Pool meet a cue for greater Asian push

Asia's top pool players will gather in Singapore for the inaugural Asian 9-Ball Open at the Aspire Recreation Centre at HarbourFront Centre from Aug 24 to 28.

They include Singapore's finest such as world No. 7 Aloysius Yapp and his coach, Toh Lian Han, as well as Japan's Naoyuki Oi (No. 4) and former world champions such as Filipino Carlo Biado and Taiwanese Ko Pin-yi.

They will compete for the top prize of $10,000, and the women's event from Aug 26 to 28 will see the champion winning $5,000. The tournament will also be part of Matchroom Pool's Nineball World Rankings schedule.

Yapp, 26, who is returning from the World Games in the United States with a historic bronze medal, said: "It feels good to finally have an Asian-level competition in Singapore again. The last time we had one was more than 10 years ago when I was still a kid, so this will be a great opportunity for us to play in front of home support."

The tournament is organised by the Asian Pool Federation, which is managed by an interim board headed by Singaporean Christopher Chuah and four other founding members from the Republic, Japan and Brunei.

Chuah said its main objectives include the promotion of pool in Asia and the Asian 9-Ball Open will address the "lack of professional pool tournaments in the region".

He added: "Undoubtedly, the staging of this prestigious event will place Singapore firmly on the Asian map for pool and billiards, and augurs well for the future of the sport here and Asia with many more such tournaments planned in the region."

Cuesports Singapore president Justin Lee welcomed the hosting of the event and felt it would aid the development of local players.

He said: "Having top players from around the world compete in a major tournament here will help to promote the sport and inspire younger players, as they will be able to see top players play live.

"With the further recognition that the event is a world ranking event, this is a unique opportunity for Singapore cue sports athletes to step up to the challenge and compete at a level which many have not had the chance to engage in."

Lee revealed that his association is in talks to bring in the billiards world championships at the end of the year and an Asian-level snooker open in the first quarter of next year.

He added: "The organising of these international events will be far more challenging without our friends in the industry and also our sponsors.

"Our challenge for many years has always been budgetary constraints. Now, on top of our strong relationship with Sport Singapore, our partnerships with corporate partners will grow our ability to increase the number of tournaments and courses annually."