| Personal information | |
|---|---|
Nickname | "The Golden Eagle" |
| Born | (1999-01-29)29 January 1999 (age 26) |
| Pool career | |
| Country |  Albania |
| Tournament wins | |
| World Champion | Ten-ball (2021, 2023) |
| Highest rank | 1[1] |
Eklent Kaçi (born January 29, 1999), also known asKlenti Kaçi is an Albanian professionalpool player. Kaçi won theWPA World Ten-ball Championship in 2021 and 2023 and reached the semi-finals of the2017 WPA World Nine-ball Championship and final of the2024 WPA World Nine-ball Championship. He has been the top-ranked player in the world of9-ball pool.[1]
Kaçi started playing pool at the age of eight.[2] He has won the Albanian Snooker championships in addition to national pool championships, even though he never played snooker prior to his Federation asking him to join the event.[citation needed] Kaçi made his first European championship in 2013, forten-ball, qualifying for the main knockout, and being eliminated in the round of 64.[3] In 2017, Kaçi made the semi-finals of the2017 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, losing 11–6 toRoland Garcia.[4]
The following year, at 18 years of age, Kaçi won the Aramith Masters,[5] and became world number one later that year.[6] At the2018 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Kaçi (as world number 1), lost to 17-year-oldRobbie Capito 11–10 in the last 32.[7] Kaçi won two events on theEuro Tour, reaching Euro Tour number one in 2018. He won the2018 Treviso Open, and the following season the2019 Austria Open.
In June 2024 Kaçi reached the final of theWPA World Nine-ball Championship inJeddah,Saudi Arabia, but was defeated byFedor Gorst.[8] In October 2024 Kaçi was part of the European team that were defeated by Asia in the inauguralReyes Cup held in thePhilippines.[9]
