The original field of 128 9-ballers has been hittled down to 16 at the World Pool Championship in Taipei, Taiwan. As play was set to begin Friday, only former champs Earl Strickland and Johnny Archer remained from the American contingent, and 2000 titlist Fong-Pang Chao represented a surprisingly strong charge from the Taiwanese ranks. Check out http://www.billiardsdigest.com/tournaments/index?tournament_id=11 for BD’s on-the-spot coverage starting July 15, or check out the event’s Web site at http://www.worldpoolchampionship.com