Kunihiko Takahashi | |
Birth Date: | 4 March 1969 |
Birth Place: | Nagasaki, Japan |
Nickname: | "The Sniper" |
Professional: | 1996 |
Game: | 9-Ball |
World Champ: | 9-Ball (1998) |
(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]