Chao Fong-pang

He won the WPA World Nine-ball Championship in 1993 against Thomas Hasch of Germany. Thus, he became the first Asian to win a world title in pocket billiards. In 1995, he won the International Challenge of Champions against Japan's Takeshi Okumura, a player who won the world nine-ball the year after he did.

Three year later, he won the gold medal in the eight-ball event of the Asian Games.[1]

Chao regained the world nine-ball championship in 2000 by defeating Mexico's Ismael Paez, 17–6. The lead of that score was the largest deficit ever made in a world championship final.

By 2001, Chao won the International Challenge of Champions for the second time, defeating Francisco Bustamante who won the event back in 1999. He won it again for the third time in 2005 with a victory over Thomas Engert, the 2004 winner.[2]

Chao Fong-pang is renowned for his jump shots, relying on them considerably more frequently that most other pros. One notable instance was when he played versus Francisco Bustamante at the 2001 ICC tie-breaker: Bustamante had made a good snooker behind a ball, leaving Chao in a difficult position. But Chao went for the jump, and made it to win the match and the title.

While a majority of Taiwanese players play with open bridge hands, Chao is among the few who play with a closed or loop bridge.

• 1993 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
• 1995 International Challenge of Champions
• 1998 Asian Game gold medalist (eight-ball)
• 2000 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
• 2001 International Challenge of Champions
• 2005 International Challenge of Champions