Climactic final day looms as Korea's Ga Young Kim takes on China's Liu Shasha, while China's Chen Siming battles Taiwan's Tan Yo Hun at the Women's World 9-ball Championship
The 2014 Women’s World 9-ball Championship has come down to the final four, and with the biggest prize in women’s pool to be decided on what promises to be a dramatic Saturday in southern China, fans around the world are clearly in for a treat of the highest level.
In the first race to 9 semi-final, which begins at 12pm(GMT +8), Korea’s Ga Young Kim will take on China’s Lui Shasha. The match will be a battle of former champions; Kim won the Women’s World 9-ball Championship in 2004 and 2006, while Lui won the title the first year the tournament was played in China in 2009 at the incredible age of just 16 years old.
The second semi-final, which will take place at 2pm, will feature China’s Chen Siming against Taiwanese veteran Tan Ho Yun.
The race to 11 final will begin at 6pm Guilin time.
It was a grueling day of championship pool as the field was whittled down from 32 players to four players over three tough sessions. Actually for Kim and Liu, their round of 32 match was played the night before so they only had to play two matches today. But their road to the semis was no less easy, especially for Kim.
The Korea superstar, who speaks fluent Mandarin and is quite famous throughout China, must feel more than a little charmed at this point, as she has been living on the edge of disaster over the last few days only to miraculously survive and find herself on the cusp of her third 9-ball crown. In her round of 32 match the night before against China’s Wang Xiao Tong, Kim was all but out of the tournament as Wang got down on a straight in 9-ball to win the match. Incredibly the Chinese missed and Kim stole the rack, then won the next rack to advance to the round of 16.
Kim came out today and played solid in a 9-5 win over Japan’s Akimi Kajatani. But she was then faced with the prospect of moving over to the TV table to play defending champion Han Yu of China. The clinical Han had looked untouchable up to this point and had just destroyed one of China’s biggest stars, Fu Xiao Fang, 9-3, to move into the quarters.
Against the merciless Han, Kim jumped out to a 2-0 lead but then saw Han move up by 2. Han continued to hold off Kim the rest of the way until Kim finally caught up to tie at 8-8 and force a sudden death decider. In a pressure packed last rack, the pair handed over the table several times but it was Kim who grabbed the last 9-ball and a hard won spot in the semi-finals.
Kim will now have to face another Chinese superstar in Lui Shasha. The 21 year old has, as usual, looked unflappable all week and she played that way today. She first outlasted 14 year old fellow Chinese Jiang Teng, 9-5. Liu then did the same to the surprising Angeline Magdalena Ticaolu of Indonesia. The 29 year old Ticaolu showed a huge heart this week and her spot in the quarters is the best that any Indonesian player has ever achieved in a world championship. But Liu was in no mood to be kind and took over the match halfway and won 9-5.
Afterward a smiling Liu informed the surprised media throng that she hasn’t been feeling 100% throughout the week in Guilin.
“I feel so relieved right now,” Liu said. “From day one until right now I haven’t felt that good on the table. I don’t think I’m playing very well. It’s just a huge relief right now and I feel very very happy.”
Although Liu has won this event once before back in 2009, she said there is a world of difference between then and now.
“Five years ago before I won the title I’m nobody so back then I was just playing for fun and there was no pressure,” she said. “But right now I have a lot of pressure from the national team, from my family, from all the fans and even from myself. My coach told me to try and change all the pressure, to use it to my advantage, just try and stay positive and not worry so much. I just have to control my emotion, stay focused and get excited about the pressure.”
Liu, at least, can always remind herself in times of trouble that she has won the big one before, which is something at her fellow national team member Chen Siming can’t do. Not yet anyway.
Of all the world class talent that China has produced, close observers of the game here over the last five years are near unanimous in declaring Chen as perhaps the greatest natural talent of them all. Her fluid stroke and dead eyed potting skills are a thing of beauty to behold. But the 21 year old Chen has yet to fulfill the promise that so many have invested in her by winning the big one. On top of this, she has watched as her fellow teammates like Liu, Fu and Han have grabbed the world crown, while she has had to endure a series of bitter disappointments. In 2011 Chen reached the finals only to lose to eventual champion and teammate Bi Ju Qing.
Over the last three days, however, Chen has looked as solid as ever and fans have been quietly whispering that perhaps this year might be her time to shine. She certainly looked the goods today with three terrific performances. Chen first routed Germany’s Jasmin Michel 9-3. Next she handily beat a very solid Chou Chieh Yu of Taiwan. In the quarters she also squeezed the air out of another tough Taiwanese, Wei Tzu Chien, 9-5.
With a semis spot in the bag, Chen was more than ready for the inevitable “Can she finally do it?” questions from the media scrum. Her answers indicated a self-belief that perhaps wasn’t there a few years back.
“Of course tomorrow the pressure and tension will be totally different from the rest of the week,” Chen said. “But I will adjust myself and I’ll be ready. I don’t really care who my opponent is, I just have to play my own game.
“Every time before when I lost a big tournament I just use it as a learning experience to come back better the next time. So I was never really disappointed. I just keep practicing hard. So we will have to see what the answer to that is tomorrow.
“The biggest difference with me from before is my attitude. Before I always think and worry about the competitor, and how she plays and I’m not even thinking about myself. Now I don’t think about who my opponent is. I just focus on the table and focus on myself and my game. “
That certainly appears to be good advice because Chen’s opponent, Tawain’s Tan Ho Yun, has the luxury of being able to play under the radar. And Tan has got serious game as she reached the quarter finals here the last two years, and has now beaten her best by grabbing a semis spot this year.
The 31 year old from Khaosiung in southern Taiwan put in a workman-like performance today first taking down Japan’s Masami Nouchi, 9-3, then three time former champ Alison Fisher, 9-5, before coming back to beat China’s Zhou Doudou by the same score.
Afterward, the veteran Tan, who has been playing professionally for 16 years, revealed a little known fact that would indicate why she has not only played so well this week, but why she is brimming with confidence and feels she can finally go all the way. She spent the last month being mentored by none other than 2000 World 9-ball Champion, Fong Pang Chao, aka “the cold faced killer.”
‘I ask him why I lose every time,” Tan said. “He told me just find the best line, the best path to take the ball. A lot of times, I picked the second best path, or the third best. But he showed me how to find the best path, how to think. He said if you find your best path, you can just relax and you can win. He is a world champion. His mind is amazing. It’s very clear when he plays and he taught me how to keep a clear mind.
“I wish I can win tomorrow. I just have to do it, for my coach Fong Pang Chao.”
**The 2014 Women’s World 9-ball will be held in Guilin, China from October 13-18, and is sanctioned by the World Pool & Billiard Association(WPA), the world governing body of pool. 64 women players from across the globe will compete for the biggest prize in Women’s Pool.
The WPA will be on hand in Guilin throughout the week bringing you all the drama from the 2014 Women’s World 9-ball Championship. WPA Press Officer Ted Lerner will be reporting with daily articles containing insight and analysis, as well as photos. Ted will also be manning the WPA Facebook page and Twitter feed and responding to fans queries and comments. Fans can also follow all matches via the WPA live scoring platform.
With the knockout stages underway at the Women's World 9-ball Championship in Guilin, China, the pressure is already proving too much to bear for some players.
If you like your pool to resemble a roller coaster ride with plenty of hair raising twists and turns, then the next two days here at the Women’s World 9-ball Championship in Guilin in southern China will surely be everything you could have ever wanted.
This prediction is based on the drama that transpired today inside the Guilin gym, where Judgement Day jitters affected not only the wannabes, but even the sport’s biggest stars. Even straight in 9-balls normally made a thousand out of thousand times in practice were bobbling in the jaws under the intense pressure.
The first order of play today was to trim the field down to 32 where the players would switch to a single elimination knockout, race to 9. (If anyone had any doubts that Asia is the dominant region in pool, they were erased when eyeing who made it through to the Final 32: all but 5 players were from Asia.)
After the draw and a break for dinner, the first 8 matches in the last 32 commenced. As could be expected things didn’t get any easier as the surprises and missteps continued like a domino effect throughout the arena.
Korea’s Ga Young Kim, certainly one of the top five favorites to win here this week, escaped out of her group with narrow 7-6 win over former world champion Shin Mei Lu of Taiwan. In the single elimination round of 32, Kim came up against young and talented Chinese player Wang Xiao Tong. The multi-awarded Kim was a clear favorite, but this event is no ordinary tournament. When Kim found herself in her chair down 8-7 in the race to 9, and Wang shooting a very makeable 9-ball for the win, the Korean star must have known it was curtains. Incredibly Wang missed the easy 9-ball as the crowd gasped in horror. Kim won the rack and then won the decider to stumble into the last 16.
2012 champion Kelly Fisher had a day she won’t soon forget, although she’d probably prefer to get a case of amnesia about now. Up 6-4 in a race to 7 in the last match of her group, Fisher missed a 9-ball to qualify, then watched opponent Wu Jing of China storm back. With the match in hand, Wu missed a near straight in 9-ball for the win. Fisher escaped into the final 32.
There she met up with arch rival and 2010 World 9-ball Champion, Fu Xiao Fang. This match screamed “Marquee!” and was rightfully played on the TV table, and shown on China state television channel, CCTV, to an audience numbering in the millions.
With several miracle escapes behind her, Fisher freewheeled it and put on a brilliant show, holding a commanding 8-5 lead in the race to 9 match. Fu, however, clawed back to tie to force a pressure packed one rack decider. The Brit’s wild ride of a tournament finally came to an end as Fu grabbed the last rack and advanced as Fisher was sent packing.
Taiwan’s Kuo Azu Tinh is relatively new the scene but had the Philippines’ Rubilen Amit down 8-5 in their round of 32 match. But with one rack to go, Kuo looked like she was caught in one of those bad nightmares where the prize keeps getting further and further away. Up 8-7, Kuo had a straight in 9-ball for the win but, like others before her, the 9 bobbled in the jaws. Showing her mettle, however, Kuo broke and ran the final rack and advanced to the final 16.
It wasn’t all drama, tension and tragic near misses today. Defending champion Han Yu continued to show why she is still the favorite to win with two scorching performances. Han first beat fellow Chinese Gao Meng 7-1 to win her group. In the round of 32 , Han toyed with Singapore’s Hoe Sur Wah, winning 9-1.
Han, the world’s number one ranked player, doesn’t exude quite the amount of glamour that the more famous Chinese stars such as Pan Xiao ting and Fu Xiao Fang exhibit. But that seems to suit the low key red head just fine. Her play on the tables is downright clinical. After advancing to the round of 16 Han said that while she feels the pressure of the fans, she just sticks to what she knows best; practice, practice and more practice.
“There’s a lot of pressure on me but I just try and use the pressure to make me more active, to keep moving forward,” the 22 year old from Heibei province said through an interpreter. “I’m not really playing perfect at the moment and I can know I can play better.
“After the World 9-ball last year I didn’t play well for a few months but the national team coach, Mr. Chen, taught me how to keep my emotions under control and to try to be more stable and try to control myself. I don’t like to think too much. I just try to stay focused.
“The only time I go out in public is when we are doing things for the national team or for my sponsors. The rest of the time I mostly hide somewhere private so I can practice more. I haven’t really gotten used to this life, to being in the spotlight. I’m a very low key person. “
China seems to produce an endless stream of pool talent these days and one youngster has really made her mark this year. 14 year old Jiang Teng—yes that’s right, 14 years old– won two straight matches in her group to qualify. She then came out in the round of 32 and took down former world 9-ball champion Liu Shin Mei, 9-5.
2009 champion Liu Shasha also advanced to the round of 16, as did Japan’s Akimi Kajatani and Indonesia’s Angeline Magdalena Ticaolu.
The second set of 8 matches in the round of 32 will begin on Friday at 1pm(GMT +8.) The TV table match is sure to draw tens of millions of fans from around China as the Chinese sporting legend Pan Xiaoting takes on the USA’s Jeanette Lee.
After Friday’s play, the field will be down to the Final Four. The semis and final will be played on Saturday.
The winner of the 2014 Women’s World 9-ball Champion will received $40,000. The total prize fund is $300,000.
*The 2014 Women’s World 9-ball will be held in Guilin, China from October 13-18, and is sanctioned by the World Pool & Billiard Association(WPA), the world governing body of pool. 64 women players from across the globe will compete for the biggest prize in Women’s Pool.
The WPA will be on hand in Guilin throughout the week bringing you all the drama from the 2014 Women’s World 9-ball Championship. WPA Press Officer Ted Lerner will be reporting with daily articles containing insight and analysis, as well as photos. Ted will also be manning the WPA Facebook page and Twitter feed and responding to fans queries and comments. Fans can also follow all matches via the WPA live scoring platform.
Facing sudden elimination on Day 1, Great Britain's Kelly Fisher shows Austria's Jasmin Ouschan the door and survives to play another day at the Women's World 9-ball Championship
Kelly Fisher has been around professional pool long enough to know that sometimes in this sport, as in life, you have to go through hell to get to heaven.
Hell in this case for the 2012 World 9-ball Champion was losing her first round match on day 1 today at the Women’s World 9-ball Championship against hall of famer and pool’s most recognized personality, Jeanette Lee, 7-4. The Brit, who three months ago had open heart surgery to repair a congenital defect, had trouble with the lightning quick speed of the table. The match was even halfway, but Fisher gave away too many shots and the Black Widow waltzed. In the double elimination group stages, Fisher knew her back was suddenly against the wall.
“Now it’s cutthroat time,” she said while waiting for her next match which could see her go an embarrassing two-and-out. “There’s no second chances.”
If having to tangle with the likes of Lee wasn't enough, Fisher then had to step into the ring in a do or die match with none other than Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan, who had just lost a cliff hanger to Japan’s Chichiro Kawahara, 7-6. If you’re getting the idea that this is the proverbial “Group of Death,” you’re absolutely correct. All four of these players are capable of taking the world title.
With one of pool’s stars on the verge of taking a rapid road out of town, Fisher and Ouschan put on a splendid show. Ouschan stood in front of clear table down 6-5 but incredibly missed an easy 3-ball to hand Fisher the match, 7-5.
“Absolutely I’m relieved,” said the clearly delighted Brit afterward. “ I’m not out of the woods yet but I’m really happy to have won that match. I would’ve really really hated to go two and out, especially in my first world event back. It was a flip of the coin between me and Jasmin. I certainly got the rolls on the break, as I was on a shot every time and she wasn’t. It was very close. Every time I missed she punished me. Every time she missed, I punished her. It was a great match because so much was riding on it, so I expected a scrappy match.”
With a chance to move through to the final 32 single elimination knockout on Thursday, Fisher knew she had, for the moment , pulled the narrow escape. She was hoping the scare today would lead to something positive as, more often than not in pool, champions have had to go through death defying cliff hangers along the way before they move on to win.
Said Fisher: “When champions have won an event, it’s often through a tough route, something funky has happened. Fingers crossed that that is my destiny. But I have to take it just one match at a time. “
Day 1 at the 2014 WPA Women’s World 9-ball Championship opened up just after lunch at the Guilin Gym in this beautiful city with all 64 players seeing action. The field is as good as this event has ever seen in its 23 editions as all 25 of the WPA’s top 25 women are here. Combine this with the short races, and unpredictable table conditions and it was clear that anything could happen.
Defending champion Han Yu survived a scare from fellow Chinese player Chen Xue, barely winning, 7-6. The rest of China’s stars all won today, including 2007 World Champion and superstar Pan Xiaoting, 2009 World Champion Liu Shasha, 2010 Champion Fu Xiao Fang, and the player everyone is expecting will soon win, Chen Siming.
Taiwan brought its usual high powered contingent across the Strait and, based on today’s results, you can almost guarantee at least one Taiwanese player will appear in Saturday’s semi-finals. Chou Chieh Yu, Tsai Pei Chen and Tan Ho Yun all won their first rounds matches. The biggest surprise for Taiwan was the quick exit of last year’s runner up Lin Yuan-Chun, who lost two straight.
Hall of Famers Karen Corr and Allison Fisher won easily, as did the Philippines Rubilen Amit. The Philippines Iris Ranola was sent home after losing two straight. But the Philippines still has two players left with the addition of 15 year old Chezka Centeno. Centeno came to Guilin with her mom and dad and entered one of the qualifiers, which she won. She lost her first match today, but rebounded with a solid 7-4 over Poland’s Katarzyna Wesolowska, to get one more chance on Thursday.
Korea’s Yu Ram Cha, who is treated like a movie star in China and is followed by camera toting fans everywhere she goes, got taken to school by Corr but easily won her losers side match to survive. Fellow Korean Ga Young Kim, one of the favorites to take the title here this week, also won.
In all, 12 players have already been handed their pink slips. By the end of Thursday’s play, the field will be down to the final 32, who will then play single elimination knockout, race to 9, alternate break. The semi-finals and final will be played Saturday.
With so many great women players from all over the globe doing battle on the cloth pitch, there is bound to be plenty of heartbreak, tension and near misses to come. Nobody ever waltzes to the winners circle in pool. In fact, a trip to hell is par for the course in this sport. After her first round win over Fisher today, Jeanette Lee called it perfectly, noting that pressure and tension is something all players, including the eventual champion, have to take to heart.
“There’s a lot of first round jitters,” Lee said. “It’s the same for everyone I know. You always hope to have an easy match your first round. But I never want to win a tournament without having to play all the best. I don’t want to win a tournament because I got a good draw. I want to have to battle beast after beast. I want to play them all, maybe just not in the first round, maybe in the second round. Once you know that your back is against the wall, this is the way it is, you better learn to like it.”
*The 2014 Women’s World 9-ball will be held in Guilin, China from October 13-18, and is sanctioned by the World Pool & Billiard Association(WPA), the world governing body of pool. 64 women players from across the globe will compete for the biggest prize in Women’s Pool.
The WPA will be on hand in Guilin throughout the week bringing you all the drama from the 2014 Women’s World 9-ball Championship. WPA Press Officer Ted Lerner will be reporting with daily articles containing insight and analysis, as well as photos. Ted will also be manning the WPA Facebook page and Twitter feed and responding to fans queries and comments. Fans can also follow all matches via the WPA live scoring platform.
Ladies from around the world traveled to Manila for just the chance to make it to the main event
Manila, Philippines- 28 women from around the world stretching from China, Indonesia, South Korea, and even the United States too the long journey to Manila for a crack at the greatest title in women's billiards. Only 5 of these ladies would move onto the elite 48 world championship field. Of these 5, China, Philippines, and Taiwan would win the berths. Dragon Promotions is pleased to announce the fifth installment of the greatest women's tournament in the world, the 2013 Yalin Women's World 10-Ball Championship! This year's edition will take place October 28th – November 4th,2013 to luxurious Resorts World Manila, an upscale hotel and casino adding onto the dynamic atmosphere of the coveted championship. Final Stage 1 Qualifiers were held at Star Billiards Manila on October 28-29th An elite 48 world class lady pros, the best of the best from 20 countries, will attend the event to decide who is the World Champion. This year's event is again title sponsored by Yalin Tables, one of the premier billiard table manufacturers of the world. Matches will air live daily from 11pm – 8am EST on www.insidepool.tv .
The first qualifier came to a nailbiter to the very last game with China's 17 year old Gao Meng winning 7-6 for her first time qualifying for the Yalin World 10-Ball in her third year now.
Next Filipina Iris Ranola escaped in a thriller against 13 year old Chinese phenom Wei Zhu Chien when Wei missed the final 10-Ball for Iris to win 7-6.
In Qualifier 3, Taiwan's Lai Hui Shan won in less dramatic fashion 7-3 over Japan's Masami Nouchi.
In the final Qualifier, Cheska Centeno won a final thriller for the final spot into the Worlds with a 5-4 escape from Japan's Nouchi, who once again had to taste bitter defeat of coming so close.
Filipina Gillian Go, 16 years old, was the beneficiary of the wild card spot to the highest finishing Filipina in the qualifiers when Centeno won the final spot.
The young ladies were exhausted from the 3 days of arduous competition that lasted from 10am until 1am daily and repeated the following day.
The women qualifying champions will now join the international field vying for the World Title. The reigning World Champion Ga Young Kim of South Korea will be defending her title against all comers. The comers will be hailing from countries such as Russia, Iran, China, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Korea,
Belgium, Australia, Taiwan, France, Philippines, Singapore, Poland, the United States and many more.
"These young ladies worked so hard to qualify. There were a lot of tears shed by those who came close to qualifying and hugs and celebration by the very few who made it. And we haven't even gotten to the main drama of the Worlds yet! It's going to be an emotional ride for another week", said Charlie Williams of Dragon Promotions, Executive Producer of the Yalin World Championship.
The Yalin World Championships will be live streamed on www.insidepool.tv and sponsored by www.JBET.com , Official Table YALIN, Official Cue OB Cues, Official Balls by Aramith, Official Cloth Championship, Official Chalk Master by Tweeten Fibre, Official Magazine Pool & Billiard Magazine, Star Paper Corporation, www.SabongKing.com, and www.BaseGameph.com .
The Women's World Championship is produced by Dragon Promotions and filmed by ABS-CBN Sports airing on BALLS, Studio 23, and a dozen other networks in countries worldwide. With massive media and global networks covering the Yalin Women's World 10-Ball Championship, it will continue as still the biggest and most watched women's billiard event in the world.
(Shenyang, China)–Korea’s Ga Young Kim and Great Britain’s Kelly Fisher are two giant names in today’s world of women’s professional pool. And today, as the 2012 Women’s World 9-ball Championship entered the knockout stages, the two put on a show that will surely enhance their reputations many fold for years to come.
Kim is a two time former world 9-ball champion and US Open champion who lights up arenas wherever she plays. Besides her prodigious talents on the table, Kim is about as good an ambassador as the sport will ever find. In addition to her native tongue, she speaks fluent Chinese and English. And her looks, charm and fashion sense are impeccable.
With her rugged looks and style, world number 2 Fisher can appear at first to be almost the antithesis of Kim. But the affable Brit is just as deadly on the pitch, and just as nice off of it.
So when the two met up today in the round of 32 inside the ultra hip Richgate Shopping Center here in Shenyang, the match had the feel of a finals showdown. For some reason the organizers decided not to put this match on the TV table, and instead stuck the pair in the very back of the 2nd floor trade hall where all the outside table matches have been played. Perhaps it was just as well because the barebones setting gave the match the feel of a back alley brawl, which is what it turned out to be.
The few dozen fans squeezed into the small space who watched the pair slug it out will not soon forget what they saw. Both players, who know each other’s games well, played their usual manner of fast and aggressive pool. And they combined that fan-friendly style by playing just about as perfect as one could play over the course of 17 racks.
Up early, Kim, fiery and intense, continually repulsed every effort by Fisher to grab the lead. Along the way, Kim continually pushed her lead up then always saw it shrink back again. The pair executed one amazing shot after the next, as if the contest was a great heavyweight fight of years past, where every bomb was answered with another bomb back. Stellar banks, pots off kicks, lock down safeties, great escapes, you name it; this was championship 9-ball at its best.
Eventually Kim found herself on the hill, up 8-6. But Fisher would have the last laugh, as she pounced on Kim’s one missed shot in the match, in the last rack, and took a 9-8 win, to move into the final 16.
“That was one of the best matches I’ve ever played,“ an obviously ecstatic and relieved Fisher said afterward. “The standard was so high. I had to play that good to beat her because when she’s on fire, she’ll kill me. She has in the past.”
Fisher has to like her chances as the world championship heads into the last two days, but with the quality of the field remaining, she knows the deal.
“Just give 100% and hope that the luck is on my side,” she said. “I can win here. But this is 9-ball and anything can happen. I just have to take it one match at a time.”
Fisher will now face the lone American entry in this year’s championship, Monica Webb, on Wednesday. Webb came off the losers side in the group stages today and took down China’s Bai Ge in the round of 32, 9-4 in a fairly sloppy match.
The remaining two days are shaping up to be a fascinating slugfest of epic proportions as the race to the world title intensifies. Unlike last year where the Chinese had already taken over by the final 16, this year the remaining field is much more varied; six Chinese, four Taiwanese, two Brits, 2 Japanese, 1 Korean and 1 American.
China had 33 players in the field of 64 but the six remaining are all capable of taking the title. 18 year old Chen Siming looks like she is going to be very difficult to stop. First out on the TV table today, world number 1 Chen demolished former world champion Shin Mei Lui of Tawain, 9-3. 2010 World 9-ball Champion Fu Xiao Fang, and 2009 World 9-ball Champion Liu Shasha also looked ready for glory as they easily won their matches.
One of the surprises of the day came when Japan’s Sone Kyoko shocked the home town fans by defeating defending champion Bi Zhu Qing of China 9-7 on the TV table. Kyoko will join compatriot Chichiro Kawahara in the round of 16 after Kawahara easily beat the Philippines’ Rubilen Amit, 9-2.
Hall of Famer and four time world 9-ball champion Allison Fisher made it a bummer of a day for the Philippines, as she knocked out Iris Ranola, 9-6.
The contingent from Taiwan is looking very strong so far, especially 2008 World 9-ball champion Lin Yuan Chun and two time and current Amway champion Chou Chieh Yu, who both advanced today.
Two dark horses fans should look out for are Korea’s Park Eunji and China’s Yu Han. Yu made it to last year’s semi-final where she barely lost to Chen Siming. Yu is quietly playing strong pool and can beat anyone in the field. Park is surely a bit of a longer shot but this stylish young lady seems to have a knack for finding the finish line.
The round of 16 begins Wednesday in Shenyang at 10am local time(GMT +8). The field will be down to four after tomorrow’s play. The semi-finals and finals will take place on Thursday June 21. The winner will receive $40,000 while the runner up gets a check worth $20,000. The total prize fund is $160,000.
The WPA will be providing full coverage of all the action from the 2012 Women’s World 9-ball Championship in Shenyang on our website,www.wpapool.com. There you can get all the latest updates with live scoring of all matches, articles offering insights and analysis, updated brackets and photos. Fans around the world can also follow the tournament via the WPA Twitter feed, @poolwpa.
Round of 16 Matches Wednesday June, 20, 2012 Race to 9, Alternate Break
Chen Siming(CHN) vs. Chichiro Kawahara(JPN) Lin Yuan Chun(TPE) vs.Fu Xiao Fang(CHN) Yu Han(CHN) vs. Li Jia(CHN) Tsai Pei Chen(TPE) vs. Shou Chieh Yu(TPE) Sone Kyoko(JPN) vs. Park Eunji(KOR) Kelly Fisher(GBR) vs. Monica Webb(USA) Allison Fisher(GBR) vs. Tan Ho Yun(TPE) Chen Xue(CHN) vs. Lui Shasha(CHN)
Day 2 Results, Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Round of 32 Knockout Stage. Race to 9, Alternate Break
Chou Chieh Yu(TPE) 9 – 7 Lin Hsiao Chi(TPE) Li Jia(CHN) 9 – 4 Han Fang(CHN) Lin Yuan Chun(TPE) 9 – 4 Line Kjorsvik(NOR) Chen Siming(CHN) 9 – 3 Liu Shin Mei(TPE) Yu Han(CHN) 9 – 4 Ren Qiuyue(CHN) Fu Xiao Fang(CHN) 9 – 4 Wei Tzu Chien(TPE) Chichiro Kawahara(JPN) 9 – 2 Rubelin Amit(PHI) Tsai Pei Chen(TPE) 9 – 5 Lai Hui Shan(TPE) Kelly Fisher(GBR) 9 – 8 Ga Young Kim(KOR) Monica Webb(USA) 9 – 4 Bai Ge(CHN) Sone Kyoko(JPN) 9 – 7 Bi Zhu Qing(CHN) Park Eunji(KOR) 9 – 5 Angeline Ticoalu(INA) Lui Shasha(CHN) 9 – 4 Wu Jina(CHN) Allison Fisher(GBR) 9 – 6 Iris Ranola(PHI) Tan Ho Yun(TPE) 9 – 5 Caroline Roos(SWE) Chen Xue(CHN) 9 – 5 Marika Poikkijoki(FIN)
1st Session. Losers Bracket. Winner is through to final 32, loser is out
Group A Wei Tzu Chien(TPE) 7 – 0 Jing Siya(CHN) Li Jia(CHN) 7 – 2 Liu Yichen(CHN)
Group B Ren Qiuyue(CHN) 7 – 5 Masami Nouchi(JPN) Kim Ga Young(KOR) 7 – 2 Chan Ya Ting(TPE)
Group C Iris Ranola(PHI) 7 – 6 Charlene Zhai Zeet Huey(SIN) Angeline Ticoalu(INA) 7 – 2 Keiko Yukawa(JPN)
Group D Kyoko Sone(JPN) 7 – 4 Sylvia Lopez(ESP) Marika Poikkijoki(FIN) 7 – 6 Jung Bo Ra(KOR)
Group E Caroline Roos(SWE) 7 – 2 Junko Tsuchiya(JPN) Monica Webb(USA) 7 – 5 Wu Zhiting(TPE)
Group F Line Kjorsvik(NOR) 7 – 6 Zhou, Doudou(CHN) Lin Hsiao Chi(TPE) 7 – 5 Kaori Ebe(JPN)
Group G Tsai Pei Chen(TPE) 7- 1 Gao Meng(CHN) Liu Sha Sha(CHN) 7 – 3 Akimi Kajatani(JPN)
Group H Liu Shin Mei(TPE) 7 – 5 Zheng Xiaochun(CHN) Kawahara, Chichiro(JPN) 7 – 4 Liu Liying(CHN)
