Chezka Centeno got back at teammate Rubilen Amit with a 7-5 victory to advance to the Last 16 of the 2023 Kamui World Women’s 9-Ball Championship in Atlantic City, New Jersey Friday, Jan. 20 (Saturday in Manila).
Locked at 5-all, the 23-year-old Centeno took advantage of her familiar foe and grabbed the last two racks to earn a berth in the knockout stage.
It was a revenge of sorts for Centeno, who yielded to Amit in the gold-medal round of the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam last year.
Despite the defeat, though, Amit still has a chance to join Centeno into the next phase after being relegated to the loser’s bracket scheduled Saturday, Jan. 21 (Sunday in Manila).
She awaits the winner between Korean Seoa Seo and American Ashley Burrows.
Centeno, for her part, awaits for the completion of the draw with the Last 16 slated to be played in a race-to-9 format starting on Saturday.
Other players who booked Last 16 slots early were defending champion Kelly Fisher of Great Britain, who blanked Korea’s Lee Woojin, 7-0; Germany’s Pia Filler, who thumped Bulgaria’s Kristina Zlateva, 7-3; Germany’s Melanie Sussenguth, who stunned 2019 finalist Jasmin Ouschan of Austria, 7-2; and Chinese Taipei’s Chou Chieh-Yu, who clobbered Japan’s Miina Tani, 7-1.
The tournament follows a double elimination format with the Last 16 participants advancing to the knockout stage.