Lai Lifts Third National Snooker Title by InsidePOOL Staff George Lai captured his third United States National Snooker Championship title, as the number-two seed from Las Vegas defeated New York's Jian Qiang Wang 5-2 in this year's final at the Embassy Billiards Club in San Gabriel, CA. Eleven years after tasting his first national success, 33-year-old Lai last won the title back in 2005, though he suffered defeat in the final last year at the hands of Jack Kung. Lai went into this final as a strong favorite, though Jian's tremendous progress through this championship had been a revelation, particularly after defeating the defending champion and number-one seed Kung 4-1 in the semifinals. Jian stated his early claim to this prestigious title as he won Group D in the round robin stage ahead of the former champion Paul Kimura and only lost one frame in the knockout stage in progressing to the finals. In the last 16 he faced Chris Sheerin from Las Vegas and comfortably advanced into the quarterfinals with a 3-0 victory, where he then … [Read more...]