With tears welling up in his eyes, 16-year-old Wu Chia-ching lifted the 2005 World Pool Championship trophy over his head in Kaohsiung on Sunday night as he was crowned the youngest player ever to win the prestigious title.
His 62-year old grandmother stood beside him, doting over her young champion and sharing in his remarkable run past 128 fellow competitors.
Dubbed the "Little Genius," Wu displayed courage in his final match, overcoming early errors to run four straight racks.
PHOTO: MATCHROOM SPORTS
His opponent, 27-year old Kuo Po-cheng, also of Taiwan, had gone undefeated through nine-days of the tournament, even building a healthy lead of 16-12 in the "race to 17" finals, before committing, a major error.
"Kuo violated the a cardinal rule of not letting a ball hit the rail on his safety shot," said Luke Riches, event spokesperson and Matchroom Sports representative.
The error gave Wu "ball in hand" and an opportunity to mount an improbable comeback, a task made even more difficult considering that a a single error would cost him the match.
Wu Bravely handled the pressure, stringing four flawless racks to lay claim to victory and the US$75,000 first-place check.
"I never thought of giving up," Wu said after the victory. "I thought if I got the table again I'd go for my shots and have a chance."
Wu told the local media that he plans to buy two homes with his winnings -- one for him and one for his grandmother.
Wu is already well known among professional pool players. He first entered international pool tournaments at the age of 13. He was runner-up at the Asian Tour Singapore earlier this year and a runner-up at the 2004 National Pro Tour.
Some of Wu's success may be attributed to the high quality of play in Taiwan, highlighted by this year's all-Taiwan final.
"Wu's success is a testimony to how billiards is organized here -- from the junior level to the senior level -- and to high quality tournaments," Riches said.
After being hosted in Taiwan for the past two years, organizers said that next year's World Pool Championship may take place in the Philippines, South Korea or Dubai.
"We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Taiwan and we would love to do the tournament here again," Riches said.
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