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CSI INVITATIONAL 10-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
3700 W. Flamingo Road
Las Vegas
Nevada 89103
USA
www.playcsipool.com - ppv live stream - results
www.playbca.com
www.playusapool.com

18-20 July 2014

Pin-Yi Ko wins CSI Invitational 10-Ball Championship

Pin-Yi Ko defeated his younger brother Ping-Ching Ko 11-9 in an all Taiwanese final to win the CSI Invitational 10-Ball Championship on Sunday night at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The first order of business for Sunday was to determine the final two players who would join Pin-Yi Ko and Dennis Orcollo in the single elimination bracket. Both groups C & D held three players who could figure into the decision as to who would win the group.

Group C could have gone to a three way tie if Efren Reyes defeated Ralf Souquet. Souquet did away with that thought quickly when he took a quick 5-0 lead over the Magician. Reyes at least made the match competitive, but Souquet won the match 9-4 to leave the Ping-Chung Ko/John Morra match to determine the group winner. That match was a tight one. Morra held an early 4-1 lead, but the younger of the Ko brothers fought back and took the lead at 7-6. Morra was running out to tie the score at 7-7 when he missed a 10-ball and that was the beginning of the end for the young Canadian star. Ko won the match 9-7 and joined his brother in the single elimination bracket.

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CSI INVITATIONAL 10-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP - DAY 3

Group D was similar to group C in that a win by Corey Deuel over Yu-Hsuan Cheng could lead to a three way tie. In addition to the Deuel win, Francisco Bustamante would have to hand Jayson Shaw his only loss in the end for that tie to materialize. When Bustamante held an early 4-1 lead, organizers were preparing for the tie-breakers needed to determine a winner. It seemed early on that Shaw was worried more about the Deuel/Cheng match than his own match. He finally remembered that he could do away with any tie-breaker talk by beating Bustamante and got back into the match. Shaw tied things up at 7-7 and then won the final two racks for the 9-7 win to give him the group win. Deuel did end up beating Cheng 9-4 in the final match, but by then they were only playing for the third round bonus prize.

The first semi final match - pitting Dennis Orcollo vs Pin-Yi Ko - was all about momentum. Although the match was alternating break, the pool gods seemed to favor the player who had won the previous game for the majority of the match. Ko looked like he would run away with things early as he cruised to a 6-1 lead, but Orcollo had been in this position before and he bided his time waiting for his chance. Orcollo pounced on an opportunity in rack seven and won four quick games to get back to within two at 4-6 down. Just when it looked like Orcollo was in control, he scratched on the break in rack eleven and Ko won the next two games to reach the hill at 8-4. That proved to be too high a hill to climb for Orcollo as Ko won the match 9-5.

By contrast, the second semi final match - between Ping-Chung Ko and Jayson Shaw - started out trading momentum more often than a tennis tie breaker. The first eight racks saw one break and run, and neither player able to do much on their break. That all changed in rack 9 when the players started trading break and runs. With the player breaking having the momentum now, the match came down to rack fifteen when Shaw broke dry. Ko ran that rack out for the hill at 8-7. Ko had no shot on the one after his break in rack fifteen, but a lock up safety led to ball in hand and a 9-7 win for the younger Ko brother.

The race to 11 finals came down to two players whose games are nearly identical. The two brother's pattern play is the same, their style at the table is the same, and they bring the same abilities to the table that their opponent does. While Ping-Chung has a better record than his older brother in head to head play, it was Pin-Yi that was able to forge the matches first multi rack leads at 3-1 and 8-6. Late in the match, both player's concentration appeared to fade and neither player was showing the same level of play that they had displayed earlier in the week. Pin-Yi reached the hill first, at 10-8 and then broke and ran the 20th rack for the 11-9 win.

Pin-Yi earned $8000 for first place, while Ping-Chung settled for $5000 in prize money. Next up in Vegas is the OB Challenge, pitting Mike Dechaine and Corey Deuel against Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante in a race to 21 scotch doubles 8-Ball match on Monday night.

CSI INVITATIONAL 10-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP - DAY 2

Orcollo and Ko take command at CSI Invitational - Day 2

Saturday play in the CSI Invitational 10-Ball Championship began in Group B where Dennis Orcollo did away with any suspense by defeating Mike Dechaine 9-3 to capture the group. Although Jung-Ling Chang got back into the winner's column with a 9-6 victory over Darren Appleton, there was no way Orcollo could fail to capture the group after wins over Dechaine and Chang.

Group C saw The Magician return to the table with more up his sleeve than he showed the fans on Friday. Reyes trailed Canadian John Morra 0-2 early, but took the lead at 4-3 and never looked back on his way to a 9-6 victory. The other Group C match was similar with Po Cheng Ko trailing Ralf Souquet 0-3, but winning nine of the next twelve games for the 9-6 win. Ko leads the group with two wins, but Morra and Reyes are close behind at 1-1.

The third round of play was more of the Jayson Shaw Show. Jayson brings a quick-fire style to the table that can be very intimidating for someone sitting in the chair and watching him run out racks at will. Shaw took a quick 6-1 lead over Yu-Hsuan Cheng and looked unstoppable. Shaw's style can sometimes backfire on him though, as he starts to take shots for granted. He appeared to lose focus a little and Cheng took advantage to claw back to within two racks at 5-7, but Shaw regained control and won the match 9-5. On the other table, Corey Deuel got his first win with a hard fought 9-7 victory over Francisco Bustamante. Corey never trailed in the match, but was also not ever to really take control until the end. Shaw has two wins in the group, with Deuel and Bustamante tied at 1-1.

The fourth round of play would determine the final winner of Group A. The round started with three possible outcomes. A Warren Kiamco win over Thorsten Hohmann would open up the chance of a three way tie in the group, but Hohmann took a quick lead and never looked back in that match. As Hohmann's lead grew, Shane Van Boening and Pin-Yi Ko knew that their match would decide the group winner. Shane held an early 4-2 lead, but Ko rode his strong break and pinpoint position to a 9-7 win and the group victory. Ko will play Dennis Orcollo at 3pm on Sunday.

With Orcollo already having won his group, the matches in the final round of the night didn't affect anything but bragging rights. Darren Appleton would claim those bragging rights with a 9-6 win over Orcollo and Jung Ling Chang would come back for a tough win against Mike Dechaine.

This event will conclude on Sunday when Groups C & D determine winners and the final 4 players face off in a single elimination bracket.

CSI INVITATIONAL 10-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP - DAY 1

Van Boening leads CSI Invitational 10-Ball Championship

The CSI Invitational 10-Ball Championship kicked off on Friday with sixteen of the top players in the world competing in a round robin race to 9 event. Players were split into four groups of four players with the top player from each group advancing to a single elimination bracket.

Group A play saw Shane Van Boening defeat Thorsten Hohmann 9-7 and Warren Kiamco 9-5. Van Boening trailed Hohmann 3-0 early, but took control of the match late when Hohmann fouled while addressing the cue ball and gave up ball in hand. Other Group A action saw Kiamco defeat Pin-Yi Ko 9-5 and Ko defeat Hohmann 9-7. If Van Boening can defeat Ko on Saturday, he will win the group. A Ko victory would lead to either Ko winning the group or a three way tie depending on how the Kiamco/Hohmann match turns out.

Group B saw wins by Dennis Orcollo and Mike Dechaine. Orcollo defeated a struggling Jung Ling Chang 9-7. Orcollo held a three rack lead for the majority of the match and never appeared to be challenged by the Taiwanese star. The Dechaine/Appleton match was a close one with the score tied five times and four lead changes. Dechaine was the first player to hold a two rack lead at 8-6 and he clinched the match 9-7 when Appleton missed a ball during a run in the sixteen rack.

Group C played to a packed house with Efren Reyes playing Ping-Chung Ko on the TV table. While Reyes proved that he can still move the cue ball better than most players alive today, his ball pocketing left something to be desired and he couldn't stay with Ko as he dropped a 9-6 match. The second match of the round saw Ralf Souquet come back from an 8-5 deficit to tie his match with John Morra 8-8. Souquet broke dry and Morra locked him up with a safety and there was nothing Souquet could do but sit and watch Morra run out for the 9-8 victory.

Group D saw dominating performances from both Jayson Shaw and Francisco Bustamante. Shaw ran over American Corey Deuel 9-4 and Bustamante came back from a 0-3 deficit to win nine of the next eleven games for the 9-5 victory.

Play continues in all four groups on Saturday, and final winners of groups A and B will be known by the end of the days play.

Watch the rest of the CSI Invitationals and challenge matches live at www.playcsipool.com. CSI is the parent company of the BCA Pool League and the USA Pool League. CSI also produces independent events such as the US Bar Table Championships, Jay Swanson Memorial, US Open One Pocket Championship, US Open 8-Ball Championship, US Open 10-Ball Championship, CSI Invitationals, and CSI Challenge Matches. Visit www.playcsipool.com, www.playbca.com, and www.playusapool.com for more information and visit the CueSports International YouTube channel for lots of great content.

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