The 2006 World Snooker Star Dragon Woods Villa Cup China Open
tournament was concluded in Beijing yesterday evening when World
No.9 Mark Williams of the UK beat World No.6 John Higgins 9-8 in a
dramatic upset. This was Williams' first ranking title since the LG
Cup in 2003.
The seven-day tournament was held at the Beijing University
Students Gymnasium.
The best of 17 frames finals witnessed seesaw battles between
the 31-year-old left-handed Welshman and Higgins.
Higgins, aiming for his third title of the season, could have
held a 5-3 lead in the eighth frame had he not jumped the cue ball
over the black before Williams capitalized on this to make a 66 run
and leveled the game at 4-4.
This seesawing carried on until the game was leveled again at
8-8. But Williams' stamina and determination pulled him through to
grab victory with a 69-44 final frame score.
"This goes down as one of my best victories because it has been
such a long time since the last one. The last frame was very edgy,
the pressure was getting to the both of us. But I knocked in a good
green and that won me the match," Williams said.
"There was some good and bad snooker, both of us were throwing
ourselves at everything," Higgins said, adding: " I am disappointed
to lose the game, but I think it was an enjoyable match for the
Chinese people to watch."
Local favorite Ding Junhui, the 19-year-old snooker sensation
who became an instant star after coming from nowhere to win the
2005 China Open, lost to Mark Williams in a 6-2 semi-final
game.
Ding was present at the final to receive his Highest Score in
One Shot Award US$3,500 in prize money. He scored 135 points in one
shot during his 5-2 triumph over Graeme Dott on Thursday.
"I'm very lucky to win the award. Before it required more than 140
points and I didn't expect to take it with just 135."
Paul Hunter won the last prize with 141 points at the 2005 China
Open.
Commenting on his failure to defend his title, Ding said, "I
learned a lot in the tournament. So, winning isn't everything."
Ding started the season ranked 62, but his performance at this
tournament has bumped him up to 23.
China has hosted eight international tournaments since 1990, but
this year's was the most well-organized and publicized, according
to Zhang Xiaodong, official of the Billiards Administration Center.
Nine of the world's top 10 players competed for the title worth
US$526,000.
However, Zhang admitted that Ding is the only rallying point for
the sport, and "China's audiences are not acquainted enough with
the world's aces".
Of the eight domestic players, who were issued wildcards for the
2006 China Open, four were below the age of 20, including Li Xing
and Liu Chuang.
Despite the China Billiards and Snooker Association (CBSA)'s
willingness to offer young talents the opportunity to compete with
world-class veterans, Tang Fengxiang, CBSA's secretary general,
said it was impractical to try to duplicate Ding's success.
The crux of the matter is money. Most of domestic players cannot
afford the exorbitant overseas training fees. China's 60-plus
professional players earn only US$2500-3700 a year from the six
domestic events that offer a total of US$125,000 in prize
money.
"Living expenses alone in the UK are about US$19,000 a year. So
few people can afford it," lamented Yang Qingtian, who lost to Ding
5-4 in the first round of the tournament.
(China.org.cn by Li Xiao March 27, 2006)
