Johann Chua, one of the country’s premier pool players, moved into the semifinal of the men’s singles 10-ball tournament of the European Open Championship on Saturday at the Hotel Esperanto in Fulda, Germany.

Chua defeated Wojciech Szewczyk of Poland, 10-7, in the Round of 16 before taking out Mustafa Alnar of Turkey, 10-4, in the quarterfinal.

The 32-year-old Negros Occidental cue artist is only two wins away from winning a singles title in Matchroom Pool.

His only win in Matchroom Pool was with James Aranas in the 2023 World Cup of Pool in Spain where they defeated the duo of Joshua Filler and Moritz Neuhausen of Germany.

Chua is competing against Shane Van Boening of the United States in the semifinal at press time.

A win here will set him up for a championship match against the winner between American Skyler Woodward and Mickey Krause of Denmark for the prize pot of $200,000 or roughly P11,448,000.