After five gruelling days of preliminary action in Ho Chi Minh City, the 2026 WPA Men’s World 10-Ball Championship has whittled a world-class field down to its final 32 title contenders.
Tournament favourites Jayson Shaw, Joshua Filler and Fedor Gorst made light work of their early stage, going flawless to reach the single-elimination rounds.
US Open finalists Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and Robbie Capito also earned their tickets through the winners’ side, alongside 2022 world 10-ball champion Wojciech Szewczyk and last year’s finalist Alexander Kazakis.
A pair of Dutch delights for Niels Feijen and Marco Teutscher, and a pint of Polish perfection for Wiktor Zielinski and Mieszko Fortunski, as they punched their way to the last 32.
One of the USA’s finest, Skyler Woodward, is also having a stellar tournament in Ho Chi Minh City, brushing away Carlo Biado and Kledio Kaci en route to his single-elimination appearance.
Elsewhere, Naoyuki Oi, Jonas Souto, Yuma Dorner and Wu Kun Lin also claimed victories in the winners’ qualification round.
The remaining 16 knockout berths were decided in a tense losers’ qualification session that claimed several tournament heavyweights.
The most seismic shock arrived with the elimination of 2024 champion Carlo Biado, with the Filipino stunned in straight sets by China’s Mi Le, who proved a stern test for Filler in a three-set second round battle.
The Philippines retained strong representation, however, as Sean Mark Malayan and Johann Chua survived pressurised elimination deciders to extend their campaigns.
In a rematch of the 2026 European Open final, Austria’s Mario He exacted bittersweet revenge over Moritz Neuhausen, prevailing 2–1 in a tense set decider.
Another heavyweight European duel saw two-time world nine-ball champion Albin Ouschan hold his nerve to eliminate Spain’s David Alcaide.
Local hopes suffered a crushing blow when Vietnamese icon Duong Quoc Hoang, fresh off ousting WPA number one Daniel Maciol, succumbed to a blistering breaking clinic from Eklent Kaci. Kaci’s reward is an opening knockout showdown against Niels Feijen.
His younger brother, Kledio Kaci, ensured family representation across both halves of the bracket by dispatching hall of famer Ralf Souquet 2–0, setting up a blockbuster rematch with Fedor Gorst from their 2025 World Pool Championship semi-final.
The elimination round proved fatal for the Polish team, as Konrad Juszczyszyn, Szymon Kural, and Mateusz Sniegocki bowed out to Aloysius Yapp, Sanjin Pehlivanović, and Hayato Hijikata, respectively.
Shane van Boening did not have to break a sweat, with the illness-struck Casper Matikainen forfeiting, a major relief for the audience who went through a rollercoaster of emotions watching his thriller match against Indonesia’s Irsal Nasution.
SVB’s next challenge in the single elimination phase will be the great Jayson Shaw, which guarantees a highlight-filled matchup.
The remaining names making Thursday’s action in Vietnam include Bader Alawadhi, Felix Vogel, Oliver Szolnoki, Cristopher Tevez and Dominik Jastrzab.
With the safety net of the double-elimination officially gone, the tournament now enters its most ruthless phase in Ho Chi Minh City. Who will turn on his takeover mode and claim the throne vacated by Ko Ping Chung?
