Chezka Centeno faltered in the semifinals and failed to defend her crown after absorbing a tough 1-4,1-4,4-1,1-4 defeat against Seoa Seo in the 2024 WPA World 10-Ball Women’s Championship in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Saturday, Nov. 16.

The Filipina pool master never got his stroke going throughout the contest as she engaged and lost in several tight safety battles against her South Korean rival who, on the other hand, pounced on Centeno’s poor shotmaking to quickly build on the early lead.

Centeno got some sort of momentum on the third set, scoring the last three racks after a 1-1 start to get herself on the board but her struggles continued to haunt her, rattling an open shot at the eight-ball in the fourth rack of the fourth set.

That opened things up for Seo, who was leading 2-1 on that set, to go on the hill and eventually close it out on the next rack to finally win one against Centeno after the Filipina defeated her in the semifinal of the Las Vegas Open via shootout last February and in the final of the 2022 Asian Pool Federation Women’s 9-Ball Championship.

As disappointing as the loss for Centeno, she is taking it on the chin and with grace.

“I competed in Puerto Rico hoping to defend my WPA World 10-Ball Champion title. Unfortunately, my journey ended in the semi-finals. To be honest, I was disappointed with how I performed during that match. But I wasn’t surprised—I came to Puerto Rico knowing I wasn’t in my best condition,” said the 25-year-old Filipina.

“Every match came with a constant mental struggle, questioning whether I could win the next one. The pressure was definitely there as I worked to defend my title. While I didn’t achieve that this year, I firmly believe that what’s truly meant for me will never pass me by, and that belief helps me accept my fate gracefully in every tournament,” she added.

Despite the big win over Centeno, Seo couldn’t keep the momentum going as she settled for the second place with Russian Kristina Tkach bagging the title with a pulsating 1-4,4-3,3-4,4-3,4-0 win in the finale.