Philippines, 10 Oct 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


Pool Reaches For Another Level


PhilBoxing.com



Greece?s Damianos Giallourakis took down defending champion Ruslan Chinahov in his second round match today in New York. Photo by JP Parmentier.

Three Quarter Of A Million People Catch Upstart Greek Damianos Giallourakis Take Down Defending Champion Chinahov On Day 1 Of The Aramith Masters In New York

(New York City)? The early stages of major pool tournaments generally see a few surprises from upstarts taking down big names. But Day 1 of the Aramith Masters, the 2nd leg of the new 8-ball tour the World Pool series(WPS), will surely go down in history for something quite different than a top star getting run out of the building by a no-hoper.

That?s because professional pool surely entered a new era at Steinway Caf?-Billiards in Queens, New York City today, thanks to the WPS? new partnership with social media giant Unilad. The UK based Unilad, which specializes in trending content from around the world, boasts nearly 27 million followers on its popular Facebook page. And now they are broadcasting live professional pool to their legions of followers.

The sheer gravity of the possibilities for this long suffering sport were on full display this afternoon at Steinway in the first TV table match between Russian Ruslan Chinahov, who won the first leg of the World Pool Series back in January, and Greek upstart Damianos Giallourakis. As the two young players battled it out in what turned out to be a very entertaining match, the viewer numbers started rolling in and they were simply out of this world. Over three quarters of a million viewers from all corners of the globe tuned in to some or all of the match live on Unilad?s Facebook page. If pool fans can?t get excited about the possibilities of what is a new model for broadcasting pool, it might be time to start watching curling.

For the 30 year old journeyman Gilaourakis, playing on the TV table in front of this massive audience proved to be all the motivation he needed to put in what was the best performance of the day. Chinahov, the defending champion, had just won the European 9-ball championship last week in Portugal and was riding a wave of confidence. But the pesky Greek overcame some early mistakes and stormed back from a 7-5 deficit with some surreal shot making to take the match to a shootout at 8-8, which he won by a score of 4-2. It was Gilaourakis? second win of the day.


?I beat Ruslan in February in the Euro tour, also 9-8,? Gilaourakis. ?I was a little tired at first, but I told myself don?t give up. I came here to win and I know I can win this match. I felt good. I didn?t expect to feel that good because I only slept 5 hours. I?m always excited to play the TV table. It doesn?t stress me out. I get excited. My game is good enough to win this tournament. Of course anything can happen so who knows.?The 30 year old Greek, who hails from Rhodes Island and now lives in Norway where he works as a waiter in an Asian restaurant, embodies the essence of what the WPS is really all about; talented players who are looking for regular earning opportunities and a chance to shine. Gilaourakis has played in ten Euro Tour events and has some solid finishes. He won the smaller Greek Open and the Norwegian Open 9-ball in 2015 and clearly can compete and beat the best.

The top 32 seeds all had byes today, but saw action in the second round and mostly performed to expectation. Ralf Souquet, Thorsten Hohmann, Dennis Orcollo, Mika Immonen, Darren Appleton, Chris Melling, Johann Chua, David Alcaide, Johnny Archer, Carlo Biado, Lee Vann Corteza, Karl Boyes, Billy Thorpe, Mark Gray and Jeffrey DeLuna all won handily to stay on the winners side of the bracket.

The USA?s Rodney Morris stumbled in his opening match, losing 9-4 to last minute entry Manny Perez, a young American who is surely a player to watch. Morris later came back on the losers side beating Michael Yednak to stay alive. Hall of Famer and women?s game legend LoreeJon Hasson saw the exits as she fell in her second round match to Puerto Rico?s Jimmy Rivera to suffer her second loss. Jennifer Baretta put in a gutsy effort against Keith West, winning 8-6 to stay alive on the losers side. Corey Duel also stayed alive with a win after losing to Lee Vann Corteza in round 1.

The evening match in the Unilad TV arena saw the Philippines Roberto Gomez take on Japan?s viral sensation Naoyuki Oi. Oi came out in the pre-match interview and performed the Apple and Pen skit that garnered him worldwide fame during the recent World Pool Masters in Gibraltar. But the act wasn?t enough to stop the resurgent Gomez, who waltzed to an impressive 9-3 victory.

Gomez, who ten years ago famously reached the final of the World 9-ball Championship in Manila only to collapse in tears under the heavy pressure with the title in his grasp, says he?s now a changed man.

?A lot of people know me from the World Pool Championship ten years ago in Manila,? Gomez said. ?I was very young then and I didn?t know how to handle the pressure. But I?ve learned a lot since then and I am a much better player and can handle the pressure situations. I?m playing really good now so I think I can live up to my nickname, ?Superman.?

Play resumes Thursday at the Aramith Masters at Steinway Caf?-Billiards in Queens New York City beginning at 10:30am and continues throughout the day. By the end of the day, the field will be whittled down to the final 16 and all matches will then become single elimination.

For complete results from Day 1 of the Aramith Masters courtesy of Cuescore, please CLICK HERE

*The second event of the World Pool Series, The Aramith Masters, takes place at Steinway Billiards in Astoria, Queens, New York City from April 5-8, 2017. The World Pool Series is sponsored by Aramith, Molinari, Predator, Cheqio, RYO Rack, Iwan Simonis, Kamui, Billiards Digest, Cuescore, Ultimate Team Gear, and High Rock Productions.

For more information please visit the official website of the World Pool Series at http://www.worldpoolseries.com/

The World Pool Series is on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/worldpoolseries/


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ted Lerner, WPS Media Officer.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • DAVE ALLEN VS ARSLANBEK MAKHMUDOV SHEFFIELD PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • HANOI OPEN DAY TWO: CHUA, GORST, BIADO, SHAW AND DUONG CRUISE INTO LAST 64 IN HANOI
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • BOSTAN AND FAWAZ TRADE VERBAL BLOWS IN SHEFFIELD CITY CENTRE FACE-OFF AHEAD OF TITLE REMATCH – LIVE ON DAZN
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • Yoelvis Gomez Set to Face Unbeaten Antraveous Ingram in Title Clash on DAZN
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • Dante Kirkman Set to Make Southern California Debut Against Power Puncher Wesley Vanderlinden on October 23 at Fight Club OC
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • 8th AQ Prime FIDE Standard Open chessfest slated
    By Dong Secuya, , Thu, 09 Oct 2025
  • A Filipino and an American Homecoming
    By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT, , Thu, 09 Oct 2025
  • Tragedy Strikes Again: Arturo Gatti Jr., Son of Boxing Legend, Found Dead at 17 in Mexico
    By Dong Secuya, , Thu, 09 Oct 2025
  • Golden State Making a Bid for NBA Title
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Thu, 09 Oct 2025
  • JOHANN CHUA LAUNCHES TITLE DEFENCE WITH DOMINANT START IN HANOI | 2025 HANOI OPEN POOL CHAMPIONSHIP
    , Thu, 09 Oct 2025
  • RED-HOT CUBAN MIDDLEWEIGHT YOENLI HERNANDEZ: “I’M READY WILLING AND ABSOLUTELY ABLE TO FACE THE BIG NAMES IN MY DIVISION.”
    , Thu, 09 Oct 2025
  • BOOTS ENNIS GOES HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH LIMA AHEAD OF 154LB DEBUT – LIVE ON DAZN
    , Wed, 08 Oct 2025
  • ALLEN AND MAKHMUDOV MEET FOR FIRST FACE-OFF IN SHEFFIELD AHEAD OF HUGE HEAVYWEIGHT SHOWDOWN – LIVE ON DAZN
    , Wed, 08 Oct 2025
  • Amateur Boxer Tyrone Welch Dies After Match in Saginaw
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Wed, 08 Oct 2025
  • AJ Lim Captures Fourth PCA Men’s Singles Title, Extends Dominance in Philippine Tennis
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Wed, 08 Oct 2025
  • THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 18: JOE FRAZIER VS. GEORGE FOREMAN FIRST ENCOUNTER - THE SUNSHINE SHOWDOWN
    By Maloney L. Samaco, , Wed, 08 Oct 2025
  • 5th Zhengxing Cup Philippine Xiangqi Rapid Open tournament on October 12
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Wed, 08 Oct 2025
  • Joey Canoy back in training; preparing to face IBF champ Beaven Sibanda in February
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Wed, 08 Oct 2025
  • RED OWL BOXING ANNOUNCES BROADCAST TEAM AND FULL FIGHT CARD FOR THIS FRIDAY NIGHT’S “BOXFEST XVI”
    , Wed, 08 Oct 2025
  • Tyson Fury back in 2026?
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Tue, 07 Oct 2025
  • THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 6 OCTOBER 2025: Cecilia Braekhaus Retires After Defeating Ema Kozin
    By Eric Armit, , Tue, 07 Oct 2025
  • SAVE THE DATE: MATCHROOM BOXING ANNOUNCES MONTE-CARLO SHOWDOWN VI FOR SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6 – LIVE ON DAZN
    , Tue, 07 Oct 2025
  • Team Cebuana Lhuillier Finishes Strong in PCA Men’s Team Tennis Championship Finals
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Tue, 07 Oct 2025
  • Three Heavyweight Champs Were Ringside for the Thrilla Event
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Tue, 07 Oct 2025
  • Cutman Excellence Shines in Dubai: Denis Kolesnir and Jose Mohan Lead Groundbreaking Cutman Seminar
    By Carlos Costa, , Tue, 07 Oct 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.