Just four teams left in contention for the big prize in Washington, it was Egypt v Wales and France v England today at Squash on Fire, plus a host of playoff matches.
Egypt and England survive dramatic semi-finals to set up fourth final in a row
Two dramatic semi-finals in Washington both went the distance.
First top seeds Egypt recovered from a game down after Wales‘ Joel Makin put in another heroic performance to beat world champion Tarek Momen in five compelling, dramatic games – you simply have to watch the replay!
Egypt recovered as Karim Abdel Gawad and Mohamed Abouelghar both won, although Egyptian nerves were never fully settled, Gawad coming from 3-8 down in the first to eventually win comfortably in three, and Abouelghar needing four games to see off Emyr Evans.
Then it was old rivals England and France. Adrian Waller put England ahead, letting a two game lead slip before beating Greg Marche. Then the returning Gregory Gaultier met familiar foe James Willstrop and triumphed in three games to set up a decider.
Declan James was the England hero as he beat Mathieu Castagnet in straight games to set up a fourth straight Egypt v England final.
Elsewhere Germany and New Zealand – the fourth and fifth seeds whose places were swapped on the eve of the event – won through to the 4th/5th playoff, hosts USA beat Argentina to set up a local derby against Canada for 13th place, and Nigeria won their second match in a row to secure 21stplace.
Full roundup to follow …
FULL DRAWS WATCH LIVE SOCIAL GALLERY LIVE SCORES
Today’s Playing Order : 1-2-3
SEMI-FINALS
[1] Egypt 2-1 [11] Wales
Tarek Momen 2-3 Joel Makin 9-11, 15-13, 2-11, 11-4, 9-11 (76m)
Karim Abdel Gawad 3-0 Peter Creed 12-10, 11-3, 11-7 (32m)
Mohamed Abouelghar 3-1 Emyr Evans 1-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7 (51m)
[2] England 2-1 [3] France
Adrian Waller 3-2 Gregoire Marche 11-9, 11-5, 8-11, 4-11, 11-6 (75m)
James Willstrop 0-3 Gregory Gaultier 8-11, 5-11,5-11 (43m)
Declan James 3-0 Mathieu Castagnet 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 (48m)
5-8 SEMIS
Germany 2-0 Scotland
Simon Rosner 3-0 Greg Lobban 11-6, 11-9, 11-5 (40m)
Raphael Kandra 3-1 Alan Clyne 8-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-9 (49m)
Valentin Rapp v Rory Stewart match withdrawn
New Zealand 2-0 Spain
Paul Coll 3-1 Borja Golan 9-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 (60m)
Campbell Grayson 3-1 Iker Pajares 11-5, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9 (55m)
EvanWilliams v Carlos Cornes match withdrawn
9th/10th & 11th/12th Playoffs
11.00 Australia 0-2 Malaysia
Cameron Pilley 2-3 Eain Yow Ng 14-12, 6-11, 6-11, 11-9, 4-11 (49m)
Rex Hedrick 0-3 Ivan Yuen 11-13, 4-11, 8-11 (53m)
Zac Alexander v Mohd Syafiq Kamal match withdrawn
11.00 Hong Kong 3-0 Switzerland
Leo Au 3-0 Dimitri Steinmann 11-4, 11-9, 11-8 (37m)
Max Lee 3-2 Reiko Peter 7-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 11-9 (47m)
Yip Tsz Fung 2-0 Cedric Kuchen 11-8, 11-6 (16m)
13-16 Semis
USA 2-1 Argentina
Todd Harrity 3-1 Robertino Pezzota 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7 (48m)
Andrew Douglas 1-3 Leandro Romiglio 6-11, 11-7, 12-14, 4-11 (63m)
Chris Gordon 3-0 Gonzalo Miranda 11-9, 11-4, 11-3 (33m)
Canada 2-1 Kuwait
Shawn Delierre 3-1 Ammar Altamimi 5-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-9 (50m)
Mike McCue 0-3 Abdullah Al Mezayen 5-11, 8-11, 8-11 (34m)
David Baillargeon 3-0 Ali Alramezi 11-5, 11-4, 11-2 (27m)
17-20 Semis
Jamaica 2-1 Colombia
Chris Binnie 3-0 Juan Camilo Vargas 11-7, 11-9, 11-6 (34m)
Lewis Walters 3-1 Ronald Palomini 7-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-5 (49m)
Bruce Burrowes 0-2 Erick Herrera 2-11, 5-11 (12m)
Ireland 2-0 South Africa
Sean Conroy 3-2 Jean-Pierre Brits 11-7, 14-12, 9-11, 3-11, 11-4 (54m)
Arthur Gaskin 3-0 Christo Potgieter 13-11, 11-8, 11-0 (30m)
Oisin Logan v Gary Wheadon match withdrawn
21-23 Round Robin
Singapore 1-2 Nigeria
Samuel Kang 1-3 Babatunde Ajagbe 9-11, 10-12, 11-0,5-11 (37m)
Chua Man Tong 0-3 Sodiq Taiwo 6-11, 10-12, 3-11 (28m)
Brandon Tan 3-0 Ehimen Ehalen 11-4, 11-9, 11-6 (22m)
FULL DRAWS WATCH LIVE SOCIAL GALLERY LIVE SCORES
