New Taipei City, Taiwan – The eSpring 2016 Amway Cup Women’s 9-Ball Championship saw Chezka Luy Centeno of the Philippines claim the title and make history, becoming the youngest player to ever win the Amway Cup. Centeno, who qualified for the knock-out round through the stage one qualifier, hadn’t even been born yet when the first Amway Cup was played 19 years ago.
Going undefeated through a talent packed group in the stage 1 qualifier was no small feat for the 16 year old Centeno, winning; 7:3 against Eun Ji Park, 7:5 against Ga Young Kim, 7:1 against Sara Rocha, and 7:2 against Annette Grigg.
Centeno then advanced to the knock-out rounds, continuing her undefeated run, winning; 7:1 against Amalia Matas, 9:1 against 2015 Amway Champion Yuan Chun Lin, and 9:8 against Han Yu, breaking and running out the final rack to face Great Britain’s Kelly Fisher in an action packed final. Both Centeno and Fisher are know for their fast past play, as Fisher commented during the pre-match interviews that it could be the “fastest final ever.”
The young Centeno won the lag and opened with an impressive break and run to kick-off the race to 11 alternate-break final at the Banqiao Sports Centre in New Taipei City. But Fisher was keen to take control and vaulted out to a 5 -1 lead after that. In rack 7, Fisher missed the 8-ball, allowing Centeno an easy out, which she then followed by winning the next two games, drawing to within striking distance of Fisher. The two fast paced players would remain close, being tied at 6-6 after Rack 12, and 8-8 after Rack 16. The young Centeno would go on to see out the final three racks on the race to win 11-8 pocketing an 8-9 combo in the top right corner and winning the $34,000 dollar prize.
Final Race to 11 Rack By Rack Scores
Rack CC KF
____ ___ ___
1 1 0
2 1 1
3 1 2
4 1 3
5 1 4
6 1 5
7 2 5
8 3 5
9 4 5
10 4 6
11 5 6
12 6 6
13 6 7
14 7 7
15 7 8
16 8 8
17 9 8
18 10 8
19 11 8
Words: Kyle Nolan