Source: Rey Joble, GMA News
Compatriots and bosom buddies Thorsten Hohmann and Ralf Souquet battled it out in a classic finale of the Philippine Open Pool men’s championship on Monday at the SM Megamall.
The two German former world champions, who were seeking their first-ever championship on Philippine soil, pushed each other to the limit up to the 21st and final rack.
In the end, Hohmann got the better of the match and claimed this year’s championship in a nail-bitter of an encounter, 11-10.
So the player who wasn’t supposed to join in this WPA event wound up victorious and capped an interesting story here.
Unlike in their first match in the quarterfinals where Hohmann was beaten soundly by Souqet, 2-9, the younger yet more determined player, who is now based in Jacksonville, Florida, dictated the tempo early. He led 4-1 and was about to break the game wide open.
Until Souquet turned the match into a see-saw battle and set up an exciting windup.
Souquet won four of the next five racks to level the score for the first time, 5-all, capped by a spectacular long bank shot that pocketed the 1 and 10 balls.
Source: Marlon Bernardino, ABS-CBN News
MANILA, Philippines – Filipino billiards player Jerico Banares showed reigning World 10-Ball champion Mika Immonen the exit door in the Philippine Open Pool Championships with a 7-9 upset of the Finnish player on Saturday.
“Medyo binuwenas ako, magaganda rin 'yung break niya kaso hindi bumebenta,” said Banares shortly after their game at the SM Megamall.
A scratch off the break in the 16th rack, proved to be costly for Immonen as Banares immediately took advantage by running out the remaining balls en route to his win.
It was Immonen’s second loss in the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) event.
Immonen suffered a 6-9 defeat in the hands of Chinese player, Li Wen Lo, during the first day of the competition.
Alcano vs Al Yousuf
Meanwhile, double world champion Ronnie Alcano also got eliminated after suffering a 9-4 beating from Kuwait’s Abdullah Al Yousuf.
Al Yousuf quickly piled a 5-0 lead before Alcano got his groove to take the next 3 racks.
The Kuwaiti bet bounced back to push his lead to 6-3 before both players were given a short break.
After the break, Al Yousuf got 2 of the next 3 racks.
Alcano survived on the 12th rack by engaging the Kuwaiti to a battle of safeties. He eventually cleaned up the table to trail 8-4.
He, however, scratched off the break in the next rack, allowing Al Yousuf to run out the remaining balls for the 9-4 win.
Prior to his defeat to Yousuf, the former World 9-Ball and World 8-Ball champion Alcano lost to Korea’s Hwang Yong, 4-9.
Manalo, De Luna
Two other notable Filipino players – Jeff de Luna and Marlon Manalo – also got the boot in the tournament.
De Luna lost his match to Nguyen Puc Long of Vietnam, 6-9, while Manalo dropped a 3-9 loss to fellow Filipino Carlo Biado.
Source: Olmin Leyba, Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines - A free-for-all battle is expected as the world’s top cuemasters, including local aces led by Dennis Orcullo, slug it out for the crown in the Philippine Open Pool Championships beginning today at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.
Fresh from capturing the world 8-ball title and the Derby City Classic 9-ball crown, Orcullo seeks to add a 10-ball diadem to his trophy room in the 64-man main draw of the $175,000 event.
A slew of tough foreign rivals are out to foil the pool whiz from Bislig, Surigao del Sur, headed by 2009 World 10-ball king Mika Immonen of Finland and 2008 World Ten Ball champ Darren Appleton of Great Britain, who both have won major pool events here.
Out to provide more fierce challenge are former double world champions Ralf Souquet of Germany and Ronnie Alcano of the Philippines, former US Open titlist Shane van Boening of the United States, and defending Phl Open champ Ricky Yang of Malaysia.
“It will be really, really hard because all the top players are here,” said Orcullo, one of three gold medalists for Team Phl in last year’s Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.
Immonen, a familiar face to Filipino fans, feels good about his chances for the $30,000 champion’s purse in the double-elims format tournament, a ranking event of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA).
“I’m coming off a win in the Masters 10-ball Championship in Virginia and I feel I’m in top form. I’ll give it a good shot, especially since I have a very good record here (Philippines), having won four major tournaments,” Immonen said.
Souquet, for his part, looks for his breakthrough win in Manila. “I still haven’t won a tournament in the Philippines so yeah it’s on top of my list,” said the German ace who finished runner-up four times in previous outings in the country.
Also carrying the Phl flag are Antonio Lining, Jeff de Luna, Marlon Manalo, Lee Van Corteza Roberto Gomez and Ramil Gallego, among others. Interestingly absent is reigning world 9-ball champ and current world No. 1 Django Bustamante, who backed out at the last minute.
Gillian Go, Geona Christine Gregorio and Reggie Ann Biagcong will represent the Phl against a tough 32-player field led by World 10-Ball champ Jasmin Ouschan of Austria, defending World 9-Ball titlist Fu Xiao-Fang of China, and former Amway World 9-Ball champion and 2006 Asian Games 8-Ball women’s pool champion Lin Yuan Chun of Chinese Taipei.
The Philippine Open is organized and promoted by Raya Sports in cooperation with the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP). TV5 will broadcast the games via a block time slot in IBC-13, 2-7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 12-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 2-7 p.m. on Monday.
Source: Rey Joble, GMA News
For two straight nights, Yoni Rachmanto of Indonesia was knocking on the door of the main draw of the Philippine Open Pool Championship.
On early Monday morning, he finally got what he wanted.
Rachmanto drubbed Filipino Jephtah Palencia, 9-5, in a marathon finals encounter that lasted for over two hours at the Star Billiards Center. The two players disputed Qualifier No. 8 before the clock strikes 11 p.m. Sunday. The match ended past 1 a.m. on Monday.
But for Rachmanto, it was worth the wait.
Denied of an opportunity to make it to Stage 2 late Saturday night by his compatriot, Mohamad Zulfikri, Rachmanto was able to vent his ire on the Filipino cue artist, who couldn’t pounce on several lapses of his Indonesian rival.
Perhaps, the worst among the miscues made by Palencia was when he missed the No. 10 ball of the 12th rack at the height of his rally. That missed shot was costly as it pushed the Indonesian on the brink of wrapping up the match, 8-4.
Still, Palencia was given another chance when Rachmanto missed an easy shot on No.4 at the corner. The Filipino was able to clean up the table for an 8-5 count in favor of the Indonesian.
Off a dry break in the 14th, Palencia saw another opportunity when Rachmanto was called for a foul. The Filipino player was able to develop some sort of a momentum when he scratched while taking on No.4. The Indonesian finished it off for the final tally.
Action in the Philippine Open Pool Championships resumes Monday at the Star Billiards Center as players from the men and women’s division dispute the last two seats of the qualifying stage.
Qualifiers No. 9 and 10 are up for grabs in the morning and afternoon matches of the men’s category while the third and fourth spots are on the line for the lady players
