周婕妤擊敗魏子茜 奪下女子10號球世錦賽冠軍
“美洲豹” 世界女子10號球錦標賽在奧地利克拉根福的 Sportpark 體育館順利落幕。世界女子10號球錦標賽於2009年起在菲律賓連辦5屆，自2014年起賽事停辦，今年則在美洲豹的贊助下恢復舉辦。最終由 “大眼妹” 周婕妤以 9:3 擊敗 “倩影殺手” 魏子茜，奪下冠軍，而這也是周婕妤生涯首座的世錦賽冠軍，收穫3萬歐元獎金；亞軍魏子茜則獲得2萬歐元獎金。
雙雙晉級冠軍戰的周婕妤與魏子茜讓此次的世界女子10號球錦標賽決賽上演台灣內戰。魏子茜在八強賽 以 9-0 零封陳佳樺，接著在半決賽中逆轉擊敗家鄉主場作戰的 Jasmin Ouschan。進入冠軍戰。
接著在半決賽對陣主場作戰的 Jasmin Ouschan，魏子茜從 3-5 落後追至 5-5 平手，隨後 Ouschan 又重新取回領先 (6-5、7-6)，魏子茜緊接著再次奪回 8-7 領先優勢。Ouschan 因10號球未進袋而錯失扳平比數的機會，也讓魏子茜打進最後10號球並以 9-7 擊退地主希望 Ouschan，闖進決賽。
或許太過於緊張，魏子茜在周婕妤首局衝球沒球落袋後，在一記1號球直球上發生失誤，取得開局 1-0，緊接著又連下兩局，拉開到 3-0 的局面。魏子茜拿下第四局，扳回一局 (3-1)。在接下四局中，周婕妤拿下了三局，比數形成 6-2；第十局魏子茜在9號球上發生失誤，讓周婕妤上場解決掉最後兩顆球並將比數拉開至 8-2 聽牌的局面。然而，魏子茜還未撒手放棄比賽，拿下第十一局，扳回一局，無奈最終仍無力回天，最終周婕妤以 9-3 擊敗同胞好手魏子茜，取得個人生涯首座的世錦賽冠軍。
周婕妤賽後受訪表示: “我現在非常興奮，謝謝大家。這是我第一次贏得世界冠軍。即使情況艱難，但是今天的我卻也感到很放鬆。我想要感謝我的家人、支持我的朋友和贊助商，當然還有魏子茜。我沒有想過會贏得冠軍，但過程中的我真的很享受比賽，期待著回去後的慶祝。”
©Alison Chang
Chou Chieh-Yu is the 2022 Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Champion.
The 35-year-old defeated compatriot Wei Tzu Chien 9-3 in the final at Sportpark Klagenfurt in Austria to win €30,000 and receive the trophy and gold medal.
‘Rita’ Chou was 2013 World Games gold medalist and can now call herself World Champion thanks to an impressive and dominating performance on the final day of play. After defeating Kelly Fisher 9-4 in the semi-finals, she outplayed Wei in the final to earn her World title.
“I am really excited now, thank you everyone,” said Chou on receiving her trophy. “It is the first time I won a World Championship. I felt relaxed today, even when the situations were tough.
“I want to thank my family, my supports and my sponsors, and of course Wei Wei. I didn’t expect to win this week, but I have been really enjoying my game. I am looking forward to celebrating when we get home.”
©Alison Chang
Wei had reached the final by coming back to beat home favorite Jasmin Ouschan 9-7. Wei was trialing for the first half of the match, before coming from 5-3 down to level at 5-5. Ouschan regained her lead at 6-5 and then 7-6 but Wei took the next two to reach the hill 8-7 up. A missed 10 gave the Austrian an opportunity to level, but the chance was a difficult bank. The crowd couldn’t bear to watch as Ouschan’s effort hit the rail and handed Wei a straight shot to the middle pocket.
A blistering 9-0 victory against ‘Amber’ Chia Hua Chen in Friday’s quarter-finals had wowed the crowd but Wei was struggling to find that sharpness on Saturday. In the final, she struggled to get going and Chou took advantage.
Wei’s nerves were showing from the start as she missed a straight 1 after Chou’s dry break. She responded with a great two-rail kick to later make the 1, but a missed 9 allowed Chou to steal the rack.
©Alison Chang
Chou doubled her lead in the second by running the table after drawing a foul from Wei following a dry break. An unfortunate kiss meant Chou scratched on the third break, but she took the rack after Wei hit the 9 too soft, leaving her short of position on the 10.
The fourth rack belonged to Wei but Chou took the next two. Two more racks were shared, taking the match to 6-2 and Chou got to the hill 8-2 ahead when Wei missed another 9. A long 2 opened the next rack for Wei, who cleared to remain in the event.
Five racks ahead and an alternate break format meant Chou would have chances, and she didn’t have to wait too long for her moment of victory. Wei left a shot at the 1 for Chou, who came up a little short on the 2, and then left a shot for Wei. It was a long cut shot on offer and Wei was disappointed with her effort, which was hit too thick and proved to be her last shot of the match.
Chou took the 2 and dealt with a difficult 6 with a long shot down the rail, guiding the cue to the center of the table for a perfect shot on the 7.
©Pro Billiard Series
The road to becoming a World champion is never smooth, and Chou gave herself one last test when she came up short on the 9. But it was a test she completed like a champion; a lot of backspin brought the cue back off the side rail and perfectly down to the 10, which was rolled in with an exclamation of ‘yes!’ from the new World Champion.
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship can be seen here: https://
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Teams Championship is at https://probilliardseries.
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