Wang Ye
The Chinese Pool Masters Grand Finals main event kicked off on January 17th. The event sees thirty nine international players and twenty five Chinese players with hopes of clinching the final crown.
Shane Van Boening (USA), who just won the Mosconi Cup in December, met Zhao Ruliang (CHN), champion of Xiushui Station in his first match. After a fierce battle of 21 racks, Shane won the match. Defending champion Zheng Yubo (CHN) was in hot water. On the winner’s side, he clashed with Lei Weimin, a Grand Finals debutant. Lei held a slender lead over Yubo the whole match and got on the hill first at 12-11. In the end Yubo fell into the loser’s side unexpectedly.
Johann Chua defeated Aurelian Ungureanu (ROM) by 13-5 and met Chinese veteran Shi Weida. Johann held an enormous advantage at first , but Weida didn’t give up and narrowed the gap. Ultimately, Johann’s outstanding performance saw him to the next round. Jeffrey Ignacio met his old rival Wan Tongle in the following match. Jeffrey was leading by 12-9 only to see Wan level the score at the last moment. The match finally went to the shootout, where Wan made his first and the last shot for a 2-0 victory.
Wang Ye, Champion of Shijiazhuang Open was on form and beat Clint I'anson (GBR), champion of Chinese Pool UK Championships by 13-5. She then kept her momentum and sent Wu Zhenyu to the loser’s bracket.
A true clash of the titans today took place today between the 3-time champion Gareth Potts (GBR) and former Chinese national team member Chu Bingjie. Gareth did not do much wrong in the match, only to lose to Chu who was in a better form.
There is more to come as ICEA Chinese Pool brings you on-site coverage of the most prestigious event in the field of Chinese Pool.
