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WPA World 8-Ball Drawn To Final 32
Apr 7, 2010, 3:14 PM

Van Boening (above) will face Sweden's Chamat in the round of 32. (Photo by Lawrence Lustig)

The good news is that every American at the WPA World 8-Ball Championship survived the double-elimination rounds and advanced to the knockout round of 32. The catch? Shane Van Boening is the only U.S. representative in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.

Van Boening easily advanced through the group stage, where eight groups of eight players were placed into a double-elimination bracket, with four from each group surviving. The American hopeful easily moved on, trouncing Masaki Tanaki, 8-3, and Taiwan's Ko Pin-Yi, 8-4.

Ralf Souquet, who won the last WPA world title in 8-ball in 2008, also had no trouble pushing through to the single-elimination round. The German topped Kang Lee, 8-3, and Ruben Bautista, 8-1.

Not surprisingly, the Filipinos have a host of players still in the hunt for the world title. But thanks to a bit of an unlucky draw, the Pinoys will be advancing in spite of themselves for the first two rounds. Lee Vann Corteza faces Dennis Orcollo, with the winner facing the victor of the Ricky Yang-Jeffrey DeLuna match. On the other side of the bracket, Antonio Gabica will face Marlon Manalo, with the winner advancing to play the survivor of the Joven Alba-Oliver Medinilla set.

The knockout rounds will continue through Saturday, when the final is scheduled for 5 p.m. local time.