When Lai Chee Wei’s name was entered for the tournament by the Malaysian Billiards & Snooker Federation, no one in Singapore thought much about him or his ability in the sport. Once he started making century breaks, he suddenly got noticed and became an instant crowd favourite throughout his progression in the tournament, from Klassic Cuesports to Snooker Zone (Toa Payoh).

Cool, calm and composed, he topped his group and got seeded no 2 in the last 16 draw. He practically breezed past Lim Yuan Hao and Alex Puan of Singapore in the round of 16 and quarter- finals respectively without conceding a single frame.

Many then thought that would be the end of his brilliant run when his semi-final opponent was Aditya Mehta of India, runner up at the recent Asian Snooker Championship 2008. It was close but Lai eventually edged out Aditya by 5 frames to 4.

Now…Final against a fellow country man, Moh Keen Hoo, who did a break of 117 points in the quarter-finals. Lai raced to a 4 – 0 lead just slightly over an hour. Just when it seemed like a one sided affair, Moh came back strongly after that to level the match and 5 a piece.

On the last deciding frame, Moh took a chance and smashed the packed reds opened….but unfortunate for him, his gamble did not quite work out. Lai was all smiles as he had two quick visits and chalked up enough points for Moh to concede the frame and match.

At the next tournament….look out for the Malaysian `Ice Man’ Lai Chee Wei. What a player!