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World 9-Ball Kicks Off in Qatar
Jun 29, 2010, 12:03 PM

Peach will face a tough road to a second consecutive World 9-Ball title. (Photo by Lawrence Lustig-Matchroom Sport)

It took awhile, but Daryl Peach finally got the chance to defend his World Pool Championship title. But things didn't exactly go to plan for the Englishman.

The 2010 World 9-Ball Championship — the first WPA-sanctioned world title event in the discipline since 2007 — kicked off on Tuesday in Doha, Qatar. The 128-player field has started group play, which features 16 flights of eight players drawn into double-elimination brackets. The top four from each group will advance to a single-elimination bracket of 64.

For Peach, he will have to advance the hard way after dropping his first set against Israel Rota of the Philippines, 9-8. Peach will have to win his next two matches to advance to the knockout phase.

The defending champ, though, wasn't the only big name to move to the left after a day of play. Ralf Souquet and Darren Appleton both dropped their first matches. Souquet, ranked No. 4 in the world, drew Dennis Orcollo in an absolute monster of a first round draw, with the German champion falling, 9-6. Appleton, meanwhile, never challenged Canadian journeyman Jason Klatt in a lopsided 9-2 match.

The Americans largely avoided the upset bug, with Shane Van Boening, Rodney Morris, Johnny Archer and Charlie Williams advancing. Oscar Dominguez, though, drew Swede Marcus Chamat in the first round and lost a heartbreaking 9-8 set.

The World 9-Ball Championship will run through Monday, July 5, with sporadic information available at www.qbsf.info — the website of the Qatar Billiards & Snooker Federation, the event's host and organizer.