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Belhassen Out But Good News For Qualifiers
FRENCHMAN Benjamin Belhassen has withdrawn from the 2006 Philippines World Pool Championship.
The decision, which was taken due to health reasons, means there will now be an additional spot available for those competing in the qualifying tournaments.
There are now a total of 13 places up for grabs for players to secure their positions in the main event, which begins on Saturday, November 4 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila.
Each of the ten winners of the ten qualifying events will move into a pre-determined slot in the qualifying draw. However, there is still an opportunity for three 'lucky losers' to play in the most prestigious competition in world pool.
Every player that does not win a qualifying tournament but reaches the last 16 will be given points as follows: Runner-up - 10pts, losing semi-finalist - 5pts, losing quarter-finalist - 3pts, loss in last 16 match - 1 pt.
The three men who finish in the top three of this table will earn their place in the main draw and will take the positions of Qualifier 11, Qualifier 12, and qualifier 13.
Qualifier 11 will play in Group 17, alongside Earl Strickland (USA), Chen Ying-chieh (TPE) and Vincent Facquet, while Qualifier 12 will be in Group 10 with Francisco Bustamante (PHI), Darren Appleton (ENG) and Prince Muhtadee Billah (Brunei).
Qualifier 13 will be a straight swop with Benjamin Belhassen so who ever takes this place will line-up in Group 13, a group containing Marcus Chamat (Sweden), Jeong Young-hwa (Korea) and Roland Garcia (Philippines).
If a further player is forced to withdraw from the main competition then that position will be filled by the player finishing fourth of the 'lucky losers' while another man dropping out would give the fifth 'lucky loser' a lifeline and so on.
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