Taipei’s Chieh-Yu Chou goes undefeated to win $25k-added Olhausen Raxx Mezz Invitational

Chieh-Yu Chou

Chou and Tkach face each other for a second time in a WPBA final

Chinese Taipei’s Chieh-Yu Chou earned the ‘main headline’ credit here for her undefeated run at the WPBA’s $25k-added Olhausen Raxx Mezz Invitational, which drew 64 entrants to Raxx Pool Room, Sports Bar and Grill in West Hempstead, NY this past weekend (May 3-4). That said, a pair of teenagers made some ‘noise’ in the tournament that earned them a spot in the opening paragraph of this report. The 15-year-old “Roadrunner” (Savannah Easton), who finished in the tie for 5^th, won four, winners’ side matches against Sandy Cheng, Lonnie Fox-Raymond, Kaylee McIntosh and the other teenager, the 16-year-old “Pink Dagger” (Sofia Mast). The “Dagger,” in the meantime, won three, winners’ side matches against Ayala Soledad, Ada Lio and then, sent the WPBA’s top-ranked competitor (going into and out of this event), Kristina Tkach, to the loss side, before following her over after her winners’ side quarterfinal loss to the “Roadrunner.”

These two young women are right on the verge of no one taking notice when they’re among a professional event’s top 12, or even final four finishers. They’ll no longer be considered as cute ‘flashes in a pan,’ but a pair of consistent and reliable competitors in the world of professional women’s pool, before either of them have even graduated from high school. They’re arguably already there. Just ask Kristina Tkach, who, thanks to Mast, had to come from the loss side to finish as runner-up to Chou, and then, having to defeat Easton, almost double-hill (8-6) in the battles for 5^th/6^th. 

But we digress . . .

Before we get underway with the event narrative, it should be noted that the WPBA initiated two new rules to the event, as follows, from the WPBA’s explanation on their Web site:

To align with the WPBA’s commitment to global best practices, the Invitational introduced two key breakformat revisions:

• The 9ball was spotted on the foot spot (instead of the 1ball), with opponents racking for each other and the remaining seven balls placed at random. Breakers could inspect the rack and request a rerack if needed—but not touch it.
• The 3point rule was removed, eliminating the requirement that balls pocketed and/or crossing the head string total at least three. Originally designed to deter soft breaks, it often penalized powerful, clusterbreaking breaks. The result: truly open racks every time and dramatically varied opening patterns.

Chieh-Yu Chou’s trip to the winners’ circle began well enough with an 8-2 win over Tarah Conner and an 8-3 follow-up against Monica Webb. She then faced (on paper, at least) two straight, more problematic opponents, each of whom (Margarita Fefilova and Allison Fisher) delivered an almost-double-hill challenge (8-6). Chou moved on to face fellow countrywoman Shui Ching Chiang in one of the winners’ side semifinals.

In the meantime, Australia’s Bean (Meng-Hsia) Hung, headed out to the hot seat match from her end of the 64-entrant bracket with an opening-round victory over Kim Housman 8-3. Then, another teenager, Kennedy Meyman (18), battled her to double-hill before she (Hung) prevailed to send Germany’s Pia Filler to the loss side 8-6. She then downed Taiwan’s Tzu-Chien Wei 8-5, and in the other winners’ side semifinal, drew the “Roadrunner” (Easton), who’d just sent “Pink Dagger” to the loss side 8-2.

Hung defeated the “Roadrunner” 8-5, while the two Taiwanese competitors battled and eventually sent Chieh-Yu Chou to the hot seat match 8-4. In a double-hill fight, Chou claimed the seat over Hung.

The “Roadrunner” arrived on the loss side and picked up Tkach, who’d followed her loss to the “Pink Dagger” with four straight victories, over Spain’s Mayte Ropero (4), Japan’s Sakura Muramatsu (3), Janet Atwell (3) and, in a double-hill battle, Allison Fisher. Chiang drew countrywoman Tzu-Chien Wei, who’d followed her loss to Hung with victories over Fefilova 8-5 and Vietnam’s Nguyen Bich Tram 8-3.

Tkach had to contend with an almost-double hill challenge from the “Roadrunner,” but did prevail 8-6 and advanced to the quarterfinal. Chiang joined her after eliminating Wei 8-2. Tkach won the quarterfinal match over Chiang 8-5.

The sound of Tkach’s ‘footsteps’ as she approached a meeting versus Chou in the finals (expressed in diminishing loss-side, racks-against numbers) were steady and getting louder. . . 7, 6, 5, and in the semifinals against Hung, got down to 3.

It was the second time in a little less than a year that Chou and Tkach had tangled up in a WPBA final. In June, last year, at the Soaring Eagle Masters in Mount Pleasant, MI, Tkach and Chou met twice, the first time in Round 2 of a Stage 2, double-elimination bracket. They battled to double-hill before Tkach prevailed sending Chou on a nine-match, loss-side trip that would culminate with a rematch against her in the finals. That final match (we reported at the time) didn’t match up to its double-hill expectations, though it was close. Chou edged out in front to win 10-7 and claim what proved to be her first WPBA title.

Chou was apparently unphased by the aforementioned approaching ‘footsteps’ of Tkach this past weekend and of course, in the absence of a ‘fight or flight’ option, the two met once again to battle for an event title. Like their meeting at the Soaring Eagle Masters last year, there was plenty of drama, though not the double-hill kind. Chou edged out in front to win 10-5 and claim her second WPBA title. 

WPBA representatives thanked Holden Chin and his Raxx Pool Room, Sports Bar and Grill staff for their hospitality, along with Event Sponsors Olhausen Billiards, Mezz Cues, and Hsunami Shafts. Next up on the WPBA calendar, where Chou and Tkach might re-appear and face each other in a third final, will be the $40,000-added, 2025 Soaring Eagle Masters, scheduled for the weekend of June 5-8 at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mt. Pleasant, MI.

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