Croatia stun 16th seeds Russia
CROATIA stunned the 16th seeds Russia with a shock victory in the opening match of the 2007 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool.
In an error-strewn encounter, both sides looked nervous with all four competitors playing below their best.
However, the Croatian pairing of Philipp Stojanovic and Ivica Putnik did enough to book their place in the last 16 and set up a match against Philippines or Scotland.
THIS was the opening match of the PartyPoker.net 2007 World Cup of Pool and featured unfancied Croatia against Russia, a side tipped by many to be a good outside bet to win the competition.
Croatia's Stojanovic won the lag and then sunk the 5-ball but with no available shot, it was up to team-mate Ivica Putnik to push out.
In a scrappy opening rack, 15-year-old Ruslan Chinakov, the youngest player in the tournament, scratched and that enabled Croatia to move through the balls with Stojanovic sinking the 9-ball.
With the winners-break format, Croatia had the upper-hand, but this did not last long as Russia were soon back at the table. They had a piece of fortune when Chinakov nearly scratched with the cue-ball hanging over the left middle pocket.
But it did not drop and that enabled Russia, the tournament's 16th seeds, to claim the second, before Croatia restored their lead by winning the third.
For the first time in the competition, a team successfully ran out a rack as Croatia moved 3-1 in front. Each side shared one of the next two racks to make it 4-2.
It should have become 4-3 but Russia missed a glorious chance when Stepanov failed with an attempt on the 9-ball, before Putnik banked it into the bottom right pocket.
Croatia suffered a painful 8-9 defeat in the opening round against Vietnam in 2006, but were looking a good bet to make round two this time.
It was proving to be a tough match for Chinakhov as he missed yet another pot, this time on the 4-ball as the scoreboard ticked over to 6-2. The Russians pulled one back, although Stepanov had a heart-stopping moment as the 9-ball rattled into the jaws of the pocket before finally dropping.
In the next, Croatian Stojanovic produced a good effort to bank the blue-2, although later brought the opponents back to the table with a failed attempt at the long range 4-ball and it was 6-4, as the Russians won two successive racks for the first time.
This match was proving to be a comedy of errors and Croatia moved to the hill after Stepanov, the current European No.1, produced a poor shot that failed to sink a routine-looking shot on the 3-ball.
The 12th rack seemed to be one that neither side wanted to win as the 1-ball was repeatedly missed, but Russia kept their slim hopes alive as they eventually downed the 1-ball and held their nerve for 7-5.
Stepanov then played the last shot Russian shot of the competition and the disappointment was clear to see as the blue-2 stayed out once again and Croatia did the rest for an 8-5 victory.
