Portland pool player impresses on global stage

World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) doubles finalist, Naathierah Taliep, from Portland, hardly had time to shake off the jet lag after a taxing 24-hour flight home from last week’s world championships, in Blackpool, England, before she was at it again.

Taliep, 23, could be seen knocking a few balls at the PoolSA national junior championships at Pool International in Colorado Park and getting in a bit of practice ahead of next week’s blackball national championship at Ultimate Pool Centre in Kasselsvlei, Bellville.

She arrived home at the weekend following an impressive performance at the world championships, finishing runner up in the women’s doubles final, along with teammate Tasneem Solomons, from Bonteheuwel. The pair faced off against France’s Marion Jude and Northern Ireland’s Collette Henriksen, who walked away with the trophy.

“In the individual stats I ended up 10th overall, but if it's based on frames won, then I actually joint in sixth place overall,” she said.

“My singles results on the other hand was quite disappointing, losing in my second match in the main singles event and losing my first match in the masters singles.

“I guess that comes when being drawn against two of the players ranked in the top four in the world for the tournament,” she jokingly added.

While the tournament ended on a disappointing note for Taliep, Solomons turned out to be the star of the show as she went on to beat Wales’ Kirsty-Lee Davies in a nail-biting women’s final, to become the first SA pool player to be crowned singles champion.

“Having Tasneem as my doubles partner was something quite special. It was a wonderful experience throughout the tournament, including in the final, even though the result never went our way,” Taliep said.

“And a big part of that was because we enjoyed ourselves when we played, we were serious and focused when we needed to be, but we made the best of the moments we had together and had fun at the same time,” she said.

While this was Solomons’ second appearance at the world championships, Taliep, in only her first international competition, went about her business like an old hand, going up against seasoned professionals.

“To be honest, I thought I would be nervous, but I actually wasn’t,” she said.

“I feel that what helped in that aspect is the fact that I'm naturally a calm and relaxed person when I am playing, so I was quite composed. Although I was a bit overwhelmed and emotional when it came to my first match, because I just couldn't believe that I am actually playing in the same room and on the same tables as the professional players that I look up to and that I'm used to watching on the TV. So there were quite a lot of emotions involved,” she said.

Introduced to the game by her father, Wasfie, Taliep has been playing pool for eight years after an acute illness cut short a once promising soccer career.

Although no longer able to run around on the soccer field, she’s not lost her appetite for scoring goals and has been the top performer on the women’s circuit in the province for five consecutive seasons, winning back-to-back WP titles and picking up a third provincial title last year.

“On a national level, I finished fourth in the A division in my first championships in 2022 and third in my second, in 2023, and lost out on the singles title in the quarter finals on both occasions,”she said

“I was also part of the team that has now won the women’s A-division national championships for three consecutive years - 2022, 2023 and 2024) . All those performances are what led to me being selected to represent South Africa at the world championships” she said.

Despite living with an illness that limits movement and being on medication for nine years, it has not stopped her from playing pool. “Physically it affected the way I played at first, but thankfully I have the mental strength to push me through all the tasks and challenges that I have to face,” she said.

“I've tried different things to help me at the times when the pain becomes too much to endure when I am playing. When those moments come, I know what it is that I need to do to get through it at the time. The rest of the pain, as I would say, is ‘laters worries’ which means I'll deal with it once I get home and off my feet,” she said.

Overall, the five-member SA women’s team performed well at the world championships, said team manager Anya Roux, who accompanied the squad to Blackpool and has been with the national team since 2013.

Squad members Amy-Claire King and Michelle Rabe finishing in the top 7 in the individual stats and named in the championship’s World Dream Team, certainly bear testimony to Roux’s sentiments.

“South Africa and Africa in general has always had the best women competitors. Unfortunately, there is a stigma to cuesports in Africa as being a ‘bar’ sport,” she said.

Cuesport is the collective term used to refer to a variety of ball games such as pool, snooker and billiards.

The WEPF Eight Ball world championships is the most prestigious event that pool players can participate in. The women participated in four categories - team event, masters, singles and Scotch doubles.

“In the Team event where we compete against eight other countries, we did well in the round robin stage but unfortunately lost 7/8 to Australia in the play-offs that would've seen us go through to the semi finals,” she said

“Although cuesports is recognised by SASCOC,” said Roux, “it does not receive the same accolades as women's rugby, cricket, soccer or even netball.”

“These women need to find their own funding and as team manager you go out of your way to assist these players, with funding coming from your own pocket in order for them to realise their dreams. Our government needs to come to the party and start supporting these women and give them the same exposure as they do to the women's rugby, cricket, soccer and netball teams. Enable these women to attract sponsors and you will have a national team that would define cue sport forever,” she said.

Taliep agrees, saying, “Literally nothing is impossible if you want it badly enough. It's just a matter of putting your mind to it and then putting in the work. Your hardships and struggles should not hold you back. In fact, it should motivate and push you to want it even more.”

“Thank you to everyone who supported and helped me fulfill my dream to represent my country on the world stage. It never would have been possible without everyone's contributions and prayers,” she said.