Late in the evening, my favourite player Yang Ching-Shun plays Japan’s last remaining player Satoshi Kawabata. If it had been a triumphant day for Japan yesterday, it has been anything but today. Naoyuki Oi led last year’s runner-up Ralf Souquet early on but the German the call The Kaiser stepped up a gear, and won 10-8. Meanwhile, Day 1 star Kenichi Uchigaki had what should’ve been a winnable match against South Korea’s Ryu Seung-woo. But the Korean (and he looks the least like a Korean, I might say) turned the tables to win 10-7.
Kawabata’s match against Yang looked much like the least winnable of the lot, but pool is unpredictable at best, and Kawabata went 8-2 up. I rushed to watch Yang, hoping some of the magic would rub off on Yang, seeing as none of the players I support that I’ve watched ringside has yet to lose. But there is no magic, I kinda knew it already. Yang managed to pull back a rack when I was watching, but watching him play, I knew this is the Yang who can’t wait to get out of the arena fast enough. He was not cueing fluently, he looked rushed, he didn’t look happy, then again Yang never does. A miss allowed Kawabata back on the table, and he cleaned up to keep the Japanese flag flying for another day.
It’s not been a good day for the pinoys. Sending 13 players into the last 64, it’s now 12.30am, eight hours after action started this afternoon. And only five Filipino players are through from a potential 11, as two of the matches were all-Filipino ones. First to fall was reigning Philippine Open Champion Lee Vann Corteza, going down 7-10 to compatriot Jeff De Luna. Then, another standout player Dennis Orcollo fell 6-10 to Joven Bustamante.
Taiwan’s baby-faced Kuo Po-Cheng accounted for Ramil Gallego (10-5), Wu Yu-Lun took out Leonardo Andam (10-5) and Poland’s Radoslaw Babica was enroute to blanking Marlon Manalo, before Marvellous Marlon got on board. It was still a 10-1 humiliation.
American Shane van Boening sent Antonio Gabica home 10-7, and just as I started typing this, England’s Daryl Peach ended the reign of Ronnie Alcano 10-6. The Tornado had been regaledwith loud cheers when he got to the TV table, and now there is a deathly hush.
It’s a toss-up which was worse, Alcano losing to Peach, or Efren Reyes losing to Russia’s Konstantin Stepanov. Yes, Efren the Magician is out, and it wasn’t even close – 10-5 was the final score.
The tournament is left with five local draws: Roberto Gomez, Francisco Bustamente, Joven Bustamante, Jeff De Luna, and the loudest of them all, Alex the Lion Pagulayan. Pagulayan actually roared when he was breaking against Pham Tuan Ngoc today, and why not? He’s got a point to prove after being denied the chance to play the Shanghai leg of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour and with it the chance to qualify in the lucrative Grand Final. There was plenty of fallout from that, mainly unsavoury local politics with Alex writing an open letter to the local pool authorities. They couldn’t stop him from playing in the WPA World Pool Championship, and beating Pham 10-6 takes him another step closer to a second title.
Gomez continues to impress, ceding the first rack to Dutchman Alex Lely before running 10 racks in a row to win. The Pinoy Superman has chosen the right time to come into form. Let’s hope he can keep his mind strong, because if there is any weakness in Gomez, its his inability to deal with mounting pressure.
Django similarly dismantled Spain’s David Alcaide 10-1 and could be enroute to winning a title that has so far eluded him.
Taiwan have a reason to be confident, they only lost three of their players today, Ko Pin-Yi crashing 8-10 to Serbian sensation Goran Mladenovich, Fu Che-Wei losing to 2001 champion Mika Immonen from Finland, and Yang.
Two-time champion Chao Fong-Pang delivered the day’s only 10-0 shutout to Australia’s James Delahunty. Guinness 9 Ball Tour champion Chang Jung-Lin made hard work of his win over Germany’s Thomas Engert (10-7), as did 2005 champion Wu over Fabio Petroni (see my earlier entry). Also in the mix is Kuo, three-time world junior champion Wu Yu-Lun, two-time world junior champion Lu Hui Chan and veteran Lee Kun Fang who comes with world pool championship pedigree. In 1997, Lee made the final of this event only to lose to Johnny Archer. It would be good to see either Lee or his contemporary Chao recapturing some of that form.
Speaking of veterans, Malta’s Tony Drago, the original Tornado I might add, is in the final 32. He faces Immonen next. Ralf Souquet is also in, he has European Mosconi Cup teammate Niels Feijen in his way. Bustamante also faces a Dutchman, Nick van den Berg. And Big Alain Martel from Canada is in with a chance, his opponent is Goran Mladenovich who like him is built like a truck.
The final 32 looks like this:
> Peach vs Lee Kun Fang; Harald Stolka (GER) vs Wu Yu-Lun; Django vs van den Berg; Pagulayan vs Louis Condo (AUS)
> Maldenovich vs Martel; Immonen vs Drago; van Boening vs Vilmos Foldes (HUN); Lu Hui-Chan vs Babica
> Luong Chi Dung vs Kawabata; Wu Chia-Ching vs Joven Bustamante; Stepanov vs De Luna; Ryu Seung Woo vs Karl Boyes (ENG)
>Kuo Po-Cheng vs Oliver Ortmann; Chang Jung-Lin vs Corey Deuel (USA); Souquet vs Feijen; Chao vs Gomez
I might add that in the midst of things, a couple of big names may have been unduly ignored. Corey Deuel has quietly made his way into the final 32, as has 40-year-old German Oliver Ortmann who was World Champion in 1995. The German complained of the cold playing in the outer tables, he will not have to worry about that tomorrow. He will lead off on TV Table 2 against Kuo Po-Cheng, under the bright lights.
The hard days are over, this is the business end of the tournament, and the fun’s about to begin.
