NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Rolando (right) receiving his prize from Hii Teck Ann, co-owner of Executive 3 Snooker Centre. Looking on from left are Yeo, Joe Ting, SDBSA president Joe Ting, co-owner of Executive 3 Wesley Tan and event organizer Danny Wong.
SIBU: Rising star Rolando Lim finally lifted his first snooker title after overcoming training mate William Tan 4-1 (64-12, 94-10, 31-57, 61-41) in the 2013 Executive 3 Sarawak Closed Snooker Championship here on Sunday night.
Lim pocketed RM2000 while Tan received RM1,000 for finishing as runner-up. The two losing semi-finalists, former state champion Mark Yeo from Sibu and 2012 SBSSF champion James Giam from Kuching took home RM500 each.
The 29-year-old Tan representing Sarawak Amateur Snooker Association (SASA) was in his element as he convincingly defeated Tan and the latter’s sharpshooting skills.
“This is my first snooker title and I am going to savor it for a long time,” a relieved Lim told The Borneo Post in a post-match interview.
“I qualified for the final three times and the last time was the 2013 Kuching Closed but I could only play second fiddle on all occasions. This is the first time that I won the title and I am really very happy,’ he said. Lim, who only started active participation in competition five years ago, kept his nerves in check in the final showdown.
“I was also surprised at my easy victory over Tan as we have been playing regularly in Kuching without any clear favorite.”
Despite his defeat, the 33-year-old Tan showed true sportsmanship and conceded that Lim was the better player. Going into the grand finale, there was no doubt that the two young Kuching players would adopt an attacking style of play to thrill the large crowd.
Lim took an early lead in the first frame, rallying 30-4 to 40-5 before widening it to 41-6.
At 48-12, Lim hit a break of 16 points and easily secured the first frame at 64-12.
Tan held off the challenge in the second frame but Lim’s hard-hitting potting accuracy left few opportunities for Tan to exploit.
Tan nevertheless still managed to lead 22-13 at one stage but his failure to sink an easy red allowed Lim to win the frame at 57-31.
Lim dominated the third frame, showcasing his potting superiority and accuracy, notably the long balls, earning unending applause from the spectators.
He raced to a 27-1 lead, increased it to 44-1 before Tan narrowed the gap to 10-44. Then Tan was hit by a bad spell, including committing unforced errors or sending the cue ball into the pocket.
Lim capitalized and retaliated with a break of 50 points to wrap up the third frame at 94-10 in only 15 minutes of play.
Unfazed, Tan showed more urgency in the fourth frame and changed to a more defensive style which reaped dividend when he achieved a break of 28 points.
Leading at 37-34, it was point for point before he pulled ahead to 44-36 and won the game at 57-42.
In the fifth frame, Lim again went on the offensive to take a 15-0 lead.
Eager not to prolong the game, he went for several high risks ball that decisively became his trump card. He showed no mercy and raced to a break of 40 points to lead from 15-1 to 55-1 before wrapping up the match at 61-14. There was no taker for the RM300 for the highest break of 70 points, nor the Ding Junhui cue for the century break.
The closest was the 60-point break achieved by James Giam during his quarter-final match against SASA’s Law Sze Zee.
A total of 32 cueists from throughout the state competed in the five-day championship organized by Sibu Division Billiards & Snooker Association (SDBSA).
It was fully sponsored by Executive 3 Snooker Centre.