Key takeaways
- Chieh-Yu “Rita” Chou of Chinese Taipei won the 2026 WPA Women’s World 9-Ball Championship in Bali, Indonesia.
- Chou beat defending champion Seoa Seo of South Korea 3-1 in sets (4-1, 1-4, 4-1, 4-1) in the final on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026.
- The title, her second after 2023, was worth US$55,000; the 64-player event ran Sept. 28 to Oct. 4.
- Chou reached the final without dropping a set, beating China’s Huang Qingning and Japan’s Chihiro Kawahara.
Who won the 2026 Women’s World 9-Ball Championship?
The 2026 Women’s World 9-Ball Championship winner is Chieh-Yu “Rita” Chou of Chinese Taipei. The 39-year-old beat defending champion Seoa Seo of South Korea 3-1 in sets on Sunday, Oct. 4, at the Bali International Convention Centre in Indonesia, according to the World Pool-Billiard Association’s report. The win was worth US$55,000.
Sets in the final were races to four. Chou took the first 4-1, Seo answered 4-1 in the second, and the match turned in the third, which Chou won 4-1 after converting an opening left by a missed safety, as Taiwan’s Focus Taiwan described it. She closed out the fourth set by the same score.
The title is Chou’s second. She first won the world crown in 2023 and becomes only the second woman from Taiwan to win it twice, after Liu Hsin-mei, who won in 1999 and 2002.
How did Chou and Seo reach the final?
Sixty-four players started the event, which ran from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4 alongside the men’s doubles world championship and the Aramith Men’s Open as part of a three-event week in Bali. Matches in the knockout rounds were played as best-of-five sets.
Chou did not drop a set on the way to the title match. She swept China’s Huang Qingning in the quarterfinals and Japan’s Chihiro Kawahara 3-0 in the semifinals.
Seo, 23, had a tougher road. She eliminated three Taiwanese players, Chou Chia-chia, Chiang Shui-ching and Tzu-Chien Wei, beating Wei 3-1 in the semifinals. Seo was trying to become the first woman to defend this title since China’s Liu Shasha in 2015.
Why does this matter to pool fans in the US and Canada?
The last two editions of this championship were played on American soil. Chou’s first title came at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in January 2023, when she shut out Allison Fisher 9-0 in the final. Seo won the 2025 edition at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront in Florida last December, edging Kristina Tkach 3-2 in sets for a $50,000 top prize.
The Bali week also crowned Spain’s Francisco Sánchez-Ruiz and David Alcaide as men’s doubles world champions, a 3-2 win over the Philippines, weeks after Sánchez-Ruiz won the 2026 US Open Pool Championship. With the WPBA tour in action this month and the women’s pro calendar busy into winter, North American fans have plenty of reason to follow the top Asian women who keep setting the standard.
From the workshop
Chou’s final was a lesson in pace: when Seo left her a chance in the pivotal third set, she ran out without forcing anything. That kind of composure depends on trusting your equipment completely. Players who control the cue ball with soft, accurate strokes usually benefit most from a shaft and tip they know by feel, not from chasing the stiffest or lowest-deflection option on paper.
For league and tournament players, the lesson is consistency over novelty. Pick a weight, balance point and wrap you can repeat under pressure, and keep them. If you want a playing cue built around those specs, our MK series plain-butt cues are made to order with your preferred weight, tip and joint.
Quick answers
Who won the 2026 Women's World 9-Ball Championship?
Chieh-Yu “Rita” Chou of Chinese Taipei won the 2026 WPA Women’s World 9-Ball Championship, beating South Korea’s Seoa Seo 3-1 in sets in the final in Bali, Indonesia.
How much did Rita Chou win at the 2026 Women's World 9-Ball Championship?
Chou earned US$55,000 for winning the 2026 title, according to reports from Taiwan’s Focus Taiwan and the Taipei Times.
When and where was the 2026 Women's World 9-Ball Championship played?
The 64-player event was held Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, 2026, at the Bali International Convention Centre in Bali, Indonesia.
How many times has Rita Chou won the women's world 9-ball title?
Chou has won the women’s world 9-ball title twice, in 2023 in Atlantic City and in 2026 in Bali, making her the second Taiwanese woman to win it twice after Liu Hsin-mei.
Sources
- Chieh-Yu Chou Reclaims the Women's World Crown as Spain Conquers the Isak Men's Doubles World Championship in Bali (WPA Pool, 2026-10-05)
- Taiwan's Chou wins second women's 9-ball world title (Focus Taiwan (CNA), 2026-10-05)
- Chou wins second women's 9-ball world title in Bali (Taipei Times, 2026-10-06)
- Spain Wins The 2026 Isak Billiard WPA Men's Doubles 10-Ball World Championship (AZBilliards, 2026-10-05)
- 2025 WPA Women's World Nine-ball Championship (Wikipedia, 2026-10-07)
Written by the Muraki workshop team in our own words from the reports above. Results and figures are as reported by those sources at the time of publishing. Spot something wrong? Tell us and we will correct it.
Play the game, then build the cue
Every Muraki cue is turned, inlaid and finished by hand in our workshop, then numbered and shipped to players across the US, Canada and worldwide. Tell us how you play and we will quote one for you, usually the same day.
