Isaac Lim wins the Merlion Cup Plate event 2015

After rounds of exciting matches in the Preliminary Rounds of the Merlion Cup Open Event, players who were knocked out of their groups proceeded to play in the Plate Event, which amidst all the action in the Knockout Rounds, was equally exciting as the players competed for the consolation prize of Plate Champion.  The latter saw a total of 9 players, all who finished either 3rd or 4th in their respective Preliminary Groups participating in the event.

The players were then placed in 3 groups of 3 players each with Isaac, Ming Liang and Dylan in Group A; Quan Feng, Luke and Ding Heng in Group B; and Hashim, Yew Seng and Bolkiah forming Group C.  The players had to play group matches to determine who finishes top in each group and the best player to finish second among all groups.

In the Plate Semi-finals, the winner of Group A will then go on to face his counterpart in Group C whereas the winner of Group B will then face the best player to finish second.  The winners of each semi-final match will go head to head with each other in the Plate Final to compete for the title of Plate Champion.

Plate Preliminary Rounds:
The Plate Preliminary Rounds saw players putting in their best efforts to enter the semi-finals.  After a couple of group matches, Isaac, Quan Feng and Bolkiah went on to top Groups A, B and C respectively; while Luke ended up as the best player to finish second.  The above four players then progressed to play in the Plate Semi-finals.

Plate Semi-finals:

Semi-final 1 (Isaac vs Bolkiah):
The first match of the Plate Semi-finals was a face-off between the winner of Group A, Isaac and the winner of Group B, Bolkiah, both who secured top 4 spots in the Merlion Cup U19 Individual Category the previous day.  The match was rather tight with both players engaged in a battle of wits and accuracy to fight for a well-deserved spot in the final.  Despite the good fighting spirit that both players put up, Isaac managed to secure a 1-0 victory against Bolkiah to take the lead and earn a spot in the final.

Semi-final 2 (Quan Feng vs Luke):
Just like the preliminary match which saw Quan Feng beating Luke by a 2-1 scoreline, both players played against each other once more in the semi-finals.  This match was rather exciting as both sides had an equal amount of chances to score goals but could not capitalise on them, resulting in a goalless 0-0 draw and the game taken to a round of shots.  The result still remained the same after countless attempts to score from shots which saw the game being brought to sudden death where Luke managed to net in a goal to secure a spot as one of the two finalist.

Plate Final (Isaac vs Luke):
The day drew down to this match for all Plate Event participants.  It was a match that decided who will emerge victorious and be crowned Plate Champion and who would return from the competition as Plate Runner-up.  The Lim brothers, consisting of Luke and Isaac were to compete for the champion’s title in this very match which despite the ongoing Merlion Cup Open Final, was also a nail-biting affair of both skill and accuracy.

The match was literally an adrenaline rush for both players who were playing to their limits and not planning to show any signs of mercy to the opposing side.  However, despite the pressure both sides were putting in for their opponents, Isaac was more accurate with his touches and more clinical with his shots, thus allowing him to defeat Luke with a whopping 5-0 victory.  Congratulations, Isaac!!!

Once again, a big congratulations to all players who stayed on to play in the Plate Event despite their defeats in the Main Event.  We hope to see you in action once more at our next tournament!

(Report by Luke Lim and Isaac Lim.)