Chang Yu-lung of Taiwan won the men’s championships at this year’s World Pool 9-Ball China Open in Shanghai on Sunday.
Chang took home the winner’s trophy and the top prize of US$40,000 after beating Antonio Lining of the Philippines 11-7 in a tough game.
In the first few rounds, Chang took advantage of mistakes by Lining and opened up a lead. However, by the end of the seventh round, the Taiwanese player was trailing 3-4.
After calling a timeout, Chang regained the upper hand, and by the 16th round secured a 10-6 lead.
Describing Lining as a powerful opponent, Chang said that during the timeout, he told himself to just play the game and not worry about the outcome. He gave himself a score of 80 points for his performance in the finals.
Chang had earlier defeated another Filipino player, Lee Van Corteza, 11-7 in the semi-finals.
In the women’s finals, Chen Siming of China beat Allison Fisher, known as The Duchess of Doom, 9-7, to win the championship. In the games leading up to the finals, Chen had to defeat compatriot Pan Xiaoting — known as China’s Nine Ball Queen — and Taiwan’s Lin Yuan-chun, nicknamed “Woman Killer.”
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