By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
What a moment for the Philippine pool community.
Johann Chua, one of the top pool players in the country, earned a breakthrough win after bagging the 2024 Mansion Sports Hanoi Open 9-ball title on October 13, 2024, at the Hanoi Indoor Games Gymnasium in Vietnam.
Chua saved the best for last after dominating Chinese Taipei’s bet, Ko Pin Yi, 13-7, during the grand finals match.
It was a stellar run-out for the Filipino after quickly nabbing a sizable 6-2 lead when he sustained his fine break game.
However, Ko Pin Yi staged a comeback for the ages after pulling off a 5-2 run to inch close to within a point, 8-7.
Just when Chine Taipei’s star thought he could capitalize on his redefined bank shot defense, Chua roared back in the next five sets and didn’t give Ko Pin Yi any room to recover.
Chua’s 5-0 run was capped off by a series of well-placed ball control shots which led to a scattered target practice. He imposed his will in Hanoi as the best pool player to set foot in the Indoor Games Gymnasium.
In the final rack, Chua sank the nine ball and shouted: “Atin na to!” while hearing his Filipino fans scream in joy as well as his teammates at the Marboys’ Billiards team.
Moments after winning the elusive nine-ball championship, Chua climbed to the pool table and made his final bow in front of a jam-packed crowd.
He then burst into tears, as his win in Hanoi marked his first-ever major nine-ball tournament win in his illustrious career.
Chua will be bringing home a grand prize money of $30,000 (1,724,460 pesos) while Ko Pin Yi managed to collect $15,000 as the second placer.
Mabuhay ka, Johann Chua! Atin talaga to!
