Tue, Mar 07, 2006 page20

• Local favorites battle it out in Amway Cup final

  • By Sean Scanlan / CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
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  Pre-tournament favorites Kim Ga-young and Liu Shin-mei battled for US$20,000 prize money in the championship round of the Amway Cup at the Taipei Gymnasium on Sunday.

  A two-and-a-half hour championship match saw Kim run up a commanding 7-3 lead before conservative play allowed Liu to even the score at 8-8.

  The crowd enthusiastically cheered for Liu throughout the match, giving her the encouragement to play nearly error-free pool in her comeback.

  Liu was given a number of chances late in the match, leaving an easy shot on the 8-ball short and handing Kim the rack and a chance to post a commanding 10-8 lead.

  But dad luck struck again in the final rack as Liu made a series of difficult shots to get to the 9-ball, which she ultimately left a half-inch short of the corner pocket.

  Kim seized the opportunity and potted the impossibly simple shot to claim an 11-8 victory and the World Women's 9-Ball Championship.

  Ranked third by the WPA, Kim played a confident match throughout -- often using excellent safety plays to put Liu in difficult positions throughout the match.

  Kim's ;earned her style of play at her father's pool hall in Inchon, South Korea.

  But Kim has built up most of her competitive experience by participating in tournaments here in Taiwan. Kim is such a regular visitor that she rents an apartment in Taipei County. Kim is also fluent in Mandarin.

  Liu, a native of Ilan, played a spirited match throughout, battling from behind with difficult shots and drawing encouragement from the fans.

  Earlier in the day, Liu bested Austrian Jasmin Ouschan 9-6 in a semifinal match. Afterward, Liu was relaxed and confident, reveling in the chance to delight the local audience by commenting, "I represent Taiwan in the finals. No, I am not nervous at all."

  In the end, however, Kim's confident play won out, besting 48 of the world's best female players over four continuous days of competition.

  This year's Amway Cup was an open tournament, not the "invitational" format of year's past, where top players received generous appearance fees that offset travel expenses.

  The change in format, coupled with a busy tournament schedule prevented last year's defending champion Allison Fisher from competing as well as top-ranked Jeanette Lee.

  For some who made the trip, a quick trip back to the US and bigger money tournaments, such as American Monica Webb, awaited them.

  Webb found group play difficult as the race-to-five format provided lots of upsets and opportunities for unranked players.

  "I didn't like the race-to-five format," Webb said. "The matches were way too short. It was like watching the Yankees play just two innings."

  Webb also said the cold weather and mosquitoes which constantly buzzed around the venue were distractions early in the week.

  Friend, Helena Thornfeldt, a ninth-place finisher in this year's tournament, had good comments about the organization and the refereeing, though she hoped her total payout could have been more than the US$1,000 she received.

  Other foreign players were more gracious, such as Jennifer Ouschan who put a souvenir cue from the 2005 Amway Cup up for auction in her home country of Austria, ultimately earning 1,500 euros, which she donated to a European charity.

  For many competitors as well as pool fans, it was this spirit of friendship and camaraderie which dominated this year's Amway Cup.
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