World Cup of Pool 2015 Results: Friday Scores, Updated Schedule and More
Romania, Austria and Chinese Taipei all progressed to the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup of Pool with relative ease on Friday, as fans at London's York Hall were treated to three great matches during the afternoon session.
Debutantes Romania again showed their class with a close win over Indonesia, while Austria and Chinese Taipei cruised to wins, beating France and Poland, respectively.
During the evening session, hometown favourites England B caused a massive shock, eliminating the Philippines in the final match of the day. Qatar and Finland also advanced to the next round. Here's a look at Friday's results and the upcoming schedule:
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| Sept. 25 | Afternoon | Austria | 7-2 | France |
| Indonesia | 5-7 | Romania | ||
| Poland | 3-7 | Chinese Taipei | ||
| Evening | Czech Republic | 3-7 | Qatar | |
| Singapore | 4-7 | Finland | ||
| England B | 4-7 | Philippines |
| Sept. 26 | Afternoon | Quarter-final 1 |
| Quarter-final 2 | ||
| Evening | Quarter-final 3 | |
| Quarter-final 4 | ||
| Sept. 27 | Afternoon | Semi-final 1 |
| Semi-final 2 | ||
| Evening | Final |
Recap
Carlo Biado and Warren Kiamco were expected to contend for the title after a disappointing showing in 2014, but after a mediocre showing in the second round, the Philippines team were forced to pack their bags, losing to England B 7-4.
Mark Gray and Daryl Peach started strong and kept their composure when their opponents made a run in the middle of the match, with safety play becoming crucial. Backed by a vocal home crowd, Gray took full control of the cue ball, displaying his background in snooker in the process.
There were no major surprises in the other evening matches. Finland's Mika Immonen and Petri Makkonen weren't perfect in their 7-4 win over Singapore, but per CueTracker.net's Ron Florax, the performance of their opponents was left wanting:
Finland were excellent and usually play better from the break, so expect for them to give England B a tough challenge in the next round.
In the first evening-session match, Qatar beat the Czech Republic 7-3.
Austria cruised to a spot in the quarter-finals in the first match of the afternoon session, as Albin Ouschan and Mario He put together a Scotch-double masterclass, beating Stephan Cohen and Alex Montpellier of France 7-2.
With the French struggling early, Ouschan and He took full advantage, finding plenty of success with their breaks. The cue ball also did exactly what the duo wanted, leading to plenty of straightforward pots and an altogether easy afternoon for the fifth-seeded Austrians.
They told the Mosconi Cup's official YouTube channel they were very satisfied with their performance after the match:
Austria aren't usually associated with success in the World Cup, but they comfortably made the semi-finals in 2014 and will be hoping for a repeat performance this year. Both Ouschan and He look in full control of their game, particularly early in the racks, and with the format changing to a race to nine in the quarter-finals, things are looking up for the Austrians.
Romania and Indonesia put together a great match of pool in the afternoon, with the former eventually walking away with a 7-5 win. Fans were treated to a battle of fundamentals, as safety play played a vital part in Babken Melkonyan and Ioan Ladanyi's win.
Both teams qualified for the second round in huge upsets, beating China and Germany, respectively. Romania in particular have impressed in their World Cup debut, and with a quarter-final clash against England A on the horizon, the qualifiers have the chance to cause yet another huge upset.
In the final match of the afternoon session, Ko Pin Yi and Chang Yu Lung of Chinese Taipei jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead against Poland and were never troubled from that point on, winning 7-3.
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