Yeo (right) receiving his prize from Cueball International proprietor Fish Lau.
SIBU: Pre-competition favourite Mark Yeo beat Pau Chiong Kiong 3-1 (54-13, 22-61, 66-23, 46-23) to lift the inaugural Sibu Snooker Challenge Cup at Cueball International Centre last weekend.
The victory added to the reputation of the consistent Yeo who rarely failed to qualify for the semi-finals of local tournaments.
Nevertheless, he admitted that the battle against Pau was tough.
“I must admit that this was one of my toughest matches and I survived because I managed to keep my cool and composure,” he said.
Yeo took the first game with ease but Pau hit back in the second frame to level the score.
Dark horse Pau opted to play some safety shots in the third game.
The move backfired as Yeo, with his trademark long shots, displayed brilliant moments in potting the balls to lead 23-6, 30-10 before wrapping it up at 66-23.
In the fourth frame, it was point for point with Yeo trailing.
However, leading at 23-20 Pau began to show erratic play and also failed to pot some of the best chances.
Yeo took advantage to take the two remaining red balls and cleared the table to win the frame.
He took home RM800 as champion while Pau collected RM400.
Losing semi-finalists Danny Wong and Lak Chiik Tiing pocketed RM200 each.