CHAO
ROLLS TO WORLD TITLE
Mike Panozzo
Friday, July 9, 4:23
PM CST
With torturous efficiency, Taiwanese cue master Fong-Pang Chao crushed Mexican hopeful Ismael Paez, 17-6, Sunday night in Cardiff, Wales, to win his second world title at the Victor Chandler World Pool Championship. Chao, 33, previously won the title in 1993, and was a losing semifinalist in 1999.
Chao, who lost one match (7-3 to Canadian Alex Pagulayan in the group stage) in the entire event, pounced on numerous Paez mistakes to roll to a 12-0 lead. Finally, the 50-year-old Paez, who had stunned American Earl Strickland 11-9 in the semifinals after trailing 9-3, score a game win, earning thunderous applause from the jam-packed crowd at Cardiff International Arena -- a crowd the likeable native of Mazatlan, Mexico, had won over with his engaging smile and heart-on-his-sleeve approach.
Appearing numbed by the lopsidedness of the match, Paez offered little resistance until the match was well out of hand, with Chao never letting up on the throttle. Paez managed to rattle off three wins in a row at 16-3, before Chao finally closed out the tournament.
"I could see very early that Paez was not playing his best game" said Chao, who squeeked past German Ralf Eckert, 9-8, then outdueled Poland's Radoslaw Babica, Germany's Oliver Ortmann, Australian surprise Johl Younger and American Corey Deuel enroute to the title. "I concentrated very hard to keep focused. I was happy, because I struggled in the semifinal match. I couldn't relax. In the final, I was very confident."
In addition to winning the $60,000 top prize in the Matchroom Sports-produced event, Chao will reportedly earn a bonus from the Chinese Taipei government of more than $90,000. Chao said he would use the windfall to invest in his trio of billiard clubs, "Superstar," in Kao Chung, and perhaps add a fourth."This is very important in Taiwan," Chao said. A visiting Taiwanese official indicated that plans were already underway from the government for a reception in Chao's honor. The event was aired live throughout Taiwan. For Paez, the one-sided final didn't detract from a great run in the world tournament.
"I loved every minute of this," said Paez, who picked up $30,000 as runnerup. "I gave it my all. The crowd was wonderful, and I think they enjoyed the way I play. I gave up so much energy in the semifinal against Strickland, and I was tired in the final. I have to learn how to control my energy. "But Chao played very strong. He is in the same level as Reyes and Bustamante and Archer and Souquet."
Chao becomes only the second male player to win the WPA title in its 10-year history. Earl Strickland won titles in the first two years of the tournament -- 1990 and 1991.
Championship Match - July 9
Fong-Pang Chao (TAI) def. Ismael Paez (MEX) - 17-6
About this Tournament
The 2000 Victor Chandler World Pool Championship is held in Cardiff,
Wales - where 96 players compete for $250,000 in prize money. This
event is once again produced and promoted by Matchroom Sports,
and is being sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association
as the group's official men's world championship. The winner
will receive $60,000.
The opening stage features 16 groups of
six players in round-robin, race-to-seven competition. The top four
players from each group will advance to the 64-player,
single-elimination portion of the event. Players will be seeding into
the final 64, based on total games won and lost during the round-robin
action.
Sky Sports cable will telecast more than
60 hours of live coverage throughout the United Kingdom between Saturday
and the championship match Sunday, July 9.
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