2016 Amway eSpring International Women 9-Ball Championship is Triggering
Jun 8, 2016
Unlike its predecessors, this year's Amway Cup has been re-scheduled to avoid a clash with the 2016 YuShan Chinese 8-Ball World Championship which was held in March.
The 2016 Amway eSpring International Women 9-Ball Championship will be held on June 16th-19th in Taiwan. The event will be moved to a new venue at the Banqiao Gymnasium in New Taipei City.
Formerly known as Taipei County, New Taipei City is a special municipality and the most populous city in Taiwan. Located in northern Taiwan, the city surrounds the Taipei Basin. Banqiao District is its municipal seat and the biggest commercial area.
This summer, the world best female players from all over the world will gather in Taiwan, 40 of them will go head to head and try to win the most prestigious title in women's pool. A total of US$93,400 prize fund are at stake with US$34,000 going to the winner alone while the runner-up will receive US$13,000.
The qualifiers will get underway from June 13th to 15th at the Ji-Hsien Pool Club in Luzhou, New Taipei City. Over than 70 players will scramble for the last 8 spots (2,2,4) to get qualified for the main stage of the Championship. The format will be played with single elimination and race to 7, winner breaks.
The main stage shall commence on June 16th at the Banqiao Gymnasium, with the field completed with the 8 players from the qualifiers. The players will be divided into 8 groups of 5. They will play in a round robin format and race to 7, winner breaks. The top 3 players of each group will advance to the Last 24, in which the format will become single elimination, race to 7 and alternate breaks. The semi-finals will be race to 9. The final will be race to 11 and is going to be played on Sunday June 19th.
As for the local girls, they are well-prepared with a 3-week-training, under the help and supervision from Jung-Lin Chang and Yu-Hsuan Cheng, the former men's World Nr.1 and the current World Nr. 2, invited by the Chinese Taipei Billiards Federation. Yu-Wen Hsieh and Szu-Ting Kuo earned their main stage passes via the qualifiers that were held recently in Taiwan. They will both join Yuan-Chun Lin (the reigning champion), Chieh-Yu Chou, Ho-Yun Chen as well as Tzu-Chien Wei who are directly qualified in the main stage.
Across from the other side of the shore, Liu ShaSha, Chen Siming, Han Yu and Liu YuChen will be representing China in the main stage of the Amway Cup this year. The four girls will be staying at the CBSA Training Centre for a 10-days intensive training session before the tournament commences. Liu YuChen, being the youngest in the lot, was selected as a member of the national youth team this year. She was underrated last year but managed to make it to the semi-final before losing to Yuan-Chun Lin.
Fu Xiaofang was in the top 8 last year and therefore should have a spot in the main stage. However, she had her big day last year getting married and it seems that she will not be playing on this occasion for her own personal reasons. Pan Xiaoting also finished top 8 last year, but, up to the time of writing, is still yet to decide upon her visit this time round.
Before the actual battles begin, world top-class players including Allison Fisher, Kelly Fisher, Chieh-Yu Chou, Tzu-Chien Wei and Yuan-Chun Lin have been invited by the organiser of the Amway Cup to present at a promotional event to interact with billiard fans at the Mega City (Far Eastern Department Store) in Banqiao tomorrow (June 9). Don't miss this great opportunity to meet the elites.
The whole event will be broadcast LIVE on Videoland TV in Taiwan and Live on YouTube at same time.
VL Sports YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/vlsports
Event Official Website: http://www.videoland.com.tw/event/20160401/game01.asp
By Alison Chang & Samuel Lai