By MARK REY MONTEJO
Filipino pool ace Johann Chua failed to ride the momentum from his previous matches as he stumbled against Denmark’s Mickey Krause, 13-8, in the final round of the European Open 9-Ball Championship at the Hotel Esperanto in Fulda, Germany on Sunday, Aug. 11.
The younger Krause went ahead early and built enough separation, capitalizing on a 10-3 breakaway which Chua couldn’t recover from despite his gallant run in their race-to-13 showdown.
With the heartbreaking defeat, the 2023 World Cup of Pool champion, who beat American Shane Van Boening (11-5) in the semis to book his finals ticket, settled for a runner-up purse of $15,000 or P860,115.
Coming from a semifinal victory over USA’s Skyler Woodward (11-9), Krause, for his part, will bring home $30,000 (roughly P1.7 million) grand prize, while also winning his first-ever Matchroom major title and a spot in the maiden edition of Reyes Cup in October.
Prior to his bridesmaid finish, Chua collected the scalps of Turkish Mustafa Alnar (10-4) and Polish Wojciech Szewczyk (10-7), in the quarters and Round of 16, respectively.
The SEAG multi-medalist also smashed Chinese Taipe’s Ko Ping Han (10-3) in Round of 32 and Albania’s Kledio Kaci (10-9), in Final 64, while eased past Belgian Kevin Lannoye (DNS), Taipei’s Liu Chien Hung (9-6) and Italian Francesco Candela (9-3) in the first round.
