In a surprising upset at the Inaugural Spanish Open, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz of the Matchroom Nineball Tour in Lugo, Spain, was defeated in a hill-hill match by Oliver Szolnoki. Despite being favored to win, Sanchez Ruiz faltered in the Last 64, setting the stage for an intense day of Nineball in the Galacian region of Spain. The match with Szolnoki was a back-and-forth affair, with Sanchez Ruiz initially taking the lead before Szolnoki mounted a comeback and ultimately emerged victorious. The event was broadcast on Sky Sports and DAZN, reaching a wide audience across the globe.
The Spanish Open saw several upsets, including James Aranas losing to Wu Jia Qing and Gary Wilson falling to Mario He. The tension was high as players battled for vital World Nineball Tour Ranking points, leading to surprising results, such as Jani Uski coming from behind to defeat Wu Jia Qing in a hill-hill match. Skyler Woodward faced off against his teammate Shane Van Boening, with Woodward ultimately winning 10-8.
Albania had a strong showing, with Eklent Kaci winning his second title in a few weeks and his brother Kledio continuing his successful debut on the World Nineball Tour. Dang Jin Hu and Emil André Gangflot also secured wins, knocking out some of the top-ranked players in the world.
World Pool Masters Champion, Ko Pin Yi, continues searching for his first Matchroom signature multi-table open title as he progresses into the weekend. He secured a victory over Imran Majid, eliminating all British players from the tournament. The last 16 will feature a match between Ko Pin Yi and Naoyuki Oi, who emerged victorious against Mario He with a score of 10-7. Meanwhile, Eklent Kaci, who recently won the UK Open, hopes to win back-to-back titles. He defeated two-time World Pool Masters champion David Alcaide, causing disappointment for Spanish fans.
TV Table
Ko Pin Yi (TPE) vs Naoyuki Oi (JPN)
Skyler Woodward (USA) vs. Kledio Kaci (ALB)
Table 1
Duong Quoc Hoang (VIE) V Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BOS)
Dang Jin Hu (CHN) V Emil Andre Gangflot (NOR)
Fedor Gorst V Daniel Maciol (POL)
Table 2
Albin Ouschan (AUT) V Pijus Labutis (LTU)
Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) V Jani Uski (FIN)
Eklent Kaci (ALB) V Joao Grilo (POR)
Saturday begins at 1 pm, with the Last 16 before the evening session whittles it down to the final four. Match odds can be found online through various online gaming websites.
Live rack-by-rack scoring will be available throughout the event at www.matchroompool.com, thanks to our partners PRP.
Wherever you are in the world, you will be able to sweat the action with broadcasters globally and live on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube channels in selected territories and on Matchroom.Live. UK and Ireland-based fans can see the final two days on Sky Sports. Fans in the USA will be able to watch all six days live on DAZN, whilst those in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Poland, and Netherlands can watch live on Viaplay. Fans in the Philippines, meanwhile, will be able to sweat the action on TAP Go and those in Vietnam on VietContent channels.
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