WITH THE PARTYPOKER.NET World Cup of Pool returning to the Philippines for the third consecutive year, all of the two-player teams are now in place for when the action gets underway from Tuesday 6th to Sunday 11th September.
Now in its sixth year and carrying a $250,000 prize fund, the World Cup of Pool is firmly established as the No.1 team event in world pool. This year it takes place at the Block Atrium, SM City North EDSA Mall in Metro Manila, Philippines from Tuesday 6th to Sunday 11th September.
There are a total of 32 teams competing with 31 nations represented ? host nation the Philippines are allowed two sides in the event. Defending champions China ? Fu Jianbo and Li Hewen ? will be back to try and make it a hat-trick of wins in five years.
This year?s teams are:
Europe (15)
Austria ? Jasmin Ouschan & Mario He
Croatia ? Carlo Dalmatin & Ivica Putnik or Philipp Stojanovic
England ? Darren Appleton & Chris Melling
Estonia ? Dennis Grabe & Erki Erm
Finland ? Mika Immonen & Petri Makkonen
France ? Stephan Cohen & Vincent Facquet
Germany – Ralf Souquet & Thorsten Hohmann
Holland ? Huidji See & Marco Teutscher
Italy ? Fabio Petroni & Bruno Muratore
Malta ? Tony Drago & Alex Borg
Poland – Karol Skowerski & Radoslaw Babica
Russia ? Konstantin Stepanov & Ruslan Chinakhov
Spain ? David Alcaide & Francisco Diaz-Pizarro
Sweden ? Marcus Chamat & Thomas Mehtala
Switzerland ? Dimitri Jungo & Ronni Regli
Asia (13)
China ? Li Hewen & Fu Jianbo
Hong Kong ? Lee Chenman & Kenny Kwok
India ? Raj Hundal & Amar Kang
Indonesia ? Irsal Nasution & Riyan Setiawan
Japan – Yukio Akagariyama & Lo Li-wen
Korea ? Lee Gun Jae & Hwang Yong
Malaysia ? Ibrahim Amir & Patrick Ooi
Philippines A ? Dennis Orcollo & Ronnie Alcano
Philippines B ? Efren Reyes & Francisco Bustamante
Singapore – Bernard Tey & Chan Keng Kwang
Taiwan ? Ko Pin-yi & Ko Ping-chun
Thailand – Nitiwat Kanjanasri & Kobkit Palajin
Vietnam – Nguyen Phuc Long & Luong Chi Dung
Rest of the World (4)
Australia ? Greg Jenkins & David Rothall
Canada ? Jason Klatt & John Morra
Kuwait ? Khaled Al Mutaira & Omar Al Shaheen
USA ? Corey Deuel & Mike Dechaine
Commented Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn, ?The World Cup of Pool has really taken off in recent years and is fast developing into the biggest pool tournament in the world.
?Some of the greatest players in the game today will be in Manila searching for a big payday but more importantly, toss in the magic ingredient of national pride, and you have the recipe for a six days of compelling action.
?Plenty of teams can win this, and the two Filipino sides looks as good a bets as anyone, but it is also a chance for the minnows of the pool world to upset the applecart and grab a slice of the glory!?
The 2011 World Cup of Pool is sponsored by PartyPoker.net, the world?s leading online poker school. Cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis, Super Aramith balls by Saluc, tables by Star Xing Pai and the Official Cue is Predator.
