Defending champions Team Asia secured their second title in a row and surviving a comeback by Team West, 10-7, at the end of the 2015 AM8.com Queen’s Cup on Saturday, April 18, at the Newport Mall, Pasay City.
Sensing some need to step up, Team West, anchored on Ireland’s Karen Corr to bounce back for a tie in the tournament at 7-all. However, the Asians answered with a sweep of the next three matches to take the trophy.
Corr gets comeback win over Park
| E. Park | 1 | 2 | X | X | X | X | – | – | 2 |
| K. Corr | X | X | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | – | – | 4 (Winner) |
Team Asia (7-5) Team West
Veteran Karen Corr completed a big fight back against Park Eunji, 4-2, to get Team West within 2 of Team Asia in the overall tally, 5-7.
Park started well, taking the first two frames of the match. Corr was on her way to tie it up in the second rack, but a crucial error on the 9-ball swung the score to the Korean.
Corr corrected that mistake and took the next four to win the match. The veteran showed her pocketing skills to breeze past the succeeding tables despite making miscues. Park, on her turn, had a great shot in the fourth but could not run out the frame.
Team West sweeps first doubles match
| Park/J. Chen | X | X | X | X | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| Corr/Barretta | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 4 (Winner) |
Team Asia (7-6) Team West
Karen Corr paired up with Jennifer Barretta and swept Park Eunji and Jennifer Chen, 4-0, to further cut the deficit in the main scoreboard, 6-7.
It was a clinical game from the duo of Team West, keeping the Asians on their seats. Park had a good shot on the 3-ball in the first rack but missed allowing the opponent to take the score. In the following frame, Chen totally missed the 1-ball, giving Team West the cue ball in hand.
The Westeners had their own errors when Corr missed on the 3 in the third, but Park also mishit the 5-ball. It was all Team West after that, as Barretta and Corr ran out a Park dry break in the final frame.
Corr levels things up with a rousing win
| S. Chen | 1 | 2 | X | 3 | X | X | X | – | 3 |
| K. Corr | X | X | 1 | X | 2 | 3 | 4 | – | 4 (Winner) |
Team Asia (7-7) Team West
Karen Corr turned the tournament around, defeating world number 1 Chen Siming in a down-the-wire battle, 4-3, to tie the tournament count at 7-all.
Chen took the early lead against a tired Corr. At the opening frame, the top-seed player had an error at the beginning but took control of the table after Corr missed on the 7. The Irish veteran also scratched on hitting the 1-ball allowing Chen to take the 2-0 lead.
It was Chen’s turn to miss in the following frame. A clear hit at the 9-ball rattled out. Corr gets 10-ball to drop to get on the scoreboard. Corr scratched on her break in the fourth and Chen cleared the table to get into the hill, 3-1.
The Irishwoman got her bearings back and swept the next three racks to win the match. A scratch by Chen in the deciding frame made it even easier for Corr to take the seventh, 4-3, to level the overall tally at seven-all.
Team Asia gets lead back via sweep
| Amit/S. Chen/J. Chen | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 4 (Winner) |
| Laurance/Corr/Villareal | X | X | X | X | – | – | – | – | 0 |
Team Asia (8-7) Team West
The trio of Rubilen Amit, Jennifer Chen, and Chen Siming pummelled Karen Corr, Ewa Laurance, and Vivian Villareal, 4-0, to regain control of the tournament in the following match.
Just as how Jennifer Barretta and Corr won their doubles match, Team Asia pulled all stops to win the match. It was a highly defensive match where one mistake could be crucial. Villareal missed on a clear shot on the 10-ball, which J. Chen calmly sank for the 1-0 lead.
J. Chen continued to play well in the next frame getting a few balls to drop to set her teammate Amit for the money ball and get the win 2-0. Villareal’s woes spilled over the next frame when she scratched on her break. Amit set up the cue ball and easily got the 10-ball to drop off the 1-ball. Team Asia walked away with the fourth frame and the win as all three players of Team West missed on their chances at the table.
Team Asia moves one away from Cup
| Team Asia (9-7) | x | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | – | – | – | 4 (Winner) |
| Team West (7-9) | 1 | x | x | x | x | – | – | – | 1 |
Team Asia won the final four-by-four match of the tourney, 4-1, and inched into a win away towards the back-to-back title.
Team West almost missed on the chance on winning the opening frame when team captain Ewa Laurance committed a fault. In the ensuing play, Park Eunji missed on the 8-ball, giving the Westeners the 1-0 lead. The Korean rookie redeemed herself from this error in the following frame as she got the 10-ball to tie the match at one-apiece.
That turned out to be the confidence booster for Park as she played superb in the next frames for Team Asia. The rising star pocketed the money ball in the next two frames to put the champions on the hill. Team West could not get their bearings and Asian captain Amit hits the last 10-ball to get the win for her team.
Captain Amit gets lucky; clinches Team Asia’s victory
| R. Amit | 1 | x | 2 | 3 | 4 | – | – | – | 4 (Winner) |
| V. Villareal | x | 1 | x | x | x | – | – | – | 1 |
Team Asia (10-7) Team West
In a fitting finale, Team Asia captain Rubilen Amit coasted through the last game of the tournament, 4-1, against Vivian Villareal to secure Team Asia’s second Queen’s Cup in a row.
The Filipina world champion put on a great start in the first frame, breaking and running out off a great shot on the 3-ball. Villareal tied things up when Amit missed on the 5-ball in the second.
However, the American continued to have difficulties on her game, making several misses. Amit pounced on the visibly frustrated Villareal taking the next three matches. In the final frame, the Asian skipper showed her great skills when she ran out the table getting two clusters of balls to break.
