Irsal Nasution
Stellar performances from current world no. 5 Darren Appleton and 2007 Guinness 9ball Tour champion Chang Jung-Lin were overshadowed by an incredible performance in the quarterfinal rounds from unheralded Indonesian Irsal Nasution who conquered former double world champion Ronato Alcano to book a seat at the semifinals of the 2010 Guinness World Series of Pool – 10Ball challenge at the Mal Taman Anggrek, Jakarta Indonesia.
Scoring a beautiful 6 – 10 corner pocket combination at the 2nd rack to enter the scoring board, the 23 year old Indonesian hailing from West Sumatra obviously came well prepared in his match against the Filipino heavyweight.
With the score tied at 2 racks a piece, a flawless safety on the blue 2ball from Nasution saw the Filipino commit his first grave error of the match as Alcano misjudged his counter safety attempt to completely expose the table for an easy run-out from the local bet.
Things took a turn for the worse for Alcano in the middle stages where he simply was just trying too much. Missing a bank shot on the 10ball in the 8th frame and forcing the issue on a 9ball corner pocket shot resulted in another successful string of clean ups by his soft-spoken rival to have the score 6 – 3 in favor of the Nasution.
Rare unforced errors at the 10th and 11th racks from the Indonesian gave Alcano some breathing room however. But with the full support of the crowd and a growing confidence in his stroke it was only a matter of time until Nasution claimed victory.
True, enough one final mistake from Alcano on a 4 – 10 combination center pocket blunder sealed his fate as Nasution, after cleaning up the mess, gave Alcano a taste of his own medicine - bagging the emphatic victory with his own 9 – 10 combination.
A jubilant Nasution remarked: "This felt good. I have been practicing so hard these past few months and things are finally paying off. I did not expect to win against Alcano but fortunately my game was on and I was surprised to able to match him all throughout the match. What makes this even more special is the fact that I won in front of my home crowd. This gives me even more confidence going into the semifinals tomorrow."
In contrast Alcano said: “I am disappointed with my performance today. The match was actually pretty even from the start. But it was Nasution who came up first with the big shots. I think that was the key because clearly, momentum was his after that. Although this hurts, I wish him well for the remainder of the tournament. Having him win will give a big boost to pool in Indonesia.”
Earlier in the day, Europe's last hope for glory Appleton, became the first player to advance to the semifinals after defeating his Mosconi cup team mate and close friend Ralf Souquet 8 – 4 while Chang the last remaining Chinese-Taipei contender, continued to make his country proud by beating American Stevie Moore 8 - 2 in their quarterfinal clashes. Completing the final four is Jundel Mazon who emerged on top versus Japan's top seed Naoyuki Oi 8 -6 .
Tomorrow's semifinals see Nasution hoping to avenge the loss of countryman Ricky Yang when he faces Chang and Mazon having his hands full going up against Appleton.
Pool fans can catch the semifinals and final round of the 2010 Guinness World Series of Pool – 10Ball challenge, broadcast LIVE on STAR Sports tomorrow August 01, 2010
Darren Appleton (GBR) vs Jundel Mazon (PHI) from 11.00-12.30
Chang Jung-Lin (TPE) vs Irsal Nasution (INA) from 12.30-14.00
Finals from 14.00-15.30
Please visit www.guinnessworldpool.com and www.facebook/guinnessindonesia for more information
