By MARK REYN MONTEJO
Chezka Centeno came up short of completing a historic double victory after dropping 4-1, 4-0, 1-4, 0-4, 4-0 loss to Margarita Fefilova and settling for a runner up in the 2026 WPA Women’s 10-Ball World Championship in Rome, Italy Thursday, Aug. 6.
The Filipina pool master fell to an early 2-0 deficit but waged a spirited comeback to tie the contest only to get blanked in the final game by the steady shot-making from Fefilova.
The loss slammed the door on Centeno’s bid to become the very first Filipino to win the world championships in the same year.
Earlier, Centeno defeated two-time world champion Kelly Fisher to rule the WPA Women’s World 8-ball Championships in Wisconsin.
While marching into her second Final in an 11-day span is already a feat on its own, Centeno admitted that it wasn’t the ending she had hoped for. She bagged the silver medal and the bridesmaid’s purse of $33,000 (around P2 million), while grand champion Fefilova took home $55,000 (P3.3 million).
Centeno, however, had to face a wave of allegations regarding her performance — some fans even going as far as accusing her of fixing the match.
Of course, the 27-year-old pool master would have none of that.
“After seeing how widespread these accusations became, I felt this was something I had to address just once. I understand why some people are disappointed with the outcome, but everyone has off matches,” said Centeno.
“I’ve seen the match-fixing accusations circulating in some Filipino comment sections, and while I know they don’t represent everyone, those claims are simply not true. Miscues and mistakes happen, even at the highest level. That’s the reality of sports,” she added.
Centeno stressed that her sole focus was defending her crown while graciously acknowledging eventual champion Fefilova for her impressive performance.
“I stepped to the table with one goal: to defend my title. Unfortunately, things didn’t go my way, and my mistakes cost me the match. That’s part of competition, no matter how difficult it is to accept,” Centeno continued.
“That said, I’ll move forward, just as I always have. Most importantly, Margarita played a great match, earned the championship, and deserves every bit of the credit. Congratulations, Margarita Fefilova Styer,” she concluded.
