Chezka Centeno advanced to the semifinals of the 2026 WPA Women’s 8-Ball World Championship after defeating fellow Filipino Rubilen Amit, 8-6, in the quarterfinals of the Oneida Casino-backed event.

The 27-year-old from Zamboanga City reached the quarterfinal round by beating Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan, 8-4, in a rematch loaded with recent history. For more than a year, Ms. Centeno had carried the memory of a 9-8 hill-hill loss to Ms. Ouschan in the WPA Women’s 8-Ball World Championship title match in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a result that denied her what would have been her first world 8-ball crown.

This time, Ms. Centeno reversed that result against the same opponent who had stopped her in the previous title showdown, securing the win that moved her into the last eight.

In the quarterfinals, she then faced Ms. Amit, her countrywoman, mentor and close friend, and prevailed 8-6 to claim a place in the semifinals. The all-Filipino matchup also underlined the Philippines’ continued presence in the late rounds of major women’s pool events, with Ms. Amit long established among the country’s leading international cue artists and Ms. Centeno carrying her own run of recent world-level results.

The result put Ms. Centeno two wins away from capturing a historic world 8-ball title.

Ms. Centeno will next meet Chinese Taipei’s Wei Tzu-Chien, who advanced with an 8-1 victory over Japan’s Chihiro Kawahara.

The other semifinal matchup will feature American Savannah Easton, who edged Belarusian Margaret Fefilova-Styer, 8-7, and Great Britain’s Kelly Fisher, who shut out Taiwanese Chou Chieh-Yu, 8-0.

The semifinals and final are scheduled for Monday.

A world 8-ball title would add to Ms. Centeno’s international résumé, which already includes two world 10-ball championships won in 2023 and last year. It would also give her a world crown in another pool discipline, adding to a résumé built across the sport’s major formats. — Joey Villar