| Born | 4 March 1969 Nagasaki, Japan | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | "The Sniper" | ||||||||||||||
| Professional | 1996 | ||||||||||||||
| Pool games | 9-Ball | ||||||||||||||
| Tournament wins | |||||||||||||||
| World Champion | 9-Ball (1998) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Kunihiko Takahashi (高橋 邦彦, Takahashi Kunihiko) (born March 4, 1969, in Nagasaki) is a Japanese professional pool player and a WPA World Nine-ball Champion. Nicknamed "the Sniper".
He began practicing pool at 17 and turned professional in 1996.[1] In 1998, he won the WPA World Nine-ball Championship by defeating the reigning champion, Johnny Archer, in the final match. He became the second World Nine-ball Champion from Japan, after Takeshi Okumura, who won it in 1994. In 1999, Takahashi won the ESPN Ultimate Shootout, earning him US$40,000.[2]
Four years later, Takahashi was three stages away from a second world title when he lost to Earl Strickland, 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.[3]
- ^ "高橋 邦彦 Kunihiko Takahashi". Cosmo-Tokyo (in Japanese). 2001. Archived from the original on 27 March 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
- ^ "Other titles". Azbilliards.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
- ^ "Result in 2002 World Championship". Billiardsdigest.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2017.