WINNER CIRCLE: Lee (centre) receives his trophy from one of the tournament organisers Francis L at the prize presentation ceremony while Voong looks on.
KUCHING: Lee Suk Fan was the undisputed champion of the 2012 Chinese New Year Open Snooker tournament held on Tuesday after a marathon match against youngster Law Sze Ee.
Originally set to the best of 9 frames race, the final was cut short to the best of 7 frames after a mutual understanding between the two finalists. This was due to time constraining.
In the final, Law and Lee were equally-matched opponents as both cueists went neck to neck until they reached a tie of 3 frames against 3 after 6 frames. Lee however prevailed as Law committed a few errors in failing to slot a few balls in the deciding frame thus giving Lee the victory of 4 frames against 3.
“He was a very good opponent. Though I’m glad that I won today, I hope that I don’t get to play against him often in the future as he is hard to beat,” commented Lee on his opponent after his win. The champion received RM800 cash for his fine effort.
Loh Ing Hie, another contestant in the tournament garnered 84 points thus earning him the highest breaker award which is of minimum 70 points set by tournament organisers. Tournament semi-finalists Mohd. Firdaus and William Tan were also rewarded RM200 cash prize plus trophies too.
The tournament was organised by Sarawak Sports Snooker and Billiards Association (SASA) saw many upsets with the likes of tournament favourites James Ngiam, Ricardo Sim, Desmond Kadang, and Rolando Lim eliminated before the semi-finals stage.
Desmond, like semi-finalist Firdaus is one of the bright prospects of the game from the Bumiputra community. Both players said that were also doing their best to promote the sport among their respective communities too.
“I have the drive and ambitions to win the tournament but unfortunately I did not do well this time around. I was not focused and I was punished for my lack of concentration by a young player like Alvinton Kuan,” informed Desmond who only made it to the last 16 round of the tournament.
SASA vice-president Voong Mui Hiang who officiated the prize-giving ceremony, stated he is happy that young cueists like Alvinton and Law are emerging in the snooker scene. He is also glad that the sport has a strong following in Kuching.