STORY AND PHOTO BY TED LERNER

(Fujairah, UAE)--World 8-ball supremacy, along with $35,000 in cash, is assured of a home in Taiwan for the next year, as Fu Che We and Chang Jun Lin both won their semi-final matches this afternoon at the Fujairah Tennis and Country Club.

The all-Taiwan  final between Fu and Chang will begin later today at 5pm local time(GMT +). The match will be a race to 11, alternate break.

Fu completely dominated China’s Liu Haitao winning easily 9-3. Fu has been playing red hot 8-ball in the last few days, breaking well and barely missing any balls. It’s a recipe for success in professional 8-ball and has brought the veteran campaigner into his first world championship final.

Chang’s semi-final match vs. Chris Melling was much closer but the 26 year old from Taipei put in a brilliant performance in overcoming the confident Englishman. Melling raced out to a 2-0 but then saw Chang, with his deliberate style, crawl back in the match.

Chang took the lead at 4-3 and never looked back.  Melling had trouble all afternoon with the break, consistently coming up dry. Chang took advantage and built up a 6-3 lead. Melling battled back to 6-5, but Chang broke and ran for a 7-5 lead. Melling again broke dry in rack 13 and Chang pushed the lead up to 3.  Melling had one last fight back, moving the score to 8-7. But Chang held his nerve in rack 16 to get over the finish line first.

The winner of the World 8-ball Championship will receive $20,000, while the runner up will receive $15,000.

The WPA will be providing up to the minute coverage of the   finals on its website, www.wpa-pool.com, including live scoring of the match , as well as blow by blow coverage  via the WPA’s Twitter page, @poolwpa.

(Fujairah, United Arab Emirates)—It’s never over until it’s over.

Liu Haitao (right) must surely be singing the praises of that universal phrase about now, after the hard nose Chinese turned a desperate situation around at the very last moment, and came back from an 8-5 deficit to shock Taiwan’s Ko Pin Yi, 9-8, and move into the semi –finals of the World 8-ball Championship in Fujairah, UAE. 

The race to 9, alternate break semi-final, which will begin at 1:30 PM(GMT +4) on Friday, will be Liu’s first ever trip to the final four of a world championship. There the 26 year old will face Taiwan’s red hot Fu Che Wei, who notched his third convincing victory of the day in his quarterfinal match when he blitzed the Netherland’s Huidji See 9-3. 

The cross straits rivalry is one half of what promises to be an entertaining and intriguing day of championship pool in Fujairah. In the other semi-final, England’s Chis Melling, who played brilliantly in handily defeating the Philippines last bet, Roberto Gomez,  9-4 in the quarterfinal,  will take on Taiwan’s Chang Jun Lin. Chang, Taiwan’s number 1 player,  easily beat Germany’s Oliver Ortmann,9-3, in his quarterfinal match.

The down to the wire thriller with Ko was Liu’s second 9-8 match in 24 hours. In the round of 32 on Wednesday night, Liu just squeaked by Hungary’s Vilmos Foldes. Today in the round of 16,  Liu knocked out Karol Skowerski,  who had shocked  defending champ Dennis Orcullo the night before.

Against Ko Liu was facing certain elimination as he was down 8-5, with Ko at the table after breaking and sinking a ball. In professional 8-ball, as has been proven all week, sinking a ball on the break virtually guarantees a run out so Liu had no reason to think he’d even get a chance.  Besides, Ko hadn’t trailed in the entire match and, as he’s been doing all tournament, was playing superbly, using an incredibly powerful and precision break shot to take command of the match.  For two days Ko had been one of the favorites around the arena to get to the final.

Ko, however, badly missed his first shot and Liu pounced, clearing the table. Liu then broke and ran to get to 8-7 down. He then played the rack of his life, deftly breaking up several difficult clusters while potting balls to tie the match. A high pressure break and run gave him an unlikely spot in the semis.

If today’s performance is anything to go by, Liu’s opponent Fu is certainly going to be a tough nut to crack, though. Fu started off by pounding Korea’s Hwang Yang, 9-0. Fu then manhandled the Philippines Lee Van Corteza 9-5.  Fu didn’t have much problem handling See either.

While anything can happen in the wide open game of professional 8-ball, England’s Melling (left) surely has to be one of the favorites coming into the final four.  The 33 year old Brit has been one of the world’s best players for the last 18 months.  Years before turning to the American game of pool, he played English 8-ball where he became one of the greatest ever to play the game, winning every major title several times.  Melling brings a fearless and powerhouse style to the arena every time out, and oozes confidence.

Melling, though, very nearly let his chances slip away earlier in the day in his TV table match against the UAE’s best player, Salah Al-Rimawi in the round of 32. Al-Rimawi came back from 8-6 down and had the break in the last rack. Unfortunately for the home fans, Al-Rimawi broke dry. Melling stepped up and cleared the table for a gut wrenching 9-8 win.

That was all the spark that Melling needed as he next  rolled over Thorsten Hohmann 9-4 in the round of 16. He then took that momentum into his impressive victory over Gomez.

“Except for a few bad racks in the middle, I played awesome,” Melling said. “I’m confident I can win this thing. The break is massively important. And I can pot as good as anybody. I just can’t make silly mistakes.”

As evidenced by his performance in three matches today, Chang certainly will pounce on the slightest misstep. Chang grinded out a 9-5 win over Bruno Muratore, 9-3 over Carlo Biado, before crushing Ortmann.

The winner of the 2012 World 8-ball Championship will receive $20,000, while the runner up will get $15,000.  The tournament has a $156,000 prize fund.

The WPA will provide up to the minute coverage of the semi-finals and finals at www.wpa-pool.com, including live scoring of all matches, in depth articles on the goings on posted several times a day, as well as blow by blow coverage of big matches via the WPA’s Twitter page, @poolwpa.

This in from WPA's Ted Lerner: Facing elimination, and bearing the burden of having to carry the hopes of the United States squarely on his shoulders, Max Eberle (right) proved his mettle tonight at the Fujairah Tennis and Country club, pulling out a hard fought come from behind 7-4 win over Singapore’s Kwang Chan Ken to advance to the round of 64 knockout stage at the 2012 World 8-Ball Championship.

Eberle, who originally hails from Ohio but now resides in Las Vegas, is now the sole American left in this year’s World 8-ball Championship. The single elimination knockout stage begins on Wednesday at 2pm(GMT +4). All matches will be race to 9, alternate break.

Eberle went into his do or die late night match already knowing he had to carry the flag for the red, white and blue. Moments earlier, Brandon Shuff, the only other American in this year’s competition, blew a golden opportunity to take down the Netherland’s Nick Van den Berg on the TV table. Shuff was clearing the table with the score tied at 5 and played poor position with just three balls left on the table, leading to a scratch. Van den Berg went up 6-5, then broke and ran for the 7-5 win.

“I dogged it,” a gutted Shuff said afterward.  Things were looking dire for Eberle as well before he decided enough was enough. Leading 3-0, Eberle suffered several dry breaks and soon found himself down 4-3. Then the fight back began.  “Mad Max” won four straight racks for the win.

“It was a gritty win,” a delighted Eberle said afterward. “I had to bear down and pull out some good run outs. I really fought hard and it feels good. America still has hope. I have to pull it out for the USA.”

It won’t be easy, though. Eberle has drawn none other than Hall of Famer Ralf Souquet in his first match in the round of 64. That match is scheduled for 4pm Fujairah time.(GMT +4)

Earlier, there were some tense moments out on the playing floor for former World 9-ball Champion Daryl Peach. Peach found himself at deaths door while facing  13 year old…yes that’s right—13 year old Mohammed Saed Saed of Qatar.

The youngster was playing lights out pool in that fearless way that only a juvenile can do, while Peach   played horribly all match. Tied at 5 all, Peach had only the 8 ball left to go up by one, only to scratch after potting the black pearl. This put the kid on the hill with the break, but he broke dry and Peach cleared.  Peach nearly gave it away in the decider, but fear and nerves finally caught up with Saed Saed and he blew a certain win with awful position, leaving Peach an easy run out.

“That was the worst match of pool I’ve ever played,” a somewhat stunned Peach said afterward.

The unique World Championship-style pressure seemed to infect many of the tables in the evening session.  Aoki Ryoji from Japan and  Jayson Shaw of Great Britain went down to the wire, with Ryoji pulling out a 7-6 squeaker.  Hamzah Ali, the first and only pro pool player to come out of the African country of Eritrea came from 6-3 down to take Spain’s Carlos Cabello to a one game decider. Hamzah got down to the 8-ball but missed a golden opportunity for pool glory when he missed, leaving a clear and win for the Spaniard.

The remaining three days of this year’s World 8-ball Championship promise plenty of nerves, tension and fireworks as most of pool’s big names made it through. It’s almost assured to see a Filipino in the final four at least as all nine Filipino players entered into the tournament qualified for the final 64. These include defending champion Dennis Orcullo, Lee Van Corteza, Roberto Gomez, Carlo Biado, Joven Alba, Elmer Haya, Ramund Faoron, Demosthenes Pulpul, and Elvis Calasang.

 Fans around the world can follow all the action from 2012 World 8-ball Championship in Fujairah on the WPA website  www.wpa-pool.com. The WPA will be providing  live scoring of all matches, in depth articles on the goings-on posted several times a day, as well as blow by blow coverage of big matches via the WPA’s Twitter page, @poolwpa.

Losers Side Matches From Day 2
(Winner is through to Final 64, Loser is out)

Group A

Kenny Kwok(HKG) 7 – 5 Marcus Chamat(SWE)
Nasser Al Mujaibel(KUW) 7 – 0 Mohammed El Assal(EGY)

Group B
Phuc Long Nguyen(VIE) 7 – 2 Salah Al Awadi(UAE)
Tomasz Kaplan(POL) 7 – 3 Mohammed Al Hosani(UAE)

Group C
Vilmos Foldes(HUN) 7 – 3 Ali Saeed(UAE)
Oliver Ortmann(GER) 7 – 1 Stuart Lawler(AUS)

Group D
Elmer Haya(PHI) 7 – 5 Yousfi Chaouki(MAR)
Ahmad Jallad(JOR) 7—4 Mohammed Ali(IRI)

Group E
Dominic Jentsch(GER) 7 – 1 Cho Pil Hyun(KOR)
Konstantin Stepanov(RUS) 7 – 1 Abdulla Juma(UAE)

Group F
So Shaw(IRI) 7 – 2 Sayeem Hossaien(BAN)
Elvis Calasang(PHI) 7 -- 5 Hanni Al-Howri(UAE)

Group G
Takhti Zarekani(IRI) 7 – 1 Toh, Lian Han(SIN)
Omer Al Serkal(UAE)  7 – 4 Majid Sultan(UAE)

Group H
Saleh MohammedKUW) 7 –3 Meshaal Turki Al Ali(QAT)
Radoslaw Babica(POL) 7 – 4 Saleh Ibrahim Ali(UAE)

Group I
Abdulatef Fawal(QAT) 7 – 1 Noor Al Jarrah(JOR)
Lee Chen Man(HKG) 7 – 0 Mohammad Soufi(SYR)

Group J
Demosthenes Pulpul(PHI) 7 – 6 Albin Ouschan(AUT)
Mario He(AUT) 7 – 5 Bahran Lofty(BEL)

Group K
Daryl Peach(GBR) 7 – 6 Mohammed Saed Saed(QAT)
Shaker Wahdan(JOR) 7 –3 Sundeep Gulati(IND)

Group L
Maghsoud Ali(IRI) 7 – 1 Majid Ghare Gozlu(IRI)
Li Hewen(CHN) 7 – 5 Yu Lung Chang(TPE)

Group M
Omran Salem(UAE) 7 – 4 Luke Robinson(GBR)
Francisco Diaz-Pizarro(ESP) 7 – 3 Wetsi Morake(RSA)

Group N
Nick Van den Berg(NED) 7 – 5 Brandon Shuff(USA)
Ko Pin Yi(TPE) 7 – 0 Ahmed Al Hosani(UAE)

Group O
Carlos Cabello(ESP) 7 -- 6  Hamzah Ali(ERI)
Max Eberle(USA) Keng Kwang Chan(SIN)

Group P
Reiner Wirsbitzki(GER)  Fu Jianbo(CHN)
Aoki Ryoji(JPN) 7 –6   Jayson Shaw(GBR)

"I came to defend my title" became an understatement as twenty-eight-year old Shane Van Boening (pictured) won his second Derby City Master of the Table crown. 

Van Boening's superior play took him to an unprecedented three championship rounds. In a hill/hill match, he succumbed to John Morra in the bank leg. However, Joseph Gray, in the one pocket division, and Stevie Moore in the nine ball division were not so lucky. 

Moore's luck ran out after winning his way to the championship round via a bye. After suffering his nine ball defeat, he lost in the Fat Boy 10-Ball Invitational championship round to Franciso Bustamante.

Van Boening's winning play earned him a $53,000 payday for the nine day event, on the heels of his December win at the Turning Stone Classic!

More news and photos in from Tony Fox at the DCC:

As the 2012 Derby City  Classic  One Pocket leg entered the final rounds, Brandon Shuff handed defending champion Shane Van Boening (pictured right) a 3-0 defeat. But, in the re-draw for the final six players, Shuff/Van Boening met again. This time Van Boening was the victorious one, heading to a semi final showdown against the legendary one pocket player, Efren Reyes. Unfortunately for Efren, the five time DCC one pocket champion could not win a single game in the race to the championship round. 

Then there was the relatively unknown Joseph Gray (pictured left), twenty five years old, from Oklahoma City, OK, who made it to the championship in his first trip to the Derby City.  Gray won the lag and broke. Van Boening came to the table, made a mistake on his first shot, and Gray ran out.

Around the TV table heads nodded. The "new kid" was clearly legitimate. Stellar safety play by both players dominated the remaining three games. However, Gray could not hold off VanBoening's powerful shot making skills. VanBoening 3, Gray 1.

 Although he lost in the championship round, Gray's stellar play clearly announced he is a one pocket force. He came to the tournament with a goal to win eight matches.  "I exceeded my goal. Second place among these championship legendary players is a good accomplishment. I am happy with my results.  Shane is tough. You can't give a player like him chances."

Van Boening noted that Gray, "belonged in the final."  It was their first meeting in competition, however Shane said, "I've been watching him for the past couple years."

Victory in One Pocket and a second place in the Banks division to John Morra make Shane difficult to beat for the all around title.  "I have been practicing,  I came here to defend my title!" 

This in from Tony Fox, in Derby City to cover and photograph the event for P&B:

Toronto Canada's 22-year-old John Morra has won the Bank Pool Leg of the 2012 Derby City Classic. Morra entered the championship round undefeated.

Morra believes a "pretty easy" draw helped him to the final round. Shane Van Boening, last year's One pocket Champion and Master of the Table entered the final round with one loss. Van Boening squeezed out a tough first set to force the championship to a second set. Morra won the first game of the final set.

Controversy marred the second set as Van Boening called a shot that he did not make. However, the ball fell in another pocket. Van Boening began racking the balls as persons from the stand noted Van Boening had not made the shot he called. Ken Shuman intervened. After discussion with both players, he deemed that Van Boening's gathering balls to rack warranted loss of the game.

But Morra's two game lead slowly vanished as VanBoening clawed his way to tie the match. The deciding game was filled with hanging pocket misses, safe play and scratches by both players. In the end, Morra pulled it out for the win.

After winning, Morra said, "Win or lose, I am glad it's over; it was a very stressful match".  Additionally, Morra said he is happy to win his first major tournament on a nine foot table, however he is surprised that the victory came at bank pool.  In preparing for the tournament, he practiced all the disciplines.

Finally, with the bank pool title under his belt, Morra warns, "I have my eye on the Master of the Table win."

By Luke Riches

(Las Vegas)--TEAM EUROPE is now one match away from retaining the PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup after a one-sided blitz on the American team in front of a standing room only crowd at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas. 

After getting the better of things yesterday, the Americans entered the day with high hopes but were battered from start to finish with only Shane Van Boening contributing some red to the score board.

Needing a great start to the day, the USA lost an exciting opener as Appleton and Feijen got the better of Dechaine and Putnam by 6-3. That restored the Europeans three point lead that they held at the start of day one, but the final rack of the match was one of the best safety battles in Mosconi history as all four players took turns to leave the cue ball tucked up.

It was Feijen who broke the deadlock as he made a table length bank on the blue 2 and from there the Europeans ran out to take the match.

“Yesterday we lost the first doubles match 6-5 but Niels and Nick had played well. You need a bit of luck at the right time and we had a couple of rolls there,” said Appleton. "But we played well at the end and had a lot of fire inside us - Niels is a fantastic player to play with," he added.

There was more misery for Putnam in the next as he was easily beaten by a fired-up Darren Appleton as Europe moved into an 8-4 lead. The tone was set in the opening rack as Putnam looked to be heading for a run out but missed a howler of a 9 ball to hand the rack to Europe. The big man never really recovered from that and further errors sealed his fate.

The third match featured Johnny Archer and Rodney Morris against Niels Feijen and Ralf Souquet and for the American side it was desperate stuff. 8-4 soon became 9-4 as the lacklustre American pair failed to make any sort of dent in the confident Europeans’ armour.  "When we had a training camp we played with each other and figured out what teams were working out and Johan then picked the pairings,” said Souquet.
"It's not over until the fat lady sings and we want to win the next two and finish it off. We have quite a comfortable lead but it's still a long road."

Feijen added "When everyone is scoring points in front of you it takes the pressure off. We've clicked really well and have a great team spirit and a great team.”

It was Shane Van Boening who finally stopped the rot and ensured a final day of play as he endured a torrid match against Nick Van den Berg that went all the way to a decider. Van Boening had led 5-2 at one stage but the plucky Dutchman fought back to level it at 5-5 and breaking in the final rack he found himself favourite.

A dry break got the American back to the table and he played a superb slow roll on the 1 ball to set up a difficult run out which Van Boening completed to keep his side in the competition.

Finally it was left to Chris Melling to turn the screw and put his side on the hill as he beat Mike Dechaine 6-2 in a clash of the rookies.  Melling looked as confident as ever and his win leaves him in the running for MVP honors.  "It was unbelievable. There's a lot of pressure and people back home don't realise how much pressure you're under as you have the whole continent and your friends to play for."

Appleton / Feijen 6-3 Putnam / Dechaine
Darren Appleton 6-2 Shawn Putnam
Feijen / Souquet 6-2 Archer / Morris
Nick Van den Berg 5-6 Shane Van Boening
Chris Melling 6-2 Mike Dechaine

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 Mosconi Cup is one of a stable of pool events that include the World Cup of Pool and the World Pool Masters.

JACKSONVILLE, FL. (Oct. 27, 2011) – Predator Cues has updated the Ikon cue, one of its most popular cue series, with nine new models featuring exotic woods and bold inlays. One new model, the Ikon2 9, represents the creativity of Mike Ipjian of Glenview, IL, winner of the Mykon cue design contest held earlier this year.  The team at Predator reviewed scores of designs from fans throughout the United States and Canada before selecting Mike's entry, a stunning blend of ebony wood and micarta with turquoise accents. These new cues strike the perfect balance between design and domination.

In addition to the U.S. and Canada contest, Predator held a similar contest in China through Laili Sports Equipment Co., Ltd., the exclusive Predator dealer for the People's Republic of China. ???/Haihuan Xia and ???/Jason Wang won the China contest and future Ikon offerings will feature their designs.

The Ikon2 series feature the advanced C4+ technology with the Uni-Loc® Weight Cartridge System, allowing players the ability to adjust the weight of their cue within 0.1 of an ounce. Phenolic reinforcements in the butt and the Uni-Loc® Original Quick-Release joint increase longevity and further enhance product/player performance. Each new Ikon2 cue has a standard weight of 19 oz. and comes armed with Predator's high-performance 314-2 shaft, which players can upgrade to the Z-2 or FAT shafts.

Like the original Ikon series, the Ikon 2nd generation cues are available with the Uni-Loc® Leather Luxe™ wrap. With a softer feel and higher tackiness than leather, the Leather Luxe wrap provides superior sweat absorption and comfort through three distinct layers. The polyurethane outer layer keeps hands dry by allowing sweat and moisture to pass through, while the cushioned middle layer absorbs and releases moisture. The sealer layer closest to the cue protects the cue from moisture, increasing its longevity.

These new Ikon2 cues have MSRPs ranging from $649-$1499. All are currently available for purchase through registered Predator dealers worldwide. Players and retailers can view the Ikon 2nd Generation online at www.predatorcues.com.

Counting down to the last few days to get registered for The DRILL U.S.A. BOOT CAMP Pool School with P&B's top instructors: Dominic "The Drill Instructor" Esposito and Ewa "The Striking Viking" Laurance.

This is a pool player's dream. You'll have access to two world class instructors in a small group setting for three full days and nights. This will truly be first class all the way. Your hotel and all meals are all provided; and no slop either. It's an open tab.

According to Dominic Esposito, "This will not be a cattle pool clinic with 25 students or all we can get for the money. Our goal is to have a closed class of 6 to 8 players for the entire weekend. Right now space is limited."

The format will be both group and one-on-one instruction. The format of what will be covered will be decided by the group on the first day. This means your pool playing needs and goals are all that will matter for the entire event. The Drill Instructor is receiving all calls directly at 407-927-1484.

Come with a friend or bring several players on your team. But when the roster is full, that's it. You'll need only three things for this BOOT CAMP. 1. Have your own transportation. 2. Bring your pool playing equipment. 3. Plan to receive far more from Ewa and Dominic than you ever expected!

These three dates are the first of a twelve city tour across the USA. Pick which location is best for you. Plan to make more than one because each one will be totally different because the players will dictate what they want to work on. Make the holiday season the best one ever. Request your Holiday Season gift early and get registered for one of the last few spots open on The Drill USA BOOT CAMP Tour program.

Class sessions will start Friday from 12:00 noon to 9:00 PM, Saturday sessions run from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM and Sunday will start at 9:00 AM with an ending ceremony that will finish at 4:00 on Sunday.

Class dates/locations include:
November 25-27: Smokin' Cue, Charlotte, NC
December 2-4: Park Avenue Billiards, Orange Park, FL
December 9-11: Shooters Billiards, Southington, CT