| Born | 31 May 1989 [1] |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  Chinese Taipei |
| Professional | 2005 |
| Pool games | Nine-ball, Ten-ball |
| Tournament wins | |
| Major | World Cup of Pool, (2015) |
| World Champion | Nine-ball (2015), Ten-ball (2015) |
Ko Pin-yi (born 31 May 1989) is a Taiwanese professional pool player. He became multiple World Champion in the disciplines of Nine-ball and Ten-ball in 2015. [2] [3]
Ko won the World Nine-ball Junior Championship twice in his junior career, in 2007 and 2008.
Ko became a multiple world champion in 2015, winning three world titles in a single calendar year. He defeated Carlo Biado, 11–9 in the final of the 2015 WPA World Ten-ball Championship, [4] followed by beating Shane Van Boening, 13–9 in the 2015 WPA World Nine-ball Championship final, [5] Ko also captured its country's first World Cup of Pool title alongside Chang Yu-lung, defeating England B of Mark Gray and Daryl Peach, 10–8 in the final. [6] Ko was named Billiard Digest's "Player of the Year" in 2015. [7]
In 2022, Ko won the Asian Pool Federation's Asian Nine-ball Open in Singapore, defeating James Aranas of the Philippines, 13–11 in the final. [8] He was also able to defend it the following year, winning 13–6 over 16-year-old Filipino Albert James Manas. [9]
In 2023, Ko Pin Yi became the first Taiwanese player to win the World Pool Masters title in Brentwood, Essex England with 13–5 win against Albania's Eklent Kaci. [10] [11]
Ko is the oldest of three brothers. His younger brothers, Ko Ping-chung and Ko Ping Han, are also professional pool players.
The WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual professional nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1990. The championship is sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and principally sponsored and organised by Matchroom Sport, who provide the event's official website branded as World Pool Championship. The championship is divided into men's, women's and wheelchair divisions.
The WPA World Ten-ball Championship is a professional ten-ball pool tournament sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA). The event was first held in 2008 in the Philippines, followed by playings there in 2009 and 2011. After not being contested for several years, it was resurrected in 2015 by boxer Manny Pacquiao, who successfully campaigned to the WPA for the championship to be moved from Metro Manila to General Santos. An event was announced in June 2018, but was postponed until relocating to the Las Vegas Valley in 2019. The scheduled 2020 championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The most recent playings have been held in the fall of 2021 and the spring of 2022.
Carlo Biado is a Filipino professional pool player. His highest profile wins include the World Nine-ball Championship and the World Ten-ball Championship in 2017 and 2024 respectively.
Johann Gonzales Chua is a Filipino professional pool player from Manila. His nickname is "Bad Koi". Chua is a two-time All Japan Championship winner and the champion of 2022 WPA World Team Championship with Carlo Biado and Rubilen Amit and a 2023 World Cup of Pool winner alongside James Aranas.
The 2017 WPA World Nine-ball Championship was the 26th edition of the 9-Ball pool World Championships. It took place from December 9 to 14, 2017 in the al-Attiya Sports Arena of the Al-Arabi Sports Club in Doha. The Qatari capital was the eighth time in a row the venue for the 9-Ball Championships.
The 2018 WPA World Nine-ball Championship was a 9-Ball pool world Championships. The event took place between December 10 to 20, 2018 in the al-Attiya Sports Arena of the Al-Arabi Sports Club in Doha, Qatar. The Qatari capital held the event for the eighth time in a row.
Yukio Akakariyama is a Japanese pool player. In 2011, Yukio won the WPA World Nine-ball Championship.
The 2019 WPA World Ten-ball Championship was a professional pool tournament for the discipline of ten-ball organised by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and CueSports International. It was the fifth WPA World Ten-ball Championship; the previous championship was held in 2015. After plans for an event in both 2016 and 2018 to be held in Manila fell through, a 2019 event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas as part of a three-year deal for the event to be played in the United States was agreed. The event was held concurrently with the Billiard Congress of America's National Ten-ball event from July 22 to 26. The event was sponsored by cue manufacturer Predator Group.
The WPA 10-Ball World Championship 2015 was the fourth edition of the WPA World 10-ball Championship, the world championship for the discipline of 10-ball pool. It took place from February 17 to 21, 2015 at the SM City Activity Center in General Santos, Philippines.
Ko Ping-chung is a Taiwanese professional pool player. Ko is the younger brother of Ko Pin-yi. In 2023, Ko defeated Fedor Gorst 13–6 to win the U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship.
Jayson Shaw is a Scottish professional pool player. In 2010, Shaw was a WPA World Blackball Champion.
Eklent Kaçi, also known as Klenti Kaçi is an Albanian professional pool player. Kaçi won the WPA World Ten-ball Championship in 2021 and 2023 and reached the semi-finals of the 2017 WPA World Nine-ball Championship and final of the 2024 WPA World Nine-ball Championship. He has been the top-ranked player in the world of 9-ball pool.
Joshua Filler is a German professional pool player from Bönen, Germany. In 2018 Filler defeated Carlo Biado 13–10 to win the 2018 WPA World Nine-ball Championship. In 2017 he was the youngest player to win the China Open, and in 2018 he also won the 10-ball European Pool Championships. Filler became WPA and Euro Tour world number 1 in 2019, and later he reached the final of the 2019 WPA World Ten-ball Championship before losing 10–7 to Ko Ping-chung.
Fedor Alekseyevich Gorst is a Russian born professional pool player. He has become a US resident, and now represents the United States in international events like the Mosconi Cup.
The 2019 World Pool Masters was a nine-ball pool tournament which took place in Gibraltar from 29 to 31 March 2019. It was the 26th edition of the World Pool Masters invitational tournament organised by Matchroom Sport. The event contained increased participation from 16 to 24 players, and increased total prize fund to $100,000. Spaniard David Alcaide won the event, defeating Greece's Alexander Kazakis in the final 9–8, doubling the final ball the length of the table to win. The reigning champion was Dutchman Niels Feijen who defeated Shane Van Boening of the United States in the previous year's final to win the title for the second time in his career. Feijen was defeated in the opening round by Alcaide.
Francisco Sánchez Ruíz is a Spanish professional pool player, nicknamed "The Ferrari" and by his initials "FSR". He won both the 2022 WPA World Eight-ball Championship and the 2023 WPA World Nine-ball Championship.
Robbie James Joaquin Capito is a Hong Kong-born Filipino professional pool player. He is most known for defeating the reigning world number one pool player Eklent Kaçi at the 2018 WPA World Nine-ball Championship when he was 17 years old. In 2024, Capito claimed his biggest career win after he defeated Mieszko Fortunski 13–10 to win the UK Open Nine-ball Championship.
The 2019 World Cup of Pool was a professional pool doubles tournament, and the 13th edition of the World Cup of Pool. The event was contested by 32 pairs representing different nations, and took place at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England, from 25 to 30 June 2019. As host nation, Great Britain were allowed to enter two teams in the draw.
Naoyuki Ōi is a Japanese professional pool player. Ōi is best known for finishing second in the World Ten-ball Championship twice, and represented Japan at the World Cup of Pool on six occasions.
The WPA World Team Championship is a pool World Championship for national teams sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA). the event founded in 2010 by the WPA and was held every two years until 2014.
