Morning all. Last night I said I'd tell you who won in Bali once a reliable source had it, and now one does. Over in Ahmedabad the Commonwealth medal matches are today, and the men's snooker final is all-Indian after all. Korea has its LPBA semi-final line-up, so here's your Saturday breakfast reading.
POOL — AMEER ALI IS THE BALI RBC OPEN CHAMPION
- Iraq's Ameer Ali won the Bali International 9-Ball RBC Open, beating the Philippines' Jerico Bonus 11–9 in Friday night's final at the RBC Renon hall in Denpasar. He takes home the Rp200 million top prize.
- He did it the hard way. Local reports say he knocked out Alex Pagulayan, the 2004 world champion, in the quarter-finals and then beat AJ Manas in the semis. Manas takes Rp35 million for third place.
- "I'm happy to be champion here and to win against Jerico. He's good and it wasn't easy to beat him," Ali said (translated). Bonus admitted he was tired after winning every round from the last 64 onwards.
- Organiser Edward Sandjaja, owner of the RBC hall, is already talking about a much bigger event in 2027, with prize money of up to Rp1 billion. That would be well up on this year's Rp598 million total.
AHMEDABAD — FINALS DAY AT THE COMMONWEALTHS
- Haria has his opponent. Aditya Mehta beat Mohamed Thaha Irshath 3–2 in the other men's snooker semi-final, according to the official IBSF results graphic. That makes today's final Dhvaj Haria v Aditya Mehta, and the gold medal stays in India.
- Mehta has made no secret of what's driving him. Before the event he told Sports Now he wants his first international title since his daughter was born in January, and that he'd dedicate it to her.
- Women's snooker: Rebecca Kenna is in the final after her 3–0 win over Ishika Shah. I haven't seen a confirmed result from the other semi yet, so her opponent is still to be confirmed.
- Elsewhere today: the all-Indian women's English billiards final (Anupama Ramachandran v Revanna Umadevi) and Emma Cunningham v Naiga Rukia for blackball gold. Per the organisers' schedule, play starts at 12:30 local time (08:00 UK) and the closing ceremony is at 18:00 (13:30 UK).
KOREA — GOYANG LPBA SEMIS SET; HARIM TEAM-MATES COLLIDE
- Last night's two quarter-finals finished as follows. Lee Mi-rae beat Park Da-som 3–0. Han Ji-eun came from 1–1 to beat Kang Ji-eun 3–1, taking the last two sets 11–7 and 11–8.
- That gives us these semi-finals: Hida Orie v Lee Mi-rae, and Han Ji-eun v Jung Su-bin. Billiards & Sports notes it's the first time Han and Jung have met at the semi-final stage, and with Kim Ga-young gone we could get a new champion. The semis were due at 2pm Korean time (06:00 UK), so results should be in by midday. The final is on Sunday at 21:30 Korean time (13:30 UK).
- PBA last 32: Kim Young-won edged Kim Hong-min 3–2 in a five-setter, and his Harim team captain Kim Jun-tae beat Han Ji-seung 3–0, winning the first two sets 15–14. The two team-mates now meet in the last 16. Kukinews says Kim Young-won has won both of their previous tour meetings.
- Also through: David Martínez beat defending champion Eddy Leppens 3–0 and now plays Choi Sung-won, who won his own match 3–0. They're 1–1 head to head. Cho Gun-hwi beat Lee Sang-yong 3–0 to set up a meeting with his old mentor Lee Choong-bok. Lee Seung-jin, Nguyen Quoc Nguyen and David Zapata are also in the last 16.
- Goseong: the men's three-cushion semi-finals (Heo Jung-han v Jung Ye-sung and Park Su-young v Son Jun-hyuk) were played overnight our time. I haven't seen confirmed results yet and won't guess, so expect an update at midday.
SNOOKER — DOTT LODGES INTENTION TO APPEAL
- Sky News reports that Graeme Dott, the 2006 world champion, has lodged an intention to appeal against both his conviction and his seven-year sentence for historical child sex abuse. He was jailed last month. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service confirmed the intimation, and the note of appeal is due by 3 December. Dott continues to deny wrongdoing. The WPBSA permanently revoked his membership after the conviction, and he was removed from the World Snooker Tour's hall of fame.
WHERE TO WATCH / WHAT'S NEXT
- Today, from 08:00 UK: Commonwealth medal matches in Ahmedabad, live on IBSF TV.
- Today: Goyang PBA last 16 runs in four sessions from 11:30 Korean time (03:30 UK). Kim Young-won v Kim Jun-tae and Choi Sung-won v Martínez are at 21:30 Korean time (13:30 UK).
- Reading, Fri–Sun: World Seniors Tour event three continues, with scores on WPBSA SnookerScores.
- Sun 11 Oct, 13:30 UK: Goyang LPBA final.
- Mon 12 Oct, 13:00 UK: Goyang PBA final, with ₩100 million to the winner.
- 15–18 Oct: Reyes Cup at the Makati Coliseum, Manila, on WNT TV (ESPN+ in the US).
- 17–22 Oct: World Billiards Championship, English Open and Women's World Championship at Landywood SC, Great Wyrley. World Billiards says David Causier is going for a third straight world title.
- 18–25 Oct: Northern Ireland Open, Waterfront Hall, Belfast.
Back at lunchtime with the Ahmedabad medal winners, the Goyang semi-final results and, I hope, a Goseong champion. As always, if you've seen a result before me, stick it in the replies.
— Reggie
Sources: MCW News, Kaltim Kita, NusaBali, The Bali Observer, IBSF, Sports Now, Free Press Journal, IANS, Commonwealth Cue Sports Championships organisers (Apex Sports), Kukinews, Billiards & Sports, MK Billiards News, Herald Business, Sky News, World Seniors Snooker, World Billiards, World Nineball Tour.
Feature image: “DFC 0923 A focused player lines up a shot on a glowing pool table leaning in to strike the cue ball” by PattayaPatrol, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
