Fedor Gorst and Wu Kun Lin will meet for the 2026 WPA 9-Ball China Open men’s championship on Sunday in Shanghai, with US$40,000 and one of Asia’s most prestigious 9-ball titles on the line.
The 2026 WPA 9-Ball China Open comes down to one final race.
🇹🇼 Wu Kun Lin will try to turn a season of near misses into one of the biggest singles victories of his career when he faces Fedor Gorst in the championship match on Sunday, September 13 at the Pudong Tangzhen Culture & Sports Center in Shanghai.
The final begins at 1:30 PM Philippine Time, which is also 1:30 PM in Shanghai, and will be played race to 11 with alternate break. The champion receives US$40,000 before tax, while the runner-up earns US$20,000.
Fedor Gorst vs Wu Kun Lin: Final at a Glance
| Detail | China Open Men’s Final |
|---|---|
| Match | Fedor Gorst vs 🇹🇼 Wu Kun Lin |
| Date | Sunday, September 13, 2026 |
| Start | 1:30 PM Philippine / Shanghai Time |
| Venue | Pudong Tangzhen Culture & Sports Center, Shanghai |
| Format | Race to 11, alternate break |
| Champion | US$40,000 before tax |
| Runner-up | US$20,000 |
Wu Kun Lin Gets Another Shot at a Major Title
Wu has spent much of 2026 getting painfully close.
In June, the Taiwanese star reached the final of the Billard Beckmann Men’s Open in Austria, an 83-player Predator Pro Billiard Series 10-ball event. Wu defeated Eklent Kaçi and Olivér Szolnoki during the knockout stage before Germany’s Felix Vogel stopped him in the championship match. Wu earned US$17,500 for the runner-up finish.
Less than a month later, he was back in another major final at the 2026 Asian 9-Ball Championship in Ho Chi Minh City.
Wu defeated fellow Chinese Taipei star Ko Pin-Yi in the semifinals before falling 11-7 to Vietnam’s Luong Duc Thien in the title match.
Now he has given himself another opportunity in Shanghai.
Wu opened the China Open knockout stage with an 11-7 victory before defeating Aloysius Yapp 11-9 in the Last 16. He then got past Xue Zhenqi 11-9 in the quarterfinals before producing his most convincing result of the knockout rounds, defeating Daniel Macioł 11-6 in the semifinals.
There is also history within reach. A victory would make Wu the first Chinese Taipei player to win the China Open men’s title since Ko Pin-Yi in 2018. Chang Yu-Lung previously won the tournament in 2010 and 2014.
The Problem: Fedor Gorst
If Wu is finally going to finish the job, however, the final hurdle could hardly be more difficult.
Waiting across the table is Fedor Gorst, one of the most accomplished players of his generation and a player with a proven ability to survive when championships are on the line.
Gorst is a two-time World 9-Ball champion, winning his first world crown in 2019 before capturing it again in 2024.
His remarkable 2024 season also saw him win the World Pool Masters, World Pool Championship and US Open, becoming the first player to simultaneously hold all three titles.
His China Open run has shown exactly why he represents such a formidable roadblock for Wu.
Gorst defeated Dominik Jastrząb 11-8 in the Last 32 before taking down Mieszko Fortuński 11-7 in the Last 16.
Then came his biggest escape of the tournament.
🇵🇭 Jeffrey Ignacio had Gorst on the brink in their quarterfinal, reaching the hill first with a 10-8 lead. Gorst responded by taking the final three racks to escape with an 11-10 victory and keep his China Open title bid alive.
He followed that performance by defeating 🇬🇷 Alexandros Kazakis 11-7 in the semifinals to reach the championship match.
Gorst was already close to this trophy a year ago. He reached the 2025 China Open semifinals, where Dang Jinhu defeated him 11-7.
Wu also made a deep run in 2025, losing 11-9 to eventual champion Wojciech Szewczyk in the quarterfinals.
This time, both have gone one step further.
Wu Has Beaten Gorst Before
As intimidating as the matchup looks on paper, Wu knows Gorst is not unbeatable.
The two met at the 2025 Qatar World Cup 10-Ball, where Wu defeated Gorst 9-7 during the winners’ qualification stage.
That does not necessarily make Wu the favorite on Sunday, but it gives the Taiwanese star something important going into the biggest match of his China Open campaign: evidence that he can beat the man standing between him and the trophy.
And unlike several of Wu’s near misses this season, there is no more tournament left after this one.
One race to 11. One title. Fedor Gorst standing between Wu Kun Lin and his biggest victory of 2026.
Gorst vs Wu Kun Lin: China Open Final
Fedor Gorst vs 🇹🇼 Wu Kun Lin will decide the 2026 WPA 9-Ball China Open Men’s Championship on Sunday, September 13 at 1:30 PM Philippine and Shanghai Time.
The China Open has been staged since 2009 and remains one of the established international events on the WPA calendar. The 2026 tournament concludes September 13 in Pudong Tangzhen, Shanghai.
International streaming is available through WPALive.tv.
For Gorst, victory would add another major international trophy to an already formidable résumé.
For Wu Kun Lin, it represents something different: another opportunity to finally turn a season of near misses into a championship, and potentially the biggest singles title of his career.
The only problem is that to get it, he has to go through Fedor Gorst.
What You Need to Know
- Final: Fedor Gorst vs 🇹🇼 Wu Kun Lin
- Date: Sunday, September 13, 2026
- Time: 1:30 PM Philippine / Shanghai Time
- Format: Race to 11, alternate break
- Champion: US$40,000 before tax
- Runner-up: US$20,000
- Venue: Pudong Tangzhen Culture & Sports Center, Shanghai
- International Stream: WPALive.tv