Capito Back On Top As Six Players Knocked Out On Judgement Day – 2025 IFX Payments Premier League Pool

Robbie Capito (Taka Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

Robbie Capito reclaimed his place at the top of the leaderboard on Day Five, while Eklent Kaçi, Tyler Styer, Pijus Labutis, Bui Truong, Edward Koyongian, and AJ Manas became the first players to be eliminated at the 2025 IFX Premier League Pool.

In partnership with the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Sarajevo Canton, the 2025 IFX Premier League Pool is being hosted for the first time at Hills Hotel in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The tournament runs from March 20-27, bringing thrilling nine-ball action to the heart of the Balkans, live on WNT TV along with other major broadcasters. 

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Capito showcased his dominance with three commanding wins over Duong Quoc Hoang, Jayson Shaw, and Tyler Styer, reclaiming the top spot and extending his lead to 12 points. Meanwhile, Johann Chua, who began the day as the frontrunner, struggled to maintain his momentum. A heartbreaking hill-hill loss to Duong was followed by a resounding 5-1 defeat to defending champion Shane Van Boening, dropping the Hanoi Open winner to third place—just one match win behind Capito and a single rack behind Shaw.

Shaw took full advantage of Chua’s setback, surging into second place with emphatic victories over Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (5-1) and Aloysius Yapp (5-2). His strong performances saw him edge past Chua in the standings by the slimmest of margins.

The fight to avoid elimination was most intense around the tenth-place cutoff, with Sanjin Pehlivanovic, Pijus Labutis, and Tyler Styer all battling for survival. Styer was the first to fall, suffering three consecutive defeats against Yapp, Moritz Neuhausen, and Capito, sealing his fate.

Pehlivanovic edged past Labutis 5-3 in their opening match, thrilling the home crowd, but Labutis fought back with crucial wins over AJ Manas and Eklent Kaçi to keep his hopes alive. However, the Lithuanian run came to a dramatic end with a hill-hill loss to Edward Koyongian.

Pehlivanovic, despite a defeat to Sanchez Ruiz, secured his place in the next stage after a hard-fought hill-hill victory over fellow Balkan cueist Kledio Kaçi, keeping his dream alive of winning the title on home soil.

At the bottom of the table, Bui Truong’s elimination was inevitable despite an opening 5-2 win over Koyongian. The Vietnamese cueist had struggled since Day One, and his fate was sealed after a crushing 5-0 whitewash by Van Boening and a narrow 5-4 loss to Eklent Kaçi.
Kaçi’s disappointing campaign continued, with losses to Van Boening and Labutis confirming his exit just ahead of Truong. Koyongian followed soon after, his defeat to Truong compounded by a heavy 5-1 loss to Kledio Kaçi, marking the end of his tournament.

AJ Manas fought desperately to stay in contention but ultimately fell short. With his final match postponed to Day Five, the Filipino star faced four consecutive matches—one last opportunity to break into the top ten. However, back-to-back defeats to Labutis, Yapp, Ruiz sealed his fate, bringing his Premier League Pool campaign to a bitter end.

With six players eliminated, the competition now intensifies as the remaining ten cueists battle for the title in Sarajevo.

The Top 10 
Robbie Capito
Jayson Shaw
Johann Chua
Moritz Neuhausen
Shane Van Boening
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz
Aloysius Yapp
Kledio Kaci
Sanjin Pehlivanovic
Duong Quoc Hoang

The 2025 IFX Premier League Pool returns on Tuesday, 25 March from 12 CEST on WNT TV, along with Viaplay, Rigour, and Nova. Find where you can watch in your country here.

Don’t miss the chance to catch the action as the 2025 IFX Premier League Pool unfolds in Sarajevo – Spectator tickets available here!

You can track the action on all 183 matches at Premier League Pool via the WNT Live Scores website here.

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