The highly anticipated 14th Edition of the World Cup of Pool is nearly upon us for 2021.
Austria will be defending their World Cup of Pool title this year at the Stadium MK, Milton Keynes, May 9-14 live on Sky Sports, courtesy of Matchroom.
Or could Great Britain seize the trophy? With only one previous win in their pocket, the competition will be tough. All-female-duo Kelly Fisher and Allison Fisher team up as Great Britain's 'B' Team, whilst Jayson Shaw & Chris Melling head up the 'A' Team for the hosting country.
The Philippines or China could earn themselves a record-breaking fourth victory if they can fight until the finish and win again at this year's event, previously holding the trophy high three times each.
Home Leisure Direct are the proud suppliers of the Rasson Ox World Cup of Pool championship Tables.
THE FORMAT
The World Cup of Pool is an annual international single-elimination tournament for doubles teams in a nine-ball pool competition. 32 nations will take part in the straight knock-out format with scotch doubles (each player on the team takes alternate shots, no one takes two shots in a row) and alternating break. First to 7 within the first two rounds, then a race to 9 in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, finishing with first to 11 taking the final.
The participating nations do not have to go through a qualifying tournament in order to join, as they are selected by the organizers. Sixteen teams are seeded (as the top-ranked countries); they will face the unseeded teams (who have won previous events to be invited) at the first round. This means unranked teams have a shot to knock out one of the top-ranked countries if they can bring their top game to the table.
THE PLAYERS
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Albania
Eklent Kaci & Besar Spahiu
Australia
Justin Sajich & Ivan Li
Austria
Albin Ouschan & Mario He
Belarus
Margarita Fefilova & Yana Halliday
Belgium
Serge Das & Kevin Lannoye
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Sanjin Pehlivanovic & Ajdin Piknjac
Canada
Alex Pagulayan & John Morra
Croatia
Philipp Stojanovic & Roberto Bartol
Czech Republic
Roman Hybler & Michal Gavenciak
Denmark
Mickey Krause & Bahram Lotfy
Estonia
Denis Grabe & Mark Magi
Finland
Petri Makkonen & Casper Matikainen
Germany
Joshua Filler & Christoph Reintjes
Great Britain A
Jayson Shaw & Chris Melling
Great Britain B
Kelly Fisher & Allison Fisher
Greece
Nick Malai & Alexander Kazakis
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Hungary
Oliver Szolnoki & Vilmos Foldes
Iceland
Zophonias Arnason & Magnus Arnason
Italy
Daniele Corrieri & Fabio Petroni
Japan
Naoyuki Oi & Masato Yoshioka
Kuwait
Omar Al-Shaheen & Bader Abdullah Alawadhi
Lithuania
Pijus Labutis & Kestutis Zadeikis
Netherlands
Niels Feijen & Marc Bijsterbosch
Philippines
Jeff De Luna & Roberto Gomez
Poland
Mieszko Fortunski & Wojciech Szewczyk
Russia
Fedor Gorst & Sergey Lutsker
Serbia
Aleksa Pecelj & Andreja Klasovic
Slovakia
Jabub Koniar & Jaroslav Polách
South Africa
Richard Halliday & Vincent Halliday
Spain
David Alcaide & Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz
Switzerland
Ronald Regli & Dimitri Jungo
USA
Billy Thorpe & Skyler Woodward
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MATCH SCHEDULE
Sunday, May 9 (12:00-16:00)
R1: Japan vs. Croatia
R1: Czech Republic vs. Hungary
R1: Austria vs. Slovakia
Sunday, May 9 (17:30-21:30)
R1: Russia vs. Switzerland
R1: Greece vs. Serbia
R1: Canada vs. South Africa
Monday, May 10 (12:00-16:00)
R1: Netherlands vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina
R1: Finland vs. Iceland
R1: Albania vs. Denmark
Monday, May 10 (17:30-21:30)
R1: Spain vs. Italy
R1: Germany vs. Lithuania
R1: USA vs. Australia
Tuesday, May 11 (12:00-16:00)
R1: Philippines vs. Great Britain B
R1: Poland vs. Kuwait
R1: Estonia vs. Belgium
Tuesday, May 11 (17:30-21:30)
R2: Austria/Slovakia vs. Czech Republic/Hungary
R2: Canada/South Africa vs. Greece/Serbia
R1: Great Britain A vs. Belarus
Wednesday, May 12 (12:00-16:00)
R2: Russia/Switzerland vs. Japan/Croatia
R2: Finland/Iceland vs. Netherlands/B&H
R2: Spain/Italy vs. Albania/Denmark
Wednesday, May 12 (17:30-21:30)
R2: Germany/Lithuania vs. Poland/Kuwait
R2: USA/Australia vs. Philippines/Great Britain B
R2: Estonia/Belgium vs. Great Britain A/Belarus
Thursday, May 13 (12:00-16:00)
Quarter-final 1
Quarter-final 2
Thursday, May 13 (17:30-21:30)
Quarter-final 3
Quarter-final 4
Friday, May 14 (12:00-16:00)
Semi-final 1
Semi-final 2
Friday, May 14 (17:30-21:30)
Final
Don't miss the action broadcast live on Sky Sports. Sunday 9th May 12:00 PM.Coverage of Day 1 from the World Cup of Pool at Milton Keyes, as 32 nations collide to take home the title. See TV guide for details.