Pan Xiaomei (潘曉美) of China took the home honors at the Amway WPA Women's World 9-Ball Championship in Taoyuan on Sunday.
Pan was in control throughout the entire tournament, losing just one match in the group stage and beating Filipino Rubilen Amit 11-5 in the finals to take the crown.
It was Pan's first world championship and followed a breakout performance at the Women's Professional Billiard Association US tour, where she snared first prize at the Great Lakes Classic in March.
PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Taiwanese players also turned in strong performances, with two reaching the quarter-finals and one the semi-finals. Roommates Liu Hsin-mei (
Liu, who has won two world championships, pulled out to an early 5-2 lead and was only one game away from making the semi-finals after extending her advantage to 6-4.
But Tsai, who earlier in the tournament came back from a 2-6 deficit to defeat South Korean Jung Sung-hyun, managed to pull even after winning the next two frames, taking advantage of consecutive fouls by Liu.
She went on to take the 13th game and the match to reach the semi-finals for the first time in her career.
Tsai began strongly against Pan in the next round as the two reached a 4-4 tie.
However, Pan took advantage of a missed shot by Tsai in the ninth game, clearing the table and finishing the next two games without missing a shot, going on to win 9-4.
The tournament ended in disappointment for South Korean Kim Ga-young, whose bid to win the tournament three years in a row ended when Amit beat her 7-2 in the quarter-finals.
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