Taiwanese Jung-Lin Chang went home US$15,000 richer last night after beating Filipino Lee Vann Corteza, 11-5, the four-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist in the finals of the inaugural 2007 Guinness 9Ball Tour at the Sultan Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Chang, relatively unknown in the world of pool, proved to be more aggressive during his final match with Corteza. Chang surged to a 5-1 commanding lead after Corteza's scratch in the first rack plus three empty breaks.
Corteza, top player of Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) managed to run out the 7th rack to cut the lead to 5-2, however the more determined Chang answered with a run out in the 8th rack for a comfortable 6-2 lead.
Another dry break by Corteza in the 9th rack saw his Taiwanese counterpart decide to push out. Corteza sank the yellow 1 ball via the long shot then ran out to a 6-9 combo to close the match at 6-3.
Chang made two balls on his next break but committed his first major mistake in failing to sink an easy shot on the 1 ball allowing Corteza to slice the score to 6-4.
In the 11th racks, Corteza sank 3 balls on the break and looked to be on his way to inching closer to a victory, but with three balls remaining was called for a foul after his shirt contacted the 8-ball. That foul led to a 7-4 Chang lead.
Chang reached the finals by edging Indon Jimmy Jusman, 9-8, in the quarters last Saturday and countryman Chia-ching Wu, 11-9 in the semis during yesterday afternoons session.
