Ko Pin-yi

Ko Pin-yi
Personal information
Nickname"Prince of Pool"
Born (1989-05-31) 31 May 1989 (age 37)
Pool career
Country Chinese Taipei
Turned pro
2005
Pool gamesNine-ball, Ten-ball
Tournament wins
MajorWorld Cup of Pool, (2015)
World ChampionNine-ball (2015),
Ten-ball (2015)
Current rank85
Highest rank1

Ko Pin-yi (born 31 May 1989) is a Taiwanese professional pool player. He became multiple World Champion in the disciplines of Nine-ball and Ten-ball in 2015.

Career

Ko won the World Nine-ball Junior Championship twice in his junior career, in 2007 and 2008.

Ko became a multiple world champion in 2015, winning three world titles in a single calendar year. He defeated Carlo Biado 11–9 in the final of the 2015 WPA World Ten-ball Championship, followed by beating Shane Van Boening, 13–11 in the 2015 WPA World Nine-ball Championship final, Ko also captured its country's first World Cup of Pool title alongside Chang Yu-lung, defeating England B of Mark Gray and Daryl Peach 10–8 in the final. Ko was named Billiard Digest's "Player of the Year" in 2015.

In 2022, Ko won the Asian Pool Federation's Asian Nine-ball Open in Singapore, defeating James Aranas of the Philippines 13–11 in the final. He successfully defended it the following year, winning 13–6 over 16-year-old Filipino Albert James Manas.

In 2023, Ko became the first Taiwanese player to win the World Pool Masters title in Brentwood, Essex England with 13–5 win against Albania's Eklent Kaci.

In 2024, team Asia competed in the inaugural Reyes Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila, Philippines. The team consisted of Johann Chua, Carlo Biado, Ko Pin Yi, Duong Quoc Hoang, and Aloysius Yapp, and was coached by the tournament namesake Efren Reyes. They defeated the European team 11–6. Team Europe was made up of Jayson Shaw, Eklent Kaçi, Francisco Sánchez Ruiz, David Alcaide, and Mickey Krause.

Personal life

Pin Yi is the oldest of three brothers. His younger brothers, Ko Ping-chung and Ko Ping Han, are also professional pool players.

Career titles and achievements