Ko Pin-Yi sealed his sixth World Nineball Tour ranking title on home turf, defeating Ronel Nalaunan 13-11 in a gripping final to win the fourth staging of the Chinese Taipei Open in the Taiwanese capital.
Ko, whose most recent taste of success on the tour came at the Lushan Open in China 18 months ago, added to his title tally and pocketed the $30,000 top prize to return to the world’s top eight in the WNT rankings.
Filipino underdog Nalaunan obtained the early ascendancy and gained a 5-2 advantage with a break and run, although Ko quickly restored parity at five apiece in a final which seemingly ebbed and flowed.
Nalaunan remained within touching distance of the 2015 world champion throughout the contest, and he would develop an opportunity at the business end following a tremendous jump-bank on the three ball.
Breaking to force a deciding rack, Nalaunan appeared poised to level the final before unfortunately overrunning position, which sparked a safety battle that Ko would ultimately emerge victorious from.
In the semi-finals, the Taiwanese star overcame Filipino Aivhan Maluto, who had entered uncharted territory in a ranking event, having dropped just ten racks in prior wins over Dang Thanh Kien, Lin Ta-Li, Kuo Po-Cheng and Trinh Van Binh.
It was a rather commanding campaign for Ko until the championship match against Nalaunan, who reached an elusive ranking final with notable wins over the likes of Reyes Cup MVP AJ Manas, Jeffrey Ignacio and Naoyuki Oi.
His 11-10 semi-final victory over former world champion Francisco Sanchez Ruiz was the jewel in the crown nonetheless, with Nalaunan executing a sensational Efren Reyes-esque kick shot in the deciding rack of an epic battle.
Elsewhere, defending champion Jefrey Roda failed to qualify for the single elimination phase following brutal hill-hill defeats at the hands of Dang Thanh Kien and Toh Lian Han respectively.
Top seed and 2024 champion Carlo Biado endured defeat in the last 16 against Wu Kun-Lin, while 2023 winner Ko Ping-Chung, David Alcaide and Johann Chua were all beaten at the same stage.
US Open champion Aloysius Yapp was defeated in the last 32 at the hands of Indonesian teenager Albert Januarta, who was denied in a hill-hill match in the proceeding round against Michael Baoanan despite a spirited fightback.
South Korea’s Harin Lee became the latest female player to reach the last 64 of a WNT ranking event following one-loss side wins over Chien Ching-Ju and Nicholas Tan, following in the footsteps of her good friend in Seo Seoa.
Liu Shin-Mei, the 1999 and 2002 women’s world champion, stunned Philippines Open runner-up Arseni Sevastyanov in the first round, with Sevastyanov suffering back-to-back losses after his cues were lost on his flight to Taiwan.
The inaugural Carabao International Open in Jakarta, boasting a $100,000 prize fund, will act as the next ranking tournament, as the World Nineball Tour debuts in Indonesia from February 4-8.
