By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Chezka Centeno stunned defending champion Chou Chieh-Yu of Chinese Taipei, 9-2, to book a place in the semifinals of the 2023 WPA World 10-Ball Women’s Championships in Klagenfurt, Austria on Friday, Oct. 20.
Still riding the crest of her 9-0 thrashing of Germany’s Melanie Sussenguth in the Round of 16 a few hours ago, the 25-year-old Zamboanga pride bedazzled her experienced rival with her incredible shots – not to mention her powerful breaks – to win in convincing fashion.
The victory arranged Centeno a crucial meeting with Hall of Famer Allison Fisher of England, who first downed China’s Pan Xiaoting, 9-6, before edging another Taiwanese in Wei Tzu-Chien, 9-6.
Centeno aims to affirm her mastery over Fisher, at least in this $150,000 tournament, after beating her, 7-3, in the elims on Thursday, Oct. 19.
As a semifinalist, Centeno is already assured of the $12,500 (around P700,000) prize, but is expected to aim for the honors as well as the $50,000 (around P2.8 million) champion’s purse.
Veteran Rubilen Amit, meanwhile, fell short on her bid for a third world title after succumbing to Yu in the quarterfinals, 9-3.
The Cebuana had to dig deeper to prevail in her Round of 16 match against Bulgaria’s Kristina Zlateva, 9-6, but was no match to Yu.
England’s Kelly Fisher also advanced to the Final Four with victories over Chinese Taipei’s Wang Wan-Ling, 9-8, and Indonesia’s Silviana Lu, 9-4.
Amit pocketed $6,500 (around P360,000) for reaching the quarters.
