Hsia Hui-kai () is a retired professional

pool Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

player from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. He has competed in various regional and international cue sports tournaments and is nicknamed "Assassin" and "Invincible Iron Man" by the Taiwanese media.

Biography

Hsia Hui-kai, born in 1975, first encountered billiards at the age of thirteen. Despite initial parental disapproval due to prevailing social stereotypes that unfairly associated

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue stick, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . Cue sports, a category of stic ...

with academic underachievement and smoking, Hsia demonstrated exceptional talent for the sport. His early aptitude quickly translated into success in domestic competitions, leading his family to shift from opposition to active support. In 1992, at the age of sixteen, Hsia secured the World Cup Nine-Ball Junior Championship, a title he successfully defended in 1993. Upon graduating from high school, he committed to a professional billiards career. Distinguished by a muscular physique uncommon among billiard players, he earned the moniker "Invincible Iron Man". By the age of twenty-three, Hsia had attained a national ranking of second. After several international competition wins, retired in 2008 after enrolling in the

Cheng Shiu University Cheng Shiu University (CSU; ) is a private university located in Niaosong District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. CSU offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs across several faculties, including the College of Humanities and Social Sci ...

and later became a tutor.

Career

Hsia Hui-kai has competed in several professional pool tournaments, representing Taiwan several in international events. He has attended

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

and numerous individual competitions while representing Taiwan. In 2002 he won the Men's eight-ball singles at the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games, officially known as the XIV Asian Games and also known as Busan 2002 (), were an international multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002. Due to schedule impediments the football tour ...

and won Taiwan's first gold medal at the event. In 2003, Hsia went to the final of the 2003

World Pool Masters The World Pool Masters is an annual international nine-ball tournament. Formerly, it was called the European Pool Masters (until 1995) until players from other parts of the globe were invited. History Throughout much of its history, the tournament ...

losing 8-6 to

Tony Drago Tony Drago ( ; born 22 September 1965) is a Maltese former professional snooker and pool player. Known for his speed around the table, during his snooker career he won two professional titles: the 1993 Strachan Challenge Event 3 and the 1996 ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. In 2007, Hsai advanced to the quarter finals of the World Pool Championship but failed to progress any further.

References

{{Reflist Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Pool players Taiwanese pool players

Biography

Career

See Also

References