MATCHROOM SPORT are delighted to announce that the venue for the forthcoming PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool will be the Midtown Wing of Robinsons Place in Ermita, Manila.
Originally built in the 1980s, Robinsons houses more than 330 local shops, dining outlets and entertainment facilities and the Midtown Wing, built in mid-2008, which makes it the largest Robinson's Mall in the Philippines.
Matchroom Sport will be installing an arena with several hundred seats and there will be balcony space for hundreds more. All the action will be covered by Solar Sports for live coverage across the Philippines.
With the first round draw already made, 2009 champions Philippines A, consisting of Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante, will open their defence with a match against the unheralded team from Thailand (Nitiwat Kanjanasri & Surathep Phoochalam).
USA, winners in 2008, are represented by Rodney Morris and Johnny Archer and face a tough opener in the shape of the Swedish duo of Marcus Chamat and Thomas Mehtala, while the highly fancied English pair of Karl Boyes and Daryl Peach will be optimistic as they face Qatar.
Last year's finalists Germany will also be fancying their chances as they meet Hong Kong, a team they beat 8-0 in the first round last year. The German team consists of Ralf Souquet and Oliver Ortmann.
The well-thought of Philippines B team of Dennis Orcollo and Roberto Gomez face the Croatian pair of the up-and-coming Carlo Dalmatin and experienced Philipp Stojanovic.
Featuring 32 two-player teams representing 31 countries, the PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool takes place from Tuesday, September 7 to Sunday, September 12 and features a $250,000 prize fund with $60,000 going to the winning pair.
First round matches are a race to eight and commence on Tuesday at midday, concluding on Thursday around 6pm, when the second round gets underway.
The draw (seeds in brackets)
Philippines A (1) v Thailand
Indonesia (16) v India
China (8) v Belgium
Italy (9) v Korea
---------------------------------------------
Germany (5) v Hong Kong
Canada (12) v Russia
England (4) v Qatar
France (13) v Australia
---------------------------------------------
Philippines B (3) v Croatia
Spain (14) v Vietnam
Holland (6) v Austria
Finland (11) v Singapore
---------------------------------------------
Taiwan (7) v Malaysia
Japan (10) v Slovenia
USA (2) v Sweden
Poland (15) v Malta
--------------------------------------------
Schedule:
Tuesday, September 7
Round 1 - race to 8
12pm: Canada v Russia then Indonesia v India
3pm: China v Belgium then Italy v Korea
6pm: Germany v Hong Kong then Philippines A v Thailand
Wednesday, September 8
12pm: England v Qatar then France v Australia
3pm: Japan v Slovenia then Poland v Malta
6pm: Taiwan v Malaysia then Philippines B v Croatia
Thursday, September 9
12pm: Holland v Austria then Finland v Singapore
3pm: USA v Sweden then Spain v Vietnam
Last 16 - Race to 8
6pm: Taiwan or Malaysia v Japan or Slovenia then Philippines A or Thailand v Indonesia or India
Friday, September 10
12pm: Germany or Hong Kong v Canada or Russia then England or Qatar v France or Australia
3pm: China or Belgium v Italy or Korea then Holland or Austria v Finland or Singapore
Saturday, September 11
Quarter-finals - race to 9
2pm: First two quarter-finals
6pm: Last two quarter-finals
Sunday, September 12
Semi-finals - race to 9
1pm: Two semi-finals
6pm: Final - race to 10
The 2010 World Cup of Pool is sponsored by PartyPoker.net, the world's leading online poker room. Tables are supplied by Brunswick Billiards, cloth by Iwan Simonis, Super Aramith balls by Saluc and the Official Cue is Predator.
