In a mighty clash between two of Taiwan's favorite pool players, Yang Ching-shun prevailed over his long-time mentor Chao Fong-pang 11-6 in the final of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour at the jam-packed Kaohsiung Business Exhibition Center yesterday.
Of the six players Taiwan fielded for this leg, only Yang and Chao are native to Kaohsiung and it was appropriate that the two should fight out for the US$15,000 winner's purse, after recording semi-final wins over Taiwan's Wu Yu-lun and Ronnie Alcano of the Philippines.
Earlier, Yang had given three-time World Junior Champion Wu a lesson in composure, with Wu thrice scratching off his power break. From 2-7 behind, Wu managed to close the gap to 5-7 before Yang took another rack.
Wu then won two more racks and had a golden chance to level the scores in Rack 16. Breaking first, Wu committed a mistake on the 1-ball, allowing Yang to clean up. Yang went on to take two of the next three racks to get the win.
Speaking after the semi-final win, Yang said: "I'm feeling good and I'm able to read the table well. Wu's power break was spectacular but he often found himself out of position, or scratching, which handed me the initiative. I'd prefer to meet Chao in the final as there won't be much pressure to win between us. Winning and losing is an everyday thing."
And Chao duly delivered after defeating Alcano 11-6 in the battle of two World Champions.
It was Alcano who had the hot start, opening up with a solid 3-1 lead, highlighted by a magnificent 3-ball corner pocket off a two rail kick in Rack 3. But spurred on by his hometown fans, Chao turned the tide to win six straight racks, including capitalizing on Alcano's mental lapses in Racks 6 and 8.
Alcano then shifted to a soft-break, taking three of the next four racks before Chao surged again. From 8-6, Chao took the next two racks to break Alcano's spirit. Needing to win Rack 17 to stay in the match, Alcano was presented with a golden opportunity with an easy 3-9 combo. Alcano proceeded to fluff the shot, allowing Chao to complete a popular win.
"It's OK," Alcano said. "Chao really was the better man today. His break was going for him all through out the match. Plus he ate up the difficult positional plays I gave him. Even after using my soft-break I knew it was going to be very hard to come away with the win so I guess it's OK. I'm still proud of myself."
Having been knocked out by Alcano in the Group Stage in Jakarta, Yang was out for redemption in Kaohsiung. A three-time winner on the Asian 9-Ball Tour, including the very first tournament in Singapore in 2003, Yang was an image of calmness as he jumped to a 2-0 lead.
After the victory, Yang said: "I feel great. I knew my form had not been good lately, so I made sure I prepared well in the two weeks leading up to this event. I have made sacrifices and this is the fruit of my labor."
‘BOWLINE’ AND ‘ARCTOS’: Roy Quaden was hit on the head by a boom, while Nick Smith was struck by the main sheet and thrown across the boat amid rough seas Two sailors have been killed in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, officials said yesterday, as a string of yachts retired in powerful winds and high seas. One of the crew members, 55-year-old Roy Quaden on Flying Fish Arctos, was hit on the head by a boom as the fleet raced down the New South Wales coast, race organizers said. The other man, 65-year-old Nick Smith, was struck by the main sheet aboard Bowline and thrown across the boat, said David Jacobs, vice commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. “Unfortunately, he hit his head on the winch, and
Champagne corks often pop and loud, boisterous cheers are usually heard around Constitution Dock when the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honors winner finishes in the Tasmanian state capital. There were no such celebrations this year when the defending champions on board LawConnect won the race in the early hours of yesterday morning, as it came about 24 hours after two sailors died on separate boats in sail boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the race. LawConnect, a 100-foot super maxi skippered by Australian tech millionaire Christian Beck, sailed up the River Derwent at just after 2:30am.
Liverpool on Thursday powered seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as the title favorites survived a scare in their 3-1 win against Leicester City, while Bruno Fernandes was sent off in Manchester United’s dismal 2-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Erling Haaland missed a penalty as crisis-torn Manchester City failed to end their dismal run with a 1-1 draw against Everton, but it was United’s travails and Liverpool’s remarkable run that took center-stage. Arne Slot’s side were shocked by Jordan Ayew’s early strike at Anfield, but the leaders recovered their composure to equalize just before the interval through Cody
Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan yesterday dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open. The upset in Perth sent the Kazakhs into the semi-finals of the 18-nation tournament. In Sydney, women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek led Poland into the last eight by winning a rematch of her 2023 French Open final against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Britain also progressed to the quarter-finals with Katie Boulter’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki enough to guarantee they won their group. The US and
RSS