Most sporting cliches, while undoubtedly annoying, are centred in fact. ‘Records are made to be broken’ is a prime example, although when it comes to the World 9-Ball Championship one unprecedented achievement may well last a lifetime.
Twenty years ago this month, Wu Chia-Ching, now known as Wu Jia-Qing, captured the sport’s most prestigious title in Kaohsiung, the largest port in Chinese Taipei. The home-grown champion rallied from 16-12 down to dramatically edge Kuo Po-Cheng 17-16.
Wu was 16.
Absorb that for a moment. Wu was 16.
“It was just phenomenal,” recalls Karl Boyes, who was transfixed watching history unfold on TV back home in the UK. “I remember thinking, ‘This is unbelievable’. I thought the kid was unbelievable.
“At the time I was transitioning from English 8-Ball to a serious tilt at 9-Ball and seeing Wu really inspired me. It was a massive buzz, the shot-making, the way he seemed to take the big shots totally in his stride, the cue-ball control. It was all top notch outstanding.”
“The whole thing astounded me to be honest. What you’ve got to remember, it was a big, packed arena, a whole new experience for the lad and he was up against an opponent good enough to get back to a World 9-Ball Championship final five years later.”
Once more a nearly-man, Kuo lost 13-7 to Alex Pagulayan in the climax of the 2010 event but is best remembered for being denied by Wu in a pulsating finish that served to deepen pool’s imprint on the general sporting consciousness.
Four racks up with five to play, Kuo missed a tricky 2. Wu tidied up, before dominating the remainder of the contest to collect the $75,000 first prize.
It was the culmination of a remarkable journey for the prodigy known as ‘Little Genius’, a babe in arms when Earl Strickland won the inaugural World 9-Ball Championship hosted by Bergheim, Germany in 1990.
Raised by his grandmother, Lin Chu-Chi, from the age of two, Wu started potting balls when he was six. Displaying an immediate aptitude, the apple of granny’s eye was transported to tournaments on the back of her scooter.
When Wu broke down in tears at the presentation ceremony, it was Lin, who leapt from the crowd, wiped his brow, arranged his collar and straightened the gold medal that astonishingly hung around the youngster’s neck.
But Wu, who in the quarter-finals had beaten twice 9-Ball kingpin Thorsten Hohmann, then Filipino Marlon Manalo, was not satisfied. Later that year, he added the World 8-Ball title to his extraordinary resume.
This week, Boyes will be an integral part of the commentary team in Jeddah as the World 9-Ball Championship, the jewel in pool’s crown, again hits new heights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
With so much international talent on display in the 128-player field even Boyes, renowned for confidently speaking his mind, is reluctant to make any hard and fast predictions. There is, however, one notable exception.
Asked if Wu’s youngest champion tag will ever be removed, Boyes was adamant: “Ever is a long time but I’ve played and I’ve seen an awful lot of pool, and I just can’t even imagine anyone taking that record away anytime soon.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see some wonder kid set a new mark. It would be great for the game, but I just can’t see it happening.”
Given the conventional cue-sports wisdom that natural talent must be nurtured by accumulated experience, the Boyes argument is difficult to refute.
For purposes of comparison, snooker’s youngest world champion, Stephen Hendry, was three months past his 21st birthday when triumphing at the Crucible in 1990.
Yet, Emily Frazer and the entire Matchroom Multi-Sport team are working wonders in their concerted efforts to promote the numerous juniors who are clearly future stars in the making.
Every major ranking event on the burgeoning World Nine-Ball Tour features a junior division, designed to showcase the potential of the sport’s younger generation while affording them the opportunity to soak in the atmosphere and general vibe of pool’s premier occasions.
Such an experience, allied with and guidance from pool’s current big names, is invaluable and this week’s junior competition will again highlight the ever-growing level of skill of teenagers, and younger, intent on carrying 9-Ball into a golden age.
Emily’s far-sighted investment in youth has already paid rich dividends with the emergence of such authentic prospects as Maks Benko, Walter Laikre, Yannick Pongers, Riku Romppanen, Felix Vogel and a fine cueman from right here in Saudi Arabia, Khalid Alghamdi.
Alghamdi beat Skyler Woodward 9-7 during the 2022 European Open. Shortly afterwards, over in Atlantic City, USA, the then 17 year-old dropped a mere 14 racks in six matches to win the SVB Junior Open, which ran alongside the US Open.
Hall of Famer Shane Van Boening, who gave his name to the event, presented the trophy to Alghamdi, who will now be hoping for joy in Jeddah.
Thanks to Fraser’s vision, pool’s youth movement has never been more vibrant.
So, is it possible anything Wu can do, they can do better?
Phil Yates
Author