Takeshi Okumura

Takeshi Okumura (奥村 健, Okumura Takeshi) (born April 24, 1952 in Fukuoka, Japan) is a Japanese professional pool player.

Takeshi Okumura
Born (1952-04-24) 24 April 1952
Fukuoka, Japan
Sport country Japan
Professional1978
Tournament wins
World Champion9-Ball (1994)

Professional career

He started playing pool at 16 and turned professional ten years later.[1]

Okumura won the WPA World Nine-ball Championship in 1994, defeating Yasunari Itsuzaki in an all Japanese final. With the win, he became the first male Japanese player to win a world championship in pocket billiards. Until Nick Varner won the world 9-Ball title in 1999, Okumura was the oldest champion.

Although he won the world nine-ball crown, Okumura wasn't quite successful in the sport for the next ten years. In 1995, he almost won the International Challenge of Champions but Chao Fong-pang of Taiwan bested him in the last match. He also was closing to winning the U.S. Open 9-ball Championship in 2000 but lost to Earl Strickland, 5-11, in the finals.[2] He nearly had a shot for a second world title in 2002 but again was defeated by Earl Strickland in the semis.[3]

After some less impressive past performances, Okumura showed dominance one last time, in 2005. He defeated Mika Immonen in the finals to win the All Japan Championship, the longest running tournament in the world, featuring players from Japan and the rest of the world.[4]

Titles

References
  1. Takeshi Okumura Profile (in Japanese)
  2. "FIVE and ALIVE!". Billiards Digest. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  3. "Lovefest For Strickland In Semis". Billiards Digest. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  4. "Okumura wins his 7th title". Ralf Souquet. Retrieved 2008-08-08.


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