Szewczyk, Filler, Maciol, Manas Reach Qatar World Cup Semis
Two Poles, the last seed and the last Filipino contest Thursday's semi-finals at the Ezdan Palace Hotel, with a race-to-13 final worth $100,000 the same night.
DOHA, Qatar — The Qatar World Cup 10-Ball will crown a new champion on Thursday night after four quarter-finals stripped the draw of its last big names at the Ezdan Palace Hotel.
Joshua Filler, Wojciech Szewczyk, Daniel Maciol and Albert James Manas each booked a place in Thursday's semi-finals, with $100,000 awaiting the winner of a race-to-13 final the same evening.
Filler the last seed standing
Filler, the No. 5 seed, saw off the Philippines' Miguel Salvilla 11-7 to become the only seeded player left in the tournament. The draw had already lost defending champion Jonas Magpantay, No. 2 seed Carlo Biado and No. 4 seed Fedor Gorst in Wednesday morning's last 16.
Salvilla, who had survived an all-Filipino tie against Jerico Bonus a round earlier, stayed close early on but could not stop the German pulling away in the closing racks.
Two Poles in the last four
World No. 1 and reigning world 10-ball champion Szewczyk ended John Morra's run 11-8, backing up his morning revenge win over Magpantay. The Canadian, a beaten finalist at this venue in past years, never recovered after Szewczyk built a mid-match cushion.
Szewczyk is joined in the semi-finals by compatriot Maciol, the 2024 champion, who won the all-Polish quarter-final 11-6 against Konrad Juszczyszyn — the same man who had toppled Biado hours earlier. Poland therefore supplies half of the final four, a stunning return for a nation whose players eliminated both the defending champion and the second seed in a single day.
Manas carries the flag alone
Manas is the last Filipino standing after beating Hsieh Chia Chen 11-8. The Chinese Taipei player had reached the quarters on the back of a hill-hill win over Gorst but could not conjure a second escape act.
The Philippines sent seven men into the last 16 — more than any other nation — yet only Manas survived the day. He now stands two wins from a second ranking title on one of pool's biggest stages.
Thursday's schedule
The semi-finals begin at 12:00 PM Doha time (9:00 AM UTC) on Thursday: Szewczyk meets Filler before Maciol faces Manas. The winners return the same evening for a race-to-13 final worth $100,000 to the new champion.
Verified results via QBSF live scoring on Rack 9 Pool; see also the event hub.