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The China Open
Shanghai Pudong Yuanshen Stadium
655 Yuanshen Road
Pudong New Area
Shanghai
China
www.my147.com
www.top147.com - Brackets: Men / Women - Results: Men / Women
www.wpa-pool.com
Extras:: Live stream - Live scoring - Forum chat

Thursday-Sunday 13-16 September 2012

Photo courtesy of �Tai Chengzhe/Top147.com.

UNHERALDED WU GRABS A SPOT AT THE EXPENSE OF LUI
Yes, perseverance does indeed pay off.

Wu Jing, the 12th ranked female player in China, had played 2009 World 9-ball Champion Liu Shasha on numerous occasions and never tasted victory against her famous compatriot. But tonight on the TV table inside the Shanhai Pudong Yuanshen Stadium, the very unheralded Wu finally pulled it off. And what a time to do it.

In a do or die match to see who would advance to the final 16 knockout stage and who would go home, the diminutive Wu played lights out pool and thoroughly outplayed Liu, winning the match going away 7-2 and qualifying for the big stage of the 2012 China Open.

The win was clearly one of the biggest of Wu�s career. The best the 24 year old from Fujian province had previously done was the final 16 in this year�s World 9-ball, and the quarters at last year�s Philippine Open. But it was the opponent and the circumstances that had her beaming from ear to ear afterward.

�I�ve played Liu Shasha many times in the past and I always lose,� Wu said after her win. �This time I just said relax, believe in myself and I have a good chance to win. I�m very happy right now.�

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The final 16 of the women�s event begins Saturday with matches race to 9, alternate break. The total prize fund for the ladies is $125,600 with $30,000 going to the winner.

Most of the big names in women�s pool made it through-- Kelly Fisher, Allison Fisher, Ga Young Kim, Fu Xiaofang, Pan Xiaoting, Chen Siming--and this promises plenty of interesting showdowns right from the get go.

Besides Liu Shasha, however, one other female star will not be making an appearance. Austria�s Jasmin Ouschan has an absolutely miserable day on Friday, dropping two matches and uncharacteristically missing the cut.

The men�s field has been trimmed from 64 to 32 and several of the late comers were breathing huge sighs of relief. The Philippines Dennis Orcollo found himself down 6-1 to China�s Wang Ming in the race to 9 alternate break match. Orcollo then went to work and climbed back, finally tying the match at 8. Orcollo had to deftly work his way through a tense last rack to take the match and a spot in the round of 32.

�He played good in the beginning,� Orcollo said. �He�s a really good player. Every match is tough. There�s a lot of young guys coming up every day. I just have to keep going every day. I know how to survive.�

In another do or die match Taiwan�s Chen Ying Chieh came back against Japan�s Naoyuki Oi to win 9-7. The USA�s Oscar Dominguez bounced back from a bitter 9-8 defeat to China�s Han Haoxing earlier and cruised past the Netherlands Huidji See, 9-5. Dominguez is now the sole American bet in the last 32.

The matches in the men�s field now become race to 11, alternate break. The prize fund for the men is $176,500 with $40,000 going to the winner.

The field will be whittle down to four players in each event after tomorrows play, with the semi finals and finals being played on Sunday. Both the semi-finals and finals will be shown on Chinese state TV, CCTV, and are expected to draw an audience in the tens of millions.

APPLETON SHOWN THE DOOR IN SHANGHAI

Photo courtesy of �Narissa Wang/my147.com.

EKONOMOPOULOS POWERS HIS WAY THROUGH
Greece�s Nick Ekonomopoulos certainly has a name that is not easy to say, but surely not easy to forget either. And if the Athens native continues to play like he has this week in Shanghai, his five syllable moniker will be soon rolling off the tongues of even native Chinese speakers.

The 30 year old bludgeoned one of Taiwan�s pre-tournament favorites, Ko Pin Yi, 9-2, to advance into the single elimination knockout round of 32 here at the 2012 China Open, which begins tomorrow. The win over Ko was Ekonomopoulos� second straight drubbing of a player from Taiwan. On Thursday he easily beat last year�s runner up Hsu Kai Lin, 9-4.

�This is only my second tournament abroad outside Europe,� Ekonomopoulos said after beating Ko. �I�m just trying to relax. But I�m playing good. I�ve been playing good for a while now.�

Indeed he has. He won the Austrian Open on the Euro Tour back in June. A few weeks later he found his way to Qatar for the World 9-ball and won a tough qualifier. In the main event in Doha Ekonomopoulos showed serious bottle as he took eventual champion Darren Appleton to the limit in the round of 16. He combines some serious talent with a quiet and confident swagger on the table that when combined is clearly intimidating to opponents.

"He's got an aggressive game," said the Netherlands Nick Van Den Berg. "He's been hanging around for a long time and now he's starting to make his mark."

There'll be many hoops for the talented Greek to jump through before he can think about lifting the cup on Sunday. But he's already starting to make a big name for his big name and he's sure to make some noise before it's all over.

The first two sessions on Judgement Day at the China Open proved daunting for quite a few players as the fields in both the men�s and women�s events began to take shape for the knockout stages. Easily the biggest surprise in the first two sessions of Friday�s play was the ouster of World Number 1, and World 9-ball champion Darren Appleton. Appleton had lost a last rack decider the previous night to Hong Kong�s Kenny Kwok. Today on the losers� side of the bracket, the Englishman drew a very difficult opponent in 2009 China Open champion Chang Yu Lung of Chinese Taipei.

Chang burst out to an early lead and never looked back as he consistently found himself with open shots, while Appleton was continually on the defensive. Chang won going away 9-2 to advance while Appleton had to pack up his cues and hit the road.

Appleton�s countryman and defending champion Chris Melling finally had an easy day as he blew past Canada�s John Morra, 9-3 to advance.

�I played perfect,� Melling said afterward. �Whenever I win a tournament I always lose a match along the way, so I�ve already lost one and I�m hoping that�ll be the same this time.�

The Philippines Lee Van Corteza continued to impress. He easily defeated Japan�s Naoyuki Oi in a winner�s side match, 9-3, to qualify for the round of 32. Fellow Filipinos Dennis Orcullo and Carlo Biado were on the edge playing from the loser side in this double elimination event but both won--with Orcollo beating the Netherlands Nick van den Berg 9-7,-- and both will be back in the evening session to try and qualify.

Easily the most roughed up player of the week is China�s Dai Yong. On Thursday, Dai took Melling to the limit but lost right at the wire, 9-8. Today, Dai had Germany�s Ralf Souquet on the ropes only to see the German great claw his way back to tie things up at 8-8. Souquet broke and ran the last rack to advance while Dai could only rue what might have been.

In other matches China�s Dang Jinhu easily beat Canada�s Alex Pagulayan 9-5 in a winners side match. Taiwan veteran Yang Ching Shun advanced with a 9 � 5 win over Sweden�s Andreas Gerwen. Last year�s runner up Hsu Kai Lun of Taiwan rebounded and ousted the USA�s Mike Dechaine. The only American left, Oscar Dominguez lost his winner�s side match by a thread to China�s Han Haoxiang, 9-8.

In the women�s event, all the matches in the early session were on the losers� side of the bracket. The superstar of women�s pool will be back in the evening session on the winner�s side as they trim the field down from 48 to 16.

The World Pool and Billiard Association(WPA) is the governing body of the sport of pocket billiards.The 2012 China Open is being sponsored by Star Tables, Andy Cloth, Fury, Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong.

THE 2012 CHINA 9 BALL OPEN - MEN
SHANGHAI - CHINA
THE GROUPS
GROUP A 1. Darren Appleton （GBR） 2. David Van Den Berg （NED） 3. Jusman Jimmy （INA） 4. Kwok Chi Ho （HKG） 5. Waleed MajEed （IRQ） 6. Corey Deuel （USA） 7. Chang Yu-Lung （TPE) 8. Thorsten Hohmann（GER）	GROUP B 1. Chang Jung-Lin （TPE） 2. So Shaw （IRI） 3. Nguyen Anh Tuan （VIE） 4. Daryl Peach （GBR） 5. Sharlik Aslam Sayed （SIN） 6. Lu Hui-Chan （TPE） 7. Chao Yung-Hwa （TPE） 8. Liu Haitao （CHN）
GROUP C 1. Chris Melling （GBR） 2. Dai Yong （CHN） 3. Liu Wei （CHN） 4. Mark Gray （GBR） 5. Wang Can （CHN） 6. Hunter Lombardo （USA） 7. John Morra （CAN） 8. Ralf Souquet （GER）	GROUP D 1. Akagariyama Yukio （JPN） 2. Chu Bingjie （CHN） 3. Nick Malai （ALB) 4. Lee Wan Su （KOR） 5. Lo Li-Wen （TPE） 6. Oliver Ortmann （GER） 7. Francisco Diaz-Pizarro （ESP） 8. Fu Jianbo （CHN）
GROUP E 1. Ko Pin-Yi （TPE） 2. Mike Dechaine （USA） 3. Nick Ekonomopoulos （GRE） 4. Hsu Kai-Lun （TPE） 5. Dang Jinhu （CHN） 6. Alok Kumar （IND） 7. Alex Pagulayan （CAN） 8. Carlo Biado （PHI）	GROUP F 1. Li Hewen （CHN） 2. Wang Ming （CHN） 3. Vaic Zbynek （RSA） 4. Jason Klatt （CAN） 5. Yang Ching-Shun （TPE） 6. Nick Van Den Berg（NED） 7. Andreas Gerwen （SWE） 8. Dennis Orcollo （PHI）
GROUP G 1. Lee Van Corteza （PHI） 2. Marcus Chamat （SWE） 3. Albin Ouschan（AUT） 4. Oi Naoyuki （JPN） 5. Liu Zheng-Chieh （TPE） 6. Chen Ying-Chieh （TPE） 7. Do Hoang Quan （VIE） 8. Fu Che-Wei （TPE）	GROUP H 1. Huidji See （NED） 2. Zhou Long （CHN） 3. Aloysius Yapp （SIN） 4. Abdulatif Al Fawal （QAT） 5. Zhu Xihe （CHN） 6. Han Haoxiang （CHN） 7. Oscar Dominguez （USA） 8. Karl Boyes （GBR）

THE 2012 CHINA 9 BALL OPEN - WOMEN
SHANGHAI - CHINA
THE PLAYERS
1. Fu Xiaofang （CHN） 2. Rubelin Amit （PHI） 3. Wu Tzi-Ting (TPE） 4. Gao Meng （CHN） 5. Nicola Rossouw （RSA） 6. Wei Tzu-Chien （TPE） 7. Tsai Pei-Chen （TPE） 8. Liu Yuchen （CHN） 9. Jung Bo Ra （KOR） 10. Bai Ge （CHN） 11. Huyen Thi Hgoc （VIE） 12. Cha Yu Ram （KOR） 13. Liu Shasha （CHN） 14. Wang Xiaotong （CHN） 15. Li Jia （CHN） 16. Wu Jing （CHN） 17. Yukawa Keiko （JPN） 18. Chen Xue （CHN） 19. Kim Ga Young （KOR） 20. Tsuchiya Junko （JPN） 21. Chan Ya-Ting （TPE） 22. Duong Thuy Vi （VIE） 23. Bi Zhuqing （CHN） 24. Park Eun Ji （KOR）	25. Kelly Fisher （GBR） 26. Jing Jia （CHN） 27. Luo Qiuhong （CHN） 28. Cong Jing （CHN） 29. Han Fang （CHN） 30. Lin Yuan-Chun （TPE） 31. Chou Chieh-Yu （TPE） 32. Ren Qiuyue （CHN） 33. Akimi Kajitani （JPN） 34. Liu Shin-Mei （TPE） 35. Allison Fisher （GBR） 36. Lai Hui-Shan （TPE） 37. Jasmin Ouschan （AUT） 38. Chichiro Kawahara （JPN） 39. Zhou Doudou （CHN） 40. He Xin-Ru （TPE） 41. Zheng Xiaochun （CHN） 42. Han Yu （CHN） 43. Chen Siming （CHN） 44. Iris Ranola （PHI） 45. Jiang Teng （CHN） 46. Chai Zeet Huey （SIN） 47. Caroline Roos （SWE） 48. Pan Xiaoting （CHN）

THE 2012 CHINA 9 BALL OPEN - MEN
SHANGHAI - CHINA
THE LAST 32
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THE 2012 CHINA 9 BALL OPEN - MEN
SHANGHAI - CHINA
THE LAST 16
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THE 2012 CHINA 9 BALL OPEN - MEN
SHANGHAI - CHINA
THE QUARTER FINALS
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THE 2012 CHINA 9 BALL OPEN - MEN
SHANGHAI - CHINA
THE SEMI FINALS
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THE 2012 CHINA 9 BALL OPEN - MEN
SHANGHAI - CHINA
THE FINAL
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THE 2012 CHINA 9 BALL OPEN - WOMEN
SHANGHAI - CHINA
THE LAST 16
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THE 2012 CHINA 9 BALL OPEN - WOMEN
SHANGHAI - CHINA
THE QUARTER FINALS
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THE 2012 CHINA 9 BALL OPEN - WOMEN
SHANGHAI - CHINA
THE SEMI FINALS
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THE 2012 CHINA 9 BALL OPEN - WOMEN
SHANGHAI - CHINA
THE FINAL
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THE 2012 CHINA 9 BALL OPEN - MEN
SHANGHAI - CHINA
THE PRIZE FUND
1st	US $ 40,000-00
2nd	US $ 20,000-00
3rd - 4th	US $ 10,000-00
5th - 8th	US $ 5,500-00
9th - 16th	US $ 2,400-00
17th - 32nd	US $ 1,200-00
33rd - 64th	US $ 700-00
THE 2012 CHINA 9 BALL OPEN - WOMEN
SHANGHAI - CHINA
THE PRIZE FUND
1st	US $ 30,000-00
2nd	US $ 15,000-00
3rd - 4th	US $ 7,500-00
5th - 8th	US $ 4,000-00
9th - 16th	US $ 1,800-00
17th - 32nd	US $ 900-00
33rd - 48th	US $ 500-00

RELATED ARTICLES AT WWW.PRO9.CO.UK

2012
CHINA OPEN - DAY 2 - APPLETON SHOWN THE DOOR IN SHANGHAI
CHINA OPEN - DAY 1 - MELLING AVERTS FIRST ROUND FLOP
CHINA OPEN - 'I'M READY FOR THE BATTLE'

2011
CHINA OPEN - MELLING BY A MILE!
CHINA OPEN - MELLING AND HSU MOTOR THROUGH TO THE FINAL
CHINA OPEN - MANNA FROM HEAVEN
CHINA OPEN - $275,000 EVENT TO KICK OFF THIS WEEK IN SHANGHAI

2010
CHINA OPEN - THE FINAL DAY

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