City of Kalgoorlie Open: Laksiri Downs Top Seed To Win Title

Sri Lanka’s Ravindu Laksiri claimed the City of Kalgoorlie – Boulder Golden Open crown, beating top seed Joseph White in the final this weekend.

Laksiri came into the Challenger 3 level competition as the tournament’s No.2 seed and due to the 16-man draw not being filled, the Sri Lankan received a bye through the opening day’s action.

He then played twice on the second day, winning both his quarter final and semi-final contest to reach the final on Sunday. He started with a four-game victory over Australia’s Tate Zak Norris, regrouping after losing the second game of that contest to win 3-1.

The Sri Lankan then took on Mike Corren, the tournament’s No.4 seed, in the semis. This time, he went two games to the good, before seeing Corren fight back to win the third 11-7. Laksiri regrouped once more, winning the fourth to advance to the final.

The final saw him face off against top seed Joseph White, who was in good form after winning the Barfoot & Thompson Auckland/Oceania Open last month.

He looked in a good position to make it back-to-back wins on Tour, going 2-1 after losing the opening game on a tie-break 14-12. Laksiri fought back through, to win the fourth game 11-8, before then taking the deciding fifth game 11-7 to claim his second win of the season.

Results: City of Kalgoorlie – Boulder Golden Open
Final 
[2] Ravindu Laksiri (SRI) bt [1] Joseph White (AUS) 3-2: 14-12, 5-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7

Semi-Finals
[1] Joseph White (AUS) bt [3] Nicholas Calvert (AUS) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-7
[2] Ravindu Laksiri (SRI) bt [4] Mike Corren (AUS) 3-1: 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 11-5

Quarter Finals
[1] Joseph White (AUS) bt Ryu Jeongmin (KOR) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-8
[3] Nicholas Calvert (AUS) bt David Turner (AUS) 3-1: 9-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-3
[4] Mike Corren (AUS) bt [6] Oscar Curtis (AUS) 3-2: 11-8, 11-5, 6-11, 4-11, 11-7
[2] Ravindu Laksiri (SRI) bt [7] Tate Zak Norris (AUS) 3-1: 11-6, 7-11, 13-11, 11-2

First Round
Ryu Jeongmin (KOR) bt [5] James Lloyd (AUS) 3-2: 13-11, 6-11, 10-12, 11-0, 11-8
David Turner (AUS) bt [8] Shamil Wakeel (SRI) 3-1: 5-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-6
[6] Oscar Curtis (AUS) bt Remi Young (AUS) 3-1: 11-4, 10-12, 11-8, 11-5
[7] Tate Zak Norris (AUS) bt David Ilich (AUS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-5