WPC updates...

[gopi-1]

Chandra is out so Lee gets second chance

Indian Manan Chandra has withdrawn from the 2007 Philippines World Pool
Championship so Lee Kung-Fang gets a second chance.

Chinese Taipei player Lee was first reserve after finishing top of the points
table for men who did not win one of the ten qualifying events, held earlier
this week.

However, Lee had still reached the latter stages of a number of
tournaments, including the final of event seven when he lost 5-9 to Filipino
Roberto Gomez.

This performance saw him become first reserve and he will now officially
become qualifier 11.

He directly replaces Chandra in the draw so Lee, the 14th player from
Chinese Taipei, in the competition, is Player E in Group 15.

His first match will be against German Michael Schmidt on Tuesday,
November 6. Lee has a fine record in the World Pool Championships as he
has played in six events and reached the knockout stages each time.

He was the 1997 runner-up, reached the semi-finals in 1995 and played in
the Last 32 in Manila in 2006.

Group 15 is now...

A. Johnny Archer (USA), B. Chao Fong-pang (TPE), C. Naoyuki Oi (JPN), D.
Michael Schmidt (GER), E. Lee Kun-fang (TPE), F. Greg Jenkins (AUS), G.
Muyat Ayas (TUR), H. Wu Yu-lin (TPE)


Source:

http://www.worldpoolchampionship.com/article_detail.asp?article_id=16

 

[gopi-1]

Full list of players


Here is the final list of 128 players that have qualified for the 2007 Philippines World Pool Championship.

Players by country

Australia (4) - Louis Condo, James Delahunty, Greg Jenkins and David Reljic.

Austria (1) - Martin Kempter.

Belgium (1) - Serge Das.
Brunei (1) - Prince Muhtadee Billah.

Canada (6) - Tyler Edey, Brady Gollan, Alain Martel, Edwin Montal, John Morra, Ronnie Wiseman.

Chile (2) - Alejandro Carvajal, Enrique Rojas.

China (3) - Dang Jinhu, Li He-wen, Xu Meng.

Chinese Taipei (14) - Chang Jung-ling, Chang Pei-wei, Chang Yau-mau, Chao Fong-pang, Chu
Hung-ming, Fu Che-wei, Ko Pin-yi, Kuo Po-cheng, Lee Kung-fang, Liu Chun-chuan, Lu Hui-chan,
Wu Chia-ching, Wu Yu-lin and Yang Ching-shun.

Croatia (1) - Philipp Stojanovic.

Czech Republic (1) - Roman Hybler.

Denmark (1) - Bahram Lotfy.

England (6) - Karl Boyes, Raj Hundal, Imran Majid, Craig Osborne, Daryl Peach, Kevin Uzzell.

Eritrea (1) - Hamza Mohammed Saeed Ali.

Finland (1) - Mika Immonen.

Germany (7) - Thomas Engert, Thorsten Hohmann, Oliver Ortmann, Kay Reike, Michael Schmidt,
Ralf Souquet and Harald Stolka.

Holland (3) - Niels Feijen, Alex Lely and Nick van den Berg.

Hong Kong (2) - Kenny Kwok, Lee Chenman.

Hungary (1) - Vilmos Foldes.

India (1) - Dharminder Singh Lilly.

Indonesia (3) - Alwi, Ricky Yang and Muhammad Zulfikri.

Iran (1) - Farhad Shahverdi.

Ireland (1) - John Wims.

Italy (3) - Vittorio De Falco, Bruno Muratore and Fabio Petroni.

Japan (5) - Kazuo Furuta, Satoshi Kawabata, Hisashi Kusano, Naoyuki Oi and Kenichi Uchigaki.

Korea (2) - Jeong Young-hwa and Rye Seung-woo.

Malaysia (2) - Ibrahim Bin Amir, Alan Tan.

Malta (1) - Tony Drago.

New Zealand (1) - Ceri Worts.

Nicaragua (1) - Carlos Castro.

Philippines (15) - Ronnie Alcano, Leonardo Andam, Francisco Bustamante, Joven Bustamante,
Lee Vann Corteza, Jeff De Luna, Antonio Gabica, Ramil Gallego, Roberto Gomez, Antonio Lining,
Rodolfo Luat, Marlon Manalo, Dennis Orcullo, Alex Pagulayan and Efren Reyes.

Poland (3) - Radoslaw Babica, Tomasz Kaplan and Wojciech Trajdos.

Qatar (1) - Fahad Mohammadi.

Russia (1) - Konstantin Stepanov.

Scotland (3) - Stephen Capaldi, Jonni Fulcher and Pat Holtz.

Serbia (3) - Dejan Dabovic, Goran Mladenovic and Sandor Tot.

Singapore (3) - Chan Keng Kwang, Bernard Tey Choon Kiat and Toh Lian Han.

Slovenia (1) - Matjaz Erculj.

South Africa (1) - Zbynek Vaic.

Spain (2) - David Alcaide and David Alcoberro.

Sweden (1) - Marcus Chamat.

Switzerland (1) - Marco Tschudi.

Thailand (1) - Tepwin Arunnath.

Turkey (1) - Muyat Ayas.

UAE (1) - Saeed Ahmed Al-Mutawa.

USA (11) - Johnny Archer, Charles Bryant, Mike Davis, Corey Deuel, Jeremy Jones, Rodney
Morris, Tony Robles, Robb Saez, Earl Strickland, Shane van Boening and Charlie Williams.

Vietnam (2) - Luong Chi-dung, Pham Tuan Ngoc.

Countries best represented

15 players - Philippines
14 players - Chinese Taipei
11 players - USA
7 players - Germany
6 players - Canada and England
5 players - Japan
4 players - Australia
3 players - China, Holland, Indonesia, Italy, Poland, Scotland, Serbia and Singapore.
2 players - Chile, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Spain and Vietnam.
1 player - Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Eritrea, Finland,
Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Malta, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Qatar, Russia, Slovenia,
South Africa,
Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and UAE.

Total - 46 countries represented


Source:

http://www.worldpoolchampionship.com/full-list-of-players.htm

 

[gopi-1]

A $500 bounty for every "Filipino kill" at the WPC?

Bounty incentive awaits for the Taiwanese in the WPC

Lu Hui-Chan of Taiwan earned himself a slot in the knockout round and at
least $2,000 prize with a 9-2 win over Antonio "Ga-Ga" Gabica. Make it
$2,500.

A Taiwan billiards player told the local media yesterday that their
government is giving away $500 for every victory against a Filipino.

Taiwan team captain Hsiao Wen-Liu added, Chinese-Taipei government will
give an additional incentive of $30,000 to a Taiwanese who will emerge
champion aside from pocketing the top prize of $100,000. $20,000 and
$10,000 for the runner-up and third placer of a Taiwanese player. In fact,
to concentrate their campaign and a part of strategy, the Taiwanese are
billeted away from the rest of the WPC participants. They are staying in a
hotel in Malate, Manila, not in suppose near Quezon City area. The Taiwan
government also decided to subsidizes the $100 entry fee of very
Taiwanese who played in the qualification tournament at the Star Paper
Complex. They have sent 44 players in the qualification tournaments where
four of the 10 available slots were secured by Taiwanese, raising to 13 the
number of players from Taiwan in the main draw of the World Pool
Championships. The Philippines has the most number of entries with 15
followed by the United States has 11 entries.

Meanwhile, Wu Yu-Lun, a three-time world junior champion receive worth
P500,000 by winning the World Junior Championships, age's 19-year-old
and below.


Marlon Bernardino


Source

http://www.billiardphilippines.com/v3/modules/news/article.php?storyid=70

 

[gopi-1]

These Taiwanese are taking their pool seriously. As of last count, it's a 1 all
tie between the Filipinos and the Taiwanese. Lu Hui-Chan clobbered Antonio
"Gaga" Gabica (9-2) while Efren Reyes won over Liu Cheng-Chuan (9-7).

So far, the Filipinos are perfect at 4 out of 4, with Efren Reyes, Ronnie
Alcano, Antonio Gabica and Joven Bustamante making it to the last 64 while
the Taiwanese has a 60% batting average (3-5) with Wu Chia Ching, Yang
Chin-Shun and Lu Hui-Chan pulling through with Chu Hung-Ming and Liu Cheng
Chuan falling by the wayside...

 

[gopi-1]

Ronato Alcano enters round of 64

Quezon City, Philippines - Ronnie Alcano flashed his toothless smile and
winning form yesterday to lead the charge of Filipino cue artists in the
World Pool Championship yesterday at the Araneta Coliseum.

With the knockout round on his sight, Alcano didn't waste time - and much
effort - in dispatching Harold Stolka, 9-1, and grabbing a seat in the next
round.

Alcano earlier downed Saeed Ahmed Al-Mutawa of the United Arab
Emirates, 9-3.

"Kapag winner's break kailangan talaga maganda ang start mo (We need to
play good at the start of the game in the winner's break system," said
Alcano.

Same couldn't be said on Efren "Bata" Reyes.

The charismatic pool icon was ambushed in the opening match by Japanese
upstart Kenichi Uchigaki, 2-9.

He barely staved off elimination by rallying from several three-rack deficits
before beating Taiwanese Liu Chun-chuan, 9-7.

Liu jumped the gun on Reyes, 3-0, and maintained a 6-3 cushion midway in
match. But when push came to shove, Reyes was at his best.

After a scratch by Liu on the 10th, Reyes clustered five straight racks to
take the lead, 8-6, and stay alive.

Antonio "Ga-Ga" Gabica took a different route to the ropes, winning his
opener before dropping his second match.

The 2006 Asian Games gold medalist clobbered Bruno Muratore of Italy,
9-1. But he fell to Lu Hui-chan of Taiwan, 2-9.

Joven Bustamante, one of the dark horses in the tournament organized by
Matchroom Sport and Raya Sports, made good on his debut, toppling
Ibrahim Bin Amir, a Filipino representing Malaysia, 9-8, in the event will be
aired on ESPN Star Sports and Studio 23.

With the double elimination format taking effect, Reyes and Gabica should
prevail on their last outing to make it past the group play.

Former world champion Wu Chia-ching was also on the ropes, losing to
Vilmos Foldes of Hungary, 7-9.

Yang Ching-shun, considered by many as the best Taiwanese player today,
lost to countryman Lu Hui-chan, 5-9.

Uchigaki, a qualifier, followed up his win over Reyes with a 9-3 dismantling
of Alain Martel of Canada.


Marlon Bernardino

Source:

http://www.billiardphilippines.com/v3/modules/news/article.php?storyid=69

 

[gopi-1]

Big names impress on Day Two of WPC

A total of 32 players have now earned their positions in the knock-out stages at the 2007
Philippines World Pool Championship.

A further four groups played on Sunday in a total of 40 matches in the $400,000 event.

The most impressive showing of the day came from Francisco Bustamante of Philippines,
who ran seven straight racks against Jeong Young-Hwa of Korea en-route to a 9-0 whitewash.

Also in Group 9, Oliver Ortmann was one of a trio of former champions who made their way
through with 2-0 records, including a superb 9-6 win over American Corey Deuel.

But Deuel (pictured above) was celebrating later in the day as he battled back to eliminate
Filipino Antonio Lining, who had the unwanted record of being the first player from the
Philippines to not make the Last 64.

Another former world champion performing well was Mika Immonen (Finland), who sealed his
passage with an ill-tempered win over America's Jeremy Jones, and the Philippines' Alex
Pagulayan.

Other Filipinos advancing were Ramil Gallego who hammered Asian 9 Ball Tour winner Chang
Jung-Ling of Taiwan 9-1 to be the top seed from Group 7.

Lee Vann Corteza also went through but not before dropping a game to battling Serbian Goran
Mladenovic. The Pinoy star dumped Jeremy Jones out of the competition in the final match
on the Group 12 losers' side.

For Mladenovic it was a day to remember. Following his against-the-odds win over Corteza,
he was well beaten by rising star Karl Boyes of England.

However, he made it through at the last with a gritty showing against Tyler Edey (Canada),
that saw Edey dog a 9 ball to gift the Serb a 9-7 win.

Other notables on their way home include 2004 World Pool Championship runner-up Chang
Pei-Wei (Taiwan) and quality Filipino Antonio Lining.

The remaining 64 players compete on Monday and Tuesday, with the last 64 phase commencing
on Wednesday 7th November.

Taking place over nine days, the event is televised live for over 60 hours by ESPN Star Sports
of Asia and Sky Sports in the UK as well as being available over the internet via this website.

The format is groups of eight players competing in double elimination, with two wins seeing you
through to the next round and two losses spelling defeat.

Play starts tomorrow (Monday) at 3.30pm as a further four groups battle it out.

Among those in action include - Ralf Souquet (Germany), Raj Hundal (England), Thorsten Hohmann
(Germany), Fu Che-Wei (Chinese Taipei), Thomas Engert (Germany), Li He-Wen (China) and the
unpredictable American Earl "The Pearl" Strickland.

Local fans should have plenty to cheer about as Leonardo Andam, Jeff De Luna and Marlon
Manalo are all in action.

Countries represented so far in the Last 64

Philippines (8) - Ronnie Alcano, Francisco Bustamante, Joven Bustamante, Lee Vann Corteza, Antonio
Gabica, Ramil Gallego and Alex Pagulayan

Chinese Taipei (4) - Chang Jun-Lin, Lu Hui-Chan, Wu Chia-Ching and Yang Ching-Shun

Germany (2) - Oliver Ortmann and Harald Stolka.

Holland (2) - Alex Lely and Nick van den Berg.

Vietnam (2) - Luong Chi Dung and Pham Tuan Ngoc.

USA (2) - Corey Deuel and Charlie Williams.

Canada (1) - Alain Martel

Croatia (1) - Philipp Stojanovic

England (1) - Karl Boyes

Finland (1) - Mika Immonen

Hungary (1) - Vilmos Foldes

Indonesia (1) - Muhammad Zulfikri

Japan (1) - Kenichi Uchigaki

Malta (1) - Tony Drago

Poland (1) - Radoslaw Babica

Serbia (1) - Goran Mladenovic

Singapore (1) - Chan Keng Kwang

Spain (1) - David Alcaide


Source:

http://www.worldpoolchampionship.com/article_detail.asp?article_id=24

 

[arian dacongan]

muchos gracias senor gopi......keep updating us pls.

 

[gopi-1]

Here's the rest of the schedule of live games. The times posted are all Pacific Standard Time:


Nov. 4

Afternoon Session 11:30 pm - 3 am

Nov. 5

Evening Session 6 am - 9:30 am
Afternoon Session 11:30 pm - 3 am

Nov. 6

Evening Session 6 am - 9:30 am
Afternoon Session 11:30 pm - 3 am Last 64

Nov. 7

Evening Session 6 am - 9:30 am Last 64
Afternoon Session 11:30 pm - 3 am Last 32

Nov. 8

Evening Session 6 am - 9:30 am Last 32
Afternoon Session 11:30 pm - 3 am Last 16

Nov. 9

Evening Session 6 am - 9:30 am Last 16
Afternoon Session 6:30 pm - 10 pm Quarterfinals & Semifinals

Nov. 10

Evening Session 10:30 am - 2 am (Quarterfinals & Semifinals)
Afternoon Session 10:30 pm - 2 am (The Finals)

 

[gopi-1]

muchos gracias senor gopi......keep updating us pls.

No problem bro! Here's another one!



Django, Alex, Bebeng advance into the Last 64!

Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Ramil
"Bebeng" Gallego posted back to back contrasting victories yesterday to
advance into last 64 of the Philippine World Pool Championship at the Big
Dome.

The power-breaking Bustamante from Tarlac City beat South African
Zbynek Vaic, 9-4, and Korean Jeong Young-hwa, 9-0, to assure $2,000 for
make it to the knock-out stage.

"Gusto ko talaga ang winner's break format. Kahit makalamang kalaban mo
may pagkakataon ka pang makahabol at manalo. Y'ung alternate break para
nakakalamig eh," said the 43-year-old Bustamante who emerge over-all
champion in the 2007 UPA Pro Tour this year in Los Angeles, California to
booked his seat in the main draw which offers $100,000 to the champion.

It showed in the stats. Bustamante, the 2002 World Pool runner-up piled
up seven run outs and only let Jeong back in the table once during his
juggernaut.

The former world No. 1 made it past the group play for the ninth straight
year in the tournament organized by Matchroom and Raya Sports and
televised worldwide over ESPN.

The 29-year-old Fil-Canadian Pagulayan, the 2004 champion, also made his
presence felt early with a 9-0 win over Hamsa Mohammaed of Eritrea, a
little known country in Europe. He clinched a spot in the knockout phase
with a 9-6 win over Martin Kempter of Austria .

"Marami pang magsalita pero maglalaro lang ako," said Pagulayan, who
topped the Japan 9-Ball Open, Cebu 9-Ball Open later this year.

Gallego, playing under the banner of Negros Billiard Stable took the
measure of Chan Ken Kwang of Singapore, 9-4, and reigning Guinness Asian
9-ball tour over-all winner Chang Jung-ling of Taiwan, 9-1.

However, there were also setbacks for Filipinos.

Lee Vann Corteza, current National Open champion suffered a shocking 7-9
defeat to Serbia 's Goran Mladenovic. The top player of the Negros Billiards
stable had a chance to reach the hill first but missed an easy shot on the
green six, leaving an open table and giving his opponent an 8-7 lead.

He sealed his doom on the following frame with a scratch after pocketing
the sixth ball. Antonio "Nickoy" Lining also bowed to Jeong in a 8-9
decision. Lining, from Pinamalayan, Oriental, Mindoro led 7-1 to 8-3 before
Jeong clustered six straight racks. Lining curve a 9-1 demolition win against
Vaic but succumbed to ex-US Open winner Corey "The Prince" Duel, 9-7, in
their do or die match last night.

Meanwhile, former World 9-ball champion Oliver "The Machine" Ortmann of
Germany beat Duel, 9-6, to progress. Mika "The Iceman" Immonen of
Finland also advance into last 64 after beating Jeremy Jones of the United
States, 9-7.

Corteza, on the other hand beat Taiwanese Pei Wei Chang, 9-4, to arrange
a do or die match with Jones last night. (Corteza went on to beat Jeremy
Jones (9-4) to advance into the next stage)

Antonio "Ga-Ga" Gabica, the 2006 Doha Asian Games 9-ball gold winner
capped a perfect day for Filipinos on the opening day after trouncing
Malaysian Ibrahim Bin Amir, 9-6, in a knockout match. All four Filipinos who
saw action Saturday advanced to the next round that include Efren "Bata"
Reyes (1999), Ronato "Volcano" Alcano (2006) and Joven "The Shark"
Bustamante.

Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo, Jeffrey "The Bull" De Luna, and Leonardo
"Dodong Dadiangas" Andam are schedule to play today, Monday in their
group matches.


Source:

http://www.billiardphilippines.com/v3/modules/news/article.php?storyid=71

 

[gopi-1]

For those who's been sweating it out for the past few days, here's an update
of who's going to the big dance and who's been relegated to the rails...




GROUP 1

1. Ronato Alcano (PHI)
2. Charlie Williams (USA)
3. Alex Lely (NED)
4. Harald Stolka (GER)
5. Ricky Yang (INA)
6. Brady Golan (CAN)
7. Sa Al-Mutawa (UAE)
8. Xu Meng (CHN)


GROUP 3

1. Luong Chi Dong (VIE)
2. Vilmos Foldes (HUN)
3. Wu Chia Ching (TPE)
4. Radoslaw Babica (POL)
5. Chu Hung-Ming (TPE)
6. Craig Osborne (ENG)
7. Kusano Hishashi (JPN)
8. Carlos Castro (NIC)


GROUP 4

1. Lu Hui Chan (TPE)
2. Joven Bustamante (PHI)
3. Yang Ching Shun (TPE)
4. Antonio Gabica (PHI)
5. Ibrahim Bin Amir (MAS)
6. Jonni Fulcher (SCO)
7. Enrique Rojas (CHI)
8. Bruno Muratore (ITA)


GROUP 6

1. Kenichi Uchigaki (JPN)
2. Tony Drago (MLT)
3. Efren Reyes (PHI)
4. Alain Martel (CAN)
5. Ceri Worts (NZL)
6. Tomaz Kaplan (POL)
7. Liu Cheng Chuan (TPE)
8. Tony Robles (USA)


GROUP 7

1. Ramil Gallego (PHI)
2. Nick Van Den Berg (NED)
3. Chang Keng-Kwang (SIN)
4. Chang Jung-Lin (TPE)
5. Kasuo Furuta (JPN)
6. Dang Jinhu (CHN)
7. Alwi (INA)
8. John Morra (CAN)


GROUP 8

1. Alex Pagulayan (PHI)
2. Muhammad Zulfikri (INA)
3. David Alcaide (ESP)
4. Philipp Stojanovic (CRO)
5. Martin Kempter (AUT)
6. Robb Saez (USA)
7. Hamza Mohammed (ERI)
8. Stephen Capaldi (SCO)


GROUP 9

1. Francisco Bustamante (PHI)
2. Oliver Ortmann (GER)
3. Corey Deuel (USA)
4. Pham Tuan Ngoc (VIE)
5. Antonio Lining (PHI)
6. Jeong Young-Hwa (KOR)
7. John Wims (IRE)
8. Zbynek Vaic (RSA)


GROUP 12

1. Mika Immonen (FIN)
2. Karl Boyes (ENG)
3. Lee Vann Corteza (PHI)
4. Goran Mladenovic (SER)
5. Tyler Edey (CAN)
6. Jeremy Jones (USA)
7. Chang Pei-Wei (TPE)
8. Fahad Mohammadi (QAT)


Just to remind everybody that tables 1 and 2 are the TV tables and the 4 groups who will see action today are:



Group 2 (Tables 3 and 4)

Ralf Souquet (GER) vs Leonardo Andam (PHI)
Ronnie Wiseman (CAN) vs Tepwin Arunnath (THA)
Mike Davis (USA) vs James Delahunty (AUS)
Bernard Tey Choon Kiat (SIN) vs Raj Hundal (ENG)

Group 5 (Tables 2 and 8)

Thorsten Hohmann (GER) vs Ko Pin-yi (TPE)
Fu Che-wei (TPE) vs. Vittorio de Falco (ITA)
Jeff de Luna (PHI) vs Sandor Tot (SCG)
Edwin Montal (CAN) vs Serge Das (BEL)

Group 10 (Tables 6 and 7)

Thomas Engert (GER) vs Prince Muhtadee Billah (BRU)
Imrad Majid (ENG) vs Louis Condo (AUS)
Kuo Po-cheng (TPE) vs David Alcobeno (ESP)
Roman Hybler (CZE) vs Len Henman (HKG)

Group 14 (Tables 1 and 5)

Li He Wen (CHN) vs Farhad Shaverdi (IRN)
Fabio Petroni (ITA) vs Kay Reiko (GER)
Earl Strickland (USA) vs Alan Tan (MAS)
Marlon Manalo (PHI) vs Dejan Dabovic (SER)

 

[gopi-1]

Django continues impressive form

Francisco Bustamante continued his impressive march through the 2007 Philippines World
Pool Championship.

The Filipino, known as Django, recorded his third straight-forward victory of the competition
with a 10-1 triumph over Spain's David Alcaide to advance into the last 64.

Bustamante has now gained a win in each of the three matches he has played, won 26 racks
and only conceded five. In a packed press conference after the match, he admitted he was
feeling very confident and happy with his performance so far.

"Last year my play was not as good as this year, especially in my match against Thomas
Engert in 2006," said Bustamante.

"But this year I feel very good. I've been practising a lot and I'm in a way, way better condition
now.

"I've studied the soft break and it's a big advantage. I tried using the hard break earlier (in the
tournament) and was not getting much luck but now I can control the cue ball better and there's
always a wing-ball going in. So I will probably use it from here onwards."

Asked who he wanted to play, Bustamente replied: "Anybody is alright but of course I don't want
to play Efren (Reyes) in the last 64 or 32. If I do play him I want it to be in the final. Whoever
wins that would be okay as we are buddies."


Source:

http://www.worldpoolchampionship.com/article_detail.asp?article_id=32

 

[gopi-1]

Filipino legend Reyes crashes out

Efren Reyes is out of the 2007 Philippines World Pool Championship.

The 53-year-old Filipino legend went down on TV Table 2 at the Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City,
Manila, at the hands of European No.1 Konstantin Stepanov of Russia.

For Reyes, the winner of this event in 1999, the dream is over for another year as he was well
beaten 10-5 by the 24 year-old from Moscow.

Stepanov lead 3-0 before Reyes gave the full arena hope as he levelled it at 3-3. The Russian
pulled away though to lead 7-4 and then 8-5 before clinching the final two racks for victory.

He can now look forward to a very tough draw in the round of 32 as he faces Jeff "Bata" De
Luna, a possible heir to the Reyes thrown.

Another young Filipino who could take Reyes' mantle is Roberto Gomez, the 29-year-old who
resides in Quezon City. Gomez put paid to Dutchman Alex Lely's hopes as he drubbed him 10-1
on the easy breaking TV Table 1.

Nicknamed "Superman", Gomez is a former ABS-CBN news reporter but if he continues in a similar
vein this week, the news hounds will be chasing him.

He soon got the measure of the table and employed the soft break to excellent effect and he
can now look ahead to a match against former two-time champion Chao Fong-Pang tomorrow
(Thursday).

Gomez said: "I was watching television a couple of days ago the match between Earl Strickland
and Li He-Wen and I noticed that Earl shifted to the soft break so I thought 'it could work'."

"Now I tried it in my match here and the wing-ball kept going in. I think that was my edge for the
match. A lot of players were using the soft break, I went with the flow and it worked."

"You have to just play your own game, your opponent is really yourself so you have to take it
easy, relax and never mind your opponent."

There was less good fortune for another Pinoy hope as Poland's Radoslaw Babica, playing in his
ninth World Pool Championship, put in his best performance to date to put paid to Marlon Manalo's
title aspirations, winning 10-1 on table 7.

Babica, the 28 year-old from Poznan, recorded seven break and runs to put himself in the driving
seat and restricted Manalo to two visits to extricate himself from safeties.

"I was lucky to make it through the qualifications on Saturday. I didn't play well and only got
through because my opponents didn't play well either," said Babica.

He defeated Carlos Castro (Nicaragua) and Chun Min-Hung of Taiwan after a defeat at the hands
of Vilmos Foldes.

"Today though I really played my best and was really delighted with the way it went. I need to try
and relax now and see if I can do the same tomorrow," he added.


Source:

http://www.worldpoolchampionship.com/article_detail.asp?article_id=33

 

[gopi-1]

Behind The Scenes...



Behind the scenes will bring you the lighter side of the World Pool
Championship with gossip and funny tales.

Let's get ready to rumble

All the talk on Sunday was of the spat between Finland's Mika Immonen
and Jeremy Jones (USA) who clashed on Table 2 during a Group 12
match-up. It all centered on Immonen's throwaway comment when he
fluked an 8 ball in the latter stages of the match. 'I guess that evens it up
then' he said, presumably in reference to a previous piece of good fortune
for Jones.

The feuding then started as both players muttered insults to each other as
play continued. The Finn eventually won 9-6 to advance to the knock-out
stages whilst Jones went down to Lee Van Corteza to depart the
competition.

There was more though as the insults carried on after the match. As of
Tuesday evening peace had not yet been restored.

Taxi Crash

Anyone who has braved the traffic in Manila will know that it is not for the
faint hearted. With journey times sometimes extraordinarily long, patience
is a virtue, as well as the ability to sometimes shut your eyes and hope for
the best.

For Farhad Shahverdi, the first player to compete in this event from Iran,
his journey on Monday afternoon to the Araneta ended with a crash and a
two-hour delay.

A friend alerted tournament organizers and he eventually arrived at the
venue with seconds to spare for his opening game with Li He-wen. Clearly
shaken by his ordeal he went on to lose 9-2 to Li and was eliminated by
Dejan Dabovic not long afterwards.

Long Dej for Serbian Dabovic

Talking of Dejan Dabovic, the tall Serbian deserves some kind of award for
endurance after winning through to the last 64 on Monday. He took part in
the opening match of the day at 3.30pm, losing to Marlon Manalo 9-7 on
the TV table.

He won his second game to stay in the competition and then faced
Malaysia's Alan Tan in a do-or-die battle on the outside tables. The final 9
ball was potted at 2.57am meaning that Dabovic was in the venue for 11
and a half hours from first ball till last.

Caseless in Manila

Every year at the World Pool Championship there is always one hapless
player whose luggage goes awol on the long trip to Manila and this time it
was former two-time WPA World Champion Johnny Archer.

Archer set out from Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday 3rd giving himself plenty
of time to reach the Philippines for his first round matches on Tuesday.

An airport mix-up though saw himself and his luggage set sail on two
separate flights and Archer arrived in Manila bagless. Johnny's wife Melanie
was on the case though and a series of frantic emails and phone calls saw
Johnny reunited with his clothes in emotional scenes at his hotel.

It's getting hot in here

There was high drama on Tuesday afternoon at the Big Dome when fire
broke out in the lighting rig over Table 5 on the upper tier. Each of the
outside tables has a light box with fluorescent tubes that light the table
and a short circuit sent sparks flying and before long the box was ablaze.

Matchroom Sport's John McDonald alerted venue staff and only his quick
thinking saved the table as he and cameraman Lawrence 'Lol' Lustig
covered it to stop debris and foam raining down onto the felt. Before long
temporary lights were installed and play was able to commence at the
designated time.

 

[arian dacongan]

hey gop1..you're not doing much of a good job updating us(just kidding )

anyways..i'm too lazy or don't know how to register at the WPC website to get updates(if i did, then more spam and unwanted emails i have to erase each day)

i know there's not too many post here, but i'm sure a lot are following your updates....

it's just like when somebody was reporting the blow by blow on last year's us open...maybe thousands are looking but not posting...

mabuhay gopi...keep em coming more often...

i feel disappointed with the way they are covering this online...

i wanted to sign up for the PPV, but i cannot trust the payment system to be secure ...

 

[poolchady]

Last 16 advances

Table
1 M Immonen 10 T Drago 6
2 A Pagulayan 10 L Condo 2
4 S Van Boening 8 V Foldes 10
7 Lu H C 10 R Babica 3

 

[gopi-1]

Another former champion is eliminated

Joven Bustamante, one of the unsung dangermen of Filipino pool, eased his way into the last
16 of the 2007 Philippines World Pool Championship at the expense of 2005 Champion Wu Chia-
ching of Taiwan at the Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Manila.

The 29 year-old Bustamante is making his debut in the competition but a bronze medal at the
WPA World 8-Ball Championship earlier this year gives an idea of his pedigree.

Playing out of the same Bugsy's stable as the likes of Ronnie Alcano, Dennis Orcullo and Antonio
Gabica, the placid-looking Bustamante looked calm in his TV arena debut as he moved into an
early 4-2 lead in front of a packed arena.

With the winner's break format making table possession twice as valuable, Wu made a critical
error at in the next as he failed to connect at all with the 1 ball while attempting a thin cut and
with ball-in-hand and an open table, Bustamante looked set to increase his lead.

He too though made an unforced error as he left himself in the jaws of the centre pocket, unable
to reach the green 6 without kicking. His attempt wasn't good enough and Wu mopped up to
reduce the deficit to a single rack.

The next racked looked a certainty for Wu but he badly ran out of position with just the 7 and 9
left on the table. He missed the pot and then missed it again following a weak safety from Busta-
mante and the Filipino held his nerve to increase his lead to 5-3.

Neither player was at their best as the game became a little scrappy at times and they shared
the next two racks before Wu composed himself to take the 11th rack and position himself on
Bustamante's coat tails at 6-5.

Befitting his World Champion status, Wu looked much better in the next as he ran the rack
comfortably to tie the scores up at 6-6.

A great break from Wu saw three balls drop but he had no clear shot on the 2 ball so elected
to push out. Bustamante missed the tempter on the long 2 and Wu grabbed the opportunity
to take the lead for the first time at 7-6.

The 2005 World Champion though scratched off his break shot in the next. Perhaps feeling the
pressure in his first game on the TV table, Bustamante slightly ran out of position going from
the 2 to 4 balls and missed the resulting pot.

Wu though, missed it too as he had to give the cue ball a touch of swerve. Bustamante made
no mistakes from there as he cleared to restore parity.

Bustamante ran out the next rack from the break to take the lead at 8-7 and then tied Wu up
in snooker in the 16th game. Wu escaped but left the two ball hanging over the centre pocket
and Bustamante ran out to reach the hill.

The Filipino messed up on a 2/4 combination to throw Wu a lifeline which he gratefully accepted
to give himself a chance.

Bustamante got back to the table in the next and he played what was the match-winning shot
as he played a brave and very difficult long cut on the 2 ball, split up a cluster and gained perfect
shape on the 3 ball to set up the victorious run out.

"It was my first time on the TV table and playing front of loyal fans put immense pressure on me
and I wasn't sure if I could deliver," said Bustamante in his post-match press conference.

"The balls soon started falling my way and that boosted my confidence. I had some butterflies
before my matches but my confidence is soaring and I feel I can go all the way to championship.

"With (Efren) Reyes and Ronnie (Alcano) out, there is more pressure on the young players but
now that pressure has doubled but we'll try out best," he added.

In the other early matches in the Last 32, there was mixed fortunes for the German players as
Oliver Ortmann lost 10-7 against Kuo Po-cheng but Harald Stolka recorded a surprise 10-2
triumph over Wu Yu-lun.

Alain Martel (Canada) and Satoshi Kawabata (Japan) were also winners with Martel defeating
Goran Mladenovic 10-2 and Kawabata clinching a 10-3 success over Luong Chi Dung of Vietnam.


Source:

http://www.worldpoolchampionship.com/article_detail.asp?article_id=35

 

[gopi-1]

Bustamante wins thriller / Day six review

Francisco Bustamante set up a mouth-watering last 16 contest with fellow Filipino Alex Pagulayan.

Bustamante sealed his place in the fourth round with a thrilling 10-8 victory against Holland's Nick
van den Berg in one of the best matches of the 2007 Philippines World Pool Championship so far.

The host nation has the largest contingent of players left in the competition and, with Bustamante
and Pagulayan meeting on Friday, are also the only country to have at least one man guaranteed
of appearing in the quarter-finals.

With another sell-out arena crowd at the Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Manila, popular Filipino
Bustamante trailed 4-0 to the young Dutchman before gaining control of the table and running into
a 9-4 lead.

Bustamante though, missed a 3 ball into the top left hand pocket when just a few shots from
victory and van den Berg grabbed his chance.

He won rack after rack, utilizing the soft break and at 8-9 down looked the favourite to win.
However, a rare dry break scuppered his chances and Bustamante cleared to the 8 ball before
van den Berg, in a sporting gesture, threw his white towel onto the table and embraced his
opponent.

"When I missed that 3 ball I thought I've got no more shots in this game. The table was easy
breaking and everything was in his control.

"When it was 9-8 I thought I had no more chance but got lucky when he had no ball on the break

"I'm very lucky to be in the last 16 but will try my best as I'm playing the small guy next -
Alex Pagulayan!"

Van den Berg put on a brave face at his post match press conference but his pain was apparent.
I feel terrible right now. There was nothing I could do and even at 9-7 down I felt I had the best
chance," he said.

"I was not nervous the whole time. In fact was more nervous on Table 7 yesterday but if you
want to beat Busti you cannot miss any balls," he added.

Also flying the Filipino flag were young guns Roberto Gomez and Joven Bustamante who both won
through against Taiwanese opposition.

Bustamante (no relation) beat former champ Wu Chia-ching 10-8 on the TV table while Gomez
pounded former two-time champion Chao Fong-pang 10-2. The lone American left in the compe-
tition is Corey Deuel following the demise of a lackluster Shane Van Boening.

Deuel showed tremendous heart coming from 9-5 down to get the better of three-time Asian Tour
winner Chang Jung-ling of Taiwan. His reward is a match-up with another dangerous Chinese
Taipei player, Kuo Po-cheng, a runner-up in this event in 2005.

European No.1 Konstantin Stepanov looked impressive in beating local hope Jeff De Luna 10-5.
De Luna is a real crowd pleaser but is often too brave on his shot selection and the 24-year-old
Muscovite was too composed for him.

Another Eastern European, Vilmos Foldes, put paid to Shane Van Boening's championship aspirations
with a 10-8 win on Table 4. Foldes is the 2003 World Junior Champion and will face Lu Hui-chan who
eliminated Poland's Radoslaw Babica from the competition.

Last year's runner-up Ralf Souquet also exited stage left as Niels Feijen took him down 10-2.
Souquet was suffering from a bad back but Feijen, who was a quarter-finalist in this event in 2001,
looks a good outside chance.

Two English players are through to Friday's last 16 shake-up. Daryl Peach eliminated qualifier Lee Kun-
fang's, a finalist in this event in 1997, on Table 4 and now faces Germany's Harry Stolka on Friday.

If European form is anything to go by, Peach is ranked No.2 on the EPBF rankings while Stolka is
back at No.31.

Manchester's Karl Boyes, playing in his first World Championship, came back from 8-5 down to win
against bespectacled Korean Ryu Seung-woo. Boyes, a former top English 8 ball player, can look
ahead to a do-or-die struggle against European No.1 Konstantin Stepanov (Russia).

Play moves to just two tables on Friday as the races increase to 11.


Source:

http://www.worldpoolchampionship.com/article_detail.asp?article_id=40

 

[gopi-1]

Four Pinoys seeded in the 2008 World Pool Championships

Four Filipino pool sharks not only enjoying a guaranteed $4,500 each but
already out right seed in the 2008 World Pool Championships for advancing
in the round-of-16.

This was bared yesterday Matchroom sports spokesman Luke Riches.

"Yes, the Four Filipino who makes it to the round-of-16 already seeded in
the main draw in the next edition of WPC," said Riches who also assured
that the prestigious World 9-ball tourney will remain in Philippines next year

According to organizing committee, anyone player who advance in the
round-of-16 is automatic seeded in the 128 player's field of the next
edition of WPC.

2004 WPC winner Alex Pagulayan, 2002 WPC runner-up Francisco "Django"
Bustamante, 2007 Battle of Scandinavia 9-ball champion Roberto Gomez
and 2007 Korea Pro Tour champion Joven Bustamante are the four Filipino
players who make it "Sweet 16".

Meanwhile, host country already assured at least Pinoy in the quarter-final
round today as Django and Alex were paired yesterday.

Django beat Nick Van de Berg of the Netherlands, 10-8, in the round-of-32
to arrange an All Pinoy round-of-16 showdown with Pagulayan, winner over
Louis Condo of Australia, 10-2.

Joven on the other hand stuns 2005 WPC winner Wu Chia-ching of Taiwan,
10-8, to post biggest upset win in the round-of-32 while Gomez clobbred
another WPC winner Chao-Fong pang of Taiwan, 10-2.

As of press time, Joven takes on 2006 Doha Asian games 8-ball gold
medalist Satoshi Kawabata of Japan while Gomez goes up against Niels
Feijen of the Netherlands.

Marlon Bernardino

Source:

http://www.billiardphilippines.com/v3/modules/news/article.php?storyid=83

 

[gopi-1]

Bustamantes, advances to the quarterfinals!

Francisco "Django" Bustamante and his nephew Joven "The Shark" Bustamante advanced
to the quarterfinal round of the 2007 World Pool Championship last night at the Araneta
Coliseum in Quezon City.

In the round of 16, Django ousted compatriot Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan, 11-2, while The
Shark continued his giant-slaying ways by beating Satoshi Kawabata of Japan, 11-9.
Today, Django will face the winner of the match between Daryl Peach of England and
Harald Stoika of Finland.

"Malaki ang tsansa ko dahil ito lang naming kapatid ko, si Alex ang matinding kalaban," said
Django. "Kahit sino na ang makalaban ko hindi na ako takot dahil wala na ang kinakatakutan
ko."
Pagulayan, on the other hand, said he was not disappointed with his loss because he lost
to the guy whom he predicted would win the championship this year.

The Shark, on the other hand, arranged a round of 8 showdown with Karl Boyes of England,
who stunned Konstantin Stepanov of Russia, 11-4, last night.

"Nakita ko na ang laro niya (Kawabata) kaya kinabahan ako," said Joven, who upset Dennis
Orcullo last Wednesday and 2005 World Pool Champion Wu Chia-ching of Taiwan last Thursday.
Filipino Roberto Gomez has still to play Neils Feijen of The Netherlands as of press time.

Marlon Bernardino


Source:

http://www.billiardphilippines.com/v3/modules/news/article.php?storyid=82

 

[gopi-1]

Django wins battle of Filipino giants

In a flawless performance on the main TV table, Francisco Bustamante won the battle
of the Filipino giants as he crushed Alex Pagulayan 11-2 to book a spot in the quarter-
finals of the 2007 Philippines World Pool Championship.

Playing in front of a standing room only crowd at the Araneta Coliseum, the game was
something of an anti-climax as Bustamante mastered the easy breaking table as he ran
rack after rack, leaving Pagulayan in his chair.

The ever-popular Bustamante has the tag of the greatest player never to have won this
title but he will now be betting favourite to lift the trophy on Sunday night.

Bustamante won the lag and proceeded to run out the first two racks but bad positional
play in the third forced him into a bank attempt but he missed to let Pagulayan to the
table for the first time. The 2004 Champion completed the run out to take the score to
2-1.

A soft break from Pagulayan saw the 2 ball tied up and he was forced to play safe. Both
players traded safeties before Pagulayan closed out the rack to level it at two racks each.

Pagulayan couldn't get onto the 3 ball in the next but his second option was to tie his
opponent up in a tight safety. Bustamante went off three rails, made contact with the
3 ball and fortuitously it nudged the 5 ball into the pocket.

There was more safety but Bustamante prevailed to regain the lead at 3-2. A 2/9
combination increased the 43-year-old Tarlac natives lead. Bustamante struggled with
his positional play in the next but always had the shot to recover as he cleared the table
to get to 5-2.

Things looked ominous for Pagulayan as Bustamante, another player to have mastered
the soft break on the TV table, took the next to open a four rack gulf. There was more
of the same in the next rack as Pagulayan cut a sorry figure in the arena, waiting for a
chance.

Bustamante completed his fifth break and run of the game in the tenth to increase his lead
to 8-2. There was a potential problem in the next for Bustamante but he used the 9 ball to
hold the white when cutting the 2 ball into the centre pocket and continued on his way to
leave himself two racks from victory.

He took the next to reach the hill and then played a lovely cross bank on the 3 ball to set
up the match winning run-out.

Bustamante now faces the winner of the Daryl Peach v Harry Stolka, the last match on
Table 2 tonight.

"When I started I was nervous but I was lucky to hit the ball when he had hooked me
(in the fifth rack). I hope I will still have the game as I played today and hopefully I will be
in the final," said Bustamante.

Pagulayan added: "I'm not disappointed, I played a guy that I predicted would win the tournament
and I lost to the right guy."


Source: