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Update - Cardiff, Wales

© Neena V. Talpade

In what was to prove a comprehensive victory, Eferan "The Magician" Reyes took home the prestigious World Pool Championship trophy, accompanied with a cheque for $60,000, while subduing his opponent Hao Ping Chang in the finals at the Cardiff International Arean, Wales.

The event surprisingly turned into an all-Asian affair as it approached the semi-finals with the two veteran top-seeds Eferan Reyes and Francisco Bustamante, both from the Philippines, pitted against eachother in one race-to-11. The other semi-finalist pair saw Chinese Taipei compatriots Hao Ping Chang and Chen, facing eachother for a place in the finals.

Notably, F. Bustamante played his classic game with aggressive breaks and some superb shots, but for the most he was confined to his seat as Eferan Reyes weaved his magic over the four-by-nine with serene game-play and some fascinating golden-breaks as well as some magnificent shots. In the end he prevailed with a convincing 11-5 victory.

Likewise, Chen saw a looming exit from the tournament with some great jump-shots and admirable game-play from the young Chao.

The finals to be held on the same day at 7:00 pm. local time, was a gruelling race-to-17. Such a match could extend to well over 3 hours of continuous, back-bending and intense concentration, combined with un-wavering precision shots and great judgement in playing safety-shots.

The aspirant for the coveted crown from Taipei was to prove an insignificant distraction for The Magician. Initially, the match was pretty much tied and until a score of 5-5 the audience saw what were pretty much equal opportunities to dazzle on the felt.

But as demonstrated in the quarter-finals by Reyes, his ability to win an infinte number of consecutive frames when the going got tough, came through. Chao played his stunning jump shots to not only get out of snookered positions, but to go on and pot as well. But, the race-to-17 simply left him behind in the early double digits.

Results for this tournament were not entirely expected like they turned out. For one, pool being a dominant American sport, the Continentals like Mike LeBron and Kim Davenport, Jim Rempe and Torrey Deuel never saw it past the quarter-finals or even the last-16 for that matter. However, Eferan Reyes is not known as The Magician for nothing. In the opening rounds of the tournament he finished a paltry fourth in the group stages where only the top four players advanced. To go on and win the whole shebang has to be one of his greater achievements.