Chinese Taipei Open
Recap
Published April 13, 2026
Ko Pin Yi, known as the Prince of Pool, won his first World Nineball Tour ranking title of 2026 at the Chinese Taipei Open. The 36-year-old Taipei native defeated Filipino veteran Ronel Nalaunan in the final of the four-day tournament held at Songshan Cultural & Creative Park.
Ko is a former world number one and 2015 world champion who won the World Nine-ball Championship, World Ten-ball Championship, and World Cup of Pool in 2015. He earned $30,000 from the tournament’s $102,800 prize fund.
Nalaunan, an experienced player from the Philippines, reached his first major final in recent memory. The runner-up collected $12,000 for his second-place finish. The semi-final stage featured strong regional competition, with Spain’s Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz and Aivhan Maluto also reaching the final four.
The tournament format included early double-elimination stages with the 128-player field (race-to-9 winner’s side, race-to-8 loser’s side) before transitioning to single knockout from the last 64. The final was contested at race-to-13 format on Rasson tables.
This Gold-level WNT event awards ranking points. Ko’s world ranking had declined from his previous peak years, and this victory provides points toward climbing back up the rankings.
Sources: Matchroom Pool
This recap was compiled from public tournament records and tournament organizer communications. ForceFollow is not affiliated with the tournament organizer.