Jayson Shaw became the first-ever Hanoi Open Pool Champion after defeating Albin Ouschan in a hill-hill epic finale – live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom & Ireland and exclusively on Vietcontent in Asia.
Shaw trailed the two-time world champion throughout the match after some excellent safety play allowed the Austrian to build up leads of 4-0 and 10-5. But roared on by a packed Hanoi Indoor Games Gymnasium, with over 2,300 fans in attendance for the crowning of Hanoi’s first champion, the Glaswegian delivered an epic comeback to land his first major piece of silverware on the World Nineball Tour.
After a string of consistent last 32 and last 16 appearances, Shaw has overturned his form at the business end of the campaign. Buoyed on by a run to the quarter-finals at the 46th US Open Pool Championship, in beating Sanjin Pehlivanovic in the semi-finals, Shaw was confirmed as Team Europe’s third automatic qualification spot for the Mosconi Cup.
Shaw leveled the match at five-all after a routine 8-ball miss from Ouschan, but the Austrian demonstrated his superior safety play to regain a two-rack buffer. Irritation was on full display on the face of the Glaswegian after a two-ball jump attempt left him shaking the short stick in frustration. Ouschan would clear up, and a break and run saw him take a 10-5 lead – three from his first Matchroom major title since the 2022 European Open Pool Championship.
Back at the table after his opponent scratched on the break, Shaw would deliver consecutive break and runs before attempting a masse escape. The racks continued to fall until the match was leveled at 11-all. A cross-table bank into the middle pocket on the blue two-ball had the crowd on their feet as the Scotsman ran out to level at 11-all.
Breaking and running to get onto the hill and breaking for the match, Shaw was oozing confidence with the crowd firmly behind him, but when looking like running out to seal the win, a missed five ball allowed Ouschan to force a decider – a fitting finish for a modern-classic final.
Luck has been a factor for many throughout the week, and it hit the Austrian like a sucker punch at the worst time. Breaking for the match, a double kiss kicked the cueball into the middle pocket, and with ball in hand, Shaw could clean up for his first major title since the 2017 US Open Pool Championship.
A historic week for Asian pool was aptly marked with a trophy presentation from the great Efren Reyes, who had wowed fans in two exhibition matches across the weekend against Vietnamese star Nguyen Anh Tuan and local hero Do Khai.
Meanwhile, AJ Manas of the Philippines dominated the Vietnam Junior Open, dropping just 11 racks all week en-route to claiming the title 9-2 against Liao Hung-Fen of Chinese Taipei.
NEXT MATCHROOM EVENT
The momentum of the World Nineball Tour continues with the 30th Anniversary Mosconi Cup from Alexandra Palace, London, taking place between December 6-9th. Fans can expect additional news of the first Captain’s picks from Ralph Eckert for Team Europe and Jeremy Jones for Team USA within the coming week.
There are a limited number of tickets still available here. Adam Clapham Matchroom Multi Sports
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