It's nice to be back here in the heartland of Pool, where the game is revered and the players admired. The Araneta Coliseum is huge, and they are expecting crowds in the thousands. I wouldn't be surprised.
I went to the Qualifier last night at Star Billiards. There is nothing like this in the states, a training facility for young and upcoming players. There are over 20 Brunswick Metro tables, just like the ones to be used in the tournament. Food and drinks are provided to the players at no charge. It is all in a private complex, which is part of Star Paper Corp. one of the biggest companies in the Philippines.
The owner of Star Paper, Mr. Chua, is a billiard enthusiast and he is responsible for this beautiful and unique facility, devoted to pool. I was glad to hear that Leonardo Andam had won the earlier qualifier that day. He is one of the wily old veterans of the filipino pool scene. He only had to beat a field of 84 players! Sounds like an IPT qualifier, only tougher! They play Single Elimination, Race to Seven with the Final going to nine. Only one winner too!
In the evening qualifier, once again the Taiwanese players were dominating. The final four were all from Taiwan! So it was a foregone conclusion. So far they have won six of the eight qualifiers, with the other one going to a filipino (Alwi) living in Indonesia. What I notice watching the great young Chinese players is how well they can follow the cue ball for position. It works better and is more accurate then always drawing the ball. They all look like versions of Orcullo, who was there last night rooting for his countrymen. By the way his name is spelled Orcullo over here, the correct spelling. He is still highly regarded as the "money" king of the Philippines. I told them they better look out for SVB, because he fears no one!
You can see the changing of the guard in pro pool, almost all these players are early to mid 20's. Shane would fit right in. The first qualifier came down to two 18 year olds from Taiwan. Look out is all I have to say. Much conversation about the Americans who aren't coming. Speculation over here is that they do not want to leave the "comfort zone" of home to face such stiff opposition. Maybe partly correct.
Part two to come.
I went to the Qualifier last night at Star Billiards. There is nothing like this in the states, a training facility for young and upcoming players. There are over 20 Brunswick Metro tables, just like the ones to be used in the tournament. Food and drinks are provided to the players at no charge. It is all in a private complex, which is part of Star Paper Corp. one of the biggest companies in the Philippines.
The owner of Star Paper, Mr. Chua, is a billiard enthusiast and he is responsible for this beautiful and unique facility, devoted to pool. I was glad to hear that Leonardo Andam had won the earlier qualifier that day. He is one of the wily old veterans of the filipino pool scene. He only had to beat a field of 84 players! Sounds like an IPT qualifier, only tougher! They play Single Elimination, Race to Seven with the Final going to nine. Only one winner too!
In the evening qualifier, once again the Taiwanese players were dominating. The final four were all from Taiwan! So it was a foregone conclusion. So far they have won six of the eight qualifiers, with the other one going to a filipino (Alwi) living in Indonesia. What I notice watching the great young Chinese players is how well they can follow the cue ball for position. It works better and is more accurate then always drawing the ball. They all look like versions of Orcullo, who was there last night rooting for his countrymen. By the way his name is spelled Orcullo over here, the correct spelling. He is still highly regarded as the "money" king of the Philippines. I told them they better look out for SVB, because he fears no one!
You can see the changing of the guard in pro pool, almost all these players are early to mid 20's. Shane would fit right in. The first qualifier came down to two 18 year olds from Taiwan. Look out is all I have to say. Much conversation about the Americans who aren't coming. Speculation over here is that they do not want to leave the "comfort zone" of home to face such stiff opposition. Maybe partly correct.
Part two to come.
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