Kiwis enjoy pool of success at VNEA World Pool Championships

Kiwis enjoy pool of success at VNEA World Pool Championships

The kiwis fought strong at this year’s VNEA World Pool Championships tournament in Las Vegas.

Seventeen players have just returned home after representing New Zealand on the world stage where the team enjoyed its most successful world championship to date.

Team Manager Bernard Endres said the team was feeling positive going into the competition but the results exceeded all expectations.

“The competition at the tournament is always tough with several thousand players competing from around the world. Our players are mixing with the best in the world,” Endres said.

In the singles, standout performances include Kimberley Cullen and Manfeild Kwong.

A newbie at the World Champs, Kimberley Cullen caught the attention of her competitors, enjoying a second placing in the Women’s 8 Ball Singles and third placing in the Women’s 9 Ball Singles. She was just shy of snatching second place off fellow teammate, Temple Geayley. Overall, she was named as one of the tournament ‘All Stars’ for her performance.

“Out of nearly 5,000 players, only a handful are given this award which says a lot about how well she played,” Endres said.

In the Men’s 8 Ball Singles with a field of over 600 players, Manfeild Kwong did not lose a match until the semi-finals, which was an amazing performance against the world’s best.

In the Mixed Scotch Doubles, Werner Fontein and Brooque Pologa placed third and Chris Bowman and Kimberley Cullen placed fourth.

Over 500 teams participated in the team event of which three were from New Zealand.

In the teams events, the men’s team finished in 17th position out of a field of over 300 teams. The women’s team finished in 17th place as well with about 100 teams in their division.

In the teams World Cup New Zealand was knocked out by one of the eventual finalists, the Bahamas, with the 2017 World Cup going to Germany.

Endres said it has been the New Zealand juniors in recent years that have lead the way with exceptional performances, but they’ll have a lot to live up to following the seniors’ success in Las Vegas.

“All eyes will be on the junior team who will fly out to Pennsylvania USA this week.”

Each year send teams to compete overseas in the VNEA World Pool Championships in both the Senior and Junior divisions.

Last year New Zealand appeared in the Teams World Cup Final and finished second to Germany. The team also had a fourth place in the Men’s 8 Ball Plate in 2016. In 2015, they achieved second in the Mixed Scotch Doubles and first in the Men’s 8 Ball Plate.

ENDS

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