(born March 4, 1969, in

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

) is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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 and a WPA World Nine-ball Champion. Nicknamed "the Sniper". He began practicing pool at 17 and turned professional in 1996. In 1998, he won the WPA World Nine-ball Championship by defeating the reigning champion,

Johnny Archer Johnny Archer (born November 12, 1968) is an American professional pool player. He is nicknamed "the Scorpion" (his zodiac sign is Scorpio). He is a two time World Nine-ball Champion & won a record 5 Sands Regency 9-Ball Open titles. In 2009, ...

, in the final match. He became the second World Nine-ball Champion from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, after Takeshi Okumura, who won it in 1994. In 1999, Takahashi won the ESPN Ultimate Shootout, earning him

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

40,000. Four years later, Takahashi was three stages away from a second world title when he lost to

Earl Strickland Earl Strickland (born June 8, 1961) is an American professional pool player who is considered one of the best nine-ball players of all time. He has won over 100 championship titles and three world titles. In 2006 he was inducted into the Billiard ...

, who would later win the championship. Takahashi was critical of the Strickland's behavior during the match: "I lost up here. Strickland shows no sportsmanship. He played very well. But no sportsmanship." Strickland denied the allegation of

unsportsmanlike conduct Unsportsmanlike conduct (also called untrustworthy behaviour, ungentlemanly fraudulent, bad sportsmanship, poor sportsmanship or anti fair-play) is a foul or offense in many sports that violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sportsmans ...

Titles & Achievements

* 2013 All Japan 14.1 Championship * 2011 All Japan 14.1 Championship * 2009 Shikoku 9-Ball Open * 2005 All Japan 14.1 Championship * 2005 Hokuriku 9-Ball Open * 2004 Hokuriku 9-Ball Open * 2003 Hokuriku 9-Ball Open * 2002 All Japan 14.1 Championship * 2001 Tohoku 9-Ball Open * 2000 Hokkaido 9-Ball Open * 2000 Hokuriku 9-Ball Open * 1999 Kansai 9-Ball Open * 1999

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

Ultimate Champions Shootout * 1999 Hokuriku 9-Ball Open * 1998

WPA World Nine-ball Championship The WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual professional nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1990. The championship is sanctioned by the World Pool Association (WPA) and principally sponsored and organized by Matchroom Sport, who pro ...

* 1997 All Japan Championship 9-Ball * 1996 Japan Open 9-Ball

References

External links

Takahashi's official website

Kunihiko Takahashi's ''AZBilliards'' profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takahashi, Kunihiko Japanese pool players Sportspeople from Nagasaki 1969 births Living people World champions in pool Asian Games silver medalists in cue sports Asian Games bronze medalists in cue sports Cue sports players at the 2002 Asian Games Cue sports players at the 1998 Asian Games Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games 20th-century Japanese sportsmen 21st-century Japanese sportsmen