Unforced errors trip Yapp

He overcame a rocky start and even a power outage, but Aloysius Yapp was undone by two self-inflicted errors as he fell at the penultimate hurdle of the Predator World 10-Ball Championship in Las Vegas on Friday (yesterday morning Singapore time).

The Singaporean lost 10-8 to Eklent Kaci in the annual competition's semi-finals, having matched the Albanian for most of their match.

The pivotal moment came in the 17th rack. With the score level at 8-8, Yapp missed the one ball twice, having had a clear view of it both times, and rattled the jaws of the pocket each time.

Kaci, the world's top-ranked 9-ball player in 2018, then cleared the table and also held his nerve in the final rack to wrap up the match.

He went on to beat Japan's Naoyuki Oi 10-6 in the final and claim the US$35,000 (S$46,958) winner's purse.

Yapp, 25, said he was "a little disappointed" by his double miss in the 17th rack, but added he was not weighed down by it.

"It's just a miss," he said. "I did what I could. I wouldn't say I choked or didn't hit it well. I just missed. There's really nothing much to say."

Despite the defeat, his run to the semi-finals and finishing third is the best performance by any Singaporean at a world meet of either the 9-or 10-ball iteration of pool.

It also earned him US$12,000.

Another Singaporean, 31-year-old Sharik Sayed, also competed in Las Vegas. He was defeated by Kaci in an earlier round and finished 33rd out of 64 entrants.

Yapp, the 9-ball junior (Under-19) world champion in 2014, said he was spurred by his performance in the World Championship, in which his semi-final with Kaci was interrupted by a blackout as he trailed 3-1.

He was so driven by his dream that in 2011, as a Secondary 2 student at St Patrick's School, he told his mother he wanted to drop out to train full-time.

His mother, Angie Tay, said it was a "tough decision" but acceded, citing her son's determination and talent.

Yapp eventually completed his O levels with private institution Coleman College.

2 HE IS SINGAPORE'S FIRST PROFESSIONAL PLAYER

His bold decision to train full-time also made him Singapore's first professional pool player.

He earns money through tournament winnings - like the US$12,000 (S$16,100) he won in Las Vegas - and sponsorships with private companies.

He is also funded by Sport Singapore's Sports Excellence Scholarship (Spex Scholarship) programme which provides an enhanced level of support, including financial support, for selected high performance athletes.

3 HE STARTED PLAYING AT A TENDER AGE

Yapp first wielded a cue at just eight years old, after he saw pool on the television and asked his grandmother about the sport.

His passion was so great that his parents even bought him a miniature pool table for his 10th birthday. It allowed him to play without having to tiptoe awkwardly around the rails. It also meant he could practise at home, with opportunities to train at pool parlours limited owing to his young age.

4 HE HAS AN IMPRESSIVE CUE COLLECTION

He can use only one at a time but Yapp owns "about 15 to 20" cues. But he doesn't collect them for fun. "I look for technical elements," he explained. "I look for a certain hit and feedback that I like, and the balance of the cue must be a bit forward-weighted."

When he goes for competition, he will bring five - two playing cues, two break cues and one jump cue - along with him.

"It was the first time I experienced something like that," he said, with a chuckle.

Organisers scrambled to rectify the issue and announced a 90-minute break, so Yapp made a beeline for his room.

"I went to take a nap," he told The Sunday Times. "I wanted to reset."

It worked. When play resumed, he was more assured at the table. He levelled at 3-3, then stayed close to Kaci until the match-deciding misses.

Yapp believes his good performance overall - he had upset world No. 3 Jayson Shaw of Scotland in the quarter-finals - puts him in good stead as he prepares to fly across the United States to compete in the US Open 9-ball Championship next week in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

"I can feel my confidence growing," he said. "I feel good, so I can't wait for the next tournament."

His aim at the US$300,000 US Open is to better his previous best - a top-16 finish in 2019 - but he added that his overall goal in the US is to become a better player through the exposure of playing in several competitions.

After the US Open, he will compete at Predator Pro Series events in Michigan and Ohio, with a smaller competition in South Carolina, before wrapping up his trip with the Oct 22-30 International Open in Norfolk, Virginia.

At each of those events, he will be one of three Singaporeans in action, the other two being Sharik and Toh Lian Han, 49.

"I'm taking it easy and focusing on one match at a time," said Yapp, who has won one gold, one silver and three bronze medals in the singles and doubles 9-ball events in the last three editions of the SEA Games. "I'll try to enjoy every match I'm going to play."