Home Win for Ching Shun Yang in Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung, 2 May 2005... Playing with supreme confidence following his toughest competitors’ early exits, Yang Ching-Shun did not disappoint the home crowd as the local hero capped a brilliant three days with a masterful 11- 3 triumph over Au Chi-Wai of Hong Kong to capture the third leg of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour.

“After the Filipinos were eliminated, I was pretty confident that I could win the title yet I still gave it my all,” admitted Yang.

The Kaohsiung-native played a nearly flawless match as he claimed his first leg title of the year and third overall crown in the event organized by ESPN STAR Sports.

The 27-year old got off to a quick start in finals as he won the first four racks. “After going 4 – 0, I became more relaxed with my game,” revealed Yang, who reached the finals after beating Satoshi Kawabata of Japan, 11- 6, in the semifinals.

Au managed to get on the board and trimmed Yang’s lead, 2 – 5. However, a series of unforced errors which began with a scratch in the eighth rack eventually spelled doom for the snooker expert from the former crown colony.

An empty break in the ninth and back-to-back scratches in the 10th and 11th by Au paved the way for Yang to win five straight racks and establish an imposing 10 – 2 advantage.

Au managed to salvage the 13th rack, but by then it was too little, too late as Yang ran out the 14th to win the top leg prize of US$10,000.

It was sweet redemption for the player known as “the Son of Pool” as he bounced back from a runner-up finish to Efren Reyes in Jakarta last month. Yang also seized the top spot in the Tour Order of Merit as he now has 160 points. “I really wanted to win at home. I also appreciate the fans for not bothering me that much during the tournament so I was able to practice hard and focus,” shared Yang.

For Au, his golden run finally ended after making history for his country as the first Hong Kong player to reach the semi-finals and finals in the Asian Tour. “I had no chance since Yang played a near-perfect game, but I still tried my best,” said Au. “Compared to the previous three rounds, my breaks were really bad in the finals. When I tried to adjust, I ended up hiting too hard,” said the 35-year old.

Au earlier upset 2004 World Pool Championship runner-up Chang Pei-Wei, 9 – 8, in the quarterfinals then edged Kunihiko Takahashi of Japan, 11 – 9, in the semi-finals.

ESPN Star - 4/5/2005