By Ted Lerner/WPA Media Officer
Photos By JP Parmentier
(Las Vegas) — Taiwan’s Kevin Cheng captured the inaugural WPA Players Championship on Friday, storming back from the near dead to defeat the Philippines Carlo Biado, 12-11, in a thrilling final at Griffs Billiards in Las Vegas.
The victory capped a terrific week for the Taiwanese sharpshooter, who showed that not only is he one of pool’s hottest sharp shooters, but also that he is a resilient, never-say-die fighter that can grind it out with the best of them.
It was that trench warfare mentality that helped bring Cheng back from the dead, as he was down 8-5 in the race to 9 final and was sitting in his chair watching Biado clear for the title. It was only when the Filipino unexpectedly missed a 4-ball that Cheng felt a slight heartbeat. He proceeded to win the next four racks, and then slugged it out in a nervy 45 minute stretch with Biado in the win-by-two format, until the pair reached the limit of 11-11 all and played one rack for the title, which Cheng won.
The Taiwan-Philippines final seemed only fitting as the day began with two Taiwan-Philippine semi-finals. In the first semi, Cheng squared off with Johann Chua and quickly got out to a 4-1. But as he had done all week, Chua stormed back to tie the match at 4-4. The pair stayed even for the next few racks, until the Filipino made several mistakes that opened the door for Cheng. The Taiwanese then zeroed in on the finish line and won 9-6.
In the second semi-final Biado matched wits with the always daring Chang Yu-Lung. Nothing much separated the pair for the first half of the match. But despite having several chances to take the lead, Chang seemed to run out of gas. That was all the always-focused Biado needed to build up a head of steam and win 9-6.
The race to 9, win-by-2 final was everything one would expect between two of the best not only of their respective countries, but in the entire world of professional pool. After splitting the first 8 racks, Biado upped his game and won the next two to lead 6-4. Cheng got one back, but then the Filipino showed off his amazing potting and cue ball skills to go up 7-5. Cheng looked to be on the back foot when he missed the 4-ball in the next frame, which allowed Biado to clear and move one away from the title.
And it certainly looked like it was all over in the next rack with the Filipino at the table and a fairly straight forward clear right in front of him. Until he missed the 4-ball in the side.
As expected, the entire match turned on that one miss, with Cheng suddenly playing loose and free, and Biado retreating into a shell and looking nervous. Indeed Cheng won the next five racks, including two break and runs, to go up 9-8.
But Biado isn’t the World #3 ranked player for nothing, and he stormed back to take the next two to lead 10-9 and move one away from victory again. The pool gods, though, conspired against the Filipino as he broke dry in the next frame and allowed Cheng to clear to tie at 10-10.
Cheng inched closer in the next frame after winning a safety battle. But in the next rack, the Taiwanese left a safe open, and Biado cleaned up the colors. Tied at 11-11, the match and the title went to a one rack decider.
Biado won the lag, and the pair had a brief fight over the 2-ball until Cheng was left with a very difficult positional play, which he made. He had several nervy and difficult shots left before the last three balls opened up. The title, and $10,000, was soon his.
“When I was down 8-5 and he is shooting at an open table, I already know that I’m going to lose,” a relieved and delighted Cheng said afterward. “Then when he missed that 4-ball, I can play without stress and I played really good.
“The last few racks were very difficult and that’s when I got nervous again. I think I got lucky, but I also hit some very good shots at the end to take the match and the tournament.
“Overall, I’m very happy with the way I played this week. It was a great tournament, with a great field, and this gives me a lot confidence heading in the US Open.”
The WPA Players Championship is made possible by the following sponsors:
Andy Billiard Cloth • Cyclop Balls • Diamond • Griff’s Billiards • HOW Tips • Predator • Master Billiard Chalk
鄭喻軒奪WPA球員錦標賽冠軍
WPA 球員錦標賽在拉斯維加斯落幕。一場將近四小時的鏖戰過後，“奪命書生” 鄭喻軒在5-8落後的情況完成逆轉，贏下最終的搶1驟死賽，12-11擊敗前9球世界冠軍 Carlo Biado，奪得冠軍並入賬1萬美元。
WPA 球員錦標賽由WPA 和CSI 聯合主辦，是WPA 的第三類排名賽，採用美國鑽石 (DIAMONDS) 球桌，超級賽樂普 (HYPER CYCLOP) 為指定用球，安迪台布 (ANDY Billiard Cloth) 為指定球布，美洲豹球桿 (Predator) 、豪皮頭 (HOW Tips) 以及MASTER 巧克贊助。
會內賽64強至決賽全程單敗輪衝搶7，半決賽和決賽搶9。比賽還有兩處特殊規定：所有比賽分差必須在2局以上才算獲勝，倘若比分9-9，繼續比賽直至11-11時，雙方重新比球並進行搶1驟死賽。
半決賽，兩位中華台北選手和兩位台灣選手捉對廝殺。張玉龍 6-9 惜敗Biado，鄭喻軒則以同樣比分擊敗另一位菲律賓選手Johann Chua，決賽再次在中華台北選手和菲律賓選手間進行。
決賽中，Biado 8-5 率先獲得賽點，但Biado一顆詭異的4號球失誤為鄭喻軒送上機會，後者將比分追擊者8-9，此後Biado再次取得10- 9的領先，而鄭喻軒頑強以10-10和11-11兩次戰平。
最後的搶1驟死賽，爭奪球權之後Biado衝出不錯球型卻未能把握，並再次打丟關鍵2號。鄭喻軒連續拼進高難度2號和3號球並完成清台，12-11逆轉逆轉Biado。鄭喻軒繼2015年美國公開賽后，再一次在美國收穫終于冠軍，並獲得1萬美元的獎金。
“當我5-8落後時，我已經感覺會輸掉比賽。” 鄭喻軒說道，“當他錯過顆4號球時，我可以毫無壓力地擊球，我打得非常好。最後幾局球很難，我又緊張起來了。總的來說，我對自己本週的表現非常滿意。這是一場偉大的比賽，有著偉大的場地，這讓我在接下來的美國公開賽中有了更大的信心。”
ONLINE BRACKETS 籤表
The online tournament brackets can be found at www.CTSonDemand.com.
WPA Players Championship Payouts 獎金表
1 – $10,000
2 – $7,000
3/4 – $5,000 ea.
5/8 – $3,000 ea.
9/16 – $1,500 ea.
17/32 – $400 ea.
Consolation Tournament Payouts
1 – $1,500
2 – $1,000
3/4 – $500 ea.
5/8 – $250 ea.
9/16 – $150 ea.