American teenager Sofia Mast stunned women’s world number one Jasmin Ouschan in the first round of the Women’s World 9-Ball Championship in Jacksonville, Florida.
Mast, a former world girls champion, achieved the biggest victory of her young career in a 2-1 sets win, hindering Ouschan’s hopes of becoming the first male or female player to win world titles in all three prominent disciplines.
Having also beaten Ouschan in last year’s World 10-Ball Championship, 17-year-old Mast repeated the feat in her home state, bouncing back from a second set whitewash and holding her nerve in the all-important set.
“I feel like I wanna cry right now because it means so much to me that I can compete against these people, that I can do very well and handle the pressure,” an emotional Mast told the Predator Pro Billiard Series.
“It’s been so tough because I’ve played against so many tough players and got so close. I’d never quite been able to get over that hill, so getting over that hill here has made me slightly emotional.
“It’s definitely going to build my confidence, I’m very thrilled right now. I’m glad how I shot, not so much the second set, but with all the pressure in the end and getting out in that last rack.
“This gives me a lot of confidence to keep going and hopefully do very well in the tournament. I’m just going to calm my nerves down because I’m very shaky right now and think about making every shot.”
Elsewhere, Rubilen Amit’s hopes of becoming just the fifth player to defend their Women’s World 9-Ball Championship were dealt a huge blow as she was beaten in straight sets in the second round by Taiwanese cueist Chou Chia-Chia.
Four-time world champion Allison Fisher endured an opening round defeat to South Korea’s Harin Lee in a dramatic shootout, while three-time winner Han Yu was beaten in round two by world 10-ball champion Chezka Centeno.
Good friends Pia Filler and Savannah Easton contested a second round epic, with teenage talent Easton was unable to seal the deal when leading 3-1 in the deciding set and ultimately being denied in an intense shootout.
Kristina Tkach and Seo Seoa, two of the title favourites, both cruised into the winners qualification round without dropping a set, brushing aside Linnea Hjalmarstrom and Mayte Ropero in the second round respective with relative ease.
China’s Liu Shasha was equally as dominant as she completed impressive straight sets victories over Nina Torvund and Harin Lee to continue her quest for a fourth world title, ten years after her last.
