Fourteen of the world's top pool players are in town for the five-day Green Time Super Cup which concludes today. Nearly 400 spectators a day have been packing plywood stands in an arena housed in the basement of the Core Pacific Mall.
The line-up of competitors includes a trio of Philippine stars -- Effrem Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, and Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo. There's also the irascible American Earl "the Pearl" Strickland and German Ralf "The Kaiser" Souquet.
These colorful players have been overshadowed by the exploits of 16-year Taiwanese Wu Chia-ching, now known as the "Taishan Kid," whose recent victory last weekend at the World 8-ball Championships in Dubai made him the only person in history to hold both World 8-Ball and 9-Ball titles.
PHOTO: CTBA
Given Wu's sudden success, he is the favorite to walk away with the tournament's top prize of US$20,000.
Wu continued to tell reporters he planned to use his winnings to purchase an apartment for his grandmother in Taipei County, joking that some real-estate companies may like to consider offering him a discount in exchange for becoming a celebrity spokesperson for their agency.
"Right now we're living in a relative's place," Wu said. "Though I hope to buy a three or four bedroom apartment very soon."
Wu is not only a young-prodigy, but also something of an inspirational figure as he was raised by his grandmother after his mother left him at a young age. His doting grandmother allowed him to play pool even as his grades were suffering, eventually investing in a 20-table pool hall so her grandson could play free of charge.
"I began playing pool at the age of 6, though I started to take it seriously at the age of 9," Wu said. "When I was 10, my grandmother invested in a pool hall so I could play between 2-3 hours a day."
Wu said his childhood hero was Effrem Reyes -- a player he feels can create magical shots. Nevertheless, Wu says he is mainly self-taught, having little interaction with local or foreign players.
The Green Time Super Cup has been held in one form or another since 1990 -- beginning as the Taipei Open and then renamed the TIM Cup.
The Super Cup smaller than the 100-person field who turned out earlier this year at the World 9-Ball Pool Championships in Kaohsiung.
A smaller field is giving local audiences more chance to watch colorful performers such as Earl "The Pearl" Strickland.
Yesterday, Strickland ran the gamut of poor behavior, such as taunting his opponents, chastising the audience, booing himself, clapping his feet and even fouling on his last shot to concede defeat to opponent Ralf Souquet.
For all of his bad etiquette, some are enjoying Strickland's antics, reasoning that Strickland is simply trying to liven up a sport which has been perceived a dull and unemotional.
Strickland is also known for developing a diverse line of pool accessories, such as Velcro wrist wraps, pool gloves, and oversized pool grips, some of which have never been seen before this week in Taiwan.
Strickland's been critical of local referees -- a sentiment that may be born out of frustration after having won only one of his first five matches in the tournament.
One opponent, Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo, escaped Strickland's taunts and a late-match run to win 7:6.
Chang Rong-lin of Taiwan defeated Strickland in a late-afternoon match, tuning out distractions and showing good concentration.
This weekend's tournament is turning out to be more difficult than expected as the pockets on the tables have been set at 1.8 inches, which is the narrowest margin permitted by the World Pool Association, according to tournament manager Roger Huang.
"Pockets can be set between 1.8 and 2.2 inches," Huang said. "We chose 1.8 [inches], which is the approximate width of one and a half balls."
Local players have not voiced any criticism, Huang said, but then again, for many, the conditions at this tournament are noticeably better than the rest of the 3,700 pool halls and 70,000 pool tables in Taiwan.
The Ailex brand tables used at the tournament are Taiwan made and represent a domestic industry that is worth some NT$1 billion annually.
The Green Time Super Cup concludes this evening at 8pm. Admission to the tournament is on a first-come first-served basis, though the entire event is being televised live on Videoland.
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Jannik Sinner continued his quest to become the first man in history to win five Masters 1000 tournaments in a row with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Danish qualifier Elmer Moller at the Madrid Open on Sunday. The world leader extended his winning streak to 19 matches, a run that began early March in Indian Wells, and he has captured 24 consecutive victories at the Masters 1000 level, dating back to the Paris Masters last October. Searching for a maiden title at this level on clay, Sinner advanced to the round of 16 at the Caja Magica with a 77-minute performance against
Tennis players are facing an unexpected opponent at the Madrid Open. A stomach virus or food poisoning has affected Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Marin Cilic and others, raising concerns. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoided an upset by Naomi Osaka on the court on Monday and said she is trying to avoid illness by sticking to a diet of chicken breasts, rice and salad. The rumor among the players was bad shrimp tacos were to blame. Sabalenka knocked on wood for luck and said, “So far, so good. I heard that I have to avoid those tacos,” she laughed, adding “I stick to the
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
RSS