BRENTWOOD: The Netherlands have eased through to knock out the defending champion Germany in the second-round encounter and excelled into the quarters of the ongoing World Cup of Pool.
In the second-round match between Netherlands and Germany, the Dutch pair of Marc Bijsterbosch and Niels Feijen sealed a comprehensive 7-4 triumph in the Best of 13.
German’s pair of UK Open and the World Pool Masters winner Joshua Filler and former world champion Thorsten Hohmann – the favourites of the tournament – started their world cup campaign on a high with a win over New Zealand. The pair, however, failed to become the first nation to defend the title as they lost to the Netherlands in the second round.
The defending champions started the match on a high as they took an early 3-1 lead after displaying solid command while playing the first four racks.
The dutch pair then wasted no time and quickly bounced back in the next two racks to level the scores at 3-3.
Team Netherlands, fuelled with momentum further carried their dominance and moved within two racks from the triumph.
Hohmann’s special in the ninth rack, however, kept the game alive for the defending champions as he trumped the snooker with a jump shot and potted the one home. The German pair then excelled through and went on to claim their fourth rack to cut Netherland’s lead to 5-4.
The defending champions, who appeared to have gained momentum from the last rack, potted seven balls home before Hohmann missed on the eight and ended up leaving the open table for Bijsterbosch and Feijen.
The Dutch pair then continued their dominance in the 11th rack and sealed a comprehensive 7-4 victory over the defending champions.
