INFORMATION
 
The WPA is pleased to announce that it has two new Board members to represent its North American membership, the BCA. They are Fran Crimi and Ed Smith. Both persons are highly experienced in the field of
Billiards and will be greatly appreciated as part of the Board of  Directors.

20 May 2007, Kaohsiung, TAIWAN : – In a mighty clash between two of Taiwan's favourite pool players, the protégé Yang Ching-Shun prevailed over his long-time mentor Chao Fong-Pang 11-6 at the final of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour Kaohsiung tournament at the jam-packed Kaohsiung Business Exhibition Center.

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 Wu Yu-Lun (TWN) and Ronnie Alcano (PHI) respectively.

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 complete 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 started the hotter, 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 capitalising 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.

Commented Alcano: "It's ok. 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 alright. 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 back in 2003, Yang was a mirror of calmness as he jumped to a 2-0 lead. Opening the match up with a runout, he cleaned up Rack 2 after Chao came up dry in the second rack. Chao levelled at 2-2 and then 3-3 before Yang went on a four-rack run to lead 7-3.

Chao then won Rack 11 on the three-consecutive-foul rule, a rare occurrence in the game of pool. Off the break, Yang messed up an easy pot on the 3-Ball to snooker himself. Unable to get a shot on the 4-Ball, Yang committed a deliberate foul by hitting the 6-Ball close to the 4-Ball to prevent Chao from getting a shot with ball in hand. The ploy backfired as Chao was able to set of a safety that Yang was unable to get out of. Chao then repeated the dose to force the third foul from Yang that cost him an automatic rack forfeit.

Despite taking three of the next four racks to close to 6-8, Chao was helpless as Yang surged again, taking the next three racks to complete a deserved victory.

Said Yang after the victory: "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 labour. It's not always that you get rewarded for what you put in, so I am delighted."

The Guinness 9-Ball Tour moves next to Malaysia with the tournament to be held from June 15-17 at Genting Highlands. In July, the Tour goes to Singapore before going to Shanghai in August. The Guinness 9-Ball Tour Grand Finals will be held in Bali from August 31 to September 2, offering a winner's purse of US$36,000, one of the biggest in world pool competitions.

Final Day Results:

Semi-final 1 Yang Ching-Shun (TWN) vs Wu Yu-Lun (TWN) 11-8
Semi-final 2 Chao Fong-Pang (TWN) vs Ronato Alcano (PHI) 11-6
Final Yang Ching-Shun (TWN) vs Chao Fong-Pang (TWN) 11-6

Players List of Quarter Finals
Lu Hui-Chan (TPE) vs. Wu Yu-Lun (TPE)
Ronato Alcano (PHI) vs. Chan Keng-Kwan (SIN)
Au Chi Wai (HKG) vs. Yang Ching-Shun (TPE)
Chao Fong-Pang (TPE) vs. Ricky Yang (INA)

Players List of Taiwan Leg

Hong Kong │ Au Chi Wai
India │ Dharminder Singh Lilly
Indonesia │ Muhammad Zulfikri, Mohammad Bewi Simanjuntak, Ricky Yang
Japan │ Naoyuki Oi, Uchigaki Kenichi
Korea │ Ryu Seung-Woo
Malaysia │ Ibrahim Amir, Patrick Ooi Fook Yuen
Philippines │ Ronato Alcano, Alejandro Pagulayan, Antonio Gabica, Antonio Lining
Singapore │ Chan Keng Kwang, Bernard Tey Choon Kiat
Taiwan│ Chang Jung-Lin, Chao Fong-Pang, Wu Chia-Ching, Yang Ching-Shun, Wu Yu-Lun, LU Hui-Chan
Thailand │ Nitiwat Kanjanasri
Vietnam │ Luong Chi Dung

Source: ESPN Star Sports

17 May 2007, Kaohsiung, TAIWAN : Asia's premier pool competition, the Guinness 9-Ball Tour, moves to the harbour city of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where 24 of the best pool players in the world have converged to do battle from 18-20 May at the Kaohsiung Business Exhibition Center. Organised by ESPN STAR Sports, Asia's number one sports broadcaster, the Kaohsiung leg will boast four WPA World Pool Champions in Ronato Alcano (2006), Wu Chia-Ching (2005), Alex Pagulayan (2004) and Chao Fong Pang (2000 & 1993). Three-time World Junior Champion Wu Yu-Lun is also making his debut appearance in the Tour.

The players will be competing for the winner's purse of US$15,000 as well as points to qualify for the Tour's Grand Final in Bali which will feature the overall Top Ten players. With total prize money of US$320,000 (from US$160,000 for last year's Tour), there is much to play for and a cheque for US$36,000 awaits the Grand Final Champion. The Guinness 9-Ball Tour is also the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify for the WPA World Pool Championship. The top ten finishers in the Guinness 9-Ball Tour Order of Merit will automatically qualify for pool's most prestigious event, this year scheduled for Manila in November.

Welcoming the players to Taiwan, Mr Chuan Tsun-Che, President of the APBU said: "Pool fans from around the world have been able to enjoy the outstanding skills and abilities of Asian pool players, thanks to ESPN STAR Sports for organizing this tour and for promoting and broadcasting this wonderful tournament."

"We thank Guinness for their generous sponsorship in making this Tour bigger and better, and all the sponsors who are part of the success of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour. We look forward to a wonderful weekend of world-class pool from all the players."

Speaking for Guinness, Mr Paul Bisson, Commercial Development Director, Diageo Taiwan said: "Guinness has a tradition of supporting sports all over the world. We are delighted to extend the tradition of support to the game of pool via our association with ESPN STAR Sports. Pool has been growing steadily and we are excited to make our contribution for pool's growth in the region. We look forward to working with ESS, pool players and the Asian and country associations during the Guinness 9 Ball Tour.

Mr Hsi Shen-Lin, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports Taiwan, added: "Our sincere thanks go to the Kaohsiung City Government who have always been supportive of pool events. As we all know, Kaohsiung will be hosting the 2009 World Games of which pool is one of the most important events at the Games. Thank you for welcoming back the Guinness 9-Ball Tour to this wonderful city, and we look forward to a successful event here."

With six stops, this is the biggest Tour since its inception in 2003. Following Kaohsiung , the Tour will visit Kuala Lumpur in June, Singapore in July, Shanghai in August and return to Indonesia for the Grand Final in Bali from August 31-September 2.

Last month, the opening leg in Jakarta saw a classic showdown between long time pool rivals, Philippines and Taiwan as they clashed all the way from the group stages to the final where Taiwan's Chang Jung-Lin emerged the victor over 2007 Philippines National Champion Lee Vann Corteza.

Reigning World 8-Ball and 9-Ball champion Ronato Alcano remarked: "It's good that the young players are finally emerging and now the competition has really opened up. The format of the competition makes every match a must-win and it'll be the player who hits top form who would win – and any one of us here are fully capable."

Viewers in Asia will enjoy fifteen (15) hours of LIVE and exclusive coverage on STAR Sports from the second leg of this six-stop Tour. Matches will be aired live from the following times:

Friday May 18 Group Stage from 1700hrs (Hong Kong time)
Saturday May 19 Quarter-finals from 1300hrs
Sunday May 20 Semi-finals and Final from 1130hrs
Admission to the competition venue at the Kaohsiung Business Exhibition Center is free.

Chinese Taipei
Jung-Lin Chang
Fong-Pang Chao
Chia-Ching Wu
Ching-Shun Yang
Wu Yu-Lun
Hui-Chan

 

Philippines
Ronato Alcano
Alejandro Pagulayan
Antonio Gabica
Antonio Lining

 

India
Dharminder Singh Lilly

 

Indonesia
Muhammad Zulfikri
Mohammad Bewi Simanjuntak
Ricky Yang

 

 

Malaysia
Ibrahim Amir
Patrick Ooi Fook Yuen

 

Singapore
Chan Keng Kwang
Bernard Tey Choon Kiat

 

Thailand
Nitiwat Kanjanasri

 

 

Vietnam
Luong Chi Dung

 

Korea
Ryu Seung-Woo

 

Hong Kong
Au Chi Wai

 

Japan
Naoyuki Oi
UCHIGAKI Kenichi

Press Release
14th May 2007

THE FLEXI-REST JOINS MATCHROOM STABLE
 

Official Rest of 2007 Matchroom Sport Pool and Snooker Events

 

 

Matchroom Sport is delighted to announce that they have joined forces with Brighton-based inventor and cue sports enthusiast Des Morley to make his exciting new Flexi-Rest product the Official Rest at Matchroom Sport’s roster of pool and snooker tournaments through 2007.

 

The Flexi-Rest is a modern and unique rest designed to solve all problem shots in cueing sports. The difference between the Flexi-Rest and all other rests is that the Flexi-Rest is not static.

 

It is flexible, enabling a player to bend the rest in-between, over and around any obstructing balls during the course of a game. The Flexi-Rest is bendable, but once in the required position, is also ridged enough to take the weight and power of a cue while executing a shot.

 

The Flexi-Rest makes its debut at the 2007 World Pool Masters taking place in Egmond aan Zee, Holland from 8-10 June.

 

It will also be used at September’s World Cup of Pool, the World Pool Championship in Manila in November and the Mosconi Cup in December in Las Vegas.

 

In addition, the Flexi-Rest will be in use at the Premier League Snooker from September to December.

 

Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn said, “This is a great invention for both pool and snooker and in time I expect it to become industry standard.

 

“I’m also pleased to be backing a British inventor like Des who has clearly researched his market and come up with something genuinely innovative that will make a huge difference.

 

“Our pool and snooker events produce somewhere in the region of 200 hours of television annually and they are seen all around the world by millions of viewers. That is the type of exposure that the Flexi-Rest will be getting and I looking forward to being part of its success.”

 

Commented Des Morley, “I believe that my company’s association with what are cue sport’s blue ribband events will give the Flexi-Rest its greatest opportunity to establish itself as an essential global product.

 

“I’m look forward to working with Matchroom Sport over the coming year and very excited about the future of the Flexi-Rest.”