Wu Jiaqing (; born February 9, 1989) is a

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 ...

ese-born Chinese 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. He is nicknamed the ''Taishan Shentong'' ("Little Genius from Taishan"). Since 2011, Wu switched from representing Chinese Taipei to representing the country of China. Previously known as Wu Chia-ching, the spelling of his name was changed upon moving to mainland China.

Career

Raised by his grandmother from the age of 2, Wu began playing

eight-ball Eight-ball (also spelled 8-ball or eightball, and sometimes called solids and stripes, spots and stripes, bigs and smalls, big ones and little ones, or rarely highs and lows) is a discipline of Pool (cue sports), pool played on a billiard tabl ...

at the age of 10 at his family-run pool hall. When he became serious about pool, his grandmother would shuttle him from one competition venue to another on her scooter. In 2005, after only six years of playing, Wu became the youngest men's player ever to win the WPA World Nine-ball Championship at 16 years old. The next year, he was the top seed of the event, but lost in the quarter-final round to eventual winner Ronato Alcano of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Wu also won the 2005 WPA World Eight-ball Championship. Previously, he was the runner-up at the 2004 Juniors Nine-ball World Championship. He placed second to Darren Appleton in the inaugural

WPA World Ten-ball Championship The WPA World Ten-ball Championship is a professional ten-ball Pool (cue sports), pool tournament sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA). The event was first held in 2008 in the Philippines, followed by playings there in 2009 and ...

in 2008, claiming the runner-up prize of

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 ...

40,000dailytimes.com.pk
, "Britain's Appleton Wins World 10-Ball Championship" In the semi-finals of the event, Wu had defeated Demosthenes Pulpul of the

, 11–8, using a borrowed

cue stick A cue stick (or simply cue, more specifically billiards cue, pool cue, or snooker cue) is an item of sporting equipment essential to the games of pool, snooker and carom billiards. It is used to strike a ball, usually the . Cues are tapered stic ...

.sports.inquirer.net
, "Pulpul's Magical Run Ends"abs-cbnnews.com
, "Pulpul Fails to Reach World 10-Ball Finals"
, "Dynamite Blasts World 10-Ball Championship" In 2011 Wu applied for and obtained citizenship of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Ostensibly, Wu did this, to allow himself to compete in more international events. Wu stated the decision was made for sporting reasons and should not be regarded in a political light. As of April, 2011, Wu has not given up his

Republic of China 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 ...

nationality.China Post, 26 April 2011 http://www.china-defense-mashup.com/wu-still-obliged-to-serve-in-taiwan-military.html Republic of China Deputy

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Lin Tzu-ling stated that "An ROC national who wants to give up his or her citizenship must go through certain procedures. So far, I do not think we have received any application from him (Wu) to do so". The Minister noted that “As long as he is still an ROC national, he will be drafted into the military if he comes back to Taiwan.” The Republic of China's Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area stipulates that both the “Taiwan Area” and the “Mainland Area” are parts of the ROC, and the “Mainland Area” is legally defined as “ROC territory outside of the Taiwan Area.” In addition, the law does not recognize PRC citizenship and defines PRC citizens as “people of the Mainland Area” who “have household registration in the Mainland Area.” Article 9-1 of the same law prohibits “the people of the Taiwan Area” from obtaining household registration in “the Mainland Area,” those who break the law are banned from voting and serving in office, while their household registration in “the Taiwan Area” is annulled.

Career achievements

* 2021 Chinese Pool Elite Tour Event 3 * 2019 China Open 9-Ball Championship * 2018 World Cup of Pool - with ( Liu Haitao) * 2016 China Open 9-Ball Championship * 2015 CBSA Hongze 9-Ball Open * 2008 Quezon City Invasion * 2007 All Japan Championship 9-Ball * 2006 Mezz Crowd Nine Cup Doubles * 2005 Billiards Digest Players of the Year * 2005 WPA World Eight-ball Championship * 2005 Mezz Crowd Nine Cup * 2005 WPA World Nine-ball Championship

References

External links

AZBilliards.com profile

Worldpoolchampionship.com profileGuinness9balltour.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Jia-qing 1989 births Living people Taiwanese pool players World champions in pool Sportspeople from New Taipei Chinese pool players Chinese people of Taiwanese descent Cue sports players at the 2006 Asian Games WPA World Nine-ball Champions WPA World Eight-ball Champions Asian Games competitors for Chinese Taipei