The draw for the 25th World Pool Masters has been made, with some mouth-watering first-round matches in prospect for Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar this March 2-4.

Old Mosconi Cup hostilities are set to be renewed as the legend Earl ‘The Pearl’ Strickland faces Darren Appleton in round one. The winner of that clash will face the victor of Shane van Boening versus Daryl Peach, raising the prospect of Peach and Strickland come head-to-head again, 11 years after the pair infamously clashed at the 2007 Mosconi Cup.

Elsewhere in the draw Jayson Shaw will take on Filipino legend Francisco Bustamante, who proved he can still mix it at the elite level when he was crowned Master of The Table at the Derby City Classic last weekend.

Defending World Pool Masters champion David Alcaide will open the tournament against Tony Drago on Friday, March 2 with record-breaking six-time Masters winner Ralf Souquet also in action during the first session – ‘The Kaiser’ faces Poland’s Karol Skowerski.

The 16-man field for the 25th World Pool Masters features 14 former tournament winners along with two wildcard picks – Jayson Shaw and Wu Jiaqing. Tickets are on sale now priced £7-12 per session with season tickets available for just £34.99 at www.buytickets.gi.

The World Pool Masters will be broadcast live for 20 hours in total on Sky Sports in the UK and on networks around the world. The World Pool Masters is sponsored by the following suppliers: RASSON (tables), IWAN SIMONIS (Simonis cloth), SALUC (Aramith balls), PREDATOR (cues) and ULTIMATE TEAM GEAR (clothing).

WORLD POOL MASTERS XXV DRAW

(1) David Alcaide (Spain) v Tony Drago (Malta)

(8) Ralf Souquet (Germany) v Karol Skowerski (Poland)

(5) Niels Feijen (Holland) v Raj Hundal (India)

(4) Wu Jiaqing (China) v Dennis Orcollo (Philippines)

(3) Shane Van Boening (USA) v Daryl Peach (England)

(6) Darren Appleton (England) v Earl Strickland (USA)

(7) Alex Pagulayan (Canada) v Alex Lely (Holland)

(2) Jayson Shaw (Scotland) v Francisco Bustamante (Philippines)

WORLD POOL MASTERS XXV MATCH SCHEDULE

All matches are race to 8, winner breaks

Friday, March 2 – 7pm

Round One

David Alcaide (Spain) v Tony Drago (Malta)

Ralf Souquet (Germany) v Karol Skowerski (Poland)

Niels Feijen (Hollands) v Raj Hundal (India)

Saturday, March 3 – 1:30pm

Round One

Wu Jiaqing (China) v Dennis Orcollo (Philippines)

Shane Van Boening (USA) v Daryl Peach (England)

Darren Appleton (England) v Earl Strickland (USA)

Saturday, March 3 – 7pm

Round One

Alex Pagulayan (Canada) v Alex Lely (Holland)

Jayson Shaw (Scotland) v Francisco Bustamante (Philippines)

Quarter-Finals

Alcaide/Drago v Souquet/Skowerski

Sunday, March 4 – 1:30pm

Quarter-Finals

Feijen/Hundal v Wu/Orcollo

Van Boening/Peach v Appleton/Strickland

Pagulayan/Lely v Shaw/Bustamante

Sunday, March 4 – 7pm

Semi-final 1

Semi-final 2

Final