Lee Van Corteza failed to sustain his momentum early in the tournament and succumbed to a younger foe to settle for the runner-up honors in the World Pool Series-Molinari Player’s 8-Ball Championship yesterday in New York City.
The 37-year-old Corteza struggled early from the start and yielded to 25-year-old Ruslan Chinahov of Russia, 16-6, in the race-to-16 finals staking $20,000 to the champion player.
Chinahov, a three-time European Junior Champion, dictated the tempo with a quick 7-4 lead and never looked back as Corteza couldn’t find the right tactics to dismantle his foe.
Corteza was the second Filipino that Chinahov defeated in this strong 128-man field en route to the title. The 2010 8-Ball World Cup semifinalist toppled Johann Chua, 15-8, in the semifinals.
A snooker player, Chinahov still displayed his flexibility in the game with mostly dominating triumphs in his earlier matches that include United Kingdom’s Lee Creighton, 13-4, Zion Zvi of Israel, 13-8, Brandon Shuff of the United States, 16-14, Alex Kazakis of Greece, 15-10, and United Kingdom’s Karl Boyes, 15-11.
Despite the loss, Corteza settled for the $8,500 runner-up purse.