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The WPBA is now knee-deep in its second Classic Tour stop of 2009 at the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, Indiana.
A new feature of the tour is free live web streaming sponsored by Pooldawg. Different matches are featured each round, with WPBA board members Kristi Carter and Mike Howerton commentating.
CLICK HERE for a front row webstreaming seat to these featured matches!
The Philippines can now claim to be a force in women's pool as well as men's: Filipina Rubilen Amit has captured the JBETpoker.net Women's World 10-Ball Championship!
The first semi-final featured Amit vs. Japan's Akimi Kajitani. The match was scheduled live for TV at 2 pm, but the arena at SM Mall North Edsa was already packed with every seat filled three hours before the start time. Kajitani was the more experienced player, placing 3rd in two world championships and has been a top women's player in Asia for a decade.
Kajitani's first shot of the match was a low percentage long five ball with the cue ball near frozen to the rail and she fired it in and forced followed for position to come back up table for a runout. Kajitani won the next game and built a 2-0 lead, but missed a seven ball to make it 3-0. This was the air Amit needed, quickly tying the match at 3-3. With the crowd behind her, Amit was solid enough to win the match 9-6 and make it to her second world championship finals appearance.
Anthony Suntay, one of Asia's top TV sportscasters, said, "This event has been amazing. The stands were already packed and every seat taken as soon as the mall opened at 10 am. They have been waiting here for hours. I've never seen this at even the men's world championships."
The second semi-finals featured Austria's Jasmin Ouschan up against Taiwan's 2x world champ, Shin Mei Liu. Ouschan came out strong with a 2-0 lead. but gave Liu a chance to keep it close, which she did. In a match filled opportunities for both players, the score see-sawed until 6-6. Liu took the lead 7-6, and then unbelievably, Jasmin missed with ball in hand after a Liu foul. The normally stoic and stone faced Ouschan looked like she was on the verge of tears as she watched Liu run out for a 8-6 lead. Liu finished off the final rack with a 9-6 win.
The Philippines couldn't ask for a better finals match-up. Taiwan versus the Philippines, the biggest rivals in all of Asia. Rubilen Amit, the shy, soft spoken short Filipina looking for her first big win. And on the other side Shin Mei Liu, the most dominating woman's player in all Asia with two world championships already under her belt.
After race to 5 round robin play, 23 players have emerged to compete in the single elimination portion of the tournament. Seeded players receiving byes include Ireland's Karen Corr, Japan's Akimi Kajitani and Miyuki Fuke, USA's Jeanette Lee, Taiwan's Hsiang-ing Tan and Shin Mei Liu, Korea's Ga Young Kim, and Great Britain's Allison Fisher and Kelly Fisher.
Also still alive are WPBA stars Julie Kelly of Ireland, Jasmin Ouschan of Austria, and Korea's Yu Ram Cha. Philippine hopes now rest on just two players, Rubilen Amit and eleven year old Go!
Who's your pick to win? Add your comment here and we'll post the results!
Takini Cloth, Predator, Aramith, & Puyat Sports are official equipment sponsors of the JBETpoker.net Women's World 10-Ball Championship. JBETpoker.net sponsored and Dragon Promotions produced event. Other sponsors include SM Mall North Edsa, Magic 89.9, Predator Cues, Philippines Star, and Bugsy Promotions. Takini Cloth is supplying their special TV gray cloth. Puyat Sports provide AMF Puyat Tables. Aramith is the official ball sponsor Predator Cues is the official cue sponsor.
A $75,000 purse is on offer for the tournament, with $20,000 to first place. For more info visit www.WomensWorld10Ball.com
Manila, Philippines - Taiwan sent a strong contingent of women pool players to the Jbetpoker.net Women's World 10-Ball Championship kicking off yesterday, including Shin Mei Liu, Hsian Ling Tan, Su I Yu, Yuan Chun Lin, and Chieh Yu Chou. All five women went undefeated on Day 1 of the round robin group stages.
Bucheon, Korea - Jeanette Lee successfully defended her Empress Cup crown against Yu Ram Cha in a repeat of last year's finals. The 3rd Annual Empress Cup took place at La Festa Shopping Mall featuring Allison Fisher (ENG), Shanelle Loraine (GUAM), Zarah Delrosario (PHL), and Koreans Yu Ram Cha , Gui Young Lee, and Jeanette Lee. The Dragon Promotions event is aired on XTM and XPORTS, leading Korean channels and sponsored by Takini Cloth, Predator Cues, Poison Cues, Vigma Balls, Ra Beauty Core, Whois.co.kr, La Festa, and Min Tables.
The Black Widow stayed in top form once again in Korea. Cha and Lee pictured with Dragon Promotions General Manager Myung Jin Kim. Photo courtesy Dragon Promotions
Bucheon, Korea - The 3rd Annual Korea vs World Team took place again at La Festa Shopping Mall featuring some of the brightest stars of billiards today. Making her debut appearance in Korea, Allison Fisher made a huge impact on this year's outcome. The World Team consisted of Captain George Breedlove (USA), Allison Fisher (ENG), Shanelle Loraine (GUAM), and newbie Zarah Delrosario (PHL).
There were major casualties on the winners side of the 9th Annual Predator International 10-Ball Championship, despite the top 16 getting seeded byes in the opening round.
On the heels of the Matchroom World Pool Masters, Dragon Promotions steps in with Vegas' next pro thriller, the Predator International 10-Ball Championships. It's a full field of 112 players at the 9th Annual edition, including 15 women. And on Day One of the event, two ladies struck first blood against the men. Jasmin Ouschan of Austria and Vivian Villarreal of USA both overpowered the male counterparts in the first round.
Darren Appleton, the reigning World 10 Ball Champion became the third ever Englishman to win the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters title following a fighting 8-4 win over Holland's Nick van den Berg at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas.
The 33 year-old, who converted to big table pool in recent years, following an outstanding career at English 8 Ball, beat Raj Hundal, Ralf Souquet and Mika Immonen en route to the final.
As well as the title and magnificent trophy, Appleton takes a cheque for $20,000 while Van Den Berg earned half that amount. "It's unbelievable to win the World Pool Masters," said Appleton. "It has been my goal to win a Matchroom event and to win this is like winning another world title. After the 10-ball victory I put a lot of expectation on myself and hopefully this will help me get in the World Cup of Pool and the Mosconi Cup."
Appleton won the lag but delivered an illegal break as the requisite number of balls failed to travel past the headstring. Both players had visits but it was the Dutchman who took the rack. Van den Berg, whose break had served him so well throughout the tournament came up with a dry break but his opponent missed a routine 6-ball but then made up for it with a fine 6-8 combination to level the score at 1-1.
Appleton produced a legal break and a fine long pot on the red 3 set himself up to run out the rack which he did to lead 2-1. That became 3-1 as he produced one of the best breaks of the tournament as four balls disappeared. Van den Berg had a chance after Appleton missed the red 3 into the centre pocket, but he over- screwed and scratched potting the 4 ball and with ball-in-hand, Appleton moved 4-1 in front.
A scratch from Darren Appleton gave ball in hand to van den Berg and the score quickly moved to 4-2. In the next a fluke from Appleton gave him a three-rack advantage after a fortunate 4-6 combination helped him.
Appleton had a dry break in the eighth and the rack wasn't a long one as van den Berg closed the gap to two thanks to a 1-9 carom. After serving him well, Van den Berg was beginning to struggle with his break. An illegal one helped Appleton inch closer to the title as he moved into a 6-3 lead in the race to 8.
Fortune went with van den Berg in the tenth rack as Appleton made an illegal break and then failed with a 2-7-9 combination. The Dutchman avoided scratching by millimetres after he potted the 6-ball and saw the cue ball hanging on the edge. He went on to win the rack to reduce the deficit to 4-6.
Appleton moved to the hill after another breaking error from van den Berg - this time a dry break, and he clinched the title thanks to a 4-9 combination in the 12th rack to win by an 8-4 margin. "I probably didn't play as well in the final as I did in the semi-final," added Appleton. "I didn't break as well as I had done and neither did Nick - he had three dry breaks in the final."
Semi-Finals Nick Van Den Berg (NED) 8-2 Shane Van Boening (USA) Darren Appleton (ENG) 8-6 Mika Immonen (FIN)
Nick Van Den Berg (NED) 8-5 Johnny Archer (USA) We're down to the final eight in the quarter finals of the World Pool Masters, and Nick Van Den Berg is the first one through and on to the semis!
