From School Dropout To World No 2, Singaporean Pool Player ... - CNA

SINGAPORE: Until today, Aloysius Yapp, 25, can’t pinpoint what exactly captured his imagination about pool.

It could have been the satisfying clatter of billiard balls colliding or the kaleidoscope of spinning colours and swirling patterns.

From the minute he saw on TV what was a new and fascinating sport to him, he was hooked. All the eight-year-old wanted was to play pool.

He pestered and pestered his parents. First he made do with a toy table, then a 3ft table.

Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read A single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day. This service is not intended for persons residing in the E.U. By clicking subscribe, I agree to receive news updates and promotional material from Mediacorp and Mediacorp’s partners. Loading

Yapp went on to frequent a local pool and billiards shop where he would take on all comers. It was there he met shop owner Paul Pang, his first coach and mentor.

“He would teach me the basics, the fundamentals of the game. (He) tried to teach me how to stroke certain shots, how to pop certain shots. It was mostly basics, because at that time I was definitely too young,” Yapp told CNA.

The youngster looked forward to Fridays, because it meant visits to the shop.

“I just loved hitting the balls around. There were customers coming in, I would challenge (them) … I didn’t want to leave the table – there was only one table – I kept trying to hog the table.”

On his 14th birthday, his mother bought him a 7ft table. The table took up most of the space in the living room of the Yapps’ family flat in Simei.

“After that I never left the table. I just kept playing the whole day,” he told CNA. “Every day after school ... I would go home and start playing.”

Even when his family planned vacations abroad, Yapp would have only one question – would there be a pool table?

“I could not stop thinking about it,” said Yapp, who currently sits at second position on the World Pool-Billiard Association rankings.

A LIFE-CHANGING DECISION

During a trip to China, he went to a billiards exhibition and played a friendly match with a 16-year-old Chinese world champion. He lost, but his eyes were opened.

“Her mum took her out of school to play full time, then she became world champion,” he recalled. “It got me thinking.”

The seed was planted. He wanted to quit school and pursue pool full time.

“Being an athlete is not that easy. It requires a lot of commitment. At the time, because I was so young, I didn't know anything. I’m the kind of person that as long as I like something, I'll go for it all the way,” said Yapp, who was then a Secondary 2 student at St Patrick’s School.

He would skip school to stay home and play pool. After lunch, he headed to the Chinese Swimming Club where he had a choice of three snooker tables and a pool table.