The World Pool Championship 2023 is set to begin in Kielce, Poland from February 1-5, with defending champion Shane Van Boening taking on Japan’s Masato Yoshioka in the opening round. The tournament will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia and the Baltics, DAZN in the USA, and on networks worldwide.
Read More: Watch the World Pool Championship 2023 Live on DAZN
With 128 players from 46 countries competing for the $60,000 first-place prize and the world crown, this year’s tournament promises to be an exciting and closely contested competition. The top 64 players from the Nineball World Rankings will be matched up against unseeded players from the other 64 in the hat, with standout first round ties including 2015 world champion Ko Pin Yi facing James Aranas of the Philippines, and 2022 semi-finalist Abdullah Alyousef facing the tricky prospect of Johann Chua.
2004 world champion Alex Pagulayan was unseeded and will meet Michael Schneider in the first round, while World Cup of Pool winner David Alcaide takes on Billy Thorpe and Shane Wolford’s mission for a spot on Team USA at the 2023 Mosconi Cup takes on Pia Filler. Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, who had a year to remember last year, will begin his Nineball campaign against So Shaw of Iran.
Double elimination matches are all race to 9, with all matches from the Last 64 a race to 11, except for the final, which is a race to 13. With such a strong field of players, this year’s tournament is sure to be a thrilling competition, with many exciting matches to come.
Format
The tournament will be played in a straight knockout format, with the 128-player field being whittled down to the Last 64 over the first two days of action. From there, it will be a straight knockout to the end, with one player claiming the $60,000 first-place prize and the world crown.
Tickets
Tickets for the World Pool Championship 2023 are available for purchase on the tournament’s website. Don’t miss your chance to see some of the best pool players in the world compete for the world crown in person.
Watch the Draw
The draw for the tournament was completed on January 28th, with the top 64 players from the Nineball World Rankings matched up against unseeded players from the other 64 in the hat. To watch the draw and see who your favorite players will be competing against, check out the tournament’s website.
Bracket
Here’s a quick look at some of the notable matchups in the tournament:
| Seed | Name (Country) | VS | Name (Country) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shane Van Boening (USA) | VS | Masato Yoshioka (JPN) |
| 2 | Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) | VS | So Shaw (IRI) |
| 3 | Joshua Filler (GER) | VS | James Georgiadis (AUS) |
| 4 | Albin Ouschan (AUT) | VS | Juan Carlos Exposito (ESP) |
| 5 | Mario He (AUT) | VS | Sebastian Batkowski (POL) |
| 6 | Jayson Shaw (GBR) | VS | Francesco Candela (ITA) |
| 7 | Wiktor Zielinski (POL) | VS | Aziz Moussati (MAR) |
| 8 | Alexander Kazakis (GRE) | VS | Erik Hjorleifson (CAN) |
| 9 | Max Lechner (AUT) | VS | Max Eberle (USA) |
| 10 | Ko Pin Yi (TPE) | VS | James Aranas (PHI) |
| 11 | Eklent Kaçi (ALB) | VS | Dimitris Loukatos (GRE) |
| 12 | Abdullah Alyousef (KUW) | VS | Johann Chua (PHI) |
| 13 | Oliver Szolnoki (HUN) | VS | Marcel Price (GBR) |
| 14 | Niels Feijen (NED) | VS | Muhummed Daydat (RSA) |
| 15 | Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL) | VS | Daniel Guttenberger (AUT) |
| 16 | Mieszko Fortunski (POL) | VS | Emil-Andre Gangflot (NOR) |
| 17 | David Alcaide (ESP) | VS | Billy Thorpe (USA) |
| 18 | Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) | VS | Nguyễn Anh Tuấn (VIE) |
| 19 | Sanjin Pehlivanović (BOS) | VS | Joseph Spence (CAN) |
| 20 | Jonas Souto Comino (ESP) | VS | Karl Gnadeberg (EST) |
| 21 | Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) | VS | Bashar Hussain Abdul Majeed (QAT) |
| 22 | Ko Ping Chung (TPE) | VS | Michal Gavenčiak (CZE) |
| 23 | Chang Jung-Lin (TPE) | VS | Jonas-Kvalsund Hansen (NOR) |
| 24 | Ronald Regli (SUI) | VS | Iker Andoni Echeverría (ESP) |
| 25 | Naoyuki Oi (JPN) | VS | Mickey Krause (DEN) |
| 26 | Jose Alberto Delgado (ESP) | VS | Joey Tate (USA) |
| 27 | John Morra (CAN) | VS | Tayfun Taber (GER) |
| 28 | Denis Grabe (EST) | VS | Ali Nasser Al Obaidli (QAT) |
| 29 | Ralf Souquet (GER) | VS | Sullivan Clark (NZL) |
| 30 | Dimitri Jungo (SUI) | VS | Hunter Lombardo (USA) |
| 31 | Thorsten Hohmann (GER) | VS | Tanes Tansomboon (THA) |
| 32 | Aloysius Yapp (SGP) | VS | Sharik Sayed (SGP) |
| 33 | Tomasz Kaplan (POL) | VS | Ko Ping Han (TPE) |
| 34 | Moritz Neuhausen (GER) | VS | Lường Đức Thiện (VIE) |
| 35 | Aleksa Pecelj (SRB) | VS | Marco Dorenburg (GER) |
| 36 | Daniel Maciol (POL) | VS | Sina Valizadeh (IRI) |
| 37 | Oscar Dominguez (USA) | VS | Stephen Holem (CAN) |
| 38 | Omar Al Shaheen (KUW) | VS | Joao Grilo (POR) |
| 39 | Skyler Woodward (USA) | VS | Chris Alexander (GBR) |
| 40 | Besar Spahiu (ALB) | VS | Ramazan Akdag |
| 41 | Hseih Chia Chen (TPE) | VS | Nick Van Den Berg (NED) |
| 42 | Chris Melling (GBR) | VS | Duong Quoc Hoang (VIE) |
| 43 | Petri Makkonen (FIN) | VS | Elliott Sanderson (GBR) |
| 44 | Imran Majid (GBR) | VS | Marco Teutscher (NED) |
| 45 | Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) | VS | Mohammad Soufi (SYR) |
| 46 | Radoslaw Babica (POL) | VS | Jan Van Lierop (NED) |
| 47 | Robbie Capito (HKG) | VS | Toh Lian Han (SGP) |
| 48 | Jani Uski (FIN) | VS | Chetan Chhabra (IND) |
| 49 | Lo Ho Sum (HKG) | VS | Lars Kuckherm (GER) |
| 50 | Bader Alawadhi (KUW) | VS | Richard Halliday (RSA) |
| 51 | Pijus Labutis (LTU) | VS | Ajdin Piknjac (BOS) |
| 52 | Mika Immonen (FIN) | VS | Gerson Martinez (PER) |
| 53 | Greg Hogue (USA) | VS | Mariusz Skoneczny (POL) |
| 54 | Shane Wolford (USA) | VS | Pia Filler (GER) |
| 55 | Karol Skowerski (POL) | VS | Abdullah Al-Anzi (KUW) |
| 56 | Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE) | VS | Ruben Bautista (MEX) |
| 57 | Tyler Styer (USA) | VS | Mason Koch (USA) |
| 58 | Roman Hybler (CZE) | VS | Matt Edwards (NZL) |
| 59 | Tobias Bongers (GER) | VS | Davy Piergiovanni (ITA) |
| 60 | Mustafa Alnar | VS | Szymona Kural (POL) |
| 61 | Daniele Corrieri (ITA) | VS | Khalid Alghamdi (KSA) |
| 62 | Michael Schneider (SUI) | VS | Alex Pagulayan (CAN) |
| 63 | Wu Kun Lin (TPE) | VS | Fabio Petroni (ITA) |
| 64 | Jakub Koniar (SVK) | VS | Mats Schjetne (NOR) |
Conclusion
The World Pool Championship 2023 is set to be an exciting event, with some of the best players in the world competing for the title of world champion. Whether you’re a fan of the sport or just a casual spectator, be sure to tune in to the live stream to catch all the action as it happens. With the tournament taking place in Poland, it’s shaping up to be an unforgettable experience.