Tutong pocket pool, snooker gold

IT WAS a golden day for the Tutong Cue Sports team after they bagged the gold in both the 6-red snooker singles and 9-ball pool singles events of the 9th National Sports Festival (PSK) yesterday at the Billiards and Snooker Hall of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.

The first gold came in the morning after Tutong's Md Airwan Zakaria overcame his nerves to defeat Temburong's Md Rosli Mohd Ali 3-2 in the final to capture the 6-ball snooker title.

Md Airwan got off to a blistering start to win the first frame 44-16 and gained a 2-0 advantage by clinching the second frame with a 42-8 scoreline. Unphased by the deficit, Md Rosli remained calm and made good safety plays that allowed him back into the match winning 44-6 and 39-7 in the third and fourth frames respectively to set up the decider.

Md Airwan looked as if he was out of sync and failed to make even open pots. However, he regrouped in the final frame and finished off with 29-point break that helped him seal the gold.

"My game is not as good as before from 10 years ago as I haven't had enough practice," Md Airwan informed The Brunei Times after his victory.

"I didn't expect myself from winning the gold but I always thought that it was a 50-50 chance to win. I'm really satisfied in picking up my first tournament gold though," added the 37-year-old.

The second gold for Tutong came after the second seed, Teo Chee Soon, survived Brunei-Muara's Ak Md Saiful Azri Pg Roslee 9-7 in the final to defend his title in the 9-ball pool singles event in the afternoon.

It was an equally contested match with the alternate break format. With the scores tied at three apiece, Teo picked up the slack and finished off three consecutive racks to open up a 7-4 lead.

However, Ak Md Saiful Azri was able to pull one back in rack 11 but the following rack saw Teo cleared the table on the break.

Ak Md Saiful Azri was losing his concentration and failed to pot on several easy shots.

His biggest miss, however, came on a seven-nine cannon in rack 16 that allowed Teo to clinch the victory.

"I thought the angle was correct but I misjudged it and that gave him (Ak Md Saiful Azri) the chance for a comeback. I made too many mistakes which allowed him plenty of chances to attack as well," said Teo.

On the other hand, Ak Md Saiful Azri only had himself to blame for the loss.

"There were a few choices in the last rack but I thought I made the right choice for the plant. I'm disappointed as I was aiming for gold in this event," said the 26-year-old.

Cue Sports will come to a close today with the 9-ball doubles event starting at 9am with the final slated for 7pm.The Brunei Times