After a dramatic, ‘The Golden Boy’ Gareth Potts bore down ZHANG Kunpeng with 2:1 in Black-Ball Shootout to won The 5th World Chinese 8 Ball Masters.
The 5th World Chinese Eight Ball Masters Grand Final concluded its final match at the Olympic Sports Stadium in Qinhuangdao, China. A “shootout” had to be played between Gareth Potts and Zhang Kunpeng after Potts making it back to 11-all from being 9:11 down. In the end, Potts won the championship with a marginal 2:1 win over Zhang, snatching the Grand Final title for a third time after two years. Incidentally, Potts extended the myth of “all champions were from the consolation bracket” for four consecutive years in the Grand Final.
After losing to XI Honguu in a hill-hill decider, Potts went on to make six consecutive wins to grab the hot seat in the Final. Up to that very moment, Potts was already the biggest winner in the tournament even if he could not win the championship eventually. Nevertheless, the “Golden Boy” did not let the crowd down, displaying his strong heart and extensive experience in grand tours to take down Zhang for the ultimate win.
There was much expectation to have the Grand Final trophy staying in China, but Potts was prepared for the opposite after seeing off Wang Peng (12:11) and vengeance against Xi (14:8). The trophy was already leaning toward Potts after knocking down Shen Zhongyang (13:10) in the final game of the losers’ matches. Yang Feng took the trophy from Potts and kept it for two years, and now it is back in Potts hands, Potts had demonstrated the best of his strength.
It was by all means rollercoaster for Potts, from being 1:5 down to 7:7, and 9:11 to 11-all, then winning 2:1 in the shoot out decider to win the championship, the way it worked out was never planned to be. 22 racks of furious battles with only one break and run by Zhang and only three clearances by Potts, with both players making mistakes along the way, it was not exactly how the audience expected it to be.
Potts pointed in the air the moment he won, just like what he did two years ago, as if he was telling his parents that their son has done it again!! After a big shout to release all the pressure for the past week, Potts covered his face with both hands and sat in his chair, the crowd silently witnessed tears gradually rolling down from his eyes – teardrops that filled with joy for winning seven tough matches and the championship after two years. Mixed emotions, a cry of happiness was perhaps the best way to let everything out of his chest.
總決賽歷史上首次點球大戰在秦皇島奧體中心體育館落下帷幕。波茨在9:11落後追至11:11平後，與張堃鵬進入點球大戰。最終，Gareth Potts以點球2:1的比分絕殺張堃鵬，時隔兩年再度登上總決賽冠軍寶座。與此同時，Potts也再現前四屆冠軍出自敗部的神奇，拿下自己中八史上的第三個總決賽冠軍。
Potts在10:11惜敗溪紅羽後連勝六場進入決賽，無論奪冠與否，Potts都已經是本屆總決賽最大的贏家。不過，Potts沒有讓支持他的球迷失望，以豐富的大賽經驗和強悍的大心臟，將張堃鵬斬落馬下。
賽前，國內軍團都期待本屆總決賽冠軍能繼續留在中國，但面對Potts，當他12:11險勝王鵬，繼而又14:8復仇溪紅羽後，Potts已經有了奪冠的準備。而當他再以13:10力克申重陽挺近決賽時，冠軍的獎杯已經開始向他偏移。而隨著Potts的奪冠，被楊帆霸占兩屆的總決賽冠軍終於易主。總決賽冠軍從Potts到楊帆，再到Potts，這無疑是實力的最好證明。
而縱觀本場決賽，Potts從1:5落後，7:7追平，到9:11落後，11:11再度追平，再到點球環節2:1絕殺奪冠。這絕對是出乎所有人預料的決賽之爭。 22局的鏖戰，沒有大家想像中的炸清頻現，張堃鵬僅一桿炸清，而波茨也只有三桿清台；沒有全程技術衝的大好局面，Potts與張堃鵬互有失誤，互有纏鬥。
鎖定冠軍那一刻，Potts食指向天，再次用冠軍告慰自己天堂的父母。前兩屆總決賽波茨奪冠后也用同樣的方式感謝天堂裡父母的庇佑。隨後，Potts振臂歡呼詮釋內心的喜悅。
Potts雙手掩面，靜靜的坐在座位上，心情久久不能平靜，全場的歡呼聲、掌聲在那一剎那全部靜止，全場球迷就那樣靜靜的觀望著Potts，等待著Potts! Potts的淚水中，有敗部連贏七場的艱辛，也有時隔兩年再度多冠的欣喜，同樣也有球迷為他歡呼的感謝。那一刻，Potts的內心五味雜陳，哭，或許是他宣洩內心情緒的最好方式。
CN: Max
EN: Samuel Lai
Photos: Alison Chang
