Johann Chua capped off the year with a bang after landing at fifth place in the latest World Nineball Tour rankings.

Chua, who started the year at 60th, banked on his splendid performances that include three titles to amass a total of $150,338 earnings.

Among his victories were the 2024 Hanoi Open against a fiercely competitive field and the Zen + Yuan8 Open in China where he defeated Wu Sun Lin for his maiden WNT ranking title.

The 32-year-old also reached the semifinals of the 2024 World Pool Championship and the finals of the 2024 European Open, while also securing a slot for Team Asia in the inaugural Reyes Cup.

“Such a great gift this Christmas,” Chua wrote on his social media. “It means I’ve been good this year... A great proof that using your pile of mistakes and losses as your catapult to reach the top is possible if you refuse to give up.”

United States’ Fedor Gorst leads the standings with a total money earning of $453,211, followed by Spain’s Francisco Sanchez Ruiz ($159,237), Albania’s Eklent Kaci ($156,818) and Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp ($151,398).

Rounding up the Top 10 money earners were Chinese Taipei’s Ko Ping Chung ($144,812), Spain’s David Alcaide ($130,310), Germany’s Joshua Filler ($120,981), United States' Shane Van Boening ($118,612), and Great Britain’s Jayson Shaw ($117,682).

Last year, Chua made waves by partnering with James Aranas to win the country’s historic fourth World Cup of Pool title.