Gareth Potts looks on as Liu Yang shoots
Gareth Potts came up one rack short in his quest to win the Shijiazhuang,China Joy Cup 2017 Chinese 8-Ball International Open on September 5th - 8th. Potts joined fifteen other international players and competed alongside sixteen Chinese players in the double elimination event.
Potts reached the final match, and lost by a nail biting 11-10 score to China’s Liu Yang. Yang collected $30,000 for the win, with Potts settling for $12,000 in prize money.
The sole American representative, Corey Deuel, qualified for this event via a win at the 2016 Joy Cup World Chinese 8-Ball Masters America Qualifer. Deuel dropped a 13-8 match to China’s Wang Yun in his first match and was then eliminated 13-9 by Wang Xiaoqian from China.
Potts’ campaign started with a 13-7 win over friend and two-time WEPF World English 8-Ball Champion Jason Twist in the first round. He then went on to defeat Chinese 8-Ball National College Students Qualifier Champion Li Yinan 13-4 and Phone Myint Kyaw from Myanmar 12-8.
Potts’ first loss came at the hands of Liu Yang in the 4th round 12-11, but he bounced back with wins over Li Bo, Wang Yun and Wu Hai to earn another shot at Yang in the finals.
The final match was a rollercoaster for both players as Yang held a 6-4 lead, only to see Potts win four straight for an 8-6 lead of his own. Yang came back tie things at 9-9 and the players found themselves tied at 10-10 at the 140 minute time limit. That left one rack to decide a winner, and Yang broke and ran that rack for first place.
The Joy Cup World Chinese 8-ball Masters Tour Stop 4 will be held in Xining from October 29th - November 7th. Joy Billiards will also be making an appearance in Osaka Japan on November 24th - 27th when the International Chinese Eight Ball Association (ICEA) and JPBA host the Joy Cup Chinese 8-ball Japan Open.This event in Osaka will be one of the only ways for players to qualify for the Grand Final. The top eight finishers in the Japan Open will receive spots in the Grand Final.
