Pool - 2015 Kremlin Cup 10 Ball Open

​5th-8th November 2015 / Stadium Olimpiyskiy, Moscow, Russia


               THE HOME TRACK TO GLORY                             FOR 'THE SIBERIAN EXPRESS'!


​Home player Ruslan Chinakhov came back from the brink to take the 2015 edition of the Kremlin Cup 10 Ball Open.

After losing his opening match to a fellow Russian player 8-5, he was forced to qualify for the Last 32 straight knockouts via the dreaded losers section.

Chinakhov very nearly came unstuck straight away when surviving a 8-7 decider over E. Novosad (Ukraine), before more comfortable wins over L. Georgiov (Cyprus) and K. Polovinchuv (Ukraine).

Now into the clean slate knockouts, he enjoyed a further brace of wins against fellow countrymen to set up a clash with American Shane Van Boening in the quarter-finals.

The pair had already performed a special challenge match on the Friday night, which Ruslan won 30-22, and the local hero repeated the dose to knock out the reigning double World Pool Master 8-5.

An 8-0 destruction of young Bosnian Sanjin Pehlivanovic would propel 'The Siberian Express’ into a mouth-watering final with former World Champion Mika Immonen.

In a predictably tight affair, Immonen stood on the hill at 8-7, but a scratch on the break allowed Ruslan to level it up.

He would make a ball at the start of the seventeenth rack, but after missing a tricky 1-ball, he was fortunate to leave his Finnish opponent in a snooker.

Immonen successfully kicked it, but ultimately left Chinakhov the chance he took for victory.

Other well known names to compete included -
Thorsten Hohmann (Germany) - lost out to Immonen in the Semi-Finals
Ivica Putnik (Croatia) - lost in the Last 32 
Rodney Morris (USA) - lost in the Last 32
Imran Majid (Great Britain) - lost in the Last 32
Nick Malaj (Greece) - lost in the Last 16
Alex Kazakis (Greece) - lost in the Last 16
Denis Grabe (Estonia) - lost in the Last 32
Konstanin Stepanov (Russia) - lost in the Last 32

For full results and draw sheet please visit the Kremlin Cup Facebook page here.


There is a YouTube video of the final here, and coverage of the Chinakhov/SVB challenge match here.



















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​Written and published by Michael Day on the 17th November 2015​​

This year's Kremlin Cup top quartet. Picture courtesy of the Kremlin Cup Facebook page

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