Amateur Snooker - 2015 Arena Open Snooker Championship
22nd-31st October 2015 / Arena Snooker Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

  JOY FOR OOI AT INAUGURAL ARENA OPEN

Representatives of nine different countries travelled to Malaysia for this invitational open event; but it was home player, Patrick Ooi, who would take the title.

The tournament was split into different stages, starting off with local qualifiers, and then the main stage round robin and knockout sections. All proceedings were sanctioned by the Malaysian Snooker and Billiards Federation.

The well decorated Ooi qualified through to the round of 32 when finishing third in Group E with 3 wins out of 5.

He then eliminated Pakistan’s Imtiaz Serwer 4-1, and Egypt’s Mohamed Khairy, the non-Asian entry, 5-3 in the Last 16.

In the Quarter-Finals he upset fellow countryman, 2014 Asian Snooker Champion, and current professional player, Thor Chuan Leong, 5-1. 

With Thailand’s Aekravee Toon being dispatched at this stage too, it meant the Last 4 line-up was an all Malaysian lock out.

A comfortable 6-1 semi-final win over Moh Keen Hoo was followed up with a similar storyline in a 6-2 final defeat of Lim Kok Leong.

Ooi, who celebrated his 43rd birthday during the competition, took home the beautiful trophy and RM7,000 prize money.


2015 Arena Open Snooker Championship (Results from the Last 16 onwards)
Thor Chuan Leong (Malaysia)             5-2        Chee Keong Chan (Singapore)
Mohamed Khairy (Egypt)                     3-5        Patrick Ooi (Malaysia)
Aekravee Toon (Thailand)                    5-4        Au Chi Wai (Hong Kong)
Passakorn Suwannawat (Thailand)   2-5        Moh Keen Hoo (Malaysia)
Himanshu Jain (India)                           4-5        Zack Loh (Malaysia)
Lim Kok Leong (Malaysia)                    5-0        Saiful Bahari (Malaysia)
Lim Kok Leong made a 138 break in this match
YewWah Chooi (Malaysia)                    5-2        Mun Kit Thean (Malaysia)
Lai Chee Wei (Malaysia)                        1-5        Mohd Reza (Malaysia)

(Quarter-Finals)
Thor Chuan Leong       1-5    Patrick Ooi
Aekravee Toon              2-5    Moh Keen Hoo
Zack Loh                         2-5    Lim Kok Leong
YewWah Chooi              3-5    Mohd Reza

(Semi-Finals)
Patrick Ooi               6-1    Moh Keen Hoo
Lim Kok Leong       6-4    Mohd Reza

(Final)
Patrick Ooi      6-2    Lim Kok Leong

Highest Break: Thor Chuan Leong (Malaysia) - 143

There is a Facebook event page for the event here.

Written and published by Michael Day on the 3rd November 2015

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