Hong Kong pool player Robbie Capito gets professional journey off to a flying start, targets world title
- 21-year-old finishes second at 5th Annual Scotty Townsend Memorial (nine balls) Pool Tournament in Louisiana
- Capito aiming for success at world championship events in Las Vegas and Britain over next several weeks
Hong Kong pool player Robbie Capito has flown to the US in a bid to make a name for himself, and wants to return to the city one day with a world title in tow.
The 21-year-old arrived in Florida last month to launch his professional career, and has already competed in five tournaments, including the 5th Annual Scotty Townsend Memorial (nine balls) Pool Tournament in Louisiana last weekend.
Capito got his US journey off to a flying start in Louisiana, narrowly losing 9-7 to former world champion Alex “the Lion” Pagulayan in the finals. He earned the biggest cheque of his career though, taking home around HK$46,000 in prize money.
“Experience is what I treasure here. Not even two months, I already think I improved on my mental game,” Capito said. “I am competing all the time with players that are better than me, and most important is, I am constantly competing.”
That constant competition continues on Friday, when he takes part in the Oklahoma Winter Classic, with the Las Vegas Open starting on March 23.
But the two main events on Capito’s radar are the Predator World Ten-ball Championship in the casino city the following week, and the WPA World Nine-Ball Championships in Britain between April 6 and 10.
Four years ago, the Hongkonger caused one of the biggest upsets in the World Nine-Ball Championships when he battled back from 1-7 down to stun the then world No 1 Klenti Kaci in the last-32, before bowing out in the next round.