robin. 16 teams will qualify for the single
elimination stage which begins on Thursday, July 31.
The winning team will receive $80,000. The
runner up team will take home $40,000. The total prize fund is $300,000.
