Hardy underdog storms into last four of Sarikei Open
SIBU: Little known Hardy Carloss from Kuching produced a stunning comeback while title favorite Mark Yeo from Sibu tamed another giant-killer in the quarter-finals of the 1st Sarikei Open Snooker Championship held at Sarikei Kelab Cue Repok on Monday.
Rolando Lim and Tan Chin Yong, both from Kuching, also qualified for the semi-finals.
Hardy’s 3- 2 upset victory ( 6673, 50- 82, 62-24, 73- 48, 77- 37) over James Giam is thus far the biggest upset of the tournament.
The und e rdog kep t h i s composure after losing the first two frames.
“Though two sets down, I was never under any pressure and I always believed that nothing was over yet unless the time was up, “he said. It was the first time the two actually crossed cue although both are from Kuching.
“I have heard about his reputable name and I respected him for being one of the state’s best veteran players but, as always in any sport, there is bound to be a winner and a loser,” he added.
The 32-year- old was based in Kuala Lumpur during his student days where he gained experience sparring with some of the national players in snooker tournaments.
Since returning to Sarawak five years ago he had not had the time to polish his potting skills due to his work commitment until last year.
When he heard about the Sarikei Open, he became one of the earliest to register.
“Taking part in the Sarikei Open is partly to test my personal skill and to carve a name for myself among the elite players from throughout the state. Hopefully, I can win something to cement my credentials,” he said.
Meanwhile, Yeo’s path to the last four was more straightforward as he easily defeated Sarikei’s home favorite Yu Hung Kai 3-1 ( 55- 42, 49- 31, 57- 35, 44- 36) in less than two hours.
But earlier in the day Yu had turned giant- ki l ler when he tore apart 2016 Sarawak Closed Champion Ng Hong Man 3-1 (89-82, 61- 44, 62-28, 57- 34) in the battle for the last eight.
The towering Ng admitted that he was not in his best form and conceded: “It’s one of those days when the ball just refused to listen to you.”
The six- day championship organised by Sarikei Kelab Cue Repok attracted most of the elite players from throughout the state.
The champion will bring home RM2,000, the runner- up wil l pocket RM1,000 whi le semifinalists and quarter-finalists will each receive RM500 and RM200 respectively.