April 18, 2004, Hong Kong . . . San Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour, the first-ever world-class 9-ball tournament held in Hong Kong, finishes today with Ching-Shun Yang crowned as the first Hong Kong leg champion after beating Hui-Kai Hsia 11-9 in an all-Chinese Taipei final and takes home with US $10,000.
All the action from Hong Kong Football Club will be brought by STAR Sports in May 1-2. And the Tour will travel to Taipei for the fourth leg in May 7-9 with LIVE coverage on STAR Sports.
Quarter-final
Satoshi Kawabata has been beaten by Efren Reyes twice at 3-9 in the quarter-finals of last two legs. And his encounter with the Magician still ended in defeat. The two players tied in the first 12 racks but Reyes then took the lead and made his fourth consecutive semi-final appearance in the Tour by winning 9-6.
Shin-Young Park then suffered a shut-out by Ching-Shun Yang in the other quarter-final. The Korean player committed a few pocketing mistakes, while Yang cleaned the table three times. Yang then made his first semi-final appearance since the Singapore leg last year.
Semi-final
Efren Reyes faced challenge from three Chinese Taipei 9-ball aces in the semi-final. Hui-Kai Hsia earned his first final appearance in the Tour after beating two-time world champion Fong-Pang Chao 11-1 in an all-Chinese Taipei semi-final. Chao had a few pocketing misses, while Hsia had a smooth game in kissing the 9-ball in three times as well as cleaning the table three times. Chao, the runner-up in the Ho Chi Minh City leg, has yet to win his first title in the Tour.
Yang and Reyes, the only two winners in the Tour so far, met in another semi-final. Yang took the lead as soon as the game started and once led by 6-2. But the Magician refused to give up and fought back to 8-10. In the 19th rack, Yang pocketed the no.1 ball with a jump ball shot and that took him to another final since Singapore 2003. He also became the second player to beat Reyes in the Tour. The Magician failed to continue his winning streak in the Tour but he still remained as the leader on the ranking with 180 points.
Final
The match between Hui-Kai Hsia and Ching-Shun Yang was the first all- Chinese Taipei final in the Tour. Hsia took the lead in the early part of the game until 9-6 when Yang started his comeback and won five racks in a row to defeat Hsia by 11-9, exactly the same result in last year's semi-final in Singapore leg. Yang won his second title in the Tour and climbed up to third in the Tour ranking.
Featuring a field of 32 Asia's best players, the Tour also provides the opportunity for the 32 participating players to garner qualifying points towards the World Pool Championships in July. The Tour is the only ranking event in Asia for players to qualify to the World Pool Championships.
For all information on the Tour, please check out www.asian9-balltour.com. For the latest schedules and program information on ESPN STAR Sports, catch us on the net at www.espnstar.com
