Cheung Ka Wai
SNOOKER
Ahsan Ramzan 1-3 Cheung Ka Wai
59-10, 28-60, 60-67, 53-59
Umut Dikme 1-3 Ali Alobaidli
8-54, 26-84, 68-25, 61-87
Cheung Ka Wai will meet Ali Alobaidli in the semi-finals of the snooker division of The World Games after both players won their quarter-final matches 3-1 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA on Friday.
Cheung came back after losing the first frame but responded with four visits totaling 60 points to draw level. Ramzan had the chance to regain the lead in the third but missed the last red to end of a break of 40 and leave Cheung 39 behind with 35 remaining. A seven-point foul gave Cheung the chance to clear the colors for the match lead and he did just that.
Ramzan, the 16-year-old IBSF World Champion from Pakistan, had another major opportunity in the fourth but needed to clear to the black. However, his break ended at 32 giving him just a one-point lead with the black still in play and Cheung took his chance to wrap up the match.
The player from Hong Kong will face Qatar’s Alobaidli in Saturday’s semi-finals. Alobaidli took the first frame 54-8 against Dikme and breaks of 37 and 31 then took him two ahead. However, the German responded in the third, and the fourth was a battle of attrition. The frame concluded with over 30 minutes spent on the colors as both players drew fouls from their opponent. Ultimately Alobaidli was 11 ahead with the final four colors remaining and he cleared to the blue for victory.
“I am delighted but it wasn’t easy,” said the Qatari. “I played pretty solid to 2-0 up with just a couple of misses, and he didn’t have a chance. He took the third frame and then the last one was scrappy. I was 40 points down and tried to get back into it and that is what happened. We were about 30 minutes on the colors, but it went my way.
“This is snooker, it isn’t only about potting; you have to have an A-game, B-game, C-game and D-game and I can do that. If it takes time then I will take the time to get through.
“I lost to Cheung in the Asian six reds a few years ago in a deciding frame, so I know it was going to be a good match.
“All this practice over all these years is paying off. Tomorrow I have to relax and enjoy the day, because you see the pressure that everyone has.”
The Olympic Channel is live streaming The World Games and billiards will feature on July 16 and July 17 when the finals take place. A full streaming schedule and links are at https://www.theworldgames.
Follow @wcbsbilliards on social media for full coverage of the billiards program from our team in Birmingham, Alabama.
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