Ko Ping-Chung has won the World 10-Ball Championship title for the second time in his illustrious career, overcoming Alex Kazakis 3-1 in sets to seal the spoils in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Having defeated Joshua Filler to initially secure the lucrative accolade six years ago, Taiwanese sensation Ko regained the sought-after crown, earning himself a career-best payday of $75,000 and following in Eklent Kaci’s footsteps as a two-time champion.
Ko capitalised on a couple of errors from Kazakis to claim the opening set without response, before the former US Open champion compiled three break and runs in set two to double his advantage in the final.
WPA number one Kazakis executed a phenomenal two-rail kick shot on the one ball on his way to getting on the board, swinging the momentum of the contest despite still having an uphill battle on his hands to overturn the deficit.
Nevertheless, a relentless Ko produced three break and runs in the fourth set and sealed the deal. Despite Kazakis winning three consecutive racks to lead 3-2, a poor safety on the fourth ball in the sixth rack ultimately ended his hopes.
Beforehand, Ko, who needed a wildcard for the tournament due to being 67th in the WPA rankings, dispatched Carlo Biado in straight sets in the semi-finals, having also beaten the defending champion in a shootout in the early rounds.
The 30-year-old also emerged through five-set affairs against Polish youngster Szymon Kural and Hungary’s Oliver Szolnoki, which were sandwiched by a more commanding win over Poland’s Daniel Maciol.
Kazakis, meanwhile, was defeated in straight sets by Shane van Boening in his opening match, although the former World Masters winner exacted revenge on SVB in a semi-final that was decided 13-12 in a seemingly never-ending shootout.
Kazakis needed to battle past Filipino Lee Van Corteza and Egypt’s Wesam Hamamm in shootouts to qualify for the final 32, before beating Taiwanese youngster Sun Yi-Hsuan, Alex Montpellier and Marco Teutscher.
The World 10-Ball Championship and Women’s Saigon Open were both held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and the Predator Pro Billiard Series now moves onto Bali, Indonesia for the Women’s World 10-Ball Championship and Men’s World 8-Ball Championship.
