Newly-crowned World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) Ultimate Pool women’s singles champion, Tasneem Solomons, 35, from Bonteheuwel, arrived home to a hero’s welcome at the weekend.
This followed her historic victory against Kirsty-Lee Davies, a former world champion, from Wales.
Held in Blackpool, England, for 22 consecutive years, Solomons kept her cool until the last ball in the final frame of the final match, at last week’s championships, to emerge as the first South African to lift the trophy and the title.
Solomons can be considered among the greats of the game having disposed of four former champions en route to the finals which earned her the nickname of Legend Slayer at this year’s competition.
In a scene reminiscent of Muhamed Ali’s “The champ is Home” chant as articulated in Kinshasa in 1974, during his epic Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight bout against George Foreman and immortalised in the movie Ali, Solomons arrived home with an impressive piece of silverware in hand and was taken on an impromptu victory parade in a street march organised by members of the community. Indeed, the champ had come home.
While last week’s epic win was a first for the country, Solomons’ achievement is no beginner’s luck as she’s been at it for 20 years and has previously competed at on the global stage.
In 2018, she won the national Eightball tournament held in Vereeniging, Gauteng, and was the selected player of the tournament and the number one seed.
In 2022, she took part in her first Eightball world championships held in Ireland and was named in the tournament’s “dream team” despite dropping out in the quarters. In 2010, she took part in her first international competition, the World Blackball Championship, in France, and was part of the SA squad that won the team event.
Star of the show at last week’s world championships, there was simply no stopping Solomons.
“It is a world class tournament, the biggest platform of all cue sports,” she said. “The players competing on this level are exceptional, top players from all around the world.”
In the last round of 16, she faced third-ranked former UK champion Amy Beauchamp (3rd ranked), Northern Ireland’s Emma Cunningham in the quarter-finals, England’s Barbara Taylor (second Ranked) and Davies in the finals.
“Kirsty-Lee is a phenomenal player. Throughout the whole match, the scores were tight, basically neck on neck and it came to a deciding frame, with the score locked at 7-7,” she said.
“I just told myself that when I get a chance, I need to make double sure of each shot I take, keep my composure and focus. It was truly a magical experience,” she said.
It was nearly a double victory for Solomoms as she teamed up with fellow Cape player Naathierah Taliep in the doubles division. An excellent partnership between the two saw them finishing runners-up.
SA Team manager Anya Roux had nothing but praise for the newly-crowned champ.
“Tasneem played magnificently throughout the tournament but the moment she reached the last 32 I knew she was going to be unstoppable,” she said.
While it may be tempting to bask in the glory of her success, Solomons is already gearing up for her next major event, in Malta, in November and is hoping to attract some sponsorship to help get her there.
“A big thank you to my family, my partner and all my friends for the continuous support, it is highly appreciated. To my manager Anya Roux, I am extremely blessed to have you and appreciate all the pep talks and efforts. Lastly but not least, to Naathierah, it was a privilege to play alongside you,” she said.
If you’d like to support Solomons, call 076 957 5891.
