PoolRoom

WPC Knows No Favorites as Big Names Fall

As round-robin play at the World Pool Championship draws to a close, some big names are arranging for flights out of Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Top performers like Mosconi Cup veterans Ralf Souquet (Germany) and Charlie Williams (USA) are packing their bags, and Steve Davis (England) and Filipino legend Efren Reyes are hanging on by a mathematical thread.

The ranks of the undefeated include Johnny Archer (USA), the Philippines’ Marlon Manalo, Taiwanese hopes Po-cheng Kuo and Che-wei Fu, Japan’s Satoshi Kawabata and Scottish challenger Michael Valentine.

There’s one more day to go in the round-robin stage, which pares the 128-man field to 64 players, who then will brave the single-elimination stage.