DRAW MADE FOR WORLD CUP OF POOL
Austria will begin their World Cup of Pool title defence against Slovakia, while hosts Great Britain A will face debutants Belarus in the first round of the doubles tournament, which begins on Sunday, May 9 at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes, live on Sky Sports.
Among the standout first-round ties is Great Britain B (Kelly Fisher & Allison Fisher) against three-time champions Philippines (Roberto Gomez & Jeff De Luna), while 2019 semi-finalists Spain will face Italy.
The 16 seeded teams were automatically placed into the draw brackets, with 16 unseeded teams drawn at random. The draw is set for the whole tournament, with some mouth-watering potential second-round match ups including USA vs. Philippines.
Defending champions Austria (Albin Ouschan & Mario He) also lifted the World Cup in 2017 and could become the first pairing to win the trophy three times.
The tournament will begin on Sunday, May 9 with fan-favourites Japan (Naoyuki Oi & Masato Yoshioka) in action against Croatia (Philipp Stojanovic & Roberto Bartol). All first round matches are race to 7, with three matches per session and two sessions per day. The first round will complete on Tuesday, May 11 with Great Britain A (Jayson Shaw & Chris Melling) facing Belarus’ all-female pairing of Margarita Fefilova & Yana Halliday. Halliday’s husband, Richard, will represent South Africa alongside brother Vincent. They face Canada (Alex Pagulayan & John Morra) in the first round.
The World Cup of Pool will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live, with further international broadcasters to be confirmed.
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MATCH SCHEDULE
Sunday, May 9 (12:00-16:00)
R1: Japan vs. Croatia
R1: Czech Republic vs. Hungary
R1: Austria vs. Slovakia
Sunday, May 9 (17:30-21:30)
R1: Russia vs. Switzerland
R1: Greece vs. Serbia
R1: Canada vs. South Africa
Monday, May 10 (12:00-16:00)
R1: Netherlands vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina
R1: Finland vs. Iceland
R1: Albania vs. Denmark
Monday, May 10 (17:30-21:30)
R1: Spain vs. Italy
R1: Germany vs. Lithuania
R1: USA vs. Australia
Tuesday, May 11 (12:00-16:00)
R1: Philippines vs. Great Britain B
R1: Poland vs. Kuwait
R1: Estonia vs. Belgium
Tuesday, May 11 (17:30-21:30)
R2: Austria/Slovakia vs. Czech Republic/HungaryR2: Canada/South Africa vs. Greece/Serbia
R1: Great Britain A vs. Belarus
Wednesday, May 12 (12:00-16:00)
R2: Russia/Switzerland vs. Japan/Croatia
R2: Finland/Iceland vs. Netherlands/B&H
R2: Spain/Italy vs. Albania/Denmark
Wednesday, May 12 (17:30-21:30)
R2: Germany/Lithuania vs. Poland/Kuwait
R2: USA/Australia vs. Philippines/Great Britain B
R2: Estonia/Belgium vs. Great Britain A/Belarus
Thursday, May 13 (12:00-16:00)
Quarter-final 1
Quarter-final 2
Thursday, May 13 (17:30-21:30)
Quarter-final 3
Quarter-final 4
Friday, May 14 (12:00-16:00)
Semi-final 1
Semi-final 2
Friday, May 14 (17:30-21:30)
Final