File photo shows Bong (left) receiving his winnings from Malaysia Snooker Billiards Federation secretary Iskandar Pawa.
SIBU (Dec 22): Swan City Recreational Club Sibu (SCRCS) has accomplished another successful year that culminates in the second edition of the Swan City Invitational Snooker Championship, to run at the Executive 3 Snooker Centre here this Dec 23 to 27.
According to SCRCS president Mark Yeo, the tournament has registered 40 top players from throughout Sarawak.
Among the top contenders from Kuching are Tan Chin Yong, Danny Leong, and Ricardo Sim, while from Sarikei, the key cueists are Yu Hung Kai and Elvis Wong.
From Sibu, all the seasoned players are Ng Hong Man, Jee Chau Hui, Sim Hong Hui, Michael Yao, and also Yeo himself.
The winner will take home RM2,500, and first runner-up will pocket RM1,000.
Semi-finalists will each get RM500, while the quarter-finalists will receive RM250 each.
The highest break of 70 points will earn the striker an additional RM500.
In his remarks, Yeo expressed gratitude to Lanang MP Alice Lau and Sibu MP Oscar Ling for their financial contributions towards making the event a success.
Lau, also the Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker, is expected to officiate at the opening ceremony, set to commence at 7pm today (Dec 23), while Ling will attend the closing ceremony this Dec 27.
Adding on, Yeo said the biggest breakthrough achieved by the Sarawak cueists was the historic feat of Edmund Bong becoming the first Sarawakian to reach the last 16 of the National Closed Snooker Championship held in Kuala Lumpur in August.
The 32-year-old businessman from Kuching even upstaged top national player and tournament favorite Lim Kok Leong with a sensational 5-4 win to stun the crowd into disbelief.
However, in the quarter-final battle, Bong went down 3-5 against Saiful Bahari, another Top 10 national player, despite mounting strong resistance and good play.
For the year, Yeo said SCRCS also introduced the Sibu Swan City Snooker League Championship, aimed at raising the standard of the game and also to rank the players.
“We managed to hold the snooker league twice during the year, which was a good start off to attract the players.”
Yeo said the snooker league was his brainchild, with the objective of ensuring that snooker would remain a relevant sport.
“Indeed, with so few local snooker tournaments, we have to be creative and come up with something to keep the players busy. Otherwise, the sport would just die off,” he stressed.
On a more personal note, Yeo expressed satisfaction for lifting the title of the fourth edition of the Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan Yang Associations Snooker Championship held in Kuala Lumpur in October.
A total of 16 players representing Yang associations from throughout the country took part in the event, including two players each from Sarawak, Penang, Port Klang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Johor, Melaka and Muar.
“It was the first time I won the title and the victory was worth to savour and hopefully, I would be able to retain the title in next year’s edition.”