World Pool Championship: Fedor Gorst survives scare as Jayson Shaw and Alex Kazakis both win
Defending champion Fedor Gorst survives major test to come through his opening match at the World Pool Championship, while women's world champion Kelly Fisher is beaten by Greek star Alex Kazakis and April Larson gives Chris Melling a scare
Monday 7 June 2021 16:58, UK
Fedor Gorst survived a huge scare in the opening match of his World Pool Championship defence as he fought back to defeat Estonia's Mark Magi in Milton Keynes.
Russian star Gorst fought back from 5-1 and 6-2 down to defeat Magi 9-7 at Marshall Arena.
He'll face Mark Gray for a place in the last 64.
Jayson Shaw found himself 6-0 down against World Under-17 champion Moritz Neuhausen of Germany, but the former US Open champion and current Mosconi Cup MVP, being watched by European captain Alex Lely, began a confident fightback, winning eight racks without reply.
The German youngster cut the deficit to 8-7 with Shaw on the hill but the Scot wrapped up the match 9-7.
There were also opening session wins for Championship League Pool winner Albin Ouschan, who beat Fabio Petroni 9-5, and Finland's Mika Immonen who beat Kristina Tkach 9-4 having been 3-1 down early on.
- Kelly Fisher's incredible journey to 9-ball queen
- Redemption for magical Kazakis at World Pool Masters
- Mark Selby: Blood, sweat & tears to one of snooker's greats
Alex Kazakis, who was recently crowned World Pool Masters champion, was up against his mixed-doubles partner Kelly Fisher, the women's world champion, and the Greek star was a 9-1 winner.
American female April Larson gave Chris Melling a scare before the Brit closed out a 9-7 victory, while Darren Appleton booked his place in the last 64 with a 9-2 success over Germany's Christof Reintjes, who was on the winning side when the pair were on opposing teams in the World Cup of Pool final last month.
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