Chinese Taipei's Chang Jung-Lin wins the first Guinness 9 Ball Tour held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Bali, August 31 to September 2, 2007.For the title, Chang earns the top prize of US$36,000 as Asia's Pool King of 2007, a Guinness official said here today.In the grand final Chang was beaten Lee Vann Corteza from Philippines with a 11-8. The Filipino's runner up finished in the grand final earned him US$10,000.

Said an emotional Chang,"Before today's victory, I sometimes felt that I don't deserve to be here with my Chinese-Taipei teammates because compared to them, they are already established international names in the country."Now that I've won my first international title, it gives me immense relief and joy because it means that all my years of training has finally come to fruition. It's more than just the monetary reward – it's about being recognised as an international player that makes this victory means so much to me."

In the first semi-final, Chang made a remarkable comeback to beat his compatriot and leader of the Order of Merit list, Yang Ching-Shun in the narrowest of margins, 13-12. Neither player gave an inch to each other, which stretched the match to a 3½-hour marathon that got the crowd of more than 580 pool fans on the edge of their seats.

Players must hold 11 racks to win from the semi-finals stage onwards. Where there is a 10-all tie, players must beat their opponents by two clear racks, up to a maximum of 13 to win.

Wu Chia-Ching, the 2005 World Pool Champion, was unbeaten in the Grand Final tournament until he met Corteza in second semi-final. The Filipino stunned the Chinese Taipei native 11-9 to clinch his final berth earlier.

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