Fedor Gorst, Aleksa Pecelj, Ko Ping Chung, and Aloysius Yapp will contest the semi-finals of the 46th US Open Pool Championship at Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City, live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom & Ireland, and DAZN in the United States.
Fedor Gorst holds off strong Robbie Capito challenge
Aleksa Pecelj wins eight of the last nine racks to comeback against Jayson Shaw
Ko Ping Chung reaches another US Open semi-final in 2022 rematch with Max Lechner
Aloysius Yapp defeats Wiktor Zielinski for another spot in the US Open final four
Pecelj had never previously advanced past the quarter-finals of a Matchroom Major event after heartbreakingly losing out to Joshua Filler's hill-hill at the 2022 UK Open Pool Championship. 2017 US Open champion Jayson Shaw stood in his way in New Jersey, coming into the tie in exceptional form, having dispatched American home favourite Skyler Woodward in the last 16.
Having won the lag and running out the first rack, Pecelj fell behind to a four-rack deficit as Shaw – cheered on by the crowd – looked to take control. From 6-2, Shaw was able to take just one more rack in the contest. The Serb Pecelj tied proceedings at seven-all and grew into ascendancy.
A spirited yell to the crowd followed as the 9-ball went in at 10-7 to see him into his first-ever major semi-final – with the winner of Table One’s early action to be his opponent. Despite being similar in age, Robbie Capito was featuring in his first quarter-final on the Matchroom major stage, whilst opponent Fedor Gorst has a plethora of late-tournament experience.
Before the tie, Capito had stated that this was Hong Kong’s time on the world stage, and in keeping pace with the former World 9-ball champion, he proved he can compete with the very best. Both men struggled to find margin, resulting in the match tied after 14 racks.
It was Gorst’s experience and quality that saw him break away from Capito to stretch to a 10-7 victory – a significant step in his charge towards an automatic Mosconi Cup place – with the next automatic spots for Team Europe and Team USA announced after the US Open Pool Championship.
The two latter semi-finals offered up intense affairs on both tables. 2022 US Open runner-up Max Lechner faced Sharks’ International Open Champion Ko Ping Chung on the main table – a blockbuster repeat of last year’s hill-hill semi-final clash.
The Chinese Taipei star set the pace throughout, but Lechner was trading blows back to keep himself within a chance of another final at Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City. With the scores tied at six each, three consecutive break and runs saw Ko into another US Open semi-final.
Table One closed the day’s play in a tense battle between WNT Ranked #9 Wiktor Zielinski and 2021 US Open runner-up Aloysius Yapp – both looking to reach the final four of a World Nineball Tour major this calendar year.
At no point throughout did either extend their lead over the other by more than two racks, maintaining pace until the 19th rack whilst tied at 8-all. After a safety play on the 4-ball by the Pole, Yapp found an angle that allowed him to clear up the table to get onto the hill. From there, the Singaporean star broke and ran the final rack, setting up an all-Asian affair with Ko Ping Chung.
Match Schedule
Semi-Final 1 – Fedor Gorst v Aleksa Pecelj (SRB)
Semi-Final 2 – Ko Ping Chung (TPE) v Aloysius Yapp (SGP)
DATES, SESSION TIMES, VENUE
All times are local (EDT)
29th September – 4:30 pm – 9:00 pm
30th September – 10 am – 2:30 pm / 4:30 pm – 7:00 pm
BRACKET, MATCH SCHEDULE, AND LIVE SCORES
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans in territories not listed below can watch Day 4 (September 28th) on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube channels as well as on Matchroom.Live
Saturday, 30th September August – 10:00 am to 2:30 pm / 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm
Sky Sports Arena – United Kingdom and Ireland
DAZN – USA, Brazil & Spain
Viaplay – Baltics, Scandinavia, Poland, Netherlands
Nova – Czech Republic, Slovakia
Sportklub – Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia
TAP – Philippines
VCT – Vietnam
Starhub – Singapore
Supersport – South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa
AMC – Hungary
Fox Sports – Australia
Reddentes – Indonesia & Chinese Taipei
Matchroom.Live – Rest of the World
Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube – Rest of the World
Matchroom.Live for the rest of the world. Matt Lynch Matchroom Multi Sport