Ko Ping-Chung has opted against defending his World 10-Ball Championship title, with the tournament set to take place from September 19-26 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Ko defeated Greece’s Alex Kazakis in last year’s final, earning himself a career-best payday of $75,000 and following in Eklent Kaci’s footsteps as a two-time champion.
However, the Taiwanese sensation will not be involved this time around due to him and his brothers, Ko Pin-Yi and Ko Ping-Han, having switched their allegiances to Chinese pool.
Ko recently skipped the US Open Championship in favour of a Duya Legends Tour stop, winning that particular tournament in Malaysia and earning almost the equivalent of $20,000 in the process.
Ko and his brothers are expected to compete in the lucrative Duya Golden Nine Masters in Leshan, China from September 19 through to October 4, with the eventual champion there receiving approximately $298,000.
Both 2025 and 2019 champion Ko Ping-Chung and 2015 champion Ko Pin-Yi being absent leaves four previous winners in this year’s 64-player field – Darren Appleton, Eklent Kaci, Wojciech Szewczyk and Carlo Biado.
