Korean clinches 10-ball diadem

MANILA, Philippines - South Korea’s Ga Young Kim led from start to finish to beat China’s Siming Chen, 9-5, and clinch the Yalin World 10-Ball crown Friday evening at Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas.

Kim did not waste any shot against the former world No. 1 and dominated the final match before an enthusiastic crowd. The victory put South Korea back on top of women’s pool.

Kim got off to a rousing start, taking the first three racks in the blink of an eye. Barely 15 minutes into the match, the South Korean was comfortably ahead, 4-1.

Chen never knew what hit her, and though she tried to calm things down she wasn’t able to turn the game around. Kim became even more confident with her shots as the match went on.

Kim raced to a 8-3 and was already poised to win when Chen made some noise. The Chinese master hit a couple of great shots to make it 8-4. Then she ran the next rack to move a little closer at 8-5.

But as the crowd hoped for a tight finish, Chen committed a positional error in the 14th rack. 

Kim had four balls left and sank the first three, leaving her with an open shot at the 10-ball. She knew she had it all wrapped up, and silently agreed.

Kim raised a clenched fist after sinking the tournament’s final ball. Later on, she said she was happy to win the tournament despite little time to practice.

“I really did not practice any more than usual for the event because I was doing a “Dancing with the Stars” TV show in Korea leading up to the World Championship,” she said.

“So I was really in a happy mood. I think my happiness carried over to here this week”, said Kim.

“This match is equal to watching two top pro men playing at a high level,” said world men’s champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany who served as match commentator.

Chen defeated countryman Xiao Fang Fu, 9-6, in an all-Chinese semifinals.

Kim, who placed second and third the last two years, routed compatriot Yu Ram Cha, 9-5, in the other semis pairing.