THE PREDATOR WHEELCHAIR OPEN is down to the final four players as the event plays to a conclusion on Tuesday, while the 2026 Banca del Fucino WPA Women’s 10-Ball World Championships resumes at Losers’ Round 3 and then Losers’ Qualification to set up the last 16 single elimination on Wednesday. The Fujifilm Women’s Double Master Showdown is at the quarter-final stage, which takes place at 16.00 Tuesday.
Advancing on the winner’s side of the draw and through to the single elimination last 16 is Sofia Mast of the USA, who showed what she was capable of with a tremendous come-from-behind win over two-time WPA World Champion Rubilen Amit (PHI). 18-year-old Mast is fast becoming the real deal and poses a credible threat to any player here in Rome. Mast herself is the 2024 WPA World Junior Champion, but her game is now moving to the highest levels.
She said, “This morning I was so tired, I could not even get out of bed and I started off very weak and missed so many shots so to come back with that win feels incredible because she’s a World Champion and it’s really crazy feeling!
“After the first set, I went to the bathroom, said a prayer, calmed my nerves down a lot because I missed so many shots and I just had to forget about it. My mum always tells me ‘believe’ and that’s what I did.
“I’ve beaten a lot of the pro players and I feel really comfortable against them and I feel there’s no pressure on me. It’s really incredible to play with these women and me beating them and I feel like I’m there. I’m shooting well, I’m happy with my game and I feel I can win this,” she added.
Three players travelled from South America to contest here in Rome and just one remains as Argentina’s Soledad Ayala advanced on the one-loss side as she defeated Sinem Kokten 2-0. Ayala was almost on her way home yesterday as she lost the first set 4-0 to Lena Primus (AUT) and before prevailing in a shoot-out as she lived to fight on.
The Argentinian has been getting some good results in international competition and she’s not short of confidence. Aided by her big break, she’s looking to make a big impression over the closing stages here.
She said, “I didn’t start very well in the tournament and I didn’t have too much confidence in my game. But today I tried to clean my mind and try control every shot, every position and it worked. Today I can say I played very good. I made some little mistakes but I had a nice game in all the sets.
“Really, I have a big break. I practiced for a long time – around 2 months at home. I try to watch top players like Fedor Gorst, Shane Van Boening to try to learn how they break. I know I’m short but it’s like the technique they use and it’s working.”
There was a single round played today in the Fujifilm Women’s Double Master Showdown, as the four Loser’s Qualification matches produced the remaining four quarter-finalists. A winning pair were Kristina Tkach and Chou Chieh Yu who defeated Hung Meng-Hsia and Kristina Zlateva by 2-0. Having fun seems to be a key element of the women’s doubles and the winning pair were no exception.
Commented Tkach, “I really enjoyed that despite the fact I almost dogged it because I missed a ball in the last but was lucky we won as they also made a couple of mistakes. Chou is a phenomenal player and her safety is always great, so I think we have a good chemistry.
Despite a $20,000 top prize on offer, Kristina isn’t swayed, “It’s important not to be thinking about money because It’s really not the right motivation. Just stay in the game and whatever’s going to happen is going to happen and winning money is just the cherry on top.”
The Predator Wheelchair Open is down to the final four with the semi-finals slated for 10.00 on Monday morning with the championship match set to take place at 18.30. A legend of the wheelchair game is Ireland’s Fred Dinsmore who defeated Bret Clifton (USA) by 2-1. Clifton looked set to take the match to a shoot-out but disappointingly missed on the 9-ball with the 10 hanging in the pocket.
Dinsmore, who went down with illness weeks before the event, was touch and go as to whether he’d even participate but he’s still around and two wins away from the $10,000 top prize.
Said Fred, “The arena is brilliant and the way the whole tournament is run, it’s incredible, but no, I didn’t enjoy that one little bit! I still want to keep winning, I still think I’m reasonably OK not quite as good as I used to be and I still think I can win, so that’s what keeps me going and if I didn’t think I could win, I wouldn’t bother. Participation doesn’t do it for me. I didn’t think I’d make it here, but I’m in the semi-final and we’ll give it a go!”
Play resumes on Monday morning with the Predator Wheelchair Open semi-finals at 10.00 followed by further rounds in the Women’s World 10-ball and Doubles event. Live streaming of Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4 for all events can be found on YouTube, via the Pro Billiard TV channel – https://www.youtube.com/@ProBilliardTV
For all results, live scoring and draw visit the events’ homepage https://probilliardseries.com/event/2026-rome/
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