World Championship Shock In Jeddah: Great Dane Krause Stuns Defending Champion & Arab Stars Share Spotlight

Thursday saw Danish cueist Mickey Krause topple reigning champion and world #1 Francisco Sánchez Ruíz en route to last 16

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – 7 June 2024: A thrilling penultimate day awaits audiences at the 2024 World Pool Championship in Jeddah following a marathon 48 matches throughout Thursday. After three days of double elimination encounters live from the Green Halls, the original 128-strong field has been narrowed down to the last 16 as the single elimination stage served up surprise shocks and a series of memorable contests.
With world pool's greatest players progressing deeper into the tournament and edging closer to the coveted world title, Thursday illustrated that anyone can win the 'Crown Jewel' of the World Nineball Tour (WNT).
Across two rounds of last 64 and last 32 showdowns, Danish world #53 Mickey Krause produced a sensational performance to knock out defending champion and world #1 Francisco Sánchez Ruíz. The 23-year-old overcame Ruiz 11-7 in the afternoon session before beating American cueist Billy Thorpe to seal his spot in the last 16.
Krause shed light on his mindset following back-to-back Day 4 victories and stressed the importance of focusing on himself rather than his opponents. He said: 'It was races to 11 out there but I break down matches into races to three – it's all about small wins, small wins, small wins. I find this easier whilst playing and it helps me to focus. I was 0-2 down but came back and this approach helped me to dig deep and come through.'
Looking ahead, Krause revealed his dreams of winning the sport's biggest prize and said he considers Friday to a whole different competition as the latter stages begin. He added: 'I really see them as separate tournaments – the last 128, 64, and 32 as one tournament and the last 16 onwards as another. I'm really looking forward to it and I'm focused on going as far as I possibly can. I reached the last 16 of the UK Open last month and I'd love to go beyond that this time. It's always been a dream to be a world champion.'
Another Day 4 highlight that drew huge audience interest was an all-Arab last 32 showdown between Syrian world #29 Mohammad Soufi and Kuwaiti marksman Bader Alawadhi – who had prevailed in a titanic 11-10 clash hours earlier in the round of 64.
Soufi, the 2023 world championship runner-up, remained on course for a second successive final. He followed up his 11-5 win against world #9 Aloysuis Yapp with another solid performance to overcome Alawadi 11-7.
Elsewhere on Thursday, world #8 David Alcaide defeated fifth seed Jayson Shaw in a mouthwatering top 10 matchup while world #2 Fedor Gorst, #3 Shane Van Boening, and #7 Joshua Filler also remained in title contention.
This year's World Pool Championship is held in partnership with the Saudi Arabian Billiard & Snooker Federation (SABSF), Ministry of Sport, and Matchroom Multi-Sport.
The action continues on Friday with 12 matches locked in across the last 16 and quarter-finals.