Taipei, March 3 (CNA) Local players will be setting their sights on a third consecutive pool tournament win when the Amway WPA Women's World 9-Ball Open begins in Taipei Thursday with the participation of 48 players from 19 countries.
The annual tournament, which is now in its 13th year, will be held from March 4-7 at The Living Mall, a major shopping center in downtown Taipei.
The competitors are a mix of experienced veterans and talented youngsters, including defending champion Chou Chieh-yu, U.K. veteran Allison Fisher, 14-year-old Kamila Khodjaeva of Uzbekistan, and China's 17-year-old Liu Sha-sha, who is ranked No.1 in the world.
Other notable players are Taiwanese veteran Liu Shin-mei; South Korea's Cha Yu-ram, Kim Ga-yong and Lim Yun-mi; Monica Webb and Vivian Villarreal of the U.S.; Japan's Chihiro Kawahara; and Taiwan's Lai Hui-shan and Chang Shu-han.
In the tournament, 24 of 48 players will advance from eight preliminary groups to the playoffs after a round robin "race to seven." A single-elimination format will be used in the playoffs, where players will match up in head-to-head battle. Semifinalists will play in a "race to nine" competition, with winners meeting in a race-to-eleven title game.
Chou Chieh-yu, 23, beat Ireland's Karen Corr 11-9 in the final last year to take the title. Taiwan's Lin Yuan-chun was the champion in 2008.