LIU MAKES IT TWO!

2014 WPA Women’s World 9-Ball Championship
Guilin Stadium & Dream City
The Olympic City of Guilin
Guilin
China
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12-18 October 2014

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All photography courtesy of ©Tai Chengzhe and used with permission
Liu Shasha wins her second WPA Women's World 9-ball Championship with a thrilling 9-8 win over Chen Siming.

Not only did the diminutive and feisty 21 year old win her second WPA Women’s World 9-ball Championship tonight, but it was the second time in the last 15 months that she defeated rival and fellow national team member Chen Siming by one rack in a major tournament final in China.

In what amounted to a repeat of the China Open final in Shanghai in June of 2013, albeit with much more riding on the line, Liu and Chen battled toe to toe in a classic for the biggest prize in women’s pool. For 90 minutes practically nothing stood between these two greats of the women’s game, until the last 20 minutes of the match when Liu, displaying the heart of a hungry lion, won the last three racks and eked out the win and the world championship, 9-8.

Liu’s amazing victory tonight made her only the fourth woman in the 23 year history of the Women’s World 9-ball Championship to win the event twice. She first captured pool glory in 2009 at the age of just 16 years old, stunning legend Karen Corr in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang.

Liu’s win this time certainly had to be much more satisfying, however, as five years ago she was a freewheeling teenager who could play without a care in the world. Now, as a Chinese national team member playing under the pressure of high expectation, and the intense glare of the massive Chinese media spotlight, the 21 year old Liu can finally say she has conquered the world and officially arrived at the mountain top of women’s pool.

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For the massively talented Chen, the loss proved a bitter disappointment as she had Liu on the ropes right up until the end. The 20 year old Chen has now lost twice in the World Championship final, the first time in 2011 when, as a 17 year old, she went down in flames against fellow Chinese Bi Zhu Qing. Chen was more than up to the task this time, however, and the fact that she couldn’t close out the match had nothing to do with any poor play. The balls at the end simply didn’t give her anything to look at, and Liu executed some memorable shots right when it counted.

The fact that the final was played at such a high level was not surprising considering how well both players had been playing in the lead up. The day began with the two semi-finals which were played consecutively at a specially built TV arena inside Guilin’s Dream City development.

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In the first race to 9 semi-final, Liu squared off with two time world champion Ga Young Kim of Korea. The match was even early before Liu turned up the heat and led 7-4. But just when Liu was ready to move to the hill, she missed a straight in 9-ball. Within minutes Kim had stormed back to tie and was about to move to the hill herself when she missed her own 9-ball. Liu took that rack then broke and ran for the hard nose 9-7 win.

In the second semi-final Chen faced Taiwanese veteran Tan Ho Yun. Chen looked like she was going to run away early as she went up 4-0, then 5-1. Tan clawed back to tie the match at 5-5. Chen, however, then put on a brilliant display of potting and cue ball control, and won going away, 9-5.

The final, which began an hour later at 5:30pm, swayed back and forth from the very first rack, with both players punishing mistakes by the other, and displaying world class cueing and safety prowess. The pair were tied at scores of 1, 2, 3, and 4.

At 4-4 Chen left a safety try open and the steady, reliable and tenacious shot making by Liu put her up by 1 at 5-4. Chen countered in the next rack, starting things off with a clutch bank on the 2- ball and a solid clear to tie the match at 5-5. Chen made Liu pay for an errant safe in the next frame, then broke and ran the subsequent rack to now move up by two at 7-5.

With the pressure slowly building Liu broke and ran to move back within 1. But then Chen countered with one of her own to go up 8-6, and it seemed nothing could stop Chen from finally winning her first world title.

The next three racks will be ones both players will no doubt never forget, but for completely different reasons. With the match on the line, Liu kept the 15th frame going by potting the 2-ball via an incredibly difficult kick off the rail. She bore down and cleared the remaining colors to make the score 8-7.

Chen missed a difficult cut in the next frame and Liu stood up and, with a steely demeanor, ran the rack. The World Championship had come down to a one game, sudden death decider with Liu breaking.

Liu made three balls on the break and had a shot on the 1-ball. But she wasn’t out of the woods yet. She made a nervy 4-6 combo but was faced with a difficult cut on the 4-ball and, at the same time, an almost impossible position to the 7-ball up table. With the pressure nearly unbearable, Liu then executed perhaps the greatest shot of her career; she hit a blind cut on the 4-ball into the corner, and sent the cue ball three rails into perfect position on the 7-ball. A few moments later Liu Shasha was the new world champion.

Afterward, Liu was rightfully over the moon with not just the result, but how she did it. Throw in a bit of luck and she knew it was her night to shine.

“I was really nervous before the match,” the friendly Liu said. “But after a few racks, I knew I was playing better than I played all week. When I was down 8-6, I told myself just try your best to do the job. At that point I was nervous but I knew I had to stay focused and try to win the match. I was so nervous on that shot(the 4-ball in the last rack.) But there was no other way to play the shot.

“I really feel that Siming is a more skillful player than me but when we play each other, I always seem to play good. And I think that sometimes I’m just lucky and maybe she’s not lucky.”

Chen put on a brave face at the awarding ceremony, but in the privacy of the VIP room with just her mother to console her, she wiped away the tears of another bitter finals loss.

“I’m very disappointed,” Chen said. “I thought I played very well. And Shasha also played well. In 2011 I played in the final and I didn’t play well but here I played good and it was a good match. My emotions are mixed right now. On the one hand I’m very disappointed but the only thing I can do is use this as a learning experience to try and improve.”

Everyone who watched her play this week knows that the supremely talented Chen will surely win her share of world titles in the coming years. As she doubles down on her efforts, she might want to take Liu Shasha’s words to heart.

“Winning this year is a better feeling and it’s more important than when I won in 2009,” Liu said. “Last year I was under so much pressure that I thought about quitting pool and I didn’t know if I could improve. So it’s really special that this year I won the World 9-ball Championship. I feel like I’m dreaming right now. I can’t believe I won.

“The lesson for me is that you should never give up. Never. Just do your best and good things will happen.”

For winning the 2014 WPA Women’s World 9-ball Championship, Liu took home $40,000. Chen pocketed $20,000.

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The 2014 Women’s World 9-ball was held in Guilin, China from October 13-18, and was sanctioned by the World Pool & Billiard Association(WPA), the world governing body of pool. 64 women players from across the globe competed for the biggest prize in Women’s Pool.

THE FINAL FOUR REACH FOR POOL IMMORTALITY

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Climactic final day looms as Korea's Ga Young Kim takes on China's Liu Shasha, while China's Chen Siming battles Taiwan's Tan Yo Hun at the Women's World 9-ball Championship.

The 2014 Women’s World 9-ball Championship has come down to the final four, and with the biggest prize in women’s pool to be decided on what promises to be a dramatic Saturday in southern China, fans around the world are clearly in for a treat of the highest level.

In the first race to 9 semi-final, which begins at 12pm(GMT +8 ), Korea’s Ga Young Kim will take on China’s Lui Shasha. The match will be a battle of former champions; Kim won the Women’s World 9-ball Championship in 2004 and 2006, while Lui won the title the first year the tournament was played in China in 2009 at the incredible age of just 16 years old.

The second semi-final, which will take place at 2pm, will feature China’s Chen Siming against Taiwanese veteran Tan Ho Yun.

The race to 11 final will begin at 6pm Guilin time.

It was a grueling day of championship pool as the field was whittled down from 32 players to four players over three tough sessions. Actually for Kim and Liu, their round of 32 match was played the night before so they only had to play two matches today. But their road to the semis was no less easy, especially for Kim.

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The Korea superstar, who speaks fluent Mandarin and is quite famous throughout China, must feel more than a little charmed at this point, as she has been living on the edge of disaster over the last few days only to miraculously survive and find herself on the cusp of her third 9-ball crown. In her round of 32 match the night before against China’s Wang Xiao Tong, Kim was all but out of the tournament as Wang got down on a straight in 9-ball to win the match. Incredibly the Chinese missed and Kim stole the rack, then won the next rack to advance to the round of 16.

Kim came out today and played solid in a 9-5 win over Japan’s Akimi Kajatani. But she was then faced with the prospect of moving over to the TV table to play defending champion Han Yu of China. The clinical Han had looked untouchable up to this point and had just destroyed one of China’s biggest stars, Fu Xiao Fang, 9-3, to move into the quarters.

Liu ShashaAgainst the merciless Han, Kim jumped out to a 2-0 lead but then saw Han move up by 2. Han continued to hold off Kim the rest of the way until Kim finally caught up to tie at 8-8 and force a sudden death decider. In a pressure packed last rack, the pair handed over the table several times but it was Kim who grabbed the last 9-ball and a hard won spot in the semi-finals.

Kim will now have to face another Chinese superstar in Lui Shasha. The 21 year old has, as usual, looked unflappable all week and she played that way today. She first outlasted 14 year old fellow Chinese Jiang Teng, 9-5. Liu then did the same to the surprising Angeline Magdalena Ticaolu of Indonesia. The 29 year old Ticaolu showed a huge heart this week and her spot in the quarters is the best that any Indonesian player has ever achieved in a world championship. But Liu was in no mood to be kind and took over the match halfway and won 9-5.

Afterward a smiling Liu informed the surprised media throng that she hasn’t been feeling 100% throughout the week in Guilin.

“I feel so relieved right now,” Liu said. “From day one until right now I haven’t felt that good on the table. I don’t think I’m playing very well. It’s just a huge relief right now and I feel very very happy.”

Although Liu has won this event once before back in 2009, she said there is a world of difference between then and now.

“Five years ago before I won the title I’m nobody so back then I was just playing for fun and there was no pressure,” she said. “But right now I have a lot of pressure from the national team, from my family, from all the fans and even from myself. My coach told me to try and change all the pressure, to use it to my advantage, just try and stay positive and not worry so much. I just have to control my emotion, stay focused and get excited about the pressure.”

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Liu, at least, can always remind herself in times of trouble that she has won the big one before, which is something at her fellow national team member Chen Siming can’t do. Not yet anyway.

Of all the world class talent that China has produced, close observers of the game here over the last five years are near unanimous in declaring Chen as perhaps the greatest natural talent of them all. Her fluid stroke and dead eyed potting skills are a thing of beauty to behold. But the 21 year old Chen has yet to fulfill the promise that so many have invested in her by winning the big one. On top of this, she has watched as her fellow teammates like Liu, Fu and Han have grabbed the world crown, while she has had to endure a series of bitter disappointments. In 2011 Chen reached the finals only to lose to eventual champion and teammate Bi Ju Qing.

Over the last three days, however, Chen has looked as solid as ever and fans have been quietly whispering that perhaps this year might be her time to shine. She certainly looked the goods today with three terrific performances. Chen first routed Germany’s Jasmin Michel 9-3. Next she handily beat a very solid Chou Chieh Yu of Taiwan. In the quarters she also squeezed the air out of another tough Taiwanese, Wei Tzu Chien, 9-5.

Tan Ho YunWith a semis spot in the bag, Chen was more than ready for the inevitable “Can she finally do it?” questions from the media scrum. Her answers indicated a self-belief that perhaps wasn’t there a few years back.

“Of course tomorrow the pressure and tension will be totally different from the rest of the week,” Chen said. “But I will adjust myself and I’ll be ready. I don’t really care who my opponent is, I just have to play my own game.

“Every time before when I lost a big tournament I just use it as a learning experience to come back better the next time. So I was never really disappointed. I just keep practicing hard. So we will have to see what the answer to that is tomorrow.

“The biggest difference with me from before is my attitude. Before I always think and worry about the competitor, and how she plays and I’m not even thinking about myself. Now I don’t think about who my opponent is. I just focus on the table and focus on myself and my game. “

That certainly appears to be good advice because Chen’s opponent, Tawain’s Tan Ho Yun, has the luxury of being able to play under the radar. And Tan has got serious game as she reached the quarter finals here the last two years, and has now beaten her best by grabbing a semis spot this year.

The 31 year old from Khaosiung in southern Taiwan put in a workman-like performance today first taking down Japan’s Masami Nouchi, 9-3, then three time former champ Alison Fisher, 9-5, before coming back to beat China’s Zhou Doudou by the same score.

Afterward, the veteran Tan, who has been playing professionally for 16 years, revealed a little known fact that would indicate why she has not only played so well this week, but why she is brimming with confidence and feels she can finally go all the way. She spent the last month being mentored by none other than 2000 World 9-ball Champion, Fong Pang Chao, aka “the cold faced killer.”

‘I ask him why I lose every time,” Tan said. “He told me just find the best line, the best path to take the ball. A lot of times, I picked the second best path, or the third best. But he showed me how to find the best path, how to think. He said if you find your best path, you can just relax and you can win. He is a world champion. His mind is amazing. It’s very clear when he plays and he taught me how to keep a clear mind.

“I wish I can win tomorrow. I just have to do it, for my coach Fong Pang Chao.”

Fans around the world can watch both semi-finals and the final live online via CCTV(China State Television) at this link: http://news.top147.com/2014/10/00019105.shtml

The 2014 Women’s World 9-ball will be held in Guilin, China from October 13-18, and is sanctioned by the World Pool & Billiard Association(WPA), the world governing body of pool. 64 women players from across the globe will compete for the biggest prize in Women’s Pool.

The WPA will be on hand in Guilin throughout the week bringing you all the drama from the 2014 Women’s World 9-ball Championship. WPA Press Officer Ted Lerner will be reporting with daily articles containing insight and analysis, as well as photos. Ted will also be manning the WPA Facebook page and Twitter feed and responding to fans queries and comments. Fans can also follow all matches via the WPA live scoring platform.

::: WOMEN'S 9 BALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - THE STATISTICS :::