Bangkok--25 Jul--Total Quality World No.1 headlines line-up of Asia’s top talent; Singapore’s Chan Keng Kwang leads local resistance Singapore pool fans will be treated an exciting showcase of pool action as the highly anticipated Guinness 9-Ball Tour 2008 Singapore leg gets underway at Velocity@Novena Square, from tomorrow till 27 July 2008. Gracing the event this weekend will be world-class pool players including current world number one Dennis Orcollo, world number six Joven Bustamante, 2005 WPA World Pool Champion Wu Chia Ching, 2004 WPA World Pool Champion Alex Pagulayan and defending Grand Finals champion Chang Jung-Lin, all of whom will be raring to showcase their skills in the annual nation-hopping event organized by ESPN STAR Sports (True Visions Ch.65 / 66). Expected to place added pressure on the favourites are hometown players Chan Keng Kwang, 2005 SEA Games 9 Ball gold medalist; Toh Lian Han, Chinese-Taipei leg participant; and Tour first-timer Ben Zhang. Chan and company will have the support of local fans and the home ground advantage. Players from countries like Singapore, Chinese-Taipei, Philippines, Malaysia, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, India and Indonesia are also expected to get a crack at the title and earn valuable ranking points for the Grand Final. The draw conducted today produced some very interesting matchups with action in the group stage beginning tomorrow at Velocity@ Novena Square. In particular, Chinese-Taipei’s Chang, who conquered the 2008 Tour’s first three legs in Chinese-Taipei, Penang and Genting Highlands, will be looking to put his unbeaten track record to the test once more as he takes on battle-tested opponents to make it four in row. It will be a tougher task this time around though as he has to face Orcollo in a tantalizing clash of the titans in Group A. Ricky Yang of Indonesia is also another vaunted foe that Chang has to overcome in this leg’s Group of Death. Aside from Orcollo, attempting to stop the one-man Chinese-Taipei juggernaut will be the other members of the five-man Filipino contingent like Bustamante, Pagulayan, 2008 Genting runner-up Antonio Gabica, and Tour newcomer Jericho Ba?ares. Bustamante is joined in Group E by Li He-Wen of China and Han Hao Xiang of Hong Kong while Pagulayan will take on Ibrahim Bin Amir of Malaysia and Nitiwat Kanjanasari of Thailand in Group G. Gabica will face off against Toh and Siauw Wieto of Indonesia in Group C while 18-year old Ba?ares battles Wang Hung-Hsiang of Chinese-Taipei and Nguyen Anh Tuan of Vietnam in Group H. Chinese Taipei’s Yang Ching-Shun, the only other man to win in the 2007 Guinness 9 Ball Tour, leads Group D along with local bet Zhang and Sumit Talwar of India. Yang’s compatriot, Wu, will tangle with Chan Keng Kwang and Elvin Lean of Malaysia over in Group F. Genting semi-finalist Ryu Seung Woo of Korea has been bracketed with Fu Jian Bo of China and Oi Naoyuki of Japan in Group B. Mr Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports, said: “The Guinness 9 Ball Tour has special significance to us. Not only is it a showcase of Asia’s finest pool talent, but it also provides an avenue for Asia’s best to qualify for the World Pool Championships in November. We are delighted to complement our expertise in event management with our strength as Asia’s number one sports broadcaster to offer pool fans in Singapore the complete coverage of the Guinness 9 Ball Tour 2008 with over 90 hours of coverage across the tour.” Ms. Barbara Young, Category Director, International Spirits and Beer, Diageo Asia Pacific, remarked: “The Guinness 9 Ball Tour will see the best pool players from around Asia compete for the title in Singapore. Guinness is about Greatness — our long heritage, the consistent quality of our beer and the drinking experience — and we feel we share this Greatness with Asia’s top pool players. Pool is about accuracy and consistency, just as we are when we make every pint of Guinness?.”Added Mr Bennett Neo, General Manager, Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore, “For the months of June and July, Guinness also organized the Guinness 9 Ball Amateur Challenge 2008 in many bars across Singapore, where consumers got into the action by pitting their pool skills against one another for the top prize of S$6,000. However, I believe the biggest prize of all would be the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play in the Pro-Am Tournament happening this weekend, July 26th, right after the main competition ends for the day, giving these amateur players an opportunity to show case their 9 Ball pool skills against Asia’s best players.” Ronnie Chua Honorary Secretary, Cuesports Singapore said: “Cuesports Singapore would like to thank ESPN STAR Sports and Guinness for bringing this world class event to Singapore and we are proud to be associated with it. With the Guinness 9 Ball Tour touching down in Singapore, I am sure the popularity and standard of play in 9 Ball pool will definitely be taken to a higher level in our country. I would also like thank the Singapore Sports Council and the Singapore Totalisation Board/Singapore Pools who are acknowledged as being ‘In support of sports promotion’ and ‘Partners in Sport’.” Up for grabs in the Singapore leg is a total prize purse of US$50,000 as well as points to qualify for the Tour's Grand Final in Jakarta, which will feature the Top Ten players in the overall Order of Merit. The winners of each leg will get to earn US$15,000 while the Grand Final Champion will pocket US$36,000. In addition, the Tour's Top 10 players will also automatically qualify for pool's most prestigious event, the 2008 WPA World Pool Championships later his year. The Guinness 9-Ball Tour remains the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify for the WPA World Pool Championship.Following stops in Chinese-Taipei, Penang, Genting Highlands and Singapore, the six-city Tour will have its penultimate leg in Guangzhou in September before heading to Jakarta for the Grand Finals in October. The telecast of Asia's premier pool competition will be carried LIVE on STAR Sports with 15 hours of exhilarating competition from 25 to 27 July 2008. This year, STAR Sports will complement its live broadcast with a 30-minute preview programme before each leg. Broadcast times are as follows: Fri, 25 July, 2008 3.30pm Preview show (30min) Fri, 25 July, 2008 4.00pm Wu Chia Ching (TPE) vs. Chan Keng Kwang (SIN) 5.30pm Ibrahim Bin Amir (MAS) vs. Alex Pagulayan (PHI) 7.00pm Chang Jung-Lin (TPE) vs. Dennis Orcollo (PHI) Sat, 26 July, 2008 from 11.00am Quarterfinals (4 Matches) Sun, 27 July, 2008 from 11.00am Semifinals & Finals (3 Matches) (Competition on Friday will start at 10am; TV Schedules subject to change without prior notice) The Guinness 9 Ball Tour is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU) and organized by ESPN STAR Sports' Event Management Group (EMG). Guinness is the title sponsor for the Tour. The local sanctioning body is the Cuesports Singapore. Mansion 88 is the gold sponsor. Iwan Simonis and Aramith supply the official tablecloth and official balls respectively. Brunswick Metro provides the official pool table while Predator is the official cue. BCLN is the official apparel. The Official Venue is Velocity at Novena Square. STAR Sports is the official broadcaster.Further information can be obtained at www.g9bt.com About ESPN STAR Sports ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world’s leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia's definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies — Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) — to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay and free-to-air services. ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier live sports from around the globe 24 hours a day to a cumulative reach of more than 310 million viewers in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports has 17 networks covering 24 countries, each localised to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers. This includes ESPN Asia, ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN Singapore, ESPN Taiwan, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Malaysia, STAR Sports Singapore, STAR Sports Southeast Asia, STAR Sports Taiwan, and STAR Cricket. On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. ESPN STAR Sports aims to reach consumers at any time, any place and through all new media platforms, both internet and mobile. The multi-lingual, online platforms, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw and footballcrazy.tv interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. Developed for the sports fan that is constantly on the move, mobileESPN and STAR Sports Mobile delivers differentiated mobile content targeted at its various audiences. mobileESPN enables the serious sports fan to follow their favourite sports more closely than ever before with a combination of specially produced video news clips, in-depth news coverage and analysis. STAR Sports Mobile aims to provide interactive and entertaining opportunities to engage with sports, delivering exclusive video excerpts from leading football clubs Arsenal and Liverpool as well as highlights from STAR Sports original programmes covering opinions, instructional tips and the latest online game reviews. About Guinness Guinness the Number One premium stout was born in 1759. Since then, this premium stout brewer has brought the Guinness experience to 51 countries in which it is brewed, and 150 countries in which it is sold. 10 million glasses of Guinness are enjoyed every single day around the world. Taking the Guinness journey, one will find that one good pint leads to another. About Guinness 9 Ball Tour The Guinness 9 Ball Tour is Asia’s premier pool competition which carries the name of its sponsor Guinness and boasts a total prize money of US$320,000. Organised by Asia’s Number One Sports Broadcaster, ESPN STAR Sports, and sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU), the Tour has featured some of the world’s best pool players and is the only ranking tournament that offers automatic qualification to the WPA World Pool Championship for its Top Ten finishers. Beginning life in 2003 as the Asian 9 Ball Tour, the Tour featured 22 events so far and visited numerous cities in Asia. Up till end 2007, Filipino cue masters dominated the roll of honour with 12 wins and ‘The Magician’ Efren Reyes is the biggest winner with 7 titles, followed by Yang Ching-shun of Chinese Taipei who pocketed 6 crowns. The Guinness 9 Ball Tour 2008 will have five legs and a Grand Final in Jakarta. Each leg will feature 24 players with the overall top ten players making the Grand Final. At stake each leg is US$50,000 and Word Pool Championship ranking points. Winners for each leg walk away with US$15,000 prize money. The Grand Final will boast a US$70,000 purse with the Champion pocketing US$36,000. For more information, please contact: Tom Van Blarcom / Ruthaiwan Tanwongwan Total Quality PR (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Tel: +66 (0) 2260 5820 Email: [email protected]