The third staging of the UK Open Pool Championship takes place from May 7-12 at the Telford International Centre, England, the first open championship of the World Nineball Tour season.
Eklent Kaci emerged victorious twelve months ago, securing his maiden major accolade in the WNT era in the process, defeating Joshua Filler, who has reached the final in both editions of the UK Open.
More than 200 players will be competing in the $200,000 tournament in an attempt to get their hands on silverware, and pool writer Ben Hudd has selected ten players to watch out for in Telford.
FEDOR GORST
Fedor Gorst was elated after becoming the World Pool Masters champion for the first time eight days ago, perhaps relieved that he had achieved a major title in the World Nineball Tour era and that that monkey had finally jumped off his back.
Perhaps that accolade could be the beginning of a dominance in the major tournaments for the world number three. Whenever he’s been beaten of late, it’s taken something spectacular to stop him and that will be no different in Telford.
DUONG QUOC HOANG
Duong Quoc Hoang will head to the West Midlands on cloud nine following his Scottish Open success at the weekend. Duong usually appears cold-faced but his beaming smile was infectious as more than 100,000 viewers watched on from Vietnam despite it being the early hours of Monday morning.
The Vietnamese number one will be brimming with confidence and utterly fearless, having beaten the likes of Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Carlo Biado, Eklent Kaci and Ko Pin-Yi in Glasgow. Duong’s got all the strokes and it will no surprise to see him reach the business end.
CARLO BIADO
Despite the array of younger talents emerging from the Philippines, the evergreen Carlo Biado remains the leading light from the Marboys stable. Biado has demonstrated that he has regained his peak form so far this year and further titles are around the corner.
Beginning the season by winning his second WNT ranking title in Taiwan, Biado was crowned the world 10-ball champion in Las Vegas two months ago, highlighting that the Filipino is in stroke and a contender for any tournament.
MORITZ NEUHAUSEN
Moritz Neuhausen headed into last year’s US Open as one of the title favourites in many people’s eyes, having reached back-to-back ranking finals and winning the Connecticut Open. It didn’t quite materialise on that occasion but he will become more dangerous with added experience.
The 20-year-old from Germany added a second ranking accolade to that success earlier this year in Colombia and, despite his game requiring some fine-tuning for him to become a persistent threat, Neuhausen can prove a contest for anyone on his given day.
PIJUS LABUTIS
Pijus Labutis provided a glimpse into his extraordinary ability when defeating both Fedor Gorst and Albin Ouschan on his way to the Spanish Open semi-finals last year. The Lithuanian has since become one of the form players, already reaching Derby City Classic and Super Billiards Expo finals this year.
Labutis has therefore accumulated enough ranking points to stand him in good stead of Mosconi Cup and Reyes Cup debuts. He will need to embark on deep runs in events such as the UK Open to maintain that, although he’s striking the balls too well not to make an impression.
ANTON RAGA
Anton Raga has been relatively quiet on the pool scene so far this year, opting against the Derby City Classic where he played last year, but the Filipino sensation is is still considered fifth in the FargoRate system, behind only Joshua Filler, Fedor Gorst, Shane van Boening and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz.
Raga’s run to last year’s European Open final was absolutely breathtaking. Many expected him to make an impression on his open championship debut but he exceeded expectations. His semi-final win over Joshua Filler was a real statement victory and his rivals should beware if Raga brings that form to England.
RIKU ROMPANNEN
Finland’s Riku Rompannen is perhaps the most promising teenage talent in the world at this moment in time. Rompannen reached the televised stage of the UK Open twelve months ago at 15 years of age, holding his own against the eventual runner-up in Joshua Filler.
That experience not only familiarised him with the bright lights of the main arena but will also allow him to be more comfortable when it happens again. And, he will be back at the same stage again, whether that be this year or another, because he’s too good not to be.
KARL BOYES
The ‘retired’ Karl Boyes was not a name anyone expected to see amongst the 200-strong field in the West Midlands, although the former US Open runner-up will make his UK Open debut after receiving a wildcard selection following a successful return in Scotland.
‘Box Office’ Boyes attracted the headlines when pulling off three clutch shots to beat Jonas Souto Comino and following that with five break and runs in stunning Albin Ouschan. He ultimately came unstuck against Jayson Shaw and Aloysius Yapp, though, it was ideal preparation for the UK Open and he shouldn’t feel disheartened after losing to two top ten players.
PHIL BURFORD
Phil Burford, who qualified through McGoldrick’s Sports Bar last month, returned to pool at the beginning of last year and found a gear that was somewhere near his best relatively quickly, notably beating David Alcaide in double elimination on his way to a ranking event final in Scotland as well as Albin Ouschan at the Puerto Rico Open in 10-ball.
Burford was once regarded as one of the greatest ever British talents, initially causing others to take notice at the US Open as a 20-year-old prodigy. He’s now older and wiser nonetheless and Burford heads to the UK Open as one of Britain’s brightest hopes.
JEFFREY IGNACIO
Jeffrey Ignacio may appear as a strange selection given that he hasn’t reached the last 16 of a major tournament in almost five years, although the Filipino has attracted attention so far this year.
Ignacio snapped off the Indonesia International 10-Ball Open in January, receiving $25,000 for his efforts. He also reached his maiden ranking final at the Chinese Taipei Open last November, and he will now be vying to bring performances of that calibre into the Matchroom major tournaments.
