Above: Dang Jin Hu and Lee Van Corteza
DAY TWO was a day of surprises and stunning pool. And none was more surprising and stunning than the feat of Lee Van Corteza of the Philippines.
To the disbelief of the sizable crowd that expected a thriller down to the finish, Corteza completely shut out Asian money-game king and much-feared Yang Ching-Shun of Chinese-Taipei, 9-0, to move into the round of 64.
Corteza’s play was absolute perfection. His game plan was simple – to keep his opponent on his seat and never allow him to get going.
Although Yang won the lag and was the first one to break, he couldn’t get a good opening. This opened the way for Corteza to rack up quickly to a 3-0 lead.
When the match turned into a battle of safety shots in the fourth rack, it was Corteza who again prevailed. And that became the theme throughout the match.
“I’ve played Yang several times over the years,” said Corteza, many times a gold medalist in the Southeast Asian Games. “But this is the only time that I caught him on a bad day. But that’s the game of pool. Even the best sometimes run out of luck -- and lose.”
The second big surprise Thursday was Dang Jin Hu of China, who made it to the main draw as a first alternate from the qualifiers. On Day One, he took down double-world champion Ronnie Alcano, leaving many in disbelief. On Day Two, he got them believing and a little awed. This time, he took down two-time world champion Johnny Archer of the United States, 9-5.
The third big surprise was Hayato Hijikata’s smooth and easy victory over Mika Immonen of Finland, the hottest player in international pool this year and the leading money winner. Hijikata led their match from the start and never allowed his formidable opponent to get untracked. When the smoke of battle cleared, the Japanese had prevailed by the score of 9-6.
Corteza, Dang and Hijikata head the cast of notables who earned entry into the round of 64, which include defending champion Darren Appleton, Niels Feijen, Dennis Orcullo and Antonio Gabica.
Appleton coasted to the next level trouble free with a 9-2 win over MB Alias of Brunei.
“Six more wins to defend the title,” Appleton boldly declared in an interview after the match.
Appleton, who vowed to prove to everyone that his title conquest last year was no fluke, dominated the game from start to finish.
“I think for a first timer, he seems OK,” said Appleton, referring to his rival from Brunei. “He had some good shots, but he had rookie jitters as well. I feel more comfortable now, but there’s a lot pressure building up game by game.”
Also sailing through to the next round was Dennis Orcullo. The man who ruled the Predator 10-Ball International Championship this year beat Thomas Kaplan, the man who beat the top seed of the WTBC. Orcullo prevailed 9-6.
Many were impressed by Orcullo’s play, except the player himself.
“I struggled in my first two games,” said Orcullo, referring to his two victories. “I’m still adjusting to the competition, particularly the table that we’re using. But I will get used to it.”
Other double winners and early entrants into the round of 64 were: Kuo Po-Cheng of Chinese Taipei, Kenny Kwok of Hong Kong, world junior champion Ruslan Chinakhov of Russia, Yukio Akakariyama of Japan, and Ernesto Dominguez of Mexico.
Kuo had a relatively easy time against Filipino Mario Tolentino, as he disposed of him by the score of 9-4.
Kwok stunned Nick van den Berg of the Netherlands, 9-3; Chinakhov shot down former straight pool champion Oliver Ortmann of Germany, 9-4; Akakariyama nipped Serge Das of Belgium, 9-7; and Dominguez surprised 2007 world 9-ball champion Daryl Peach, 9-5.
Also advancing were Neils Feijen of the Netherlands, who whipped Chang Pei-Wei of Chinese-Taipei, 9-5; Naoyuki Ooi, who nipped Vincent Facquet of France, 9-8; Ignacio Chavez, who won over Nguyen Anh Tuan of Vietnam, 9-5; Fu Jian Bo of China, who nosed out Marcus Chamat of Sweden, 9-8; Imran Majid, who defeated David Alcaide of Spain, 9-5; Li Hewen of China, who outlasted Jomar de Ocampo, 9-6; and Mario He of Austria, who subdued Mehmet Cankurt, 9-3.
While the big guns and surprise entries have already secured seats in the round-of-64, a highly-touted player crashed out of the tournament early – former US Open champion Shane Van Boening of the United States.
Van Boening lost to Konstantin Stepanov of Russia, 6-9, a day after losing his opening match against Nguyen Anh Tuan of Vietnam, 8-9.
Demosthenes Pulpul, a semifinalist in the first WTBC, exited early this time, falling to fellow Filipino Ronnie Alcano (9-5), who was also fighting for his life in the tournament.
