Wu on RP & Taiwan now even-Steven

Filipino cue artists are finding the Taiwanese such a pain in the necks. In the recent grand finals of the 2008 Guinness 9-Ball Tour, the Taiwanese booted out the likes of Dennis Orcullo and Alex Pagulayan in the semifinals.

Current world No. 1 Dennis Orcullo, the Guanzhou leg champion, fell apart after the 13th rack to bow out of contention, beaten by Yan Ching Shun, 5-9. Pagulayan, who dominated the Singapore leg, fell 1-4 early in the game, worked his way to make it 6-8 but succumbed to 2004 World Pool champion Wu Chia Ching, 6-9.

This must have been a bitter loss for Orcullo as he vowed to make up after the stinging semis loss, he and Django Bustamante, suffered to eventual champs the US in the 2008 Party Pooker World Cup of Pool.

Yang ultimately won the grand finals, beating Wu, 11-9. With Yang’s triumph, the Philippines and Taiwan are now even-steven, 13-13, in titles won since the Guinness 9-Ball tournament started in 2003.

Orcullo and Pagulayan were in breathing fire in the quarterfinals as they routed their respective rivals. In between laying out my pages, I would peek and looked at the scores, and they were miles apart.

It was fast shaping up to be an All-Filipino finale but the Taiwanese spoiled the party. What I couldn’t understand is the sudden change in the games of Orcullo and Pagulayan - from almost perfect to mediocre. Or is billiards that unpredictable?

Orcullo and Pagulayan weren’t alone. Over at the US 9-Ball Open, Ronnie Alcano had his misfortunes as well. Alcano cruised into the finals, undefeated, and was the favorite to wrap up the crown until he lost to Finland’s Mika Immonen, 13-7.

Immonen came from the loser’s bracket, having absorbed an 11-6 beating from Alcano in the semis. On his way to the final, he beat another Filipino Warren Kiamco. The Finn more than made up for his earlier defeat by beating Alcano in the most important game, relegating Alcano to his second runner-up finish in the US Open.

All of a sudden, I’m missing the Magician. The last time I heard, Efren “Bata” Reyes has to skip the US 9-Ball Open due to health reasons. Let’s hope that he gets well soon and back in harness again.

Foreign cue artists main draw in World 10-Ball

Organizers of the World 10-Ball Championships are banking on a host of foreign cue artists to be the main draw in the week-long tournament, which will be missing the country’s top pool players.

A total of 128 players will vie for the $400,000 purse at stake, $100,000 of which goes to the champion of the tournament slated from September 29 to October 5 at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Raya Sports and Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) president Yen Makabenta said former Asian snooker champion Marlon Manalo and 2006 Doha Asian Games gold medalist Antonio Gabica will lead the country’s campaign against reigning World 9-Ball champion Daryl Peach of Great Britain, former titlists Ralf Souquet and Thomas Engert of Germany, Chinese-Taipei’s Wu Chia-Ching and Americans Johnny Archer and Shane Van Boening.

Jeffrey de Luna, Elvis Calasang, Elmer Kalaquian, Jerico Banares and Mario Tolentino will also carry the Philippine colors in the tournament.

The tournament will have 128 players divided into 16 groups in the winner's-break elimination format. The top four from each group will advance into the 64-man knockout stage.

A winner-take-all match for third place will be played on October 5 while the title match between the top two cue artists begins at 5pm.

Philippine Vice President Noli De Castro will be the tournament’s guest of honor during the opening ceremony on September 29 at the PICC.

Merry Mix in Guangzhou Quarterfinals

It won't be a battle between just two countries anymore as five different nations will be represented when the quarterfinals of the penultimate leg of the Guinness 9 Ball Tour 2008 take place tomorrow at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou, China.

Three Taiwanese, two Filipinos, a Singaporean, a Korean and a Japanese make up the quarterfinal cast following today's group stages.

Defending Grand Final champion Jung Lin Chang of Chinese Taipei made his way back to the quarterfinals. Chang, who was unceremoniously booted out by Dennis Orcollo of the Philippines in the group stages of the Singapore leg, topped Group A after victories over China's Dang Jin Hu and Indonesia's Nurdin Abuba.

In a rematch of the Penang leg final, Chang will face countryman Hung Hsiang Wang in the next round at 12 noon tomorrow. Wang ruled Group B after beating local bet Mei Yi Fei and Hong Kong's Han Hao Xiang.

Toh Lian Han gave Singapore fans a lot to cheer about as he barged into the quarterfinals after sweeping his matches in today's group stages  The 35-year old gave Singapore a much - needed breakthrough victory as none of its players reached the quarterfinals in the previous four legs this year.

Up next for Toh's in the quarterfinals is current WPA World No. 1 Orcollo who overcame Chinese-Taipei's Chia-Ching Wu in a nail-biting match. Orcollo rallied down 2 – 5 to prevail over the 2005 WPA world champion 9 – 6 as he capitalized on a number of errors committed by Wu to top Group E. Wu suffered a dry break on the ninth rack, a scratch on the 14th rack and a uncharacteristic miss on the 9 ball in the 15th rack.

Orcollo's fellow Filipino, Alex Pagulayan, also made it past the group stages as he won Group C. Pagulayan, who claimed the Singapore leg, will square off against Satoshi Kawabata of Japan at 4:30 p.m. Kawabata was the winner in Group D.

The final quarterfinal encounter will pit Korea's Ryu Seung Woo against Chinese Taipei's Ching Shun Yang. Ryu ruled Group G while Yang won Group H.

The hometown representatives were not fortunate as the quartet of Mei, Dang, He Wen Li and Jian Bo Fu all failed to advance to the round of eight.

Only the top ten players in the Tour's Order of Merit list will qualify for the lucrative Grand Final in Jakarta next month and a qualifying spot in the WPA World Pool Championship.

ACKDO Supports QC Vs The World Grand Billiards Showdown

The QC-Philippines vs the World Grand Billiards Showdown received another boost with the Association of Clubs, Karaoke and Disco Operators (ACKDO) throwing its all-out support to the much-anticipated event slated December 2 to 4 at the Trinoma Mall in Quezon City .

With promoting Quezon City as the country’s sports tourism capital, ACKDO did not think twice in backing the project when approached by its chief proponent, City Council Majority Floor Leader Ariel Inton.

“We are very happy to be part of this big event. Entertainment is one of the premier tourist attractions here in Quezon City, so we in the industry are giving our all-out support to this project, which in more than one way will also benefit us,” said ACKDO secretary-general Amil Yap.

ACKDO has been supporting a number of sports events, including the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP)'s Search for the New Billiards Idol series.

Also known as the “City of Stars ”, Quezon City boasts of having the biggest and liveliest entertainment spots in the country.

Already home to major television broadcasting networks, including giants ABS-CBN and GMA-7, Quezon City also houses dozens of restaurants, bars, night clubs, massage parlors, KTVs and the likes.

Pool icon Efren “Bata” Reyes banners the eight-man Team Q.C.-Philippines, which will pit prowess against a selection of topnotch cue artists from other countries in this three-day competition supported by the Quezon City Government led by Mayor Sonny Belmonte, QC Tourism Council headed by chairman Raffy Chico, and BMPAP with Solar Sports, RPN and the Philippine Star as media partners.

Besides Reyes, the other members of the Team QC Philippines are fellow former world champions Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, reigning world no.1 Dennis Orcollo, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, Lee Van Corteza and Warren Kiamco.

They will go up against a foreign team also led by three former world titlists in Chia-Ching Wu of Chinese-Taipei, Mika Immonen of Finland and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany. The other players of Team World are 2006 Asian Games gold medalist Satoshi Kawabata of Japan , Ching-Shun Yang of Chinese-Taipei, and Charlie William and Rodney Morris of the United States and another top European player.

They will compete for the $40,000 winner purse.

Cash-rich World 10-Ball set at PICC

Its all systems go for the 2008 World 10-Ball Championships with no less than Vice President Noli de Castro as guest of honor in the inaugural opening at the Philippine International Convention Center on Sept. 29.

De Castro will grace the opening rites at 9:30 a.m. including the ceremonial breaks, which will formally usher the group stage elimination of the competition.

A total of 128 players from all over the world representing 40 countries will be vying for the total purse of $400,000 with $100,000 going to the champion.

“This is going to be the biggest international billiards tournament in the country since I believe the World 9-Ball Championship has been postponed for next year. Mabibigat ang mga darating na players dito,” said Raya Sports president Yen Makabenta.

Makabenta mentioned the likes of reigning world 9-ball champion Daryl Peach of Great Britain, former titlists Ralf Souquet and Thomas Engert of Germany, Chinese-Taipei’s Wu-Chia-Ching and Americans Johnny Archer and Shane Van Boening as among the top picks in the tourney.

The host country will be bannered by former Asian snooker champion Marlon Manalo, Doha Asian Games gold medalist Antonio Gabica, Jeffrey de Luna, Elvis Calasang, Elmer Kalaquian, Jerico Banares and Mario Tolentino.

However, organizers are still uncertain if the country’s celebrated cue artists can join the competition.

“It would be good if everybody would take part. But if they don’t we can’t do anything about it,” added Makabenta obviously referring to big guns Efren “Bata” Reyes, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Ronato Alcano and Alex Pagulayan, who comprised the breakaway group that boycotted the BSCP.

In the absence of some of the country’s bests, Makabenta said it’s just anybody’s game.

The tournament will group the players into 16, seeing action in the winner’s break elimination, with the top four from each group advancing into the 64-man knockout stage.

A winner-take-all match for third place will be played during the final day, preceding the championship game that begins at 5 p.m.

Tough task ahead for RP cue artists in Guinness 9Ball Tour

Manila, Philippines - The road to the Guinness 9-Ball Billiards Tour grand finals gets tougher for five Filipino campaigners when the tournament resumes in the final leg in Guangzhou, China from September 19 to 21 at the Garden Hotel.

The Guangzhou leg will be the toughest of the six-city Tour for the Filipinos since perennial contenders Chinese-Taipei will be fielding players composed of defending champion Chang Jung Lin, 2005 World Pool-Billiards Association titlist Wu Chia Ching, 2007 three-leg winner Yang Ching Shun and the dangerous Wang Hung Hsiang.

Chang, who topped the year’s first three legs, is already assured of the number one spot in the Tour’s Order of Merit while Yang and Wu are currently in second and third, respectively. Wang presently ranks fifth.

The Top 10 players in the overall Order of Merit after the Guangzhou leg will earn spots in the finals set in Jakarta, Indonesia from October 24 to 26.

Joven Bustamante is ranked highest among the five Filipinos at fourth in the Order of Merit while Alex Pagulayan jumped to sixth after winning the Singapore leg in July. While 2006 Doha Asian Games silver medalist Antonio Gabica placed seventh with WPA world no.1 Dennis Orcollo clinging on at 10th place.

Korea’s Ryu Seung Woo and Ibrahim Bin Amir of Malaysia rounded up the Top 10 after placing eighth and ninth respectively.

Hometown bets Fu Jian Bo and Li He Wen will make a final push for the Top 10 in the Guangzhou leg. The two are considered top contenders for a spot in the finals after occupying 11th and 12th places after four stages.

Helping Fu and Li make their final push are the hometown Chinese fans that came out in droves to support their athletes in last months Beijing Olympics.

Other players aiming for a spot in the finals are Indonesia’s Ricky Yang, Han Hao Xiang of Hong Kong, Thailand's Nitiwat Kajanasri and Sumit Talwar of India.

Players from Japan, Singapore and Vietnam are also expected to give their all in order to shore up their respective bids of earning valuable ranking points for the finals.

APBU names 14 Asian players for WTBC event including Wu Chia-ching

Asian Pocket Billiards Union has announced the first batch of 14 Asian players who will be seeing action in the main draw of the WPA World Ten Ball Championship in Manila on Sept. 29 to Oct. 5 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

Included in the 14 are former World Junior champion Ko Pin Yi of Chinese Taipei, and his compatriots, multiple Guinness 9-ball titlist Chang Jun Lin and Yang Chin-Sung.

Other Asian qualifiers include Wang Hung-Hsiang (Chinese Taipei); Satoshi Kawabata, Naoyuki Oi, and Hayato Hijikata (Japan); Ryu Seung Woo, Jeong Dyoung-Hwa, and Kim Woong-Dae (Korea); Dharminder Singh Lilly (India) and Fahad Mohammadi, Basgar Hussain, and Mohd Al Bin Ali (Qatar).

They will join two other Asian players who earlier won guaranteed spots through the Philippine Pool Tour - Wu Chia-Ching of Chinese Taipei and Antonio Gabica of the Philippines. They will all enter the main draw of 128 players of the WTBC.

Fifteen other Asian players will be named by APBU later this month coming from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei.

The WTBC is organized by Raya Sports with the support of Star Billiards, the Billiards & Snooker Congress of the Philippines, and the Philippine Billiards Foundation and sanctioned and supervised by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), the world governing body for pocket billiards.

Chang is a six-leg winner of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour. He recently saw action in the Challenge of Champions in the US.

Ko is the reigning World junior champion and has swiftly emerged as Chinese Taipei's newest star. After dethroning three-time World junior champion Yu Lun-Wu in Germany last year, he won the Brunswick-Thailand Open in February this year.

Yang, celebrated as the "Son Of Pool" in his home country, is a multi-titled player, having won championships in the Guinness 9-Ball Tour and San Miguel Asian Tour.
Kawabata is Japan's top bet in international pool and finished in the top 10 of last year's World Pool Championship.

Ryu and Lilly are currently the No. 1 players in Korea and India respectively. They have competed and caught notice with impressive performances in the Guinness Tour.

Hopeful of World Cup of Pool glory

Holland a have a thrilling match in the opening round of the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool as they take on neighbours Belgium on the opening night of the competition.

The event, which features 32 two-player teams from around the world, will be staged at Outland in Rotterdam from Tuesday, October 7 to Sunday, October 12.

Nick Van Den Berg and Niels Feijen, ranked fifth and sixth respectively in Europe , are in the Holland A side and one of the favourites to win the title.

They will be backed by a large, passionate crowd as they begin their campaign against the Belgian duo of Serge Das and Noel Bruynooghe.

This pairing produced a huge shock in last years event when they defeated the highly-fancied Taiwanese team, which included former World Champion Wu Chia-ching.

Holders China , who defeated Finland 11-10 in a thrilling 2007 final, will again be represented by Li He-wen and Fu Jian-bo.

They will kick-start the event as they meet India ’s Sumit Talwar and Alok Kumar in the tournament’s opener.

Reigning World Champion Daryl Peach and European No.1 Mark Gray make up a strong looking England team, but they will have to be at their best to get past Malta ’s Tony Drago and Alex Borg.

The USA pairing of Shane Van Boening and Rodney Morris face newcomers Iceland , while the Philippines outfit of Francisco Bustamante and Dennis Orcollo play in the last first round match against Denmark . 

8-ball, 9-ball champs secure spots in world 10-ball affair

Two reigning world champions lead a stellar cast of cue artists in the World 10-ball Championships scheduled in September.

Daryl Peach of England, the current world 9-ball king, and Ralf Souquet of Germany, the world 8-ball titlist, are expected to participate in the tournament that will be held in Manila.

Joining Peach and Souquet are previous qualifiers Wu Chia-Ching of Chinese-Taipei and Antonio Gabica of the Philippines.

Wu and Gabica won the WTBC qualifying events through the Philippine Pool Tour.

Wu, a double world champion in 8-ball and 9-ball in 2005, won the Puerto Princesa Mayor’s Cup of the PPT last June in Puerto Princesa City.

Gabica, the reigning Philippine Open and Asian Games champion, won the Mandaluyong Mayor’s Cup of the PPT last May in Mandaluyong City.

Europe’s no.1 lady player Jasmin Ouschan of Austria will also see action in the top-tier event.

Wu Chia-Ching entered on Four slots in World 10-Ball

Four slots in the inaugural World Ten-Ball tournament on September will be up for grabs in the 3rd Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) National Pool Championship.

Eliminations for the event will be held at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City while the finals shall take place from August 26-31 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Malate, Manila.

Filipino Antonio "Ga-Ga" Gabica and Taiwanese Wu Chia-Ching already won slots in the World Ten-Ball tournament after successful stints in the Philippine Pool Tour legs in Mandaluyong and Puerto Princesa, respectively.

Gabica will see action with Marlon Manalo, the 2005 World Pool Championship 3rd placer; Jeffrey de Luna, the 2007 Manny Pacquiao International 9-Ball champion; and the young Jericho Bañares, the reigning Philippine Junior Champion as they chase the P400,000 winner's purse.

Prize money down to the 32nd placer will be given. The event is open to all Filipino players.

Other notable players who will be vying for the national title are: Leonardo Andam, Fidel Punzalan, Leonardo Didal, Edgar Acaba, Mario Tolentino, Elvis Calasang, Luis Saberdo, James Al Ortega, Alex Nobleza, Raymond Faraon and 14-year-old Jonas Magpantay, among others.

RP 10-ball qualifiers set in August

The Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) will stage the qualifying tournament for the September World 10-Ball Championship.

The BSCP Nationals will be played August 26 to 31 at the Rizal Billiards Hall.

The top-four finishers in the five-day tournament will get slots in the World meet. The prize money offered in the Nationals totals P400,000.

Dubbed the third BSCP National Pool Championships, the qualifiers will push through despite the hard-line stance of a rival billiards group that said it would boycott the 10-Ball Worlds.

Already assured of berths in the World 10-ball tilt are Antonio Gabica of the Philippines and Wu Chia-ching of Chinese-Taipei, who qualified after winning the Mandaluyong and the Puerto Princesa legs of the Philippine Pool Tour respectively.

Wu rules Puerto Princesa Ten Ball bash

PUERTO PRINCESA –  Count the Ten Ball championship to the growing list of crown collections of Taiwanese big shot Chia-Ching Wu.

For youthful Filipino star Jericho Banares, his time has to wait – for the moment.

The former World Pool 9-Ball and World 8-Ball titlist used his precise pocketing to engineer yet another remarkable comeback to fashion out a thrilling 11-9 triumph and rule the Puerto Princesa Mayor's Cup, second leg of the Philippine Pool Tour here at the Puerto Princesa Coliseum late Sunday night.

It was an uphill battle for the two young guns of billiards.

As expected, Wu had another slow start, similar to his previous tough two matches against Marlon Manalo in the last game of the eliminations and Ralf Souquet in the semis. But the 19-year-old sensation, who dominated the international billiards scene in 2005, completed another strong finish en route to nipping the reigning national junior champion.

"I had another tough time. For three straight games I had a slow start. I was fortunate at the very slim opportunity given to me and made the most out of it," said Wu, thru his interpreter Hans Lu, owner of Pool Fusion Billiards Hall in Manila.

Wu found himself trailing again in the finals. He was down, 2-6, then took the next two racks.

Banares got his turn in the 11th rack to take a 7-4 lead. From there, Wu mostly kept the up-and-coming Filipino star in his seat.

A huge six-rack run by Wu behind his solid breaking and precise pocketing had the Taiwanese taking full control of the match. The run reminded aficionados of his WPC victory in Kaoshiung, when he took five straight racks to claim the world championship. 

But Banares pounced on an error by Wu in the 18th rack to get back to contention. He ran out the table and then took the 19th rack as well.

Then came the most pivotal rack in the 20th with Banares getting a chance to salvage an equalizer and a win could give him the momentum he needed for the final blow. Banares got no shot at the blue 2 despite getting two balls on his break. Wu got a little opening after Banares flubbed a safety play, but the table layout was difficult to run out. Instead he laid a tough safety on his opponent that looked too tough to escape from.

Banares' made a spectacular bank shot on the green 6 that went in the side pocket, but that shot was nullified after he scratched the cue ball.

That was a backbreaker and Wu took care of business and finished the job.

With the victory, Wu took the first prize money of $10,000 and  a guaranteed seat in the inaugural World Ten Ball Championship in Manila in September.

Banares received $4,000 for finishing runner-up. Losing semifinalists Souquet and Manalo got $2,000.

32 players take center stage in Puerto Princesa Cup

PUERTO PRINCESA – Thirty-two tough competitors, including several double world champions, world and national youth titlists, and other veteran campaigners will take center stage today, Friday, in the opening of the Puerto Princesa Mayor's Cup, the second leg of the Philippine Pool Tour.

This bustling resort city, nicknamed "The City In The Forest" because of its lush vegetation, will host the three-day event to be held at the Puerto Princesa City Coliseum with all eyes focusing on the big guns and rising stars from Germany, Taiwan and the Philippines.

Two-time world champions Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, Chia-Ching Wu and Jung-Lin Chang of Taiwan, and reigning world junior champion Ko Pin-Yi banner the field of invaders.

But they will be tested by the formidable field of Filipino players led by Antonio Gabica, winner of the first PPT leg last month, Marlon Manalo, and Jericho Banares, 2008 Philippine junior champion and a standout in the Mandaluyong Mayor's Cup.

Souquet, currently the biggest money earner among billiard players this year with $106,786, has his eyes set on the $10,000 top prize in this event organized by the Billiards and Snookers Congress of the Philippines and supported by San Miguel Beer and Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn.

Hohmann, the 2003 World Pool titlist and winner of the IPT North American Open Championship, is also one of the favorites, along with Wu, the 2005 World 9- Ball and 8-Ball champion.

Thirteen pool players qualified for the Puerto Princesa leg Tuesday at the end of the elimination round. They were led by Ko Pin-Yi, power breaker Jeff de Luna and two-time national youth finalist Jordan Legaspi. The other players who advanced were Oliver Villafuerte, Wang Ming, Arturo Palma, Richard Alinsub, Jorge Dacer, Boots Augusto, Rocky Tullao, Edgar Acaba, Romeo Silvano and Raymund Faraon.

They join the 17 seeded players who earlier qualified for the main tournament by virtue of their performance in the Mandaluyong Cup and their standings in world pool rankings. They are: Souquet, Hohmann, Wu, Antonio Gabica, Marlon Manalo, Leonardo Andam, Jericho Bañares, Mario Tolentino, Leonardo Didal, Chien-Te Chung, Gerry Watson, Kenji Taguchi, Allan Soliman, Luis Saberdo, Junbert Ogang, Courtney Symons and Jung-Lin Chang.

Puerto Princesa will field two local bets – Jade Samson and Jonathan Corpuz – in the tournament. They won their spots by topping the qualifiers held in the Palawan capital.

Ko, a Physical Education student in Taipei, who started playing competitive billiards at the age of 12, beat Roland Garcia, 9-7, for his third victory in the eliminations.

De Luna, who was relegated to the loser's bracket Tuesday following his loss to Jin Hu-Dang, 6-9, vented his ire on Resty Labastida, 9-1, to make the cut.

Legaspi crushed Dang, 9-6; Wang scuttled Rocky Tullao, 9-5; Dacer whipped Labastida, 9-4; Augusto nipped Romeo Silvano, 9-7; Alinsub edged Elvis Calasang, 9-8; Villafuerte outlasted Fu Jin-Bo, 9-7; and Palma squeaked past Chu Hung-Ming, 9-8.

In the loser's bracket, Tullao tripped Rollo, 9-8; Acaba defeated Silverio Tulabing, 9-7; and Silvano ripped Raymund Faraon, 9-4.

Faraon earned the last ticket to the Puerto Cup after defeating Tulabing in the playoff finals, 9-3.

Group E: Wu Chia-Ching on Guinness 9 Ball Tour

GROUP E

Ricky Yang(INA) 9-3 Sumit Talwar(IND)
Sumit Talwar(IND) 2-9 Wu Chia-Ching(TPE)
Ricky Yang(INA) 4–9 Wu Chia-Ching(TPE)

Indonesia’s Ricky Yang started the day slow as he went behind 1-3 to India’s Sumit Talwar before getting his act together and romping to a 9-3 win. Early scare for the Indonesian star but he manages to hold off Sumit’s charge and take the game.

Sumit then came up against Chinese Taipei’s Wu Chia-Ching, and after going rack for rack to tie the game at 2-2, Wu upped the ante and charged to seven straight rack points to take the game 9-2.

Final game of the day saw two heavyweights, Ricky and Wu play off for the chance to move into the quarterfinals. Wu brought a smile back onto the faces of the Taipei crowd when he cruised into the quarterfinals by defeating Ricky Yang in the final game of day one.

Group Winner - Wu Chia-Ching