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YUSHAN, China, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Top-ranking snooker players had a tough day on Monday at the 2017 Chinese Pool World Championship as Mark Williams and Joe Perry were both eliminated in the first round.
In the double elimination first round, Radoslam Babica set up a 4-1 lead in the best-of-17 match against Mark Williams. The latter had a three-frame streak to tie 8-8 before he accidentally dropped the black to lose 9-8.
In the night session, Williams lost three straight frames after 6-6 tie in a British derby with Jack Whelan to bow out of the tournament in Yushan, a city in central China's Jiangxi Province.
"I don't play enough to know whether I am good or not good, probably not very good. Very difficult for us I think, if the balls are the same size of the snooker balls, I think I had the chance to beat anybody," Williams said.
Another snooker star Joe Perry also suffered double defeats.
"I enjoy it. I just wish I could win some more," said Perry. "More guys from Europe come over this year, so I think more and more will come. The game is growing, maybe nine balls is fading out, English eight-ball fading out so this is the new game."
It is the third year in a row for Yushan to host the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) tournament. This year's event attracts players from 41 countries and regions, offering total prize money of over three million RMB (about 437,573 U.S. dollars). The men's winner will earn 600,000 and the women's winner 400,000 RMB.
