Major Upsets Conclude Preliminary Rounds At The 2025 World Pool Championship In Jeddah

The initial rounds of the 2025 World Pool Championship wrapped up yesterday evening in Jeddah. This city is hosting the event for the second year in a row. The tournament, held at the Green Halls, features 128 elite players from over 40 nations and will continue until July 26.

In total, 64 matches were played across two brackets: winners and losers. This resulted in 64 players advancing to the next round. The upcoming matches on Thursday will include the round of 64 and round of 32, with games played in a race-to-11 format starting at 1:00 p.m.

The qualifiers witnessed several unexpected outcomes. Notably, world number 2 Aloysius Yapp from Singapore was defeated by AJ Manas from the Philippines with a score of 9–6. Meanwhile, reigning world champion Fedor Gorst from the United States continued his strong performance by beating Italy’s Francesco Candela 9–5.

Saudi player Mohammed Baabbad faced a tough match against Austria’s Max Lechner, losing 9–1. However, Fahad Al-Dhayan from Saudi Arabia secured his place in the round of 64 after defeating Khalid Al-Ghamdi, another Saudi player, with a score of 9–6.

Carlo Biado, who won the world championship in 2017, triumphed over fellow Filipino Lee Van Corteza with a scoreline of 9–4. In another surprising result, Germany’s Joshua Filler, the world champion in 2018, was knocked out by Finland’s Jani Uski after losing 9–5.

Poland's Wojciech Szewczyk delivered an impressive performance by defeating German veteran Thorsten Hohmann, a two-time world champion, with a convincing score of 9–3. The surprises did not end there as Taiwan's Ko Pin-Yi, also a two-time world champion, was eliminated by Bernie Regalario from the Philippines.

The tournament continues to provide thrilling moments and unexpected results as it progresses towards its conclusion on July 26. Fans eagerly anticipate more exciting matches and potential upsets as top players compete for the championship title.

With inputs from SPA