With round-robin group play completed, the 96-player field at the Victor Chandler World Pool Championship was trimmed to 64 late Monday night in Cardiff, Wales. The single-elimination knock-out matches in the $250,000 tournament will begin at the Cardiff International Arena Tuesday morning.Six players recorded perfect records in the six-player group stage, earning the top six seeds on the single-elimination board. American Kim Davenport posted a perfect 5-0 record in the race-to-seven round-robin phase, and allowed his opponents just 14 total games. Fellow Americans Jeremy Jones and Earl Strickland also rolled through their respective groups with 5-0 records. Germany's Oliver Ortmann, Mexico's Ismael Paez and Russian Evgenji Stalev were the other group leaders to win all five opening matches.

With the top four finishers from each group advancing to the final 64, several notable stars were issued early exit visas. American Jim Rempe won just two of his five matches. Rempe actually tied Denmark's Peter Neilsen for fourth place in his group, with a 2-3 record and 23 total games won. Neilsen, however, allowed two fewer games to his opponents (29 to Rempe's 31), and was awarded the group's final spot. Also failing to make the final 64 was snooker ace Jimmy White, who thrilled Cardiff crowds in 1999 with his unique brand of take-no-prisoners play.

Defending champion Efren Reyes of the Philippines earned a top-16 seed by winning his bracket with a 4-1 record., his only group loss being a 7-6 verdict to Mexico's Ernesto Dominguez. Losing 1999 finalist Hoa-Ping Chang of Chinese Taipei won three of his five group matches to also advance to the final 64. The Victor Chandler World Pool Championship, produced by Matchroom Sports and sanctioned by the World Pool- Billiards Association, runs through July 9, with the champion earning $60,000. More than 60 hours of the championship will be carried live throughout the United Kingdom on Sky Sports.