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Today, we published the match draw.
Now, make your predictions.
This draw is interesting.
That was the first thing I thought when I saw it.
In Lo Li-wen’s group: Shinji Mizutani, the man who started this tournament; Shinya Goto, a titleholder himself; and Masaki Yonezawa, coming all the way from Toyama.
With SA-class players in it too, this is a group you won’t be able to take your eyes off from day one.
In Tomoya Iima’s group: Kunihiko Nakazawa, three-time best amateur at the All Japan 14.1 Championship.
Iima comes from Osaka to Yokohama, and one of the finest amateurs in the country stands in his way.
And what makes this draw interesting is not simply “class” or “record.”
SA-class players often get more chances to play 9-ball, 10-ball or rotation than anything else.
Official 14.1 (straight pool) events in Japan center on the All Japan 14.1 Open Championship and the Kansai 14.1.
On the other hand, there are players who may hold no titles, yet play 14.1 day in, day out.
In other words, class and record alone cannot measure strength at 14.1.
How do you build a long run?
How do you take a rack apart?
How far do you attack, and where do you switch to safety play?
Players who play 14.1 all the time, and players who mainly compete at 9-ball, 10-ball or rotation.
Do watch for the differences in how each of them moves through the game.
On top of that, this time it’s a short race: first to 50 points.
Hand over the table just once, and a top amateur may run it out and end the match.
Record alone won’t tell you.
Nor will class alone.
“Who plays 14.1, and how?”
Once you start to see that far, this draw gets even more interesting.
Who’s in your final eight?
The top two in each group advance to the final knockout.
Eight players, from four groups.
Which eight will make it through?
We’ll check the answers in one week.
Watching is free.
Come to the venue and see the answer for yourself.
Meeting times (for all players)
| Meeting time | Players |
|---|---|
| Meet at 9:30 | Lo Li-wen (pro), Takeaki Matsuno (pro), Shinya Goto, Masaki Yonezawa, Shinji Mizutani, Kiminori Kawano, Taiki Ogura, Kazuhiro Zamoto, Michioki Chiba, Takashi Nagase, Kazunari Izeki, Hitoshi Kamada, Mamoru Murayama, Satoru Izumi, Masataka Owada, Tatsuya Suzuki |
| Meet at 11:00 | Tomoya Iima (pro), Atsushi Inami (pro), Kunihiko Nakazawa, Yuki Sakata, Akira Sano, Kanako Sakamoto, Sugiaki Yamazato, Tomonao Kimura, Yasunori Kitajima, Morihiro Yogi, Nanae Taoka, Atsushi Yagi, Tadaaki Sakamoto, Kazuhiro Yoshida, Tomohiko Tanaka, Jun Enomoto |
👉 Tournament details and players
👉 Player stats