Yapp overcomes broken cue to extend winning run

Having completed a hat-trick of major titles during a three-week sojourn in the United States in August, Singapore's Aloysius Yapp was looking forward to eating "all the rice" at his next destination, Taipei.

- David Lee

As it turns out, the 29-year-old pool pro is also hungry for more titles as he won the Formosa Cup Taipei Pool Open after beating local favourite Ko Ping-chung 9-4 in the final on Aug 29, with the US$12,000 (S$15,000) prize money going some way to satisfy his braised pork rice, teppanyaki and hotpot cravings.

The victory also showed Yapp's appetite for revenge after the 29-year-old Taiwanese, who was the 2019 world 10-ball champion, had whitewashed him 11-0 in the 2023 US Open semi-finals without letting him pot a single ball.

However, the in-form Singaporean, who had won 27 straight matches across his three major triumphs, faced some challenges at the Hulk Billiards Flagship Hall.