Teo learns from the masters

TEO CHEE SOON is using the Asia vs Europe 9-Ball Team Challenge to learn as many tricks of the trade as he can from the masters.

Flying the flag for the Sultanate as one of the five cueists in Team Asia, the Tutong-native was his usual humble self when met at the end of the day's competition.

Partnering the legendary Efren 'The Magician' Reyes in his first match, the duo lost 5-4 to the England pairing of Darren 'Dynamite' Appleton and Imran 'The Maharaja' Majid.

He turned it around in the second match when he teamed up with Chinese Taipei's Ko Pin Yi a.k.a 'The Prince of Pool' to beat the Netherlands' Nick van den Berg and Majid 5-4.

"Playing with Reyes was a very good experience. He gave me some advice on my game," said Teo.

"Things like safety and cue-ball positioning, it is also something which I can see from other players from the Philippines.

"In terms of attack and defence, our game is quite different," he added.

He explained that Reyes also focused on teamwork, and Teo said he felt he was able to deliver the goods.

"When we attacked we just played our own game, but when he wanted certain positional plays he would let me know," said Teo.

Present to watch Teo and Ko in action was His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office.

The Brunei Times