Kristina Tkach will be bidding to land the biggest title of her career as she encounters female world number one Chou Chieh-Yu in the inaugural PBS Women’s Showdown final on Friday evening in Las Vegas.
Taiwanese sensation Chou has crowned the world 9-ball champion and the world 10-ball champion during her prosperous career, while Tkach could achieve her finest hour by scooping the $35,000 top prize at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.
Both players were defeated during the group stage of the $100,000 tournament but managed to qualify for the quarter-finals, where Tkach battled back from one set behind against China’s Chen Siming and Chou dealt with recent Las Vegas Open winner Chezka Centeno.
It was another straight sets scalp for the reigning women’s world champion in the semi-finals as Chou brushed aside Jasmin Ouschan, whereas Moscow-born Tkach narrowly avoided a shootout following a missed seven ball from Wei Tzu-Chien.
Chou and Tkach encounter one another in last year’s Puerto Rico Open single elimination phase, albeit in the 10-ball discipline. That closely-contested match was ultimately decided by a sudden-death shootout, with Tkach missing her fifth spot shot attempt.
A shootout potentially deciding who becomes the Women’s Showdown champion and pockets $35,000 appears ludicrous, although it allows both players their chance and ensures that the winner isn’t decided based on whoever wins the pre-match lag.
Chou has the pedigree when it comes to winning Pro Billiard Series tournaments, having notably emerged victorious when Predator hosted the Women’s World 9-Ball Championship last January, and she will be the favourite to prevail heading into the final.
Nevertheless, Tkach continues to learn her trade on the women’s scene and will undoubtedly progress to achieve incredible things in the game – perhaps those begin to take shape on Friday evening and she poses with the biggest trophy of her career thus far.
Whoever prevails would be a worthy champion, having reigned supreme in the field containing the world’s very elite female players.
The Women’s Showdown final between Chou and Tkach will be broadcast live via Pro Billiard TV on YouTube from 6pm local time in Las Vegas.
Prediction: Tkach 2-1
