Accolades for Warren Kiamco

[david(tx)]

I see quite a few threads here about many of the top finishers at Derby City and barely a mention of Warren Kiamco. He just overcame a huge and deep field of 9-Ball players to win his first ever Derby City title at age 46! All the credit in the world to a man who never gave up, and kept on grinding out a living at this very tough game.

Warren remains the same soft spoken man I met two decades ago, gracious and humble, always respectful of his opponents and the fans. Warren has long been one of the top Filipino players, usually rated a notch under the top guns like Dennis, Alex, Lee Vann, Efren and Francisco. Of course being second tier in the Philippines makes you first tier anywhere else in the world.

Warren is a good family man with a wife and three lovely daughters. He takes care of them no matter what sacrifices he has to make. I've been fortunate to visit his lovely but modest home in Quezon City. He has made a good life for himself and his family despite the odds being stacked against him. He will travel all around the Philippines playing small money games just to make ends meet if need be.

I'm very proud of Warren for what he just accomplished. No easy task to take down the best player all week (Alex) to win the 2015 DCC 9-Ball crown. Way to go my friend! :thumbup:

Congrats to Warren , his American counterpart is Robb Saez excepting having a family , Robb plays big and small tables alike , and grinds through tournaments even if he is off his game some. Just wonder how many of the top Americans have children to support and travel as much as another burden to deal with ?

Most Filipinos have Spanish surnames , wondering if Kiamco is Chinese name ?

 

[Black-Balled]

Congrats to Warren , his American counterpart is Robb Saez excepting having a family , Robb plays big and small tables alike , and grinds through tournaments even if he is off his game some. Just wonder how many of the top Americans have children to support and travel as much as another burden to deal with ?

Most Filipinos have Spanish surnames , wondering if Kiamco is Chinese name ?

I believe he has some Japanese in him...or maybe I dreamed that up.

Honestly, as I recall...I heard there was a time that he was thought of as an outsider, co he isn't full pinoy.

But I might be dreaming that. Crack is whack.

 

[david(tx)]

I believe he has some Japanese in him...or maybe I dreamed that up.

Honestly, as I recall...I heard there was a time that he was thought of as an outsider, co he isn't full pinoy.

But I might be dreaming that. Crack is whack.

Thanks BB , appreciate it.

 

[jay helfert]

The AzB database has his birthday as 5/2/1970. If that's accurate, he's currently about 3 months from turning 45.

That is correct. He is only 44. Warren is here now and just read this thread. He really appreciates all the kind words from everybody. He is flying home tomorrow to get ready for the big Paquiao tournament. He will be partners this time with Dennis.

 

[mosconiac]

My daughter met Warren a few years back when he was in the area to visit with Pat Diveney. He commented that it was nice to meet Hannah because he missed his daughters back home & she made him feel just a touch less homesick.

 

[jay helfert]

My daughter met Warren a few years back when he was in the area to visit with Pat Diveney. He commented that it was nice to meet Hannah because he missed his daughters back home & she made him feel just a touch less homesick.

He's a great daddy and she's a very bright girl. I can just tell. I have three daughters myself. :wink:

 

[Otterman]

Congrats to Warren!

I've only had the pleasure of meeting Warren once, but he seemed like a super nice guy. In 2013, CSI held their US Open 10 Ball event in Vegas in conjunction with the Jr. National's 9 Ball tournament. Great opportunity for these top juniors to compete literally right next to guys they watch on TV (or live streams). Anyway, there were 3 tables set up in a practice room and I was on one with my son (he was competing in the Jr's.) and Warren was on the adjacent table. My son was 13 and was noticing Warren's cue (seems like it was primarily ebony and ivory, though he had several). Warren started up a conversation with my son, let him handle the cue and look it over and even volunteered to let him practice with it. Just a really nice gesture, particularly to a junior player that looks up to these guys.

The other thing we noticed is that if there's a practice table open, Warren is probably on it, regardless of the time of day! SVB is legendary for how much time he spends on the table, but Warren can't be far behind. Congrats to WK for snapping off the DCC 9 ball event!

 

[spartan]

Great post, Jay
The spotlight has always been on the big stars of the game so every now and then we need spotlight on these below the radar guys like Warren.
Warren is Mr Ubiquitous , he is everywhere in tourneys all over world
This is big win for him and he deserves it
He is a role model for the unheralded , the underdogs and a shout out to those hard workers whose results do not match the effort they put in yet to not give up
Well done Warrior

 

[itsfroze]

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[gxman]

Cant help but be a big fan of warren. He's all over the globe playing in tournaments in China, middle east, etc. Sometimes I feel like hes representin the U.S when hardly any of our guys enter those tournaments.

 

[Renegade]

Congratulations, Warren Kiamco!