Finals at World 10-Ball Championship Set
World 10-Ball Championship / Manila, Philippines
Former world 8- and 9-ball champion Chia-Ching Wu of Chinese Taipei will face off against Darren Appleton of the U.K in the finals of the World 10-Ball Championships.
The final match is set for October 5 at the World 10-Ball Championships in Manila, Philippines. Former world 8- and 9-ball champion Chia-Ching Wu of Chinese Taipei will face off against Darren Appleton of the U.K., while in the semifinal match, Niels Feijen will challenge Demosthenes Pulpul of the Philippines to determine third/fourth place.
Two rounds of matches were played October 4, narrowing the field from eight to four players. Wu doused Mika “Iceman” Immonen’s hopes of adding a 10-ball title to his resume by ousting him 11-7 and going to on meet Pulpul. In that match, Wu took an early 5-0 lead, but a scratch on the break by Wu gave Pulpul a strong advantage that he pushed to knot the score at 5 apiece. The scored seesawed to 7-all, with Wu reaching the hill first 10-8 after Pulpul hung a key 7 ball. Pulpul had one more chance but missed a 5-7 combo in the final rack—from there Wu dished up to win 11-8.
View the World 10-Ball Championships tournament brackets
Appleton was first faced with Charlie “The Korean Dragon” Williams in his first match Saturday, with Appleton coming out the 11-6 victor there. He advanced to meet Dutch player Niels Feijen, recently crowned the world straight pool champion, who had just eliminated fellow countryman Nick Van Den Berg 11-7. The Appleton/Feijen match lasted over three hours, which was attributed to both the players’ nerves and their empty breaks. Though Feijen held an early two-rack lead, Appleton quickly tied the score at 4-all. The players traded racks until the score reached 9-9. Appleton took the hill first and then won an extended safety battle for his 11-9 victory.
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