GOLF
Gooch makes LIV history
Talor Gooch yesterday became the first golfer to win back-to-back LIV titles after he defeated Spain’s Sergio Garcia in the first playoff hole at the LIV Singapore competition. Gooch pocketed US$4 million for the victory, the same amount he won in his breakthrough in Adelaide last week. The 31-year-old American had more reason to smile as his team RangeGoats cashed in US$3 million for winning the team event. “I’ll be back home this next couple of weeks and I’m sure I’ll take my wife to a nice little dinner. I might buy her something nice,” he said when asked how he plans to spend his earnings.
SNOOKER
Brecel advances to final
Luca Brecel on Saturday staged one of the most astonishing comebacks in snooker history as he won 11 consecutive frames against China’s Si Jiahui to reach the World Snooker Championship final. He is to face four-time world champion Mark Selby, who beat Mark Allen 17-15 in a match that went into early yesterday. Brecel, who won seven straight frames when coming from behind to defeat seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarter-finals, fell 14-5 behind 20-year-old qualifier Si. He won the final five frames of Friday’s evening session and carried on where he left off on Saturday to end Si’s bid to become the youngest Crucible finalist and the first debutant world champion since Wales’ Terry Griffiths in 1979. “To win is absolutely unbelievable, it is the biggest game of my life. I was in disbelief, I was shaking,” Brecel said.
MOTORCYCLING
Women’s worlds set for 2024
A women’s world championship is to be staged for the first time from next year aimed at laying “the foundations for more equal representation” in the sport, organizers said. Dorna Sports, who promote both the MotoGP and Superbike world championships, said the new tournament would be run on Superbike weekends in Europe. The aim in the debut season is to have at least six rounds, with two races per round with riders competing on identical motorcycles supplied by a single manufacturer. “This new championship aims to create opportunities for female riders who are already competing to provide them with an environment in which they can build a professional career in motorcycle racing,” the International Motorcycling Federation said. No women currently participate in either the MotoGP or Moto2 championships.
SOCCER
Authorities probe fan death
Casablanca authorities have opened an investigation after a fan died outside the gates of the Stade Mohammed V before Raja’s match against Al-Ahly in the CAF Champions League quarter-finals on Saturday. Moroccan media reported that the fan, a 29-year-old woman, died in the crush as thousands of people tried to get into the ground to watch Raja try and overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg in Egypt. Another CAF Champions League quarter-final between Esperance and Algeria’s JS Kabylie in Tunis was marred by crowd trouble, which caused a 40-minute delay to the second half. Esperance fans clashed with Tunisian security forces and lit fireworks on the terraces at halftime of the tie at Rades Stadium. Firefighters had to be called out to extinguish several small fires in front of the stands.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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