Historically, the race for the male and female AzBilliards Players of the Year is a tight one. It usually comes down to 2-3 players and we have to consider yearly earnings, titles won, head to head records and other criteria. This year is a little different in that Jayson Shaw and Si Ming Chen were both head and shoulders above their competition no matter what criteria you used.
“Eagle Eye” Jayson Shaw may not have turned in as many finishes in the winners circle as he did when he won the 2016 Player of the Year, he still won more than his share of major titles in 2017. Among these was possibly the most coveted title in the Men’s game, The US Open 9-Ball Championship. Shaw won that title with an undefeated performance topped off with a 13-4 win over young gun Eklent Kaci in the finals.
The $40,000 first prize Shaw won at the US Open was the biggest contributor to his total 2017 winnings of just over $170,000 (almost $44,000 more than his closest competitor Shane Van Boening). Other notable titles on Shaw’s 2017 resume included The Turning Stone Classic XXVII, The Derby City Classic Bigfoot 10-Ball Challenge, back to back wins at the Accu-Stats Make it Happen Straight Pool and 8-Ball events and another win as part of Team EUROPE at The Mosconi Cup XXIV. As if that wasn’t a strong enough indicator of Shaw’s year, he had top-four finishes in six different disciplines (8-Ball, 9-Ball, 10-Ball, Straight Pool, One Pocket and Chinese 8-Ball) during 2017.
While Shaw’s cutting back on International events saw him fall from #4 on the WPA points list to #13, all of us here at AzBilliards felt that his performance was more than deserving of his second straight Player of the Year title.
The 2017 Women’s Player of the Year, China’s Si Ming Chen, didn’t win a title in the US. But she scored major wins in Asia with first-place finishes at the Women’s World 9-Ball Championship, the China Open, the Amway Cup and the All Japan Championships. All told, we have record of just over $141,000 in 2017 prize money for Chen, over twice that of her closest rival. 2017 was the fifth straight year of crowning a Women’s Player of the Year from Asia. As a further statement on how the Women’s game now centers on Asia and it’s players, the top four players on the Women’s Money List for 2017 are all from China. (Chen, Xiao Fang Fu, Sha Sha Liu and Xiao Ting Pan)
For the first time in the history of the Player of the Year award, the winner is not on the WPA Women’s Points List. While she and her fellow Chinese Women are missing from the list due to political differences between the Chinese Billiard Snooker Association (CBSA) and the WPA, WPA president Ian Anderson verified that Chen would have held the top spot on that list were she on it.
For Shaw, the 2017 title is the second of what many fans assume will be many. For Chen, it is her first AzBilliards Player of the Year title. Each player will receive a trophy celebrating their 2017 accomplishments, provided to AzBilliards by sponsor Aramith Billiard Balls.
Filler was the first champion to be crowned on Sunday, and he won the event in style. Facing a tough semi-final match against his countryman Thorsten Hohmann, the German youngster made it look easy with an 11-3 win. The other semi-final match saw Jung Lin Chang score an equally one sided 11-2 win over Yu-Hsuan Cheng in an all Chinese Taipei match.
The final match between Filler and Chang was another story of billiards youth facing off against an established player, and as has been the case all year, it was youth that won out. Filler scored an impressive 11-6 win over Chang for the biggest title of his young career.
The ladies final was an “all China” affair, as Si Ming Chen took on her rival Sha Sha Liu once again. The match started out looking like it might be another lopsided affair, but that quickly changed. Chen held an early 7-3 lead, but an unforced error by Chen was all the opportunity that Liu needed to make the match close. Liu fought back within one at 7-6, and tied the match at 8-8 to leave one game to determine a winner. In the end, Chen regained her composure and won the final game for the 9-8 and first place.
Joshua Filler pocketed $40,000 for his win, while Chen took home $36,000 for her win in the ladies division. Combined with her win earlier this year at the Amway Cup, this win sets Chen up as the early favorite for 2017 Ladies Player of the Year.
Day two of the 2017 Yaqi Group Cup Chinese Pool World Championship is complete, and the field in each division has now been cut down to just eight players.
The men’s division is sure to have a new winner, as last year’s Champion, Shi Hanqing, was eliminated in the round of 32 by Myanmar’s Phone Myint Kyaw in a lopsided 11-3 match. Last year’s runner up, Mick Hill, will have his hands full with Jayson Shaw in the round of eight on Wednesday.
In the ladies division, defending champion Siming Chen will face China’s Wang Ye in the round of eight. Other notable ladies still in contention include Ga-Young Kim, Sha Sha Liu and Kelly Fisher.
AzBilliards is live streaming from the event at http://azbilliards.com/chinastream.html?channel_id=9896587163685199960&app_id=1251971334, and fans can follow along with online brackets for each division at…
Day one of the 2017 Yaqi Group Cup Chinese Pool World Championship is complete, and half of the players advancing into the single elimination stages are now known.
Last year’s third place finisher, Darren Appleton, has qualified for the final stage, but it wasn’t easy. Appleton was taken to the hill by Iran’s Mohammad Pordeliri, and then taken to the hill again by AzBilliards 2016 Player of the Year Jayson Shaw. Shaw was running out the final rack and scratched in the side to gift an open table (and a trip to the single elimination stage) to Appleton. Shaw will face England’s Jack Whelan on day two to determine who goes to the final stage and who goes home.
American Corey Deuel turned in two match wins on day one to earn his place in the single elimination final stage. He and Appleton will be joined by such notables as Wu Jia Qing, Pin Yi Ko, Lee Van Corteza.
The ladies division sees a veritable who’s who of ladies pool on the one loss side, fighting for a spot in stage two. Karen Corr will face AzB Ladies Player of the Year Han Yu, Filipino sensation Chezka Centeno will take on Chihiro Kawahara, Kelly Fisher will face Rubelin Amit and Ga-Young Kim will play Claudia Djajalie on day two. Bai Ge, Sha Sha Liu, Siming Chen and Yuan-Chun Lin have already qualified to join eight Chinese women in stage two.
After the first matches of the day finish here in Yu Shan China, the remaining players will be redrawn into a single elimination bracket that will be used to determine the eventual World Champion.
Si Ming Chen is the 2017 Amway eSpring International Women’s 9-Ball Champion.
Chen emerged from group play with an untarnished 4-0 record, earning her a first round bye in the single elimination stage of the event. While sixteen ladies were battling it out for their tournament life, Chen joined Jasmine Ouschan, Allison Fisher, Karen Corr, Xiao Ting Pan, Han Yu, Ga-Young Kim and Kelly Fisher as one of the eight players with first round byes.
The next round of play saw Chen face “The Hurricane” Ho-Yun Chen. Si Ming controlled this match early and raced to a 6-1 lead before Ho-Yun was able to mount a comeback. Ho-Yun got things back to 6-3, before Si Ming closed out the match at 7-3.
The round of eight saw Chen taking on Kelly Fisher in a rematch of last year’s China Billiard World Championship final match. Just like the event in China last year, Chen came out on top of this match 9-6.
Chen’s next match, against Ga-Young Kim, was even closer with Chen scoring the 9-7 win to book her place in the finals.
Chen’s opponent in the finals, Xiao Ting Pan, had an equally tough road to the final match. Pan was also undefeated in group play, and scored wins over Chieh Yu Chau, Karen Corr and Sha Sha Liu on her way to the finals.
The final match was a close one, but Chen emerged with the 11-8 win and first place. The $34,000 first prize launches Chen to the top of the AzB Woman’s Money list, but the upcoming "Yaqi Group Cup” Chinese Pool World Championship’s $59,000 first prize could drastically change the make up of that money list.
The People’s Government of Yushan County of China and The Beijing Xingpai Sports Development Co., Ltd. are very proud to present the 2017 CBSA “YAQI Group Cup” Chinese Pool World Championships, taking place March 13th – 16th at The First High School Stadium of Yushan County in Shangrao Yushan China.
The sixty-four player Men’s division will be made up of…
Top 15 International players from the qualification events
Top 15 Chinese players from the qualification events
Top 8 ranked Chinese players from 2016 CBSA Chinese Pool Events
Top 4 players from the Chinese Pool International Qualifier held after the 2016 US Open 9-Ball Championship
Top 8 ranked WPA players
4 players recommended by the Chinese National Team
2016 Chinese World Pool World Champion
2015 Chinese World Pool World Champion
The thirty-two player Women’s division will be made up of…
Top 7 International players from the qualification events
Top 7 Chinese players from the qualification events
Top 4 ranked Chinese players from 2016 CBSA Chinese Pool Events
Top 8 ranked WPA players
4 players recommended by the Chinese National Team
2016 Chinese World Pool World Champion
2015 Chinese World Pool World Champion
Before the Main Event, six days of qualification events will take place, offering entry to Chinese and International players. The Chinese player's qualifications will take place March 6th – 8th, with the International player qualifications, will take place March 9th – 11th. Entry into the qualification events will be $100, and entry into the final event will be $400 for all qualifying players. The organizing committee will cover the accommodations for all players including hotel and food expenses during the competition.
The qualification events will be best of 13 games for the Men’s division, and best of 9 games for the Women’s division.
The main event will be played in two phases. Phase one will see four divisions (32 International Men, 32 Chinese Men, 16 International Women and 16 Chinese Women) compete in double elimination brackets. Those matches will be best of 17 games for the Men and best of 13 games for the Women.
Phase two of the main event will see 32 Men and 16 Women playing in single-elimination brackets. Men will play best of 21 games in the first two rounds, best of 25 games in the quarter and semi-finals, and best of 41 games (spread over two sessions) in the finals. Women will play best of 17 games in the first round, best of 21 games in the quarter and semi-finals, and best of 33 games (spread over two sessions) in the finals.
The total prize money for the YAQI Group Cup Chinese Pool World Championships will be $442,350 with $89,555 being awarded to the Men’s Champion and $59,700 being awarded to the Women’s Champion.
The Official Equipment for the YAQI Group Cup Chinese Pool World Championships is provided by STAR Billiards Tables, Cyclop Tournament TV Balls, Tianjin Junyao Sports Cultural Communication Co. Ltd (Lights) and Andy Billiards Cloth. The scoring system and Video Service Provider is Beijing Crand Science and Technology Co., Ltd.
The YAQI Group Cup Chinese Pool World Championships is hosted by The World Pool-Billiard Association, The Multi-ball Games Administrative Center of General Administration of Sports of China, The Chinese Billiards & Snooker Association, The Sports Bureau of Jiangxi Province of China and The People’s Government of Shangrao City of China. The event is supported by The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and The International Billiards and Snooker Federation.
AZBilliards has chosen Shane Van Boening and Ga Young Kim as the Players of the Year for 2014. Readers should note that AZB tracks players through all events, nationally and internationally, and does not choose based on participation in US events alone.
This year it really would not matter what criteria you used. Shane and Ga Young were simply unsurpassed at winning pool. Ladies first, so let’s review the year that Ga Young Kim gave us. This year was easier to rate than most as all of our players under consideration played in at least five of the same events and all are at the top of the WPA rankings.
There were six players to consider, all of whom had years of which they can be proud. Siming Chen is the WPA #1 ranked player and was our most consistent player. She took 2nd at the World 9-Ball Championship and then had 3rd-place podium finishes at the China Open, the Amway World Open and the WPBA Masters. But she could not find a single major victory this year and as a result her payouts were on the slim side.
Sha Sha Liu also had an admirable year by winning the World 9-Ball title and coming in third on the WPA points list. She also took third at the China Open.
Han Yu had a single star in her sky as she won the China Open this year. An honorable mention must also go to her fifth place finish at the Women’s World 9-Ball. A similar year was on tap for Chou Chieh Yu who celebrated winning the Amway Cup but then managed top ten but not podium results in the Worlds and the China Open.
Finally, our hearts wanted to give Kelly Fisher the award this year as she had a great year while also undergoing heart surgery. Her International Tournament of Champions win was unexpected, but POY awards are based on stats and those fall heavily into Ga Young’s camp. In same event competition, Ga Young came out ahead in the China Open, the 9-Ball Worlds and the WPBA Masters while Kelly Fisher only bested her once at the Amway Cup.
Ga Young Kim stayed close to the podium all year. She won the WPBA Masters and helped knock Kelly Fisher out of the running for POY by beating her in the sudden-death finals. Of interest, Siming Chen came in third at this event. Kim took second at the China Open and third at the World 9-Ball Championship. She also did well at two events that do not qualify for inclusion in POY rankings as she won the Women’s International Pool Championship and took 3rd at the Women’s Tournament of Champions.
So our hearty congratulations to Ga Young Kim.
For the men no one came close to Shane Van Boening. For one thing, Van Boening plays in more events than most anyone else. In 52 weeks he came in the top ten in over 30 events. And he won twelve of them. TWELVE! It was a breakthrough year for him, something that is hard for a veteran to do. But Van Boening had two heart-stopping moments in 2014. First, he won his first major International event by taking down the World Pool Masters. Then he took his third consecutive U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship, a feat that no one else has ever accomplished. One more U.S. Open and he will tie Earl Strickland with five of those puppies.
And many smaller events that we do not include here as we do not have their entire results. By our records Van Boening earned over $188,000 in 2014 and that puts him over $50,000 ahead of his nearest competitor, Darren Appleton.
2014 was no doubt the Year of Van Boening. Were there any disappointments? Of course, there always are and Van Boening ended the year with a performance at the Mosconi Cup that we are certain he would like to forget. But that is an event in a league of its own. When Van Boening shows up in a normal tournament room the odds all shift in his favor. He is an absolute lock for the Hall of Fame and we only wonder if he can beat his own records in 2015.
AZBilliards is proud to award the Player of the Year title for 2014 to Shane Van Boening.
The winners alongside the runner-ups and organizers
Han Yu and Yu-Lung Chang are the 2014 China Open Champions. The China Open began with 64 men and 48 women, all of whom qualified to be here by their performance records in their home federations or qualifying tournaments. This makes for very tough fields as no walk-ons are there to ease the path. Every match is a showcase.
In both the men’s and women’s divisions the event began with the players drawn into groups. The eliminations that occur here leave us with a final ladder that has 32 names on it for the men and for the ladies there are 16.
From here on in any player can win or lose on any table. You only have 16 players left and they have shown themselves to be the cream of the crop. From this round Ronglin Chang progressed by eliminating Johann Chua 11-7. Thorsten Hohmann eased by Radoslaw Babica 11-9 and Yu Lung Chang defeated Bing Jie Chu 11-6.
The Round of Eight did not take long as every victory was decisive. Ronglin Chang shut down Thorsten Hohmann 11-6 while Yu Lung Chang dispatched Lee Van Corteza 11-8. Nearby Carlo Biado finished the event for Shane Van Boening 11-4 and Jeffrey Ignacio did the same for Mika Immonen 11-6.
Four men left and each were only a pair of wins away from the glory. We expected these matches to be close but instead were surprised by the dominance of our winners. Yu Lung Chang let his skills shout out an 11-4 trouncing of Ronglin Chang and Jeffrey Igancio left Carlo Biado behind in an 11-6 dust storm.
Yu Lung Chang was determined and his focus proved invincible as he took the crown 11-5 over our runner-up Jeffrey Ignacio.
On the ladies charts we were already down to 16 players and every name reflected many National or World Titles. This was an extremely impressive field. The first eight matches found Rubelin Amit slipping past Chieh-Yu Chou 9-8 while Han Yu had an easier time with Yichen Liu 9-4. Sha Sha Liu continued her march besting Xinmei Liu 9-5 as Kelly Fisher bumped off Jing Wu 9-4.
The lower half of the bracket saw Siming Chen defeat Allison Fisher 9-5 and Akimi Kajatani keeping it close with a 9-8 escape from Pei Chen Tsai. Xiao-Ting Pan squeezed past Szu-Ting Kuo 9-8 while Ga Young Kim obliterated Nataliya Seroshtan 9-1.
The four matches in the quarter-finals witnessed Han Yu beating Rubelin Amit 9-7, Sha Sha Liu ruining the afternoon for Kelly Fisher 9-6, Siming Chen punching the ticket for Akimi Kajatani 9-2 and Ga Young Kim finding dead punch to best Xiao-Ting Pan 9-7.
What a powerhouse group for the semi-finals! All of these players have proven their ability to win the Big One. This time Han Yu prevailed over Sha Sha Liu 9-4 and Ga Young Kim earned her berth in the final with a 9-7 win over Siming Chen.
Our final match between Ga Young Kim and Han Yu found Han Yu pulling away and winning the title 9-5. AZB wishes to congratulate our champions and thank the promoters and all involved in putting this event on annually.
The China Open begins on Thursday, June 5, and we have received the draw for the first round. Players that play one another in the first round are grouped together.
Team Asia’s Rubilen Amit celebrates her 3rd appearance in the World 10-Ball semi-finals.
Manila, Philippines- Rubilen Amit's quest to become the first ever two time World 10-Ball Champion is ony 2 matches away. Amit enters her 3rd semi-finals at the Worlds within 5 years. Meanwhile, Han Yu is trying to give China it's first ever Gold at the Worlds , and first ever in a major outside of China. Dragon Promotions brings the greatest women's tournament in the world once more to the Philippines with 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. 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. Matches will air live daily from 2pm-7pm Manila time on www.insidepool.tv and broadcasted worldwide by ABS-CBN Sports and affiliates.
Amit jumped out to an early lead over Korea's Park and never let go. Park had just eliminated World #1 Sha Sha Liu of China, so Amit knew she could be dangerous. Park seemed to have run out of gas by the time she got to the quarter finals, and Amit cruised to a 8-1 win, with the crowd clearly behind her in each game.
"Having declining results here ever since my 2009 win has definitely been on my mind. So I've really trained hard for this one", explained Amit before the Worlds started a week ago.
Han Yu will be China's lone survivor from the original 8 players from her country that made it to Day 4. Yu had bronze medaled here at the Worlds in 2011. She has at least now matched that feat and looks to improve. China has been a powerhouse in pool nowadays, but their dominance has been primarily in mainland China. They have been winless here at the Yalin Women's World Championship because of what most people feel is neutral ground.
Today's semi-finals will be Kelly Fisher ENG vs Yu Han CHN and Rubilen Amit PHL vs Pei Chen Tsai TPE
No Taiwanese or Chinese has ever won the World 10-Ball. If Kelly or Rubilen wins, she will become the first player to win the World 10-Ball twice.
Watch it live at www.insidepool.tv Www.womensworld10ball.com has complete group results.
The Yalin Women's World 10-Ball Championship is created and produced by Dragon Promotions and officially recognized by the WPA
The Yalin World Championships will be live streamed on www.insidepool.tv and sponsored by www.JBET.com , Official Table YALIN www.Yalin.cn , Official Cue is OB Cues, Official Balls by Aramith, Official Cloth Championship, Official Chalk Master by Tweeten Fibre, Official Magazine Pool & Billiard Magazine, Star Paper Corporation, 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.
