One of this year’s most important pool events flew by in beautiful Ho Chi Minh City, where Wojciech Szewczyk was crowned, or should we say recrowned, the world 10-ball champion.
The tournament drew 96 of the world’s top pool players, bringing high-quality shot-making, on-table thrillers, and unforgettable emotional rollercoasters.
Szewczyk cooked up a masterful title run
Poland’s finest cue star Wojciech Szewczyk has done it again. He became the third player in history to win two world 10-ball titles, following Ko Ping Chung and his opponent in the final, Eklent Kaci.
Szewczyk, nicknamed ‘The Masterchef’, was dicing up the whole field from round one. He turned the table into his personal kitchen, cooking three-star Michelin performances all tournament.
So used to the fire, yet he never let anyone make him feel the heat. Despite facing the likes of Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Johann Chua and Sanjin Pehlivanovic, Szewczyk always won with comfortable margins.
The 32-year-old got the job done in a silent, ruthless and highly efficient fashion – the characteristics that made him the best in the 10-ball business.
Eklent Kaci in 10-ball is a whole different animal
Despite failing to become the first-ever three-time world 10-ball champion, Eklent Kaci had so much to be proud of in his run.
The ultimate comeback kid, Kaci fought back from 0-1 down against Duong Quoc Hoang in the losers’ qualifications, 1-2 down against Niels Feijen in a four-hour battle in the last 32, 0-2 down against Robbie Capito in a near five-hour bout in the quarter-finals and 1-2 down against Joshua Filler in the semi-finals.
The Golden Eagle’s stamina was simply overwhelming. There were moments when he seemed down and out, notably against Capito, who was on the hill in the third set, yet Kaci somehow battled his way back.
A big part of his success was his breaking power, an ability that makes him so special in the 10-ball discipline. One of his best displays with the break cue was against hometown hero Hoang Sao, when he broke and ran six times.
It remains a sacred temple for many big names
Szewczyk has now won the World 10-ball Championship twice, Kaci has done it twice, Ko Ping-Chung completed the double last year. Yet, it is still a title absent from the resume of many top cueists.
Joshua Filler came agonisingly close to a sniff at the title this year, losing to Kaci in the semi-finals, while Fedor Gorst, Shane van Boening and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz all failed to capture the last piece of silverware missing from their world championship collection.
Following the results of the tournament in Ho Chi Minh City, still no player has ever completed the holy trinity: World 8-ball, World 9-Ball and World 10-Ball.
Asian players disappointment
Since the modification of the tournament format in 2024, Asian players have lifted the trophies back-to-back with Carlo Biado and Ko Ping-Chung.
Throughout the history of the tournament, only twice has there been no Asian cueist in the final four. And it happened again this year.
Many top players of the continent were knocked out even before the single elimination rounds, including Duong Quoc Hoang, Carlo Biado and Albert Januarta.
Aloysius Yapp and Robbie Capito were the sole flag bearers from Asia in the quarter-finals, but both were eliminated at this stage.
