Ga Young Kim
While the International Challenge of Champions turning out to be a case of deja-vu for Mika Immonen, the Tournament of Champion on October 6th was a case of mirror matches.
The first match of the day Ga Young Kim defeat Monica Webb with ease. A 4-2 win in the first set was followed up with a 4-0 win from Kim and just like that, she was in the finals and awaiting an opponent.
That opponent would be Jasmin Ouschan who was on the right side of a match with Xiao Ting Pan. The scores in this match were the same as the Kim/Webb match, but Pan won the first set 4-2 and Ouschan won the second 4-0. A dry break in the sudden death game for Pan, led to a 2-9 combination and Ouschan in the finals.
The final match started out with Ouschan in complete control. She led the first set 3-1 and was running out for the 4-1 win when an easy six ball refused to cooperate. Kim pounced on the unexpected opportunity and won the set 4-3. The second set was all Ouschan, as she cruised to a 4-0 win. With the score split one match each, another sudden death game was needed to determine a winner.
Ouschan broke the final rack, but the run was not there. A two-way shot on the two-ball missed the pocket, but Ouschan looked to have left Kim in a tough spot. Kim proved that she was up to the challenge though, and banked the two ball in to gain control of the rack. After that bank, Kim was able to navigate the final rack for the sudden death win and the $20,000 check in this winner-take-all event.
