|
For
the 38th time, the All Japan Championship in 9-Ball was played in Amagasaki.
The 128 players field was, as always, of top quality and in the
qualification, a number of top players from Taiwan and other countries did
not succeed to qualify for the main event. The tournament was played in
races to 9 in a double KO bracket until the round of the last 32 players. In
the final round, the matches were played in single KO format in races to 11.
In addition, there was a shot clock set to 45 seconds, each player having
the right to three extensions of 45 extra seconds.
In
round one, I played Akira Ohe from Japan. After a good start, I was leading
4-0. But a scratch in the 5th rack brought the Japanese player to
the table and he equalled the score at 4-4. But a mistake made by my
opponent brought me back into the match and I won 9-4. In round two, I
played the former no. 3 of Japan, Kennichi Uchigaki. At 0-1, the Japanese
player had missed his ball, but the cue ball was placed at the inner edge of
the middle pocket. But I still could see the 7 ball and made the long,
difficult shot and gained a lead of 6-1. In rack 8, I played a safety and
then had ball in hand. Until 8-1 I played without committing any mistake and
only a bad contact in the decisive rack hindered me from playing the perfect
match. The man from Japan won the rack, but in the next rack, he only could
offer a safety. I missed the jump shot which I played with the entire cue by
little, but I was lucky that the balls were badly positioned for my opponent.
Uchigaki missed the rail shot and I won 9-2.
In my third match, I played against Akiyoshi
Shimokawa (JPN), who had upset Jeong (KOR). The player from Japan who is
registered as an amateur, played very strong and without any respect. He
controlled the match from the beginning and I was trailing all the time
(0-1, 1-1, 1-4, 2-5, 3-6). In rack 10, he made his first mistake (not
counting the two black breaks). I came back and ran out several tables to
lead 7-6. But then the Japanese player turned the match around to lead 8-7,
before committing another mistake with allowed me to win 9-8 and I had
entered the final round.
|
|
Siegerehrung
|
Before the KO bracket
started, we had to undergo the Japanese draw tradition. First, it was
determined by draw who was to draw first. Then, according to their
numbers, the winners of the qualifying stage draw their table number,
so that all 16 winners were designated to a table. Then the 16 losers
proceeded in the same way. My draw wasn’t the best, since table no.
9 was located directly at the entry, where all players had to pass
through. In addition, I draw Francisco Bustamante (PHI), my horror
opponent – „best“ conditions…. In the first rack, I left an
open table and dropped the cue ball. At 0-2, my opponent from the
Philippines made an untypical error and left me with an open table. I
made use of this opportunity and took a 6-2 lead. But then I lost my
composure and gave away three consecutive racks which could had
allowed me to win the match. But Bustamante came back to 5-6 and then
shot once again a black break. I regained my concentration and my
capabilities. Without committing the slightest mistake, I won the next
racks and won 11-5. The next day, I had to play the remake of last
year’s final against Mika Immonen (FIN). I started well and was
leading 2-0. But then I missed to racks in a row, scratching both
times with an easy and open table to go. Both times, the imprints on
the leather were almost central and the two draws were all but
difficult. So I changed my game and tried to act more with follow
shots. From 3-3, I took control again and increased my lead to 7-3. A
black break brought the Finnish player back into the match and he
scored until 6-7. When he did not make a ball upon a break, I
increased my lead again to 9-6. In rack 16, I scratched again and with
was once more incomprehensible. The imprint was not even close to the
edge of the leather. But Immonen missed the ball and left me with a
thin 3 ball. I missed this difficult ball and Immonen came back to
8-9. Upon a break foul, I scored until 10-8, but in rack 19, once more
no ball was pocketed. The Finnish player came back to 9-10 and upon
the next break, he was lucky because the cue ball, which was heading
for the middle pocket, was stopped by another ball. But he missed the
entry shot on the 2 ball, but left me with a bad position. I used my
second time extension and decided for a safety via three cushions. I
managed to play a good ball and forced Immonen to try a rail shot. He
succeeded playing this difficult ball and left me again with a
difficult position. My re-safe was all but perfect. The Finn just had
to jump half a ball and pocketed the jump shot playing with the entire
cue. He now had a good position and cleared the table to equal the
score at 10-10. Then he ran away, taking his second time out. I looked
at the referee, but since he did not speak any 9English, it was
useless to start a discussion. The last rack was decided by a 6-9
combination, after Immonen had to master a difficult position with a
bit of luck. I was eliminated 10-11 in spite of the fact that I had
been playing better than he did. By scratching three times, I had
given the match away and could not defend my title. It seems as if I
had problems to finish better than a 9th rank at a major
tournament this year.
|
Pan - Takagi - Otani - Lin
|
In
the semi-finals, Mika Immonen defeated Hsia Hui-Kai (TWN) 11-5 and
Takeshi Okumura could win 11-10 against Hisashi Kusano (both Japan).
Okumura was already trailing 3-9 and played a great match to finally
reach the final.
In
the final, everything came into the zone for the Japanese player.
Whatever he tried, he succeeded in doing so and when he missed, he
left an impossible table. However, Immonen missed two good
opportunities during the match and could not win the title in his
fourth final of the All Japan Championships. Okumura won the final
11-5 and crowned his excellent performance with his 7th title at
this prestigious event.
In the women competition, Pan Xiao-Ting (CHN) played the semi-final
against Lin Yuan-Chun (TWN), and the player from China won 9-7 after
having trailed 1-5. In the second semi-final, Makiko Takagi defeated
Akio Otani 9-0 in a pure Japanese clash.
The final was a One-Woman-Show, and the player from
China did not leave the slightest doubt that she was about to score
her second title at this event. With a great game and some help from
her nervous opponent, Pan Xiao-Ting won 9-1 and confirmed her
excellent shape shown throughout this tournament.
|
Ralf- Ming-Zong
|
