Jasmin Ouschan has won the inaugural staging of the Women’s World 8-Ball Championship, overcoming Chezka Centeno 9-8 in a thrilling finale at the Oneida Casino in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Austria’s Ouschan, the current women’s world number two, ended her 15-year wait for another world title, adding to her 2010 Women’s World 10-Ball Championship triumph by securing the $30,000 top prize.
Ouschan put together four break and runs and held an 8-6 lead in a closely-contested final, although a dry break on the hill allowed Centeno to clear the table prior to a timely break and run of her own, which forced a deciding rack.
Despite manoeuvring her way around the table well in the all-important rack, Ouschan overran the cue ball and therefore needed to execute a tricky cut to middle pocket, but she was up to the task to seal the deal.
Beforehand, the Austrian had come through relatively routine victories over Chen Chia-Hua, Kristina Zlateva and Samia Konishi, having notably battled past Norway’s Nina Torvund in a 7-5 win to qualify for the final 16.
It was a more strenuous route to the final for former world 10-ball champion Centeno, who needed to emerge through a hill-hill affair against Wei Tzu-Chien in the quarter-finals and a 8-6 battle with Margarita Fefilova in the semi-finals.
Women’s world number one Kristina Tkach defeated Elise Qiu 7-6 and Japan’s Konishi 7-5 in tough early matches, and she also thrashed Pia Filler 8-1 in the last 16, but her campaign was cut short at the hands of Fefilova in the quarter-finals.
Chou Chieh-Yu and Kelly Fisher, who were both attempting to achieve the women’s world championship trifecta, were beaten in the last 16 following losses to Wei Tzu-Chien and Meng-Hsia Hung respectively.
They were ultimately unsuccessful in achieving an historic feat, although Ouschan will now receive the same opportunity when the Women’s World 9-Ball Championship takes place this December following a week which belonged to her.
