Bontheuwel pool player Tasneem Solomons has shot her way into the history books, beating no less than four world champions on the way a global title.
The 34-year-old defeated Wales’ Kirsty-Lee Davies, a former world champion, to become the first South African to lift the trophy at the World Eightball Pool Federation Ultimate Pool Women’s Championships, recently held in Blackpool, England.
Tasneem reveals she has spent the last 20 years working toward this achievement, having ended up in the quarter- finals at the 2022 Eightball World Championships.
Tasneem says: “It means the world to me, all the hard work for the past years. Coming from Bontheuwel, it was difficult.
“Coming from the Cape Flats, this is the thing that kept me away from the streets and I told myself that one day is one day.”
She started playing pool during her teens at her father’s pool shop and played her first nationals in 2008.
@azizasolomons #Mydaughterthechampoin #SAMA28 #fyp #Ladysworldchampion ♬ original sound - Aziza Solomons
In her quest for the title in England, she overcame Amy Beauchamp, the English champion of the United Kingdom, Emma Cunningham of Northern Ireland and Barbara Taylor of England in the quarterfinals.
The last match was a close contest that went down to the final frame, but Tasneem kept her composure and won 8–7.
She smiles: “To become the champion I had to take out four world champions and in the final, it was very nail-biting.”
Tasneen is a seasoned competitor at international level, having debuted on the world stage in 2010 as part of the South African squad that won the World Blackball Championship.
She became a national Eightball champion in 2018.
Tasneem says: “It is tough for us as South Africans to go overseas because we don’t get funded by the government, and they don’t see it as a sport.”
She returned home last weekend to a hero’s welcome and showed off her silverware in the street as she celebrated with family and friends.
Mom Aziza Solomons says that she had no doubt that her daughter would win: “I knew somehow she would achieve something this big because of the dedication she shows and the effort she puts into this sport.”
SA team manager, Anya Roux, only had praise for Tasneen.
Anya says: “I’ve managed the Protea 8-Ball Ladies Team for the last decade, and I’ve never seen confidence in a player the way I saw in Tasneem with the finals.”
Tasneem is now preparing for a major event in November in Malta, and hopes to get funding to help pay for the trip.