Joshua Filler and Albin Ouschan are amongst the notable absentees for the upcoming Hanoi Open Pool Championship amid threats of being banned from WPA-sanctioned tournaments.
Filler, who will represent Europe at the Reyes Cup a week after the Hanoi Open, headlines the withdrawals alongside Ouschan having previously committed their allegiances to the World Nineball Tour.
Numerous European players have become fearful of attending the Vietnamese event due to the fear of being banned by pool’s governing body, with Wiktor Zielinski notably being the only Polish player to sign up.
Mario He and Max Lechner have also dropped out of the tournament, as have the likes of WPA number one Alexander Kazakis, Ralf Souquet, Thorsten Hohmann, Konrad Juszczyszyn and Niels Feijen.
It comes after the WPA sanctioned this week’s Peri 9-Ball Open but refused to recognise the Hanoi Open, with the Peri Open conveniently being days after the new WPA-sanctioned Ho Chi Minh City Open.
The WPA have sanctioned every other WNT major open championship aside from the Vietnamese staging, with the Hanoi Open therefore marking a watershed moment in the ongoing saga between the two entities.
Players who compete in tournaments that are eligible for WPA endorsement but do not seek sanctioning from the sport’s governing body will have their WPA license revoked for at least six months.
