Following the Dynamic Billard European Championships Youth, the qualifying tournament for this year’s World Cup of Pool will kick off today in Expo Center, Tirana, Albania.
26 teams from 16 nations have announced for a chance in this tournament. Only the winning team gets a spot in the main field of the World Cup of Pool. Players from Croatia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Turkey, North Cyprus, Slovakia, Portugal, Belarus, Luxembourg, Denmark, Latvia, Albania, Scotland, Bosnia&Hercegovina, Switzerland and Hungary are among the contestants.
The tournament is scotch doubles which means that the two player which make a team take their shots in turns. 9-ball, race to eight, alternate break, double elimination is the format. There is one (1) spot directly into the World Cup of Pool available. The next highest finishing teams will form the basis of a reserve list should any of the invited teams fail to travel to the World Cup of Pool in October. Any pair representing the same country as the winning team will not be eligible for the reserve list.
The following European countries have been invited directly into the 2014 World Cup of Pool therefore players from these countries are not eligible for this qualifying event:
Austria, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, Holland, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden
The main event holds provides approximately 45 hours of live coverage. The venue is still to be announced. The prize fund for the main event is as follows:
Champions - 60.000,-$ per pair
Runners-up - 30.000,-$ per pair
Semi-finalists - 15.000,-$ per pair
Quarter-finalists - 9.000,-$ per pair
Last 16 losers - 4.500,-$ per pair
First round losers - 3.625,-$ per pair
Total: 250.000,-US$
The tournament is played on up to 24 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be purchased at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.
The qualifying event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). Information about the qualifying event can be found at www.eurotouronline.com. For further information and reference about the main event please go to the event website http://www.matchroompool.com/world-cup-of-pool/ .