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Kelvin Leong breaks down the action from day one in Taipei. 

GROUP E

Ricky Yang(INA) 9-3 Sumit Talwar(IND)
Sumit Talwar(IND) 2-9 Wu Chia-Ching(TPE)
Ricky Yang(INA) 4–9 Wu Chia-Ching(TPE)

Indonesia’s Ricky Yang started the day slow as he went behind 1-3 to India’s Sumit Talwar before getting his act together and romping to a 9-3 win. Early scare for the Indonesian star but he manages to hold off Sumit’s charge and take the game.

Sumit then came up against Chinese Taipei’s Wu Chia-Ching, and after going rack for rack to tie the game at 2-2, Wu upped the ante and charged to seven straight rack points to take the game 9-2.

Final game of the day saw two heavyweights, Ricky and Wu play off for the chance to move into the quarterfinals. Wu brought a smile back onto the faces of the Taipei crowd when he cruised into the quarterfinals by defeating Ricky Yang in the final game of day one.

Group Winner - Wu Chia-Ching 

GROUP F

Yang Ching-Shun(TPE) 9-3 Siauw Wieto(INA)
Alex Pagulayan(PHI) 8-9 Yang Ching-Shun(TPE)
Siauw Wieto(INA) 4–9 Alex Pagulayan(PHI)

The ‘Group of Death’ began with Taipei’s Yang Ching-Shun taking on Indonesia’s underrated player, Siauw Wieto. Dubbed by the press and players as the most difficult group to play in, the crowd gathered in anticipation of a big game. Things did not pan out that way though, as Yang quickly got into his groove and made Siauw pay for his sluggish start with a 9-3 victory.

In the evening, the first televised game of this year’s Guinness 9-Ball Tour saw Alex Pagulayan come up against the impressive Yang. A fantastic start by Pagulayan saw him surge to a 4-1 lead but Yang never gave up and came charging back and even took the lead at one point. Alex was determined not to let the game slip away and he made his own comeback and tied the game at 8-8. Down to the last rack with Alex breaking well but he came up short on the 7-ball to allow Yang a chance to close out the game. 9-8 to the Chinese Taipei hotshot.

The final game of Group F proved to be a matter of ranking points. Alex took on Siauw to decide who finishes second and third. Alex took out his frustration of losing to Yang by beating Siauw with a score of 9-4. Out goes Alex and the place is now much quieter without the bubbly personality of the Tour. 

Group Winner – Yang Ching-Shun

GROUP G

Antonio Gabica(PHI) 8–9 Budi Sumarno(INA)
Chang Jung-Lin(TPE) 9-6 Antonio Gabica
Chang Jung-Lin(TPE) 9-4 Budi Sumarno(INA)

Defending Champion Chang Jung-Lin, has started the day well with a 9-6 win over Philippines’ Antoni0 Gabica. Chang raced to a quick start of 4-0 before Gabica managed to get on the board. Looking determined and focus, he probably wants to prove that his title last year was no fluke.

Meanwhile, Gabica is out of the tournament after he lost to Indonesia’s Budi Sumarno in an earlier match. Both players came out in tentative fashion but Gabica looked uncomfortable while Budi played a slow and assured game, often taking his time to make sure his shots are good.

With the results from the first two game, Chang and Budi went into the final game of Group G to decide the group winner. Chang continued his good showing from the first game as he raced to a 3-0 lead. Budi never got going and it was a one-sided affair that finished at 9-4 in Chang, favour.

Group Winner – Chang Jung-Lin

GROUP H

Satoshi Kawabata(JPN) 9-5 Han Hao-Xiang(HKG)
Han Hao-Xiang(HKG) 9-6 Toh Lian Han(SIN)
Toh Lian Han(SIN) 8–9 Satoshi Kawabata(JPN)

This group was closely contested till the final rack with Satoshi looking the most likely group winner as the competition progressed through the day. He was dead even with with Hao-Xiang in the first game but steadily pulled away from the young Hao-Xiang.

Hao-Xiang then refocused and came up to play Singapore’s Toh Lian Han and the Hong Kong teenager managed to take it down 9-6 albeit a tight finish.

Japan’s No.1 player Satoshi Kawabata then proceeded to the last game of Group H and got through to the quarterfinals after an amazing comeback from 8-4 down to pummel Singapore’s Toh Lian Han into submission with a five rack blitz.

Group Winner -  Satoshi Kawabata  

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