Part Two of the Sang Lee Series Airs This Sunday
This Sunday, June 18, part two of a four part series on the 2005 Sang Lee International Open will air at 10 p.m. EST on America One Sports, a division of America One Television Network.
This episode will feature the exciting semifinal matchup between the celebrated “Turkish Prince”, Semih Sayginer, and four-time world champion, Dick Jaspers — as they vie for the $100,000 prize fund and a spot in the final.
The tournament took place last August at the Carom Café Billiards, in Flushing, N.Y., and served as a memorial for the tournament’s namesake, Sang Chun Lee, who passed away on Oct. 19, 2004, at the age of 51. As player, organizer, promoter and room owner, Lee devoted his life to “making billiards beautiful in America,” and rejuvenated three-cushion billiards in the United States.
This series captures “The Road to the Finals,” of the event, which featured 76 of the strongest three-cushion players in the world, from 23 countries, competing for the most prestigious title in the game and $100,000, the richest purse ever offered on American soil.
The four-part series began airing May 7 and will culminate Aug. 1. For TV scheduling information, check your local listings or visit www.americaonesports.com.
Hohmann, Chen Reach Gold Medal Match
The opening lag turned out to be Thorsten Hohmann’s best friend in his semifinal match against American Rodney Morris at the World Games in Duisburg, Germany Saturday afternoon.
Winning the lag earned Hohmann the advantage of breaking in the deciding game in the alternating break, race-to-11 format. And with the score tied 10-10, the German star ran a flawless rack from the break to win the match and advance to Sunday’s Gold Medal match. Hohmann awaits the winner of the second semifinal, pitting Greek surprise Vangelis Vettas against Chinese Taipei’s Pei-Wei Chang. Morris will play the loser of that match for the Bronze Medal Saturday evening.
In women’s 9-ball, Women’s Professional Billiard Association star Jennifer Chen, of Chinese Taipei, defeated Korea’s Sung-Hyun Jung, 9-4, to earn a spot in the Gold Medal match. Chen awaits the winner of the semifinal matchup of former WPBA regular Line Kjorsvik and Austrian teen Jasmin Oschan.
Eighteen-year-old Chinese snooker sensation Jun-Hui Ding cruised into the Men’s Snooker Gold Medal match with a convincing 4-1 win over England’s Mark Allen. Ding dropped his second 100-plus break in the match, posting a 102 in the third set. Belgium’s Bjorn Haneveer meets England’s Gerard Greene to determine Ding’s opponent.
And in Carom, Dick Jaspers of Belgium scored 40 points on his 40th birthday to defeat Turkey’s Semih Sayginer, 40-26 in 28 innings. Defending World Games champion Daniel Sanchez of Spain will play Turkey’s Murat Coklu in the second semifinal match Saturday afternoon at the Saalbau arean in Bottrop, site of the cue sports competitions.
The World Games is the largest gathering of non-Olympic sports, with more than 3,000 athletes representing more than 100 countries. The cue sports made their World Games debut in 2001 at Akita, Japan.
MORRIS EARNS BRONZE AT WORLD GAMES
Rodney Morris found just the salve to ease the sting of Saturday afternoon’s 11-10 loss to Germany’s Thorsten Hohmann at the World Games in Duisburg, Germany. Back at the table in the Saalbau Arena in Bottrop, site of the billiard competitions, just hours after the heartbreaking loss, Morris free-wheeled his way to an 11-2 rout of Greece’s Vangelis Vettas to secure the Bronze Medal in Men’s 9-Ball.
Morris sped off from a 1-1 deadlock with six consecutive rack wins, and coasted comfortably home.
“When I got up a couple of games,” said Morris, “and my break started working better, I knew that he couldn’t catch me. Not with alternating break.
“The key to this match was focus,” he added. “I didn’t think of anything other than the table. I wasn’t leaving here without at least the Bronze.”
Also earning Bronze Saturday evening at the international sports festival was Semih Sayginer of Turkey, who beat countryman Murat Coklu, in Carom. Sayginer bolted off to a 35-22 lead after just 20 innings, before Coklu chipped away at the lead. Coklu pulled to within five at 37-32, before Sayginer closed out the match, 40-32, in 24 innings.
In Snooker, Belgium’s Bjorn Haneever whitewashed 17-year-old Mark Allen of England, 4-0, to capture the Bronze.
Line Kjorsvik of Norway, back at the table after an eight-month layoff, earned Bronze in Women’s 9-Ball with a 9-6 win over Sung-Hyun Jung, Korea’s top-ranked woman player.
“Rocket” Lone US Medal Hope
Rodney Morris overcame an early 4-1 deficit against Germany’s Thomas Engert Friday evening to win 11-8 and advance to the semifinals of the men’s 9-ball division at the 2005 World Games in Duisburg, Germany. With the ousters Friday of Charlie Williams and Vivian Villarreal, Morris is the only U.S. contestant remaining in the four cue sport medal categories.
Morris will face former world 9-ball champion and reigning Billiard Congress of American Open 9-Ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany on Saturday for the right to play in the Gold Medal game. Hohmann squeaked past Sweden’s Tom Storm, 11-10, to earn his semifinal spot. The other Saturday semi in the men’s division will pit China’s Pei-Wei Chang against surprising Vangelis Vettas of Greece. Vettas, who shocked Germany’s Ralf Souquet in the opening round of the 16-player single-elimination field, dumped Williams, 11-7, on Friday. Chang, 2004 World Pool Championship runnerup, beat Holland’s Niels Feijen, 11-7.
In Women’s 9-Ball, Korea’s Sung-Hyun Jung beat Villarreal, 11-8, to earn a spot in the semifinals. She’ll be joined by Jennifer Chen, who upended Allison Fisher, Jasmin Oschan of Austria, and Norway’s Line Kjorsvik.
Two Turks, Semih Sayginer and Murat Coklu, earned semifinal spots in the Men’s Carom discipline, along with Dick Jaspers of Holland and defending champion Danny Sanchez of Spain.
Men’s Snooker saw 18-year-old Jun-Hui Ding post a 138 clearance enroute to a 3-0 win over Germany’s Lasse Munstermann. Ding reached the semis along with Amateur World Champion Mark Allen of England, countryman Gerard Greene and Belgium’s Bjorn Haneveer, who overcame a 2-1 deficit to beat England’s Gavin Pantall, 3 sets to 2.