Ko Ping Chung has risen to a career-high on the World Nineball Tour Rankings at ninth in the world after defeating Michael Feliciano in the final of the Sharks International 9-Ball Open in Quezon City, Philippines to claim the $30,000 first-place prize.
Ko battled his way through one of the toughest fields ever assembled at a ranking event over six days beating the likes of James Aranas and Naoyuki Oi on his way to the final.
Local hopeful Feliciano had the tournament of his life to reach a maiden final and take the $15,000 runner-up prize that sees the Filipino enter the World Nineball Tour rankings for the first time at world number 54, putting him behind Roland Garcia and US Open champion Carlo Biado who jumped to 43 in the world.
The win for Ko is not only notable for moving into the top ten for the first time, but it also sees him leapfrog brother Pin Yi in the rankings for the first time. Fedor Gorst‘s run to the Last 16 meant he maintained a strong footing in the top 16 whilst Naoyuki Oi‘s run to the quarters that included knocking out Gorst saw him move to the periphery of the top 20.
Former world champion and two-time World Cup of Pool champion and all-round Filipino legend Francisco Bustamante made a good run of it to enter the rankings for the first time whilst it was a welcome return to World Nineball Tour ranking events for the likes of Jeff De Luna, Roberto Gomez, and Garcia to name a few whilst young hotshots such as Anton Raga made their mark.
Coverage from SHARKS was live streamed in the Philippines through the league’s website with Matchroom Pool fans treated to all six days of action through the YouTube channel which tipped over 300,000 subscribers for the first time during the final. Key matches from the tournament can be watched in their entirety on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel now. Subscribe here.
The Sharks International 9-Ball Open marked the first World Nineball Tour – Ranking Event to take place in the Philippines with the top 64 on the WNT Rankings invited.
NEXT WORLD NINEBALL TOUR RANKING EVENT
The Balkan Pool Tour’s Longoni Visoko Open follows the Sharks International 9-Ball Open from August 5-7 2023. See information on how to enter here.
NEXT MATCHROOM EVENT
The next signature Matchroom multi-table open event comes next at the European Open Pool Championship from August 8-13 at Hotel Esperanto in Fulda, Germany with the first-ever Fillers’ Junior Open taking place on August 11-12. Buy your tickets here from €15.