CHEZKA Centeno relinquished her grip on the World 10-Ball women’s crown yesterday (Saturday in the US), losing in the semifinals to familiar South Korean rival Seo Seoa 1-3, who went on to lose 2-3 over Individual Neutral Athlete Kristina Tkach in the finale in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Centeno, who pocketed $15,000 (roughly P880,000) for reaching the semis, fell behind 0-2 to Seo in the round of four, won the third match but was outplayed again 1-4 in the succeeding frame.
Seo gained a measure of revenge against the Pinay cue ace, who had beaten her in the finals of the Asian women’s 9-ball finals in Singapore two years ago.
Riding the momentum of her triumph over Centeno, the South Korean handily took the first set 4-1 against Tkach, who had beaten Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan 3-1 in the other semis match.
But the Russian eked out a 4-3 win to level the match at 1-all before Seo took the third set with a 4-3 decision.
A familiar fixture on the Euro tour, Tkach, 25, took the fourth set 4-3 then wrapped things up with a 4-0 whitewash of her opponent in the next frame to pocket the top prize of $50,000 (P2.9 million) while the South Korean settled for the runner-up purse of $30,000 (P1.76 million).