May 31 2008; Genting Highlands, Malaysia – Defending Grand Finals champion Jung-Lin Chang of Chinese Taipei breezed through to the semi-finals after he demolished He Wen Li of China, 9 – 0, in today's quarterfinals of the Guinness 9 Ball Tour 2008 at the Genting International Convention Center.
With this win, Chang, who swept the 2008 Tour's first two legs in Chinese Taipei and Penang, remains on track to win the third leg of the annual six-city event organized by ESPN STAR Sports.
Chang is joined in the semi-finals by compatriot Hung Hsiang Wang. Wang knocked out world number 6 Joven Bustamante of the Philippines, 9 – 3.
It was not a clean sweep for the Chinese Taipei contingent though, as Chia Ching Wu was upset by Ryu Seung Woo of South Korea, 9 – 7, while Antonio Gabica of the Philippines edged Ching Shun Yang, 9 – 7.
Wu, the 2005 WPA World Pool champion, struggled with several dry breaks in the end game and Ryu capitalized en route to victory. Yang, the only other man to win in the 2007 Tour, fell short of staging a comeback after trailing 6 – 2.
The semi final pairings will have Chang clashing with Ryu at 12 noon tomorrow followed by Gabica tangling with Wang at 1.30pm. The winners will then collide in the Finals on the same day at 3pm.
Up for grabs in the Genting Highlands leg is a total prize purse of US$50,000 as well as points to qualify for the Tour's Grand Final in Jakarta, which will feature the Top Ten players in the overall Order of Merit. The winners of each leg will get to earn US$15,000 while the Grand Final Champion will pocket US$36,000.
Following Genting Highlands, the Tour will visit Singapore in July, Guangzhou in September and Jakarta for the Grand Finals in October.
The telecast of Asia's premier pool competition will be carried LIVE on STAR Sports with 15 hours of exhilarating competition from 30 May to 1 June 2008. Broadcast of the competition continues tomorrow at the following times:
Sun, 1 June, 2008
12.00pm (HKT) Semi-final 1: Jung Lin Chang vs. Ryu Seung Woo
1.30pm (HKT) Semi final 2: Antonio Gabica vs. Hung Hsiang Wang
3.00pm (HKT) Final: Semifinal 1 Winner vs. Semifinal 2 Winner
The Guinness 9 Ball Tour is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU) and organized by ESPN STAR Sports' Event Management Group (EMG). Guinness is the title sponsor for the Tour. The local sanctioning body is the Malaysian Snooker and Billiards Federation. Mansion 88 is the gold sponsor. Iwan Simonis and Aramith supply the official tablecloth and official balls respectively. Brunswick provides the official pool table while Predator is the official cue. BCLN is the official apparel. The Sun is the Media Partner. The Official Venue is Genting International Convention Centre. STAR Sports is the official broadcaster while Astro is the official Broadcast Partner.
Further information can be obtained at www.g9bt.com
