Qatar World Cup 10-Ball Results: Feijen, Kaci Brothers Out in Last 64
Wiktor Zielinski topples No. 8 seed Kledio Kaci, Oliver Szolnoki routs Niels Feijen and Mustafa Alnar survives another hill-hill decider on a bruising opening day of the knockout in Doha.
The first day of knockout pool at the Qatar World Cup 10-Ball halved the field — and took a toll on the bracket's biggest names. Niels Feijen, David Alcaide, Eklent Kaci, Kledio Kaci and Naoyuki Oi all fell inside the Ezdan Palace Hotel on Tuesday as the 32 last-64 ties were settled across two sessions, while Mustafa Alnar's remarkable week continued with yet another hill-hill escape.
Morning session — the seeds tumble
Wiktor Zielinski delivered the headline result of the 11:00 Doha session, beating No. 8 seed Kledio Kaci 11-7. Oliver Szolnoki was even more emphatic against Niels Feijen — the Hungarian routed the Team Europe Mosconi Cup captain 11-5 — and Filipino qualifier Rocky Tullao beat former world 10-ball champion Eklent Kaci 11-6.
The surprises kept coming. Estonia's Karl Gnadeberg swept Daniel Guttenberger 11-5, Britain's Elliott Sanderson dismissed Mohammed Baabad by the same score and Germany's Tobias Bongers edged Ruslan Chinakhov 11-9. Miguel Salvilla won an all-Filipino tie 11-9 against Aivhan Maluto, while Sweden's Walter Laikre ended Wisam Dakkak's run 11-9 — a day after the Syrian stunned Jayson Shaw.
The favourites who did advance mostly did so comfortably: defending champion Jonas Magpantay cruised past Hsu Jui An 11-4, reigning world 10-ball champion Wojciech Szewczyk beat Juri Pisklov 11-3 and Joshua Filler saw off Ameer Ali 11-8. Jerico Bonus needed all 21 racks to edge Sambor Stachowiak 11-10.
| Session one — 11:00 Doha (race to 11) |
|---|
| Jonas Magpantay 11-4 Hsu Jui An |
| Alex Pagulayan 11-8 Ali Alobaidli |
| Wojciech Szewczyk 11-3 Juri Pisklov |
| Szymon Kural 11-9 Jerson Cumayas |
| Mario He 11-6 Alex Montpellier |
| Rocky Tullao 11-6 Eklent Kaci |
| John Morra 11-8 Mohamed Gamal Emara |
| Walter Laikre 11-9 Wisam Dakkak |
| Miguel Salvilla 11-9 Aivhan Maluto |
| Elliott Sanderson 11-5 Mohammed Baabad |
| Wiktor Zielinski 11-7 Kledio Kaci |
| Jerico Bonus 11-10 Sambor Stachowiak |
| Joshua Filler 11-8 Ameer Ali |
| Oliver Szolnoki 11-5 Niels Feijen |
| Karl Gnadeberg 11-5 Daniel Guttenberger |
| Tobias Bongers 11-9 Ruslan Chinakhov |
Afternoon session — Alnar does it again
Mustafa Alnar's week of upsets continued in the 14:00 session. The Turkish Cypriot — who had already beaten Joshua Filler and Niels Feijen during the double-elimination phase — edged No. 17 seed Bernie Regalario 11-10 in a hill-hill decider.
Mahmoud Charif added another seeded name to the casualty list, beating No. 18 Naoyuki Oi 11-9, Robbie Capito won the tie of the round 11-7 against fellow seed David Alcaide, and Konrad Juszczyszyn beat Greece's Alex Kazakis by the same score.
No. 4 seed Fedor Gorst survived a major scare, edging Marco Teutscher 11-10, while Dimitrios Loukatos also needed a decider against Ruben Cuna. Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (11-3 over Marlon Caneda) and Carlo Biado (11-6 over Mateusz Sniegocki) went through untroubled, AJ Manas produced the day's widest margin in an 11-3 win over Qatari hope Bashar Hussain, and Vietnam's Duong Quoc Hoang beat Maks Benko 11-8 to reach the last 32.
| Session two — 14:00 Doha (race to 11) |
|---|
| Francisco Sanchez Ruiz 11-3 Marlon Caneda |
| Carlo Biado 11-6 Mateusz Sniegocki |
| Dominik Jastrzab 11-7 Dominik Regieli |
| Konrad Juszczyszyn 11-7 Alexander Kazakis |
| Robbie Capito 11-7 David Alcaide |
| Duong Quoc Hoang 11-8 Maks Benko |
| Jefrey Roda 11-6 Khalid Alghamdi |
| Daniel Maciol 11-9 Bader Alawadhi |
| Fedor Gorst 11-10 Marco Teutscher |
| Mahmoud Charif 11-9 Naoyuki Oi |
| Dimitrios Loukatos 11-10 Ruben Cuna |
| Hsieh Chia Chen 11-8 Mieszko Fortunski |
| Jundel Mazon 11-8 Wu Kun Lin |
| Juan Carlos Exposito 11-9 Denis Grabe |
| Albert James Manas 11-3 Bashar Hussain |
| Mustafa Alnar 11-10 Bernie Regalario |
The last-32 picture
Four of the 11 seeds on duty fell on Tuesday — No. 8 Kledio Kaci, No. 10 Alcaide, No. 17 Regalario and No. 18 Oi — while Biado, Sanchez Ruiz, Gorst, Filler, Capito, Zielinski and Roda all advanced.
The Filipino contingent remains the story of the event: eight of the 13 players flying the flag who reached the knockout are still standing — Magpantay, Biado, Tullao, Salvilla, Bonus, Roda, Mazon and Manas — and the draw kept them apart in the last 32. Vietnam's Duong Quoc Hoang continues his unbeaten week and meets Capito in the evening session.
The last-32 draw — underway Tuesday night
The 32 survivors went straight back out at 18:00 Doha time (15:00 UTC), and the bracket threw up heavyweight ties: Sanchez Ruiz against Biado, Szewczyk against fellow Pole Kural, Jastrzab against Juszczyszyn in another all-Polish meeting, Filler against the in-form Szolnoki and Alnar against Manas.
| Last 32 — 18:00 Doha (race to 11) |
|---|
| Jonas Magpantay vs Alex Pagulayan |
| Wojciech Szewczyk vs Szymon Kural |
| Mario He vs Rocky Tullao |
| John Morra vs Walter Laikre |
| Miguel Salvilla vs Elliott Sanderson |
| Wiktor Zielinski vs Jerico Bonus |
| Joshua Filler vs Oliver Szolnoki |
| Karl Gnadeberg vs Tobias Bongers |
| Francisco Sanchez Ruiz vs Carlo Biado |
| Dominik Jastrzab vs Konrad Juszczyszyn |
| Robbie Capito vs Duong Quoc Hoang |
| Jefrey Roda vs Daniel Maciol |
| Fedor Gorst vs Mahmoud Charif |
| Dimitrios Loukatos vs Hsieh Chia Chen |
| Jundel Mazon vs Juan Carlos Exposito |
| Albert James Manas vs Mustafa Alnar |
Out at the last 64
The 32 players eliminated on Tuesday each collected $3,000. Beyond Feijen, Alcaide, the Kaci brothers, Oi, Kazakis and Regalario, the exodus included morning losers Hsu Jui An, Ali Alobaidli, Juri Pisklov, Jerson Cumayas, Alex Montpellier, Mohamed Gamal Emara, Wisam Dakkak, Aivhan Maluto, Mohammed Baabad, Sambor Stachowiak, Ameer Ali, Daniel Guttenberger and Ruslan Chinakhov, and afternoon casualties Marlon Caneda, Mateusz Sniegocki, Dominik Regieli, Maks Benko, Khalid Alghamdi, Bader Alawadhi, Marco Teutscher, Ruben Cuna, Mieszko Fortunski, Wu Kun Lin, Denis Grabe and Bashar Hussain.
What remains
- Tuesday, October 27: the last 32, raced to 11, began at 18:00 Doha (15:00 UTC).
- Wednesday, October 28: knockout play continues toward the semi-finals.
- Thursday, October 29: the final — a race to 13 worth $100,000 to the champion.
Coverage: the QBSF's YouTube channel streams the TV table. Full bracket, schedule and earlier rounds: Qatar World Cup 10-Ball hub · how to watch.
