The first seven teams have been confirmed for the 2021 World Cup of Pool, which will be played from May 9-14 in Milton Keynes, live on Sky Sports, with Kelly Fisher and Allison Fisher teaming up for Great Britain's 'B' Team
Friday 26 March 2021 20:35, UK
Women's World 9-ball champion Kelly Fisher and Hall of Famer Allison Fisher will be out to do some "damage" after being announced as representatives for Great Britain at the World Cup of Pool this May in Milton Keynes.
As host nation, Britain will have two teams in the event. The 'A' team will be announced in due course, but the 'B' Team has been confirmed with Kelly Fisher and Allison Fisher pairing up for an all-women line-up for the highly-anticipated tournament.
"I am really looking forward to the World Cup of Pool," said Kelly Fisher. "It will be me and Allison together, playing doubles against the guys, it will be great fun. We will be out there to do some damage, it will be super exciting for the fans, and for us too."
Defending champions Albin Ouschan and Mario He of Austria will be looking to lift their third World Cup title.
They defeated the Philippines 11-3 in the 2019 final, the third successive time they had reached the title match. They had previously won the event in 2017 when they beat USA in the final, and in 2018 fell just short of defending their crown when they were overcome by China in Shanghai.
Having waited almost two years for the chance to defend their title, Austria's Ouschan is excited to reunite with his playing partner.
"The wait is over," said Ouschan, who is currently playing in Predator Championship League Pool. "I will see Mario to get some practice at the end of April. It will be the first time since March last year that I have been able to see him.
"It is awesome to play with Mario. There is no big secret but we are friends and we know each other's game. In the last three years, I don't think there has even been one match where we have both played a really good set, it has always been that one was playing better than the other and saved us.
"In 2017, it was probably me who saved us, in the second year when we lost to China we both played well, but last time it was definitely Mario and he was the MVP of the tournament."
Also confirmed for the World Cup of Pool is the Dutch duo of Niels Feijen and Marc Bijsterbosch.
Finland will be represented by Petri Makkonen and Casper Matikainen, who will make his World Cup debut.
Poland's team will be Mieszko Fortunski and Wojciech Szewczyk, while Spanish pair David Alcaide and Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz return after making the semi-finals last time out.
Naoyuki Oi will be back for Japan and this year will be partnered by Masato Yoshioka.
The World Cup of Pool features 32 two-player teams and is played to a straight-knockout format. The remaining 25 players and teams will be confirmed over the coming weeks.
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