Taiwan’s Wu Kun-lin and Hsieh Chia-chen on Thursday made history when they won the first Men’s Doubles 10-Ball World Championship in Bali, Indonesia.
Wu and Hsieh, nicknamed “the Beast” and “the Dark Knight” respectively, defeated Canada 3-0 to take the inaugural title at the event, which was organized by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA).
In the competition, the pair had a rocky start, losing to Poland in the opening round, but bounced back through the losers’ bracket to reach the semi-finals, where they came up against the Polish duo again, this time scoring a 3-2 victory.
Photo: the Predator Pro Billiard Series Facebook page
The final match showcased the Taiwanese pair’s flawless teamwork and calm precision, and their synergy “set a new benchmark for doubles play at the world level,” the WPA said in a statement, after they won against Canada to take the title.
“This is our first world title together, and I’m really, really happy,” said Hsieh, in a visibly emotional statement after the match.
“Everything went smoothly in the final. It was probably the best game we played in these three days,” he said.
Wu, long driven by the dream of becoming a world champion, said the tournament was quite a challenge, but he always believed they could achieve the top goal.
“These few days felt like forever,” he said. “Every match was intense — from falling behind to turning it around.”
The duo became the first-ever world champions in the new doubles format, winning a cash prize of US$70,000. It was the WPA’s first 10-ball doubles competition. The new category, introduced this year, was created to highlight teamwork and strategic coordination — as opposed to the individual-focused nine-ball and 10-ball world titles, the WPA said.
It was also the first time in 10 years that Taiwan won a men’s doubles world title in an international cue sport competition.
Alex Pagulayan and John Morra of Canada took home silver, while Poland and Peru tied for third place.
The doubles event was the first of three world championships in Bali, organized by the WPA. It is being followed by the Predator WPA Women’s 10-Ball World Championship and the Yalin WPA Men’s 8-Ball World Championship, which offer a record US$615,000 in total prize money.
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