Taiwanese Assert Their Presence

Three Taiwanese players fought their way into the third round in the winners bracket, while two stayed alive in the losers bracket. Either way, the Taiwanese are making their presence felt again in an international tournament as they showed strength in the face of top-flight competition in the ongoing Philippine Open.

Two-time world junior champion Ko Pin-Yi, seeded fourth, led the Taiwanese march with convincing victories over Kenichi Uchigaki (9-6) and Naoyuki Oi (9-3).

Lu Hui-Chan trounced Arnel Bautista (9-4) and former world champion Thorsten Hohmann (9-4).

Chang Pei-Wei, a former world 9-ball championship runner-up, beat Jasan Klatt (9-5) and Fabio Petroni (9-6).

In the losers bracket, current Taiwanese No. 1 Fu Che-Wei remained in contention with a lopsided win over Kenji Taguchi (9-3). He was beaten decisively earlier by Leonardo Didal by the score of 4-9.

Also sporting a 1-1 record is Kuo Po-Cheng, a former WPC runner-up also. He made short work of Sarah Rousey, 9-4, in the opening. But he then came up short Marcus Chamat, 5-9.

Despite missing the presence of former double world champion Wu Chia-Ching and money game king Yan Ching-Shun, the Taiwanese contingent look every bit as deadly and formidable. Ko, for one, looks ready for the big time after his victories in the Subic-Olongapo Open and Bangkok Open.