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Asia's Best to compete in GUINNESS 9 BALL TOUR GRAND FINALS
STAR Sports will dedicate 15 hours of LIVE and exclusive coverage of epic finale

23 August 2007, Shanghai: After five gruelling legs to determine the region's finest pool masters, Asia's top ten players will arrive to Bali's beautiful shores 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, dedicates 15 hours of live and exclusive coverage for this thrilling leg. Telecast will be carried LIVE on STAR Sports from August 31 – September 2.

The hugely anticipated finale of Asia's premier pool competition will cue off next week from 31 August to 2 September, set in the luxurious 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-Ball World Champion Wu Chia-Ching of Chinese Taipei, and his compatriot Chao Fong-Pang, WPA 9-Ball World Champion 1993 & 2000.

The inaugural Grand Final, which offers the total prize purse of US$70,000, will decide the Tour's first Grand Champion, who will walk 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

The Grand Final in Bali is the culmination of more than four months of intense pool competition held over five countries, where players 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-class players from 12 countries played to passionate crowds across the region, namely Indonesia (Jakarta), Chinese Taipei (Kaohsiung), Malaysia (Genting Highlands), Singapore and China (Shanghai).

Now bigger and better with the partnership forged between ESPN STAR Sports and Guinness, the Tour brings all the exhilarating pool drama 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 from last year's four and have now included next 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 at the internationally acclaimed Araneta Coliseum. The Guinness 9-Ball Tour remains the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify for the WPA World 9 Ball Championship.

Broadcast times are as follows:

Fri, 31 August, 2007 from 5.00 pm (HKT) Preliminaries (3 Matches)

Sat, 1 September, 2007 from 2.00pm (HKT) Quarterfinals (4 Matches)

Sun, 2 September, 2007 from 12:00pm (HKT) Semi-finals & Finals (3 Matches)

(Competition on Friday will start at 5pm; TV Schedules subject to change without prior notice)

The Guinness 9Ball 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 Persatuan Olahraga Billiar Seluruh Indonesia (POBSI). 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. The Official Venue is the Grand Hyatt Hotel. STAR Sports is the official broadcaster.

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Name

Total Ranking Points

Breakdown per Leg