Prdator Group, the industry leader in innovative pool billiards products, announced today the resurrection of the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship, scheduled for Klagenfurt, Austria September 6-10, 2022.
This 64-player, double-elimination tournament, will have a $148,000 prize fund and will be the first World Women’s 10-Ball title competed for since Rubilen Amit of the Philippines defeated Great Britain’s Kelly Fisher in the Philippines at the 2013 World Championship. Coincidentally, Fisher won the last women’s world pocket billiards championship contested before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the industry, defeating Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan in the finals of the World Women’s 9-Ball Championship held in China during December of 2019.
“The women’s game is very important for a number of reasons,” said WPA President Ian Anderson. “There are a lot of great women’s players throughout the world. Unfortunately, we haven’t had as many women’s events in the past but the more that we can have, the better.”
No female competitor has been hotter than Fisher, who was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 2020. The crafty Brit, who won the World Women’s 10-Ball Championship in 2011, not only won the first Predator Pro Billiard Series Women’s event of 2022 but also took top honors at the WPBA’s Northern Lights Open as well as the Super Billiards Expo’s Pro Players Championship.
The Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship is yet another new event in the ever-expanding portfolio of the United States-based billiards manufacturer, which revamped the dormant men’s World 10-Ball Championship in 2019 when it partnered with amateur league operator CueSports International to stage the event as part of CSI’s annual Expo in Las Vegas. Last year, Predator and CSI launched the U.S. Pro Billiards Series – a series of professional 10-ball events coinciding with CSI state championships – as well as the Austria Open, which featured men’s and women’s professional competition. The company expanded into the women’s game further this year with the creation of women’s U.S. Pro Billiard Series events, including April’s Women’s Professional Billiards Association Alfa Las Vegas Open which Fisher claimed by defeating Canada’s Brittany Bryant.
“I really like the current schedule because there are so many events,” said Ouschan. “I’m super excited and I really can’t wait for the World 10-ball to happen again. And seeing that it’s happening in Austria, that’s doubly special to me.”
“We have Predator doing a number of events plus the World Championships for men and women plus a World Championship for juniors,” said Anderson. “Their contribution has been fantastic.”
The tournament will be held in hometown of Ouschan, who won the World 10-Ball Championship in 2011. One of the most decorated female players throughout Europe and the world, the Austrian has come close in recent World Championship events only to be turned away in the finals – finishing second at the World 9-Ball Championships in 2019 and 2015 as well as placing second back-to-back years at the Amway World Open.
The event will be a bit of a homecoming for the Austrian who, while well-known in her native land, rarely has a chance to showcase her skills on a large stage in front of her fellow countrywomen and men.
“It’s so cool to bring such a huge event to Austria because I and my brother are really known here but the people never really get to see anything,” she said. “There’s not much pool on television so, bringing a big tournament to my hometown is so special. But, then I know you have an extra portion of pressure that comes with it. Winning a World Championship in my hometown is just a crazy thought.”
“We are so excited to be reviving the World Women’s 10-Ball Championship and bringing it to Austria in September,” said Karim Belhaj, CEO of Predator Group. “We want to give back to all of the professional game, which is why we launched the Women’s Pro Billiard Series events this year and have now added the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship to our roster. Alongside the men’s World 10-Ball and World Junior Championships we are continuing to celebrate the game and we hope that everybody can benefit from the excitement created around the sport.”
The Predator Pro Billiard Series is a series of open, professional events held around the world to provide more opportunities for professional and aspiring pool players to compete in high-quality events, earn more income, sharpen their skills and play their way into the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship held each year by Predator and the World Pool-Billiards Association. Follow @
L to R: Gerald Florian, Jasmin Ouschan and Karim Belhaj, CEO of Predator Group｜©Pro Billiard Series
美洲豹集團攜女子10號球世錦賽回歸
美洲豹集團 (Predator Group) 宣布將於 2022 年 9 月 6 日至 10 日在奧地利克拉根福 (Klagenfurt) 舉辦美洲豹世界女子10號球錦標賽。屆時比賽將有64名選手，採雙敗淘汰賽，共同角逐 $148,000 的總將金。今年女子10號球世錦賽的回歸也是自2013年 Rubilen Amit 在家鄉菲律賓擊敗 Kelly Fisher 奪冠後再次舉行。
WPA會長 Ian Anderson 表示: “出於多種原因，女子賽事非常重要。全球各地有很多優秀的女運動員，遺憾的是，我們過去沒有舉辦太多賽事，但我們希望能舉辦地越多越好。”
現今說到女子球員，似乎沒有任何人比 Fisher 更加火爆，她於 2020 年入選BCA 名人堂。她在2011年贏得女子10號球世錦賽；而她不僅贏得2022年首屆美洲豹撞球系列賽女子組冠軍，另也摘下 WPBA Northern Lights 公開賽以及超級撞球博覽會 (SBE) 的職業球員錦標賽優勝。
世界女子10號球錦標賽成為美洲豹集團 (Predator) 不斷擴大的賽事中的又一新賽事。美洲豹集團於 2019年與美國業餘聯賽運營公司 CSI 合作舉辦了男子世界10號球錦標賽並作為CSI 在拉斯維加斯所舉行的年度撞球博覽會的一部分，從而改造了已停辦多年的男子10號球世錦賽。去年美洲豹集團再與CSI聯手推出美國職業撞球系列賽 (U.S. Pro Billiards Series)，其是一項與 CSI 州錦標賽同時進行的一項職業10號球賽事，以及還舉辦有奧地利公開賽。美洲豹集團今年則進一步將賽事擴展到女子賽場，創建了美國女子職業撞球系列賽事 (Women’s U.S. Pro Billiard Series) 其中包括與美國女子職業撞球協會 (WPBA) 合作的 Alfa 拉斯維加斯公開賽。
Ouschan: “我非常喜歡現在的日程安排，因為有著許多賽事。我非常地興奮，更迫不及待女子10號球世錦賽再次舉辦。而能看到比賽在奧地利舉行，對我來說是更加地特別且意義非凡。”
WPA會長 Anderson 說道: “美洲豹集團舉辦了許多賽事，其中還另包括有男、女子以及青少年世錦賽。他們對這項運動有著卓越的貢獻。”
2022年女子10號球世錦賽將於奧地利名將 Jasmin Ouschan 的家鄉克拉根福 (Klagenfurt) 舉行。 Ouschan 於2011年在菲律賓贏得女子10號球世錦賽，在 2015 與 2019 年的女子9號球世錦賽中獲得亞軍，並於安麗盃連續兩年獲第二名。對於 Ouschan 而言，雖然她在自己的家鄉很有名，但卻鮮少有機會在他們面前的大賽事舞台上展現她的球技。
“將如此盛大的賽事帶到奧地利實在是太棒了，我和我弟弟在這裡都非常有名，但他們從沒有機會能真正看到比賽，電視上也並無沒有太多關於撞球的賽事，所以能為我的家鄉帶來這一盛事對我來說是非常特別的。更重的壓力當然也隨之而來。能在我的家鄉贏得世界冠軍是一個瘋狂的想法。” Ouschan 說道。
美洲豹集團執行長 Karim Belhaj 表示: “我們很高興能夠在9月重新舉辦女子10號球世錦賽並將賽事帶到奧地利。我們想回饋職業賽事，這也是我們推出女子職業撞球系列賽事的原因。除了男子10號球世錦賽和青少年世錦賽外，現在我們再將美洲豹女子10號球世錦賽加入到我們的賽事冊上。我們希望每個人都能從這項運動中獲得受益。”