By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Chezka Centeno and Rubilen Amit posted contrasting results against their American rivals but stayed in the hunt for a spot in the knockout stage of the 2026 WPA Women’s 10-Ball World Championship in Rome, Italy on Sunday, Aug. 2.
The defending champion Centeno, who was relegated to the losers’ bracket after bowing to Amit in the second round, blanked Kennedy Meyman, 4-0, 4-0, to remain in contention in the double elimination stage.
Last year’s finalist Amit, meanwhile, yielded to Sofia Mast, 3-4, 4-2,4-1, to join Centeno in the losers’ qualification.
Centeno needed two more victories to barge into the Last 16 where the recently-crowned World 8-Ball champion must hurdle Indonesia’s Silviana Lu first to arrange a meeting with seasoned player Pia Filler.
Amit, for her part, only needed to win her match against the winner between France’s Rachelle Enfroy and Argentina’s Soledad Ayala to make it to the next phase.
Centeno and Amit both seek historic third World 10-Ball titles, with Centeno also hoping to become the first player to win back-to-back trophies. Her first title came in 2023.
Amit, meanwhile, won the inaugural staging in 2009 and repeated it in 2013, both held in Manila.
Already advancing to the Last 16 are Mast, Japan’s Yuki Hiraguchi and Chihiro Kawahara, American Savannah Easton, China’s Shi Tianqi and Chen Siming, Margarita Fefilova and Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chia Hua.
