Bangkok--28 Aug--Total Quality PR STAR Sports dedicates 15 hours of LIVE and exclusive coverage for the epic finale of Asia's Premier Pool Competition After five gruelling legs to determine the region’s finest pool masters, Asia’s top ten players will arrive to Bali’s beautifulshores for the final showdown to decide who will be the Grand Champion of the first-ever Guinness 9 Ball Tour Grand Final. ESPN STAR Sports,Asia’s number one sports broadcaster, will dedicate 15 hours of live and exclusive coverage for this thrilling leg. Telecast will be carriedLIVE on and exclusively on STAR Sports from August 31 — September 2. The hugely anticipated finale of Asia’s premier pool competition will cue off this week from 31 August to 2 September, set in theluxurious Grand Hyatt Bali in Nusa Dua. The thrilling finale will feature the region’s elite cue-masters hailing from six countries,including three World Pool Champions - current WPA 8-Ball & 9-Ball World Champion Ronato Alcano of the Philippines, 2005 WPA 8-Ball & 9-BallWorld Champion Wu Chia-Ching of Chinese Taipei, and his compatriot Chao Fong-Pang, WPA 9-Ball World Champion 1993 & 2000. The Grand Final in Bali is the culmination of more than four months of intense pool competition held over five countries, whereplayers earn valuable points to finish among the top ten on the Order of Merit list. During the course of this year’s tour, 43 top-classplayers from 12 countries played to passionate crowds across the region, namely Indonesia (Jakarta), Chinese Taipei (Kaohsiung), Malaysia(Genting Highlands), Singapore and China (Shanghai). The inaugural Grand Final, which offers the total prize purse of US$70,000, will decide the Tour’s first Grand Champion, who willwalk away with the top prize of US$36,000. Here are the top-ten players who have qualified for next week’s showdown:Name Total Ranking Points Breakdown per Leg Jakarta,Indonesia Kaohsiung,Taiwan Genting Highlands,Malaysia Singapore Shanghai,China 1. Yang Ching-Shun (TPE) 245 20 70 15 70 70 2.Chang Jung-Lin (TPE) 185 70 15 70 15 15 3. Chao Fong-Pang (TPE) 180 30 50 40 30 30 4. Ronato Alcano (PHI) 160 30 40 20 20 50 5. Wu Chia-Ching (TPE) 150 40 20 20 40 30 6. Ricky Yang (INA) (5) 140 20 30 40 30 20 7. Ibrahim Amir (MAL) 120 15 20 20 50 15 8. Dharminder Singh Lilly (IND) 120 15 15 50 20 20 9. Bernard Tey (SIN) 115 30 20 30 20 15 10 Lee Vann Corteza (PHI) 100 50 - 30 - 20 Now bigger and better with the partnership forged between ESPN STAR Sports and Guinness, the Tour brings all the exhilarating pooldrama back in a full-tournament setting with Asia’s elite cue masters. The event now offers the all-time biggest prize money — US$320,000,which is double from last year’s US$160,000. The Guinness 9 Ball Tour now has the most stops ever— increasing the number of legs to six fromlast year’s four and have now included this week’s Grand Final leg for the first time. In addition, the top ten players in the Grand Final have qualified for November's 2007 WPA World 9 Ball Championship in Manila atthe internationally acclaimed Araneta Coliseum. The Guinness 9-Ball Tour remains the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify forthe WPA World 9 Ball Championship.Broadcast times are as follows: - Fri, 31 August, 2007 from 4.00 pm (BKK) Preliminaries (3 Matches) - Sat, 1 September, 2007 from 1.00pm (BKK) Quarterfinals (4 Matches) - Sun, 2 September, 2007 from 11:00am (BKK) Semi-finals & Finals (3 Matches) (Competition on Friday will start at 5pm; TV Schedules subject to change without prior notice) For more information on the Tour, please check out www.guinness9balltour.com. For the latest schedules and program information onESPN STAR Sports, catch us on the net at www.espnstar.com. The Guinness 9Ball Tour is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU) and organized by ESPN STAR Sports’ EventManagement Group (EMG). Guinness is the title sponsor for the Tour. The local sanctioning body is Persatuan Olahraga Billiar SeluruhIndonesia (POBSI). Iwan Simonis and Aramith supply the official tablecloth and official balls respectively. Brunswick Metro provides theofficial pool table while Predator is the official cue. The Official Venue is the Grand Hyatt Hotel. STAR Sports is the officialbroadcaster. For more information, please contact: Tom Van Blarcom / Sittichai Uthaiwatthanathorn / Ruthaiwan Tanwongwan Total Quality PR (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Tel: +66 (0) 2260 5820 Email: [email protected] Click for photo release at www.thaipr.net