Qatar World Cup Semi-Finals: Szewczyk vs Filler, Maciol vs Manas
Two tables at noon in Doha, four men, and two places in Thursday night's $100,000 final.
DOHA, Qatar — The Qatar World Cup 10-Ball reaches its climax on Thursday at the Ezdan Palace Hotel, and the last four could hardly be more loaded: world No. 1 Wojciech Szewczyk meets Joshua Filler on one table while 2024 champion Daniel Maciol faces Albert James Manas, the last Filipino standing, on the other.
Both semi-finals start at 12:00 PM Doha time (9:00 AM UTC) and race to 11, played simultaneously on two tables. The winners return the same evening for a race-to-13 final.
Szewczyk vs Filler
The tie the bracket had been pointing at all week. Szewczyk, the reigning world 10-ball champion, has been imperious in single elimination: 11-4 over 2025 runner-up Szymon Kural, a revenge 11-5 over defending champion Jonas Magpantay and 11-8 over John Morra in Wednesday's quarter-finals. No opponent in that run has got past eight racks.
Filler's road was the opposite. A first-round defeat to Mustafa Alnar sent the last seed standing the long way round, and he has ground through Oliver Szolnoki, Tobias Bongers and — 11-7 in the quarters — Miguel Salvilla. The German arrives battle-hardened rather than fresh, which against a player in Szewczyk's form may be no bad thing.
Maciol vs Manas
The second semi-final is a rematch of a Stage 1 qualifier: Maciol beat Manas 9-4 in the winners' qualification round, sending the Filipino down the losers' side. Manas has fought back ever since — ending Alnar's giant-killing week 11-5, outlasting compatriot Jundel Mazon, then holding off Chinese Taipei's Hsieh Chia Chen 11-8 in the last eight.
Maciol, champion here in 2024, has moved through the draw with little fuss, seeing off Jefrey Roda before an 11-6 quarter-final win over Konrad Juszczyszyn — the man who had removed No. 2 seed Carlo Biado hours earlier. Poland supplies half of the final four, so an all-Polish final is live; so is a first Qatar World Cup final for either Filler or Manas.
What is at stake
The champion collects $100,000 from the $450,000 fund, the runner-up $40,000; the two beaten semi-finalists leave with $15,000 each. Coverage is on the Qatar Billiard Sports Federation's YouTube channel.
Schedule and bracket verified via QBSF live scoring on Rack 9 Pool, cross-checked against Inside Spin's event data; follow the full draw on the event hub.