Chou Chieh-Yu
Chou Chieh-Yu is the 2022 Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Champion.
The 35-year-old defeated compatriot Wei Tzu Chien 9-3 in the final at Sportpark Klagenfurt in Austria to win €30,000 and receive the trophy and gold medal.
‘Rita’ Chou was 2013 World Games gold medalist and can now call herself World Champion thanks to an impressive and dominating performance on the final day of play. After defeating Kelly Fisher 9-4 in the semi-finals, she outplayed Wei in the final to earn her World title.
“I am really excited now, thank you everyone,” said Chou on receiving her trophy. “It is the first time I won a World Championship. I felt relaxed today, even when the situations were tough.
“I want to thank my family, my supports and my sponsors, and of course Wei Wei. I didn’t expect to win this week, but I have been really enjoying my game. I am looking forward to celebrating when we get home.”
Wei had reached the final by coming back to beat home favorite Jasmin Ouschan 9-7. Wei was trialing for the first half of the match, before coming from 5-3 down to level at 5-5. Ouschan regained her lead at 6-5 and then 7-6 but Wei took the next two to reach the hill 8-7 up. A missed 10 gave the Austrian an opportunity to level, but the chance was a difficult bank. The crowd couldn’t bear to watch as Ouschan’s effort hit the rail and handed Wei a straight shot to the middle pocket.
A blistering 9-0 victory against ‘Amber’ Chia Hua Chen in Friday’s quarter-finals had wowed the crowd but Wei was struggling to find that sharpness on Saturday. In the final, she struggled to get going and Chou took advantage.
Wei’s nerves were showing from the start as she missed a straight 1 after Chou’s dry break. She responded with a great two-rail kick to later make the 1, but a missed 9 allowed Chou to steal the rack.
Chou doubled her lead in the second by running the table after drawing a foul from Wei following a dry break. An unfortunate kiss meant Chou scratched on the third break, but she took the rack after Wei hit the 9 too soft, leaving her short of position on the 10.
The fourth rack belonged to Wei but Chou took the next two. Two more racks were shared, taking the match to 6-2 and Chou got to the hill 8-2 ahead when Wei missed another 9. A long 2 opened the next rack for Wei, who cleared to remain in the event.
Five racks ahead and an alternate break format meant Chou would have chances, and she didn’t have to wait too long for her moment of victory. Wei left a shot at the 1 for Chou, who came up a little short on the 2, and then left a shot for Wei. It was a long cut shot on offer and Wei was disappointed with her effort, which was hit too thick and proved to be her last shot of the match.
Chou took the 2 and dealt with a difficult 6 with a long shot down the rail, guiding the cue to the center of the table for a perfect shot on the 7.
The road to becoming a World champion is never smooth, and Chou gave herself one last test when she came up short on the 9. But it was a test she completed like a champion; a lot of backspin brought the cue back off the side rail and perfectly down to the 10, which was rolled in with an exclamation of ‘yes!’ from the new World Champion.
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship can be seen here: https://probilliardseries.com/event/1677/.
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Teams Championship is at https://probilliardseries.com/event/1678/.
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I am still watching the matches and I did watch this one. The races were very nice to watch.