Robbie James Joaquin Capito (born 19 June 2001) is a Hong Kong-born Filipino professional pool player. He is most known for defeating the reigning world number one pool player Eklent Kaçi at the 2018 WPA World Nine-ball Championship when he was 17 years old. In 2024, Capito claimed his biggest career win after he defeated Mieszko Fortunski 13–10 to win the UK Open Nine-ball Championship.[1]
| Born | 19 June 2001 |
|---|---|
| Sport country | Hong Kong |
| Nickname | "The Sniper" |
| Pool games | 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball |
| Tournament wins | |
| Major | UK Open Nine-ball Championship (2024) |
Career
editIn 2017, he was voted Hong Kong's Most Outstanding Junior Athletes of 2017,[2] having won gold at the Asian Pool Championships, and a silver in the boys' under–17 category at the Junior World 9-ball Championships . The following year Capito finished as runner-up in the U19s final. He then snapped off both the singles and doubles event at the 2019 Asian Pool Championships U19.
In 2018, Capito reached the last 16 of the 2018 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, after defeating world number one Eklent Kaçi in the last 32, 11–10, when he was 17 years old.[3][4] Capito defeated Kaçi after falling behind 7–1 earlier in the match.[5] He lost in the next round to Joshua Filler.
In 2024, Capito snapped off his first major title of his career as he defeated Mieszko Fortunski 13–10 to win the U.K. Open Nine-Ball Championship at the Telford International Centre, United Kingdom.[6]
Capito defeated a slew of pool heavyweights on the way, including reigning World Pool Masters Champion Fedor Gorst 10–8 in the last 16, Joshua Filler 10–9 in the quarterfinals, and Pijus Labutis 11–9 in the semis, to advance to the final round, where he defeated Poland's Mieszko Fortunski.
Personal life
editCapito was born on 19 June 2001 in Hong Kong.[7] His parents are both natives of the Philippines.[2] He says that he started playing pool aged two years old, after buying a mini pool table from Toys R Us, and would later play in his first pool room aged five.[2]
Titles and achievements
edit- 2024 UK Open Nine-ball Championship
References
edit- ^ "HK-born Pinoy Robbie Capito wins UK Open Pool Championship". Spin.ph. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b c "The way billiards gold medallist Robbie Capito dedicated his Hong Kong Sports Institute award to his dad will make you cry". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
Most Outstanding Junior Athletes of 2017
- ^ "17 Year Old Hong Kong Native Capito Stuns Kaci To Reach Final 16". azbilliards.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
- ^ Goral, Dariusz. "Eklent KaÇi vs Robbie Capito – Scoresheet". esnooker.pl. Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
- ^ "Hong Kong's Capito, 17, stuns No 1 Kaci in world nine-ball pool championship". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
- ^ Pool, Matchroom (12 May 2024). "ROBBIE CAPITO IS THE 2024 UK OPEN POOL CHAMPION". Matchroom Pool. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ "Ashgabat 2017 | The 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games". Ashgabat 2017. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.