The second edition of the Joy Chinese 8 Ball Asian Tour Thai Open event, organized by Thailand Pool Tables between October 31st & November 3rd 2019 at Bangkok’s Show DC Complex, was as successful as the first one with a high toll of ranked international players.
The 4 days tournament saw a field of over 90 players from 19 countries including a Chinese squad as well as contestants from neighboring Malaysia and Singapore with the players seeking to qualify for the main event that would take place in China in January 2020.
Opening Lag
The tournament saw the addition of new rules such as the thrilling shootout, used as a decider in case of a draw, or the opportunity for players to get another chance via the double elimination format in the first stage. These adjustments allowed for some great matches and were positively received by the players. “The shootout is really difficult and requires a lot of focus but it’s very exciting especially when you come out victorious” said one of the players.
The Referees receiving their official ICEA Certification
With Joy organizing committee present during the event, the tournament was sanctioned by the ICEA (International Chinese Eight Ball Association) and would see each player receiving a ranking at the end of competition, ranking that would provide some benefit such as wild cards for future events.
Malaysian Team Players before the start of the match
The final 32 knockout stage took place on the last two days and one question remained before it begun, who would take down the Chinese Juggernaut Tian Feng whom has been crushing the opposition and winning in fashion the first two days showing no intention of slowing down.
Liu Yi (left) and Tian Feng (right) from the Chinese team
As the last 16 was underway with the tension mounting up, the field was fairly even as it could be anyone coming out on top with 9 countries represented at this stage including Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, The Philippines, India among others. The first upset came from Tepwin (Thailand) who exhibited tremendous tactical skills in a very close match to beat Tian Feng from China, one of the favorite to win the Tournament. On the other side of the bracket, Zack Loh from Malaysia wasted no time to validate his ticket for the last 8 with a crushing victory 7-0.
Zhang Han Xuan from China (left) vs Stuart Pettman from England (right)
A final before the final, there couldn’t be a better way to describe this final four match between Stuart Pettman from England and Zhang Han Xuan from China, it did not disappoint. It was a mano a mano throughout the entire match and saw Stuart equalizing at 8 rack a piece with only a minute and half left on the clock. Showing a maturity beyond his age, Xuan held his nerves to win the shoutout and head to final in which he had a dominant performance only losing 3 racks against Tepwin from Thailand.
Tepwin from Thailand - runner up of the tournament
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