Matchroom Sport can announce the countries taking part in the 2009 PartyCasino.net World Cup of Pool. 32 teams representing 31 nations will be present in Manila, Philippines from 1-6 September to contest what is pool’s most prestigious team prize.
The Philippines, as host nation, will have two teams present with pool legends Francisco Bustamante and Efren Reyes, who won the inaugural competition in 2006, making up one of the sides. The other Filipino side will be announced in the near future, as will the players taking part from each nation.
The American pairing of Shane Van Boening and Rodney Morris, who triumphed in Rotterdam, Holland, in the 2008 event, will be travelling to the pool-crazy Philippines to defend their title.
Morris and Van Boening had success for the American Team at last year's World Cup of Pool.
There will be a strong challenge from Europe with 15 nations all aiming to be the first European team to win the two-man team knockout tournament.
The event will be staged in at the SM City North Mall in the heart of Manila, Philippines with 31 matches played over six days. The host broadcaster is Solar Sports and each match will be produced by Matchroom Sport into 31 one-hour programmes which will be broadcast around the world.
The Teams
EUROPE
1. Austria 2. Belgium 3. Croatia 4. Denmark 5. England 6. Finland 7. France 8. Germany 9. Holland 10. Italy 11. Malta 12. Poland 13. Russia 14. Spain 15. Sweden
ASIA
16. China 17. Hong Kong 18. India 19. Indonesia 20. Japan 21. Korea 22. Malaysia 23. Philippines A 24. Philippines B 25. Singapore 26. Taiwan 27. Thailand 28. Vietnam
NORTH AMERICA
29. Canada 30. USA
OCEANIA
31. Australia
MIDDLE EAST
32. Qatar
Luke Riches, Matchroom Sport: luke.riches@matchroom.com, +44 7785 395688
Notes: Matchroom Sport is 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 World Cup of Pool is one of a stable of pool events that include the Mosconi Cup and the World Pool Masters.
The 2009 World Cup of Pool is sponsored by PartyCasino.net, the world’s leading online casino. Tables are supplied by Brunswick Billiards, cloth by Iwan Simonis, Super Aramith balls by Saluc and the Official Cue is Predator.