Pool veteran Franciso Bustamante could not pull a win out of this tournament as Niels Feijen beat him 200-11 this past Saturday. Feijen was the favorite according to the stats and took an early lead against Bustamante with a 40 ball advantage. Bustamante missed his first open shot and with that Feijen took the lead 80-0.

Bustamante missed again after stating: “Niels is playing good, but don’t worry. I will come back and run 200.” After Bustamante missed again, Niels lead would go up 189 balls. When Bustamante finally made his first shot, he went on to make a three-way combo but would miss another easy shot. Feijen would quickly finish the match 200-11.

Feijen was overcome with excitement. He had gone undefeated in 13 straight matches on his way to the title. More than 1,600 balls were pocketed by the pool player. Feijen would dedicate his win to his friend Joe Kerr, a player and promoter based in Ohio, who had passed away a few weeks earlier.

"I want to dedicate my win here to a good friend of mine who passed away, Joe Kerr," said Feijen, as he started fighting back tears. "Joe was my first contact in the U.S., and without knowing him I would not be a professional player today."

With his win, Feijen would become the first Netherlander to win a world cue sports title. This is also the first world title for Niels Feijen, but surely the first of many. Another first for the event was when Jasmin Ouschan of Austria became the first woman to reach the semis of a men’s world championship tournament. Jasmin was up against Bustamante in the semi’s and would stay in the lead until Bustamante would go on a run of almost 100 to win the match 200-148.



- 2008-09-01