SEVENTEEN Filipino cue masters will take their shot at the Crown Jewel of Nineball as the Philippines will be well represented in the World Pool Championship which starts on Monday at the Green Halls in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Johann Chua and Carlo Biado spearheads the delegation as the country accounts for the most in the 128-man field which has a record-breaking $1,000,000 prize fund and a whopping $250,000 cash prize awaiting the champion.
Chua made it to the semifinals last year before falling to runner-up Eklent Kaci of Albania, while Biado captured the crown in 2017 before finishing as runner-up in his back-to-back bid in 2018.
The two will have the biggest spotlight among the Pinoys as they aim to bring the trophy home for the fifth time after Efren “Bata” Reyes in 1999, Ronnie Alcano in 2006, Francisco “Django” Bustamante in 2010, and Biado.
It’s going to be a strong bid for the Philippines with veterans James Aranas, Lee Vann Corteza, and Roland Garcia also joining the fray, together with young guns AJ Manas, Anton Raga, Bernie Regalario, and Jefrey Roda.
Also in the mix are Michael Feliciano, Jeffrey Ignacio, Michael Baoanan, Marvin Asis, Alexis Ferrer, Mark Kalagayan, and Marlon Caneda.
Fedor Gorst of the USA remains as the man to beat in the tourney as he guns for his third World Pool Championship and becomes the first player to win in consecutive years since Earl Strickland went three straight from 1990 to 1992.
But he’s not the only one, with top players namely Joshua Filler of Germany, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz of Spain, Jayson Shaw of Great Britain, Aloysius Yapp of Singapore, brothers Ko Pin Yi and Ko Ping Chung of Chinese Taipei, and Shane Van Boening of the USA all gunning for the throne.
The World Pool Championship will be broadcasted live on One Sports+ and Pilipinas Live, with catchup viewing available on One Sports.
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