Peach Sends Alcano Packing

Peach Sends Alcano Packing
England’s Daryl Peach has secured his greatest result ever by defeating reigning World Pool Champion Ronnie Alcano – in his own backyard.
Peach, 35, beat Filipino Alcano 10-6 in the last 64 of the 2007 World Pool Championships, which is being held at the Araneta Coliseum, Manila, Philippines.
The tournament, organised by England-based Matchroom Sport, is the biggest pool event of the year, and is broadcast live across Asia and on Sky Sports in the UK.
As well as his tough opponent, Peach also had to battle against a partisan crowd of more than 1,000 people in the venue that hosted the legendary ‘Thriller in Manilla’ heavyweight title fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975.
Peach, who is currently ranked No.2 in Europe, instantly hailed his victory as one of the finest of his long career.
“I’ve had some good tournament wins but in a one-off match, because of the situation – reigning world champion, big crowd and great venue – this has to be one of the best,” said Peach.
“The sky is the limit for me now. I’m not going to say I’m likely to win the tournament, it’s just one match at a time, but it’s something I could do.
“Playing against the defending World Champion was easier than playing someone that I’m supposed to beat.
“He was the favourite and I felt I had nothing to lose. I just concentrated on my game and used the atmosphere as a positive.
“I’m here to win pool matches so why get overawed by it?
“I didn’t do much wrong and there was nothing, no shots where I could say I had made a mistake.
“Before the match I wouldn’t say I was confident, but I just tried to remain focused and do what I needed to do.”
Peach’s victory moves him into the last 32 of the nine-day event and guarantees him a minimum of $3,000 (about £1,425), while the eventual winner will pocket $100,000 (about £47,500).
The tournament is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland and also on ESPN Star across Asia, with a further 20 stations to show highlights in the near future.
It does not get much easier for Peach as he now plays Lee Kun-fang from Chinese Taipei, a World Championship runner-up in 1997 on Thursday evening.