Organized by ESPN STAR Sports, Asia's number one sports broadcaster, with Guinness as the title sponsor, fans can expect intense competition in the 2008 Tour, as the rest of Asia eagerly tries to redeem themselves following a clean sweep of the series by Chinese Taipei last year.
With the local contingent boasting of an intimidating line-up of Chang Jung-Lin (2007 Overall Tour Champion), Wu Chia-Ching (2005 WPA World Pool Champion), Ko Pin-Yi (2007 WPA World Junior Champion), Wang Hung-Hsiang, Chang Pei-Wei, and Yang Ching-Shun (2007 Tour Grand Finals Semi-finalist), it would seem that Chinese Taipei is determined to start the season strong in the hopes of sparking a repeat of last year's flawless performance.
Meanwhile, the rest of the competition field will see Asia’s best players such as Indonesia’s top-ranked cueist Ricky Yang, perennial crowd-favorite Alex Pagulayan (2004 WPA World Pool Champion) and his compatriot Marlon Manalo (2006 IPT 8 Ball Championship runner-up) of the Philippines, all setting their sights on the 2008 season’s first trophy. Action in the group stage will begin on February 29 at the Taipei Gymnasium.
The players draw has resulted with the hometown bets bracketed in tough matchups. In Group F, Kaohsiung’s ‘Son of Pool’ Yang Ching-Shun will be testing the pocketing prowess of “The Lion” Alex Pagulayan. In Group D, Chinese-Taipei’s teen wonder Ko Pin-Yi will need to be on top-form if he wants to advance past Marlon Manalo while Wu Chia-Ching will have his hands full as he begins his campaign against Ricky Yang in Group E. Over at Group A Chang Pei-Wei will go head on against Joven Bustamante, the overall top seed in the 2008 kick-off leg. In group B, Chinese-Taipei’s number one ranked cueist Wang Hung-Hsiang will clash versus Korea’s Ryu Seung Woo in their elimination round opener.
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