KNOCKOUT STAGES BEGIN AT THE WOMEN'S WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP

32 Players Remain in China tournament

BY TED LERNER
Photos by Alison Chang
(Courtesy World Pool-Billiard Association)

Japan’s top player, Chichiro Kawahara.

SHENYANG, CHINA -- For some pool players, like defending champion Fu Xiaofang of China, Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan, and Korea’s Ga Young Kim, the only satisfaction to be found in Shenyang this week at the 2011 Women’s World 9-ball Championship will be inside the winner’s circle on Sunday. For others, like the Netherland’s Tamara Peeters-Rademakers, or Belgium’s 15 year old Kamila Khodjaeva,  just getting through to the knockout stage in a world championship might be considered victory in itself.

Which is why even though perhaps no more than 15 players in the field of 64 can be considered serious contenders for the title, there was still plenty of emotions and nervy drama on display inside the Liaoning Hunnan Sports Training Arena on day 2 of the 2011 Women’s World 9-ball Championship on Friday. It was the Day of Reckoning as the field was reduced to 32 players and the knockout stages were set to begin.    

Fu Xiaofang of China

The second day in Shenyang began with players on the winners’ side of each group going head to head for a spot in the final 32. World number one and defending champion Fu Xiaofang locked horns with the USA’s Monica Webb before prevailing 7-5. China’s 2009 World 9-ball champion Lui ShaSha and compatriot Chen Siming, who’s just 17 years old, both looked in solid form as they cruised to convincing wins. And China’s First Lady of 9-ball, Pan Xiaoting, made it through to the knockout stage with a stingy 7-6 win over Korea’s Lim Yun Mi.

In other action: the Philippines top female player, Rubilen Amit, stomped Venezuela’s Carly Sanchez, 7-2; and Canada’s Brittany Bryant (who admits she hasn’t played her best)  beat China’s Zheng Xiaochun 7-5 for two straight and  a spot on the big stage.

Not everything went according to the script, however, as several of pool’s  stars unexpectedly found themselves on the verge of elimination. Korea’s two big names Ga Young Kim and Yu Ram Cha both dropped to the losers side with 7-6 defeats. Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan also lost in the morning session and was sent to left side of her bracket for one last chance. 

The 2011 Women’s World 9-ball Championship now moves onto the 32 player single elimination knockout stages, which begin Friday evening, where the field will be reduced to the final 16.  

The total prize fund for the 2011 Women’s World 9-Ball Championship is $150,000 with $30,000 going to the winner on Sunday.

The WPA will be providing full coverage of all the action at the 2011 Women’s World 9-ball Championship. Fans around the world can follow matches as they happen via our live scoring platform. The live scoring button can be seen on the front page of the WPA’s website, www.wpa-pool.com . There you can also see the brackets icon which will give you updated standings from each group and the knockout stage.

In addition,  the WPA  will be providing insights and analysis with articles posted several times daily on the WPA home page. Fans can also follow the action via the WPA Twitter page, providing fans with instant updates, insights and scores  as they happen. The WPA’s  Twitter user name is @poolwpa. You can go directly to our Twitter page at, http://twitter.com/poolwpa.