Top cueists set for VVIP Open C’ship in Kuching
SIBU: A total of 96 players from throughout Sarawak have registered for the VVIP Snooker Open Championship 2022 to be held in Kuching from May 16 to 22.
Recent Sarawak Closed Snooker Championship winner Edmund Bong will spearhead the Kuching players which include the likes of Hardy Carlos, Tan Chin Yong and Ricardo Sim. Bong is out to prove that his Sarawak Closed victory was no fluke as he aims to cement his reputation as one of the state’s top cueists.
“It’s going to be a tough battle but I will try my best to lift the title,” he said.
Swan City Recreational Club Sibu (SCRCS) will send eight players for the tournament comprising Mark Yeo, Sie Leong Ung, John Ling, Sim Hong Hui, Michael Yao, Peter Liong, Ting Siew Chon and Ng Hong Man.
Ng, who recently lifted back-toback titles in the 9th Sibu Swan City Snooker Championship and King of the King Championship, will be another player to watch.
Nicknamed ‘Panjang Seng’ for his height, he has not been at his best lately and is determined to bounce back from the recent National Closed Championship in Kuala Lumpur when he was ousted 3-0 by a relatively unknown player in the first round.
“I will be out to make amends and, hopefully, to avoid committing the same mistakes at the National Closed,” he said.
Yeo, who is also SCRCS president, believes many local players are looking forward to the coming tournament.
“Sarawak lacks competitive snooker competitions and the VVIP Snooker Championship obviously is one which will quench the thirst of the players who are deprived from playing in snooker tournaments due to the Covid-10 pandemic,” he explained.
Sarikei’s veteran Elvis Wong and Yu Hung Kai, runner-up in the recent Sarawak Closed, are also expected to give the field a run for their money. Paul Wong will be Miri’s sole representative for the event.
The tournament will offer cash prizes of RM3,000 (champion), RM1,200 (runner-up), RM500 each (losing semi-finalists) and RM100 each (losing quarter-finalists). An additional carrot is the RM800 for the century break and RM500 for the break of a minimum of 80 points.