Hsieh Chia-Chen and Liu Shasha hoisted the Mixed Doubles Open title after outlasting Aloysius Yapp and Silviana Lu in a three-set nail-biter.
Hsieh and Liu’s journey to the finals was nothing short of a thriller. The duo suffered a defeat in their opening match against Ling Cheng-Yen and Wang Ming-Ling and had to come through the one-loss side.
They soon regained their momentum and knocked out one of the favourites, Chezka Centeno and Jayson Shaw, in the losers’ qualification round after a shootout.
Except for their last 16 match, Hsieh and Liu had to go through all three sets in every remaining match during their route to the final, including two comeback wins in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Their opponents in the final are regarded as one of pool’s power couples: Aloysius Yapp, the reigning
Hsieh Chia Chen and Liu Shasha hoisted the Mixed Doubles Open titles after outlasting Aloysius Yapp and Silviana Lu in a three-set nail-biter.
Hsieh and Liu’s journey to the finals was nothing short of a thriller. The duo suffered a defeat in their opening match against Ling Cheng Yen and Wang Ming Ling and had to come through the losers’ side.
They soon regained their momentum and knocked out one of the favourites, Chezka Centeno and Jayson Shaw, in the Losers’ Qualification after a shoot-out.
Except for their last 16 match, Hsieh and Liu had to go through all three sets in every remaining match on their route to the final, including two comeback wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Their opponents in the final are regarded as one of billiards’ power couples: Aloysius Yapp, the reigning WNT number one, and his fiancée, Silviana Lu, one of the breakthrough players on the women’s circuit.
Despite suffering a tough blow against Wu Kun-Lin and Han Yu in the winners’ qualifications, they bounced back phenomenally after reaching the single-elimination round.
Yapp and Lu knocked out Mieszko Fortunski/Venus Lim and Johann Chua/Shi Tianqi in straight sets before slamming the door shut on Robbie Capito/Seo Seoa in a blockbuster semi-final.
Both teams, in top form, set up a magnificent final in a packed Phu Tho Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City.
The two teams went back and forth, trading the first few racks. The first momentum shift came when Yapp missed a routine nine-ball, allowing Hsieh and Liu to tie the score at 2-2.
In the fifth rack, three-time women’s nine-ball champion Liu pulled out an otherworldly two-five jump combo to set up the clearance and the 3-2 lead.
Yapp missed a hard five-ball in the sixth rack, which Hsieh and Liu capitalised on to claim the first set.
Yapp and Lu revitalised in the second set, winning three straight racks. A couple of incredible safety shots from Yapp alongside Lu’s potting clinic brought the game to level terms with a quick 4-1 victory for pool’s power couple.
The third set was once again one-way traffic, but this time in favour of Hsieh and Liu. The duo, both 33, took advantage of a dry break to win the first rack before running the table in the second after a good defensive shot.
Hsieh and Liu once again won the safety battles in the third rack thanks to Liu’s brilliant jump on the two-ball.
A whitewash final set almost came to reality when Yapp unfortunately scratched on the jump after potting the three-ball. However, Liu’s poorly executed positional shot from the six to the seven kept Yapp and Lu in the game for a little longer.
The fifth rack was another tense tactical back-and-forth. It finally concluded with another moment of Liu Shasha’s brilliance, as she made up for last rack’s mistake with two phenomenal pots on the four and the nine to claim the title.
Hsieh and Liu sealed their maiden mixed doubles title and became the winners of the first of the three running Predator Pro Billiard Series events in Ho Chi Minh City, bringing home a total prize of $38,000.
Liu and Lu will continue their quest for the Saigon Open title in the losers’ qualification round, while Yapp prepares to take on two-time runner-up Naoyuki Oi in the Men’s World 10-ball Championship last 32.
