Some interesting stuff at the World Cup yesterday, in particular the performance of Kacper Filipiak, a 15 year-old from Poland, who beat both John Higgins and Stephen Maguire in his singles matches against Scotland.
Filipiak is the reigning European junior champion. This was the first time I'd seen him play and his poise and general demeanour impressed me greatly.
He seemed remarkably composed for one so young and appears to be yet another talented left-hander.
Filipiak practises at the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester, which should help his development. He is, of course, already on the professional circuit.
OK, so it was only one frame but he made a 69 break to beat Higgins and another half century against Maguire before making a good pressure clearance.
Many times in the past the BBC have delved out footage of a young Stephen Hendry and John Parrott from their Junior Pot Black days and who is to say in a few years time we won't be doing similar for Filipiak from this World Cup.
Poland start the day joint top of group D and have a good chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals alongside Scotland.
The other highlight of the day's play in Bangkok was the 61 clearance by the Brazilian pair of Fabio Luersen and Noel Rodrigues against England.
If anything was going to win me over to the alternate shot doubles format, this was the frame.
To put it into context, Mark Selby and Ali Carter are two of the top six ranked players in the world. Luersen and Rodrigues grew up playing ten-red snooker and have very little experience on the international stage.
But they worked well together, kept things simple and held their nerve under pressure to produce one of the highlights of the World Cup so far.
Because of the format, with points not awarded for winning matches but for frames won, the qualification places remain up in the air, but Wales signalled their intent yesterday with a 5-0 demolition of Egypt.
The usual suspects will surely be through by the time the group phase finally comes to an end on Friday.
27 comments:
Last time I checked my Sat Nav Dave, South West Snooker Academy was still in Gloucester.
Eurosport are working you too hard.
Kacper has a full season long Scholarship at the Academy as part of our partnership with EBSA.
His dad is here as he couldn't make the trip to Thailand and to say he is one proud dad would be a mild understatement!
Here at the Academy we are all chuffed to bits for Kacper. The experience and the success can only help him in the future.
You are right he is very self-contained, composed, plays thoughtful match snooker, unlike most players of his age who are all crash, bang, wallop.
There was some idiot going on the other week saying Kacper Filipiak shoul'nt be playing because he's to young!!
Sorry Janie, I've corrected that
Hello David
Just so I am not getting confused in my teenage mind,is it so that the group results will only be based on the number of frame scores?
Of course who am I to make a comment about the format if this is so but I would find it very difficult to accept a situation where it would be possible for a team to win all its matches and not qualify. Please tell me I have got it wrong.
Tony
Which commentator was O'Sullivan amusingly criticising on Twitter?
He said that he was working with Mike Hallett.
I found it quite funny just because when he realised he knew him, he then tempered his criticism by saying what a nice man he was!
Nice to see a young talent performing well on the world stage. Maybe he will do a Trump in Sheffield in the coming years. What a story that would be.
I was commentating with Joe Johnson at the time
Dave hit it right on the head when he said that young Polish guy is like a young Hendry. He looks like a young Hendry and has the same focussed and calm demeanour of him. Mind you I'd rather see him play in a proper tournament than this World Cup rubbish.
so will someone explain fully what was said about what commentator and by whom?
mike smith was the commentator.
Ronnie said "Who is this commentator on eurosport with hallet, he knows nothing about the game"
Then said "Oh I know him, nice fella but not a rhythm and blue about snooker"
What's the big deal either way he said the commentator did'nt know what he was on about, if it was Mike Smith he's spot on..
So Brannons made a mountain over a mole hill, give it a rest Jamie FFS!!!
You can't get much worse than Dennis Taylor and Willie Thorne when it comes to commentary. Dennis always trying to crack jokes about his and colleagues' golfing or dancing prowess, something the man on the street can hardly relate to. And Thorne always informing us that so-and-so 'desreves to win the frame/match' for some individual shot, or informing us ad-nauseum that 'Selby is the most improved player of the last few seasons'... Everton was old hat, I'd like to hear Davis back in the box, Hendry was pretty decent also, sticking to the play. O'sullivan might be interesting also, never heard him..
Jamie have you any clue what a'rhythm and blue' is i bet you aint got a 'scooby doo'
i am sick of seeing empty seats at events in the far east (where everyone states its the future of our game).
dont excuse it with ticket prices and explain the seats higher up are full. theyre not!
7:16 Exactly right. People who focus on nothing but the utopian globalization of snooker keep talking about the 100 million in China alone but at the flagship event of China Open there are rows upon rows of empty seats year after year.
The chinese tournament officials should at least attempt to fill the seats by letting people in for free to create some sort of atmosphere and enthusiasm when the cameras are rolling.
yes santa
the seat near the front are dearer, but every time the cameras pan out at any event ive seen theyre attended as much, or as little, as other events excluding the wc.
Fantastic anount of armchair whining on this blog.
Why is the World Cup rubbish??
It shows that the sport is pretty
much alaive in the world and will,
in my opinion be ranked as one of the top events in the future.
Common opinion in Sweden is, very
interesting to watch new countries and faces and good tournament formula.
sorry kimball, am i meant to go to events to see there are no spectators, rather than sit on my armchair and see it?
even the commentators arent there, and they can pass comment, so, so can i.
Usual complacent british whingers looking for stuff to moan about. Comments on here are getting embarrassing tbh.
Weird that he wouldn't know what Joe Johnson sounded like.
No answer to why the World Cup is rubbish.
Jamie, Dave said he was commentating with Joe Johnson at the time.
Yeah fair point guys the World Cup is rubbish.
I thought by Dave saying that it was Joe, but he did say the commentator was working with Hallett.
I notice Janie says O'Sullivan is not Bendigo bound.
Selby's blown it for England. Failed to win a single frame in the quarters and dragged Carter down in the doubles. It was asking for trouble sending out a player who only qualified thanks to a PTC inflated ranking. Time to invoke the insurance policy and support the England/Northern Ireland team.
Ben Harrison was right, him and jack lisowski should of played.
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