For over a year, Chezka Centeno was haunted by her heartbreaking 9-8 hill-hill defeat to Austrian terror Jasmin Ouschan in the WPA Women’s 8-Ball World Championship title showdown in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which cost her what could have been her breakthrough crown in the event.
She made sure to bury the ghost of that pitter past by exacting revenge on the same person that denied her that first 8-ball crown after she turned back Ouschan, 8-4, that catapulted her to the quarterfinals of this Oneida Casino-backed meet.
There, the 27-year-old Zamboanga City native faced off and turned back countrywoman, mentor and close friend Rubilen Amit, 8-6, that sent her to the semis, or two shots at claiming a historic 8-ball crown.
But she has to hurdle Chinese Taipei’s Wei Tzu-Chien, who demolished Japan’s Chihiro Kawahara, 8-1, first to inch closer to earning that title shot.
The other two semifinalists were American Savannah Easton, who edged Belarusian Margaret Fefilova-Styer, 8-7, and Great Britain legend Kelly Fisher, who blanked Taiwanese Chou Chieh-Yu, 8-0.
The semis and finals are set Monday.
That 8-ball trophy would be a welcome addition to Centeno’s collection that included his pair of prized world 10-ball titles in 2023 and last year.
But whatever happens, Centeno has conquered one fear that has troubled her for a year and served Ouschan a dish best served cold – vengeance.