Corteza Tops World Ten Ball Qualifier

From l to r: Lee Van Corteza and Carlo Biado

Lee Van Corteza beat Carlo Biado 11-10 to top the World Ten Ball qualifier for Filipino players staged at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City over the weekend.

With the victory, Corteza took one guaranteed WTBC spot and the cash prize of P20,000. Biado, for his part, got the second qualifying spot and the second place purse of P10,000.

The two will join 116 other players (including nine other Filipinos) who had earlier been named by the World Pool-Billiards Association (WPA) as having won berths in the main draw of the World Ten Ball Championship slated on November 25-30 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City .

Corteza and Biado emerged from a field of 75 Class A players who vied for the highly valued WTBC spots in the double-elimination qualifier.

The field was noteworthy for the inclusion of Filipino players from the BMPAP in the competition that is organized by the Billiards & Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) and Raya Sports. BSCP officials led by Sebastian Chua and Yen Makabenta opened the doors of the qualifier to all Filipino players following an agreement with top BMPAP officials (led by Perry Mariano) to set aside differences and forge a concerted effort to win the highly coveted World Ten Ball title for the country in the coming championship.

Corteza emerged undefeated in the tournament, after escaping from two hill-hill encounters. He bested Biado to take the hot seat, but Biado came back strong to challenge for the top prize after edging Antonio Lining in their semifinal match on the losers’side.

The final was a thriller throughout, with Biado all the way up to the final rack. He recorded impressive leads of 5-1, 7-3, 8-6, and 10-8, but could not finish off his opponent. Corteza kept fighting back, finally knotting the count at 10-all.

In the final rack, Corteza sank a ball on his break, but then faced a difficult long cross-table bank on the 1-ball. Saying that it was do-or-die, he took on the challenge and sank the ball. He then proceeded to run out the table, and was congratulated by his opponent.

Biado lived through practically the same experience in his semifinal match with Lining. The latter took the hill first in their see-saw match that saw Biado leading all the way.

In the 17^th rack, with the score knotted at 8-all, Lining faltered on a safety shot that gave his opponent a slight opening. Biado coolly sank the object ball and then ran out to take the match.

The qualifier saw top veterans battling it out with upcoming young players who were eager to prove their worth. Three of the most impressive young players were Ricky Zerna, Marvin Tapia and Rocky Tullao, who showed that they have a bright future in the sport.

The final standings in the qualifier were as follows:

1^st Place Lee Van Corteza

2^nd Carlo Biado

3^rd Antonio Lining

4^th Ricky Zerna

5^th-6^th Victor Arpilleda

5th-6th Ramil Gallego

7^th-8^th Rocky Tullao

7^th-8^th Jundel Mazon

Players who failed in their bid for the WTBC slots will have another chance to qualify via the 10 qualifiers scheduled on Nov. 19 to 23. This time around, they will contend with over 100 foreign players who have signed up to vie for the 10 remaining spots in the WTBC. #

17 American Players Join World Ten Ball

From l to r: Shane Van Boening and Corey Deuel

A TOTAL of 17 players from North and South America will compete in the second World Ten Ball Championship at the World Trade Center in Pasay City on November 25-30.

Led by former US Open champion Shane Van Boening, Corey Deuel and Charlie Williams of the US , and Tyler Edey of Canada , they will vie for the coveted title of World Pool Champion and a total prize fund of $262,000.

Van Boening, also the winner of the Predator 10-Ball Championship two years ago, is the highest-rated American player. He is currently ranked fifth in the world.

Like Van Boening, Deuel, ranked No.12 in the world, was also a former US Open champion.

Williams, known as the Korean Dragon, is the head of Dragon Promotions, which was responsible in bringing the World Women’s Ten Ball Championship in Manila early this year. He is a perennial contender in major international pool tournaments.

Edey is Canada ’s best pool player. He is currently ranked No.29^th in the world.

The 13 other players from North and South America earned their spots via their respective continental federations: 10 coming from the Billiards Congress of America and three from the Confederation Panamerica of Billiards.

The 10 BCA players are veteran campaigner and former world champion Johnny Archer, Oscar Dominguez, Shawn Putnam, Stevie Moore, Charlie Bryant and Shaun Wilkie of the US; and Alain Martel, Raymond Cruz, Erik Hjorleifson and Adam Smith of Canada.

Frailin Guanica and Jalal Youse of Venezuela and Ignacio Chavez of Mexico are the three players representing the CPB in this biggest and only men’s world pool championship this year.

Europe Fields 52 Players in World Ten Ball

From l to r: Mika Immonen, David Alcaide & Thorsten Hohmann

Determined to retain its hold on major world pool titles won last year, the European Pocket Billiards Federation (EPBF) is fielding 52 players from 21 member countries in the 2009 World Ten Ball Championship set at the World Trade Center in Manila on November 25-30.

Gre Leenders, EPBF president and secretary-general of the World Pool-Billiard Association, formally announced the composition of the European delegation in an email sent to Raya Sports, organizer of the WTBC.

The European contingent is bannered by defending WTBC champion Darren Appleton (Great Britain), 2008 world 8-ball champion Ralf Souquet (Germany), 2007 world 9-ball champion Daryl Peach (GBR), Qatar Open champion Mika Immonen (Finland), China Open champion Thorsten Hohmann (Germany), and Portugal Predator Open champion David Alcaide (Spain).

Other notable members of the squad are: Marcus Chamat (Sweden), Niels Feijen (Netherlands), Stephan Cohen (France), Bruno Muratore (Italy), and Ruslan Chinakhov (Russia).

Great Britain and Germany, two major powers in the sport, have the most number of participants with 11 and 9 players respectively.

The countries sending players to the WTBC apart from Great Britain and Germany are: Finland, Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Austria, France, Norway, Turkey, Spain, Serbia, Belgium, Denmark, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, and the Czech Republic.

Leenders said that the WTBC and the10-Ball format have become quite popular in Europe. “EPBF was able to fill all its spots. A European WTBC qualifier, which was held in September after the Euro Tour, attracted over 50 players who wanted to qualify,” he said.

The European players will battle for the WTBC title with players from the other continental federations: North America, South America, Africa, Oceania, and Asia.

The WTBC is the only world pool championship being held this year. Both the world 8-ball and 9-ball championships for 2009 have been cancelled.

The complete EPBF list follows:

1. He, Mario Austria

2. Kempter, Martin Austria

3. Das, Serge Belgium

4. Stojanovic, Phil Croatia

5. Hybler, Roman Czech Republic

6. Lotfy, Bahram Denmark

7. Immonen, Mika Finland

8. Juva, Markus Finland

9. Cohen, Stephan France

10. Facquet, Vincent France

11. Souquet, Ralf Germany

12. Hohmann, Thorsten Germany

13. Engert, Thomas Germany

14. Ortmann, Oliver Germany

15. Reintjes, Christoph Germany

16. Vogel, Marko Germany

17. Zobrekis, Klaus Germany

18. Mund, Ralf Germany

19. Heimmerer, Benjamin Germany

20. Appleton, Darren Great Britain

21. Peach, Daryl Great Britain

22. Melling, Chris Great Britain

23. Gray, Mark Great Britain

24. Majid, Imran Great Britain

25. Osborne, Craig Great Britain

26. Boys, Karl Great Britain

27. Fulcher, Jonni Great Britain

28. Jones, Ricardo Great Britain

29. Burford, Phil Great Britain

30. Higgins, Scott Great Britain

31. Koukiadakis, Andreas Greece

32. Muratore, Bruno Italy

33. Petroni, Fabio Italy

34. Kristoffersen, Kasper Denmark

35. Feijen, Niels Netherlands

36. Van den Berg, Nick Netherlands

37. See, Huidji Netherlands

38. Kristiansen, Vegar Norway

39. Babica, Radoslaw Poland

40. Sniegocki, Mateusz Poland

41. Kaplan, Thomasz Poland

42. Skoneczny, Mariusz Poland

43. Chinakhov, Ruslan Russia

44. Stepanov, Konstantin Russia

45. Tot, Sandor Serbia

46. Erculj, Matjaz Slovenia

47. Alcaide, David Spain

48. Guzman, Rafael Spain

49. Chamat, Marcus Sweden

50. Jungo, Dmitri Switzerland

51. Cankurt, Mehmet Turkey

52. Dincer, Ramazan Turkey

WPA General Assembly to Convene in Manila

Pictured above: WPA president Ian Anderson

The World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) will convene its General Assembly in Manila on November 27 this year, in the same week that the Philippine capital will host the 2^nd World Ten Ball Championship (WTBC) at the World Trade Center.

Long in the planning, the biennial meeting of the world’s governing body of pool was officially announced by WPA president Ian Anderson, and he relayed the same in a letter to Raya Sports chairman Yen Makabenta.

“I would like to inform you that I have chosen Manila as the venue for the upcoming general assembly of the WPA,” said Anderson in the letter. “This is a meeting that is held every two years, and I thought it appropriate that we hold it this time in Manila during the period of the World Ten Ball Championship.”

The WPA Assembly will be attended by representatives of the six continental federations: the European Pocket Billiards Federation (EPBF), Asian Pocket Billiards Union (APBU), Billiards Congress of America (BCA), All African Pool Association (AAPA), Confederacion Panamerica de Billar (CPB) and the Oceania Pocket Billiards Federation (OPBF).

Slated to tackle vital matters affecting pool sports, the meeting will be held at the Heritage Hotel, the official hotel of the WTBC and where WPA members and officers will be billeted.

“All our members are looking forward to attending, and to having the opportunity to witness some of the great matches that will undoubtedly take place during the

Championship,” Anderson said.

Meanwhile, the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP), led by its president Mr. Sebastian Chua, has welcomed the choice of Manila as assembly venue as “fitting recognition” for the role that the country is now playing in the development and propagation of pool worldwide.

During the visit of the WPA officers and members, the BSCP will host a dinner in their honor.

World’s Top 32 Earn Spots in WTBC

From l to r: Darren Appleton, Ralph Souquet and Mika Immonen

THE top 32 players in the rankings of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) became the first batch of players to be given guaranteed seats in the main draw of the second World Ten Ball Championship (WTBC) slated at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, Metro Manila from November 25-30.

WPA president Ian Anderson has explained that with the new ranking system introduced this year, the world’s governing body for pool ushered in a new system of awarding spots in the world championship. Besides the top 32 ranking players, spots are mainly allocated to the continental federations which then award the spots to deserving players.

The Top 32 are led by current world No. 1 Darren Appleton of Great Britain. He is followed by Ralf Souquet of Germany (2), Mika Immonen of Finland (3), Niels Feijen of the Netherlands (4), and Shane van Boening of the United States (5).

Two Filipinos, Jeffrey de Luna (8) and Demosthenes Pulpul (9), made it to the top 10. Other notable Asians in the elite list are Ko Pin Yi (13) and Yang Ching-Shun (25) of Chinese Taipei, Ricky Yang of Indonesia (14), and Satoshi Kawabata of Japan (18).

The distribution of the 32 players by continents is: 15 Europeans, 13 Asians, four North Americans.

The other North American players besides Van Boening are Americans Corey Deuel (12) and Charlie Williams (15), and Canadian Tyler Edey (29).

Appleton is the defending World Ten Ball champion. He overtook erstwhile No.1 Ralf Souquet of Germany middle of this year after placing third in the Qatar Open, one of several world-ranking events lined up by the WPA in 2009.

No. 3 Mika Immonen ruled the Qatar Open after beating two-time World Junior champion Ko Pin Yi in the finals. He is the current money leader among men players in the world circuit.

The complete list of the WPA’s Top 32 follows:

1. Darren Appleton, GBR

2. Ralf Souquet, GER

3. Mika Immonen, FIN

4. Niels Feijen, NED

5. Shane Van Boening, USA

6. Marcus Chamat, SWE

7. Daryl Peach, GBR

8. Jeffrey De Luna, PHI

9. Demosthenes Pulpul, PHI

10. Thorsten Hohmann, GER

11. Radoslaw Babica, POL

12. Corey Deuel, USA

13. Ko Pin-Yi, TPE

14. Ricky Wang, INA

15. Charlie Williams, USA

16. Lu Hui Chan, TPE

17. Fu Che-wei, TPE

18. Satoshi Kawabata, JPN

19. Liu Haitao, CHN

20. Chris Melling, GBR

21. Marlon Manalo, PHI

22. Dimitri Jungo, SUI

23. Antonio Gabica, PHI

24. Bruno Muratore, ITA

25. Yang Ching-Shun, TPE

26. Wang Hung-Hsiang, TPE

27. Mark Gray, GBR

28. Ruslan Chinakhov, RUS

29. Tyler Edey, CAN

30. Imran Majid, GBR

31. Allan Cuartero, PHI

32. Nick van den Berg, NED

Heritage Manila Tapped as Official Hotel of WTBC

HERITAGE Hotel Manila will serve as the official hotel of the 2009 World Ten Ball Championship when it takes place on November 25-30 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, Metro Manila. This was officially announced by Raya Sports and Heritage Hotel during the formal contract signing on Friday, September 25 at the hotel’s headquarters on Roxas Boulevard.

As official hotel partner, the five-star hotel will host participating players, officials of the World Pool-Billiard Association, billiards executives and fans during the week-long event. It will also serve as the venue for the WPA General Assembly scheduled on November 27.

Mr. Eddie B. H. Yeo, general manager of Heritage Hotel Manila, and Mr. Yen Makabenta, chairman and CEO of Raya Sports, signed the memorandum of agreement between the two companies.

Heritage Hotel Manila is a member of the London-based international hotel group Millennium Hotels and Resorts. It has all the accommodations and amenities of a luxury hotel. It ushers its guests to 450 newly-refurbished rooms in contemporary design.

And it also houses the 24-hour Philippine Amusement and Games Corporation (PAGCOR) Casino.

Opened in 1994, Heritage is a popular hotel for corporate, convention and leisure travelers. It is centrally located with easy access to two major business districts, shopping, entertainment, and convention and exhibition centers. It is the nearest international hotel to the 60-hectare Mall of Asia Complex. And it is 15 minutes away from the Manila international and domestic airports.

According to the terms of the MOA, during the WTBC Heritage will provide, among others, a special room rate for tournament players, officials and guests and a regular shuttle service between the hotel and the venue.

To avail of the special rates and ensure accommodations, players and guests are urged to book early. They can make reservations through Raya Sports (email: nenyregino@prismphil.com) or direct to the hotel(email: guest@heritagehotelmanila.com).

You may also download a map to the Heritage here.

RP Pool Championships kick off busy November

IT WILL be a busy month of November for billiards as Metro Manila plays host to both the Philippine National Pool Championships (NPC) and the World Ten Ball Championship (WTBC) in succession.

The month-long sportsfest will open on November 3-8 with the 4th National Pool Championships for men and women which the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines will organize in cooperation with Raya Sports and Star Billiards.

This will be followed by the 2nd World Ten Ball Championship of the World Pool-Billiard Association from November 19 to 30, which is expected to bring to Manila over 200 top players and hundreds of billiards officials and enthusiasts from all over the world.

Open to all Filipino billiard players, the NPC offers a total prize fund of P600,000, with the men’s champion receiving P150,000 and the women’s titlist getting P50,000. Trophies will also be given to the top three placers in both divisions. Cash prizes will be given up to 32nd place in the men’s division, and up to 16th place in the women’s division.

The first four rounds of the tournament will be held at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City from Nov. 3-6. The competition then moves to the SM North Edsa Annex from Nov.7-8, where the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will be concluded.

The NPC is a 10-ball tournament under WPA rules. It features a double-elimination up to the Final Four, when the competition becomes a knockout affair.

The BSCP board and officers headed by Sebastian Chua (president) and Yen Makabenta (chairman) have set no player seedings and no limits to the number of players who can enter the national championships. They are inviting billiard clubs and associations all over the country to send their representatives to the tournament.

The entry fee in the men’s division is P600; in the women’s division, P300.

The defending champion in the men’s division is international titlist Marlon Manalo. In the women’s division, Zemonette Oryan is the reigning champion. Both will be defending their titles against a top-notch field of veterans and upcoming players.

Besides trophies and cash prizes, the NPC offers four guaranteed spots in the World Ten Ball Championship later in the month. Following tradition, the top four players in the tournament who are not yet qualified for the WTBC will be awarded the spots by Raya Sports.

Registration for the 2009 WPC will commence on Tuesday, September 22. Players should register with the following officials: Michael Tan at Star Billiards Center, Tel. 0909-2222225; Carlos Santos-Viola, BSCP, 0921-5014550; and Sol Gueco, Raya Sports, Tel. 0910-8875216. Provincial clubs and associations should send their entries direct to Mr. Santos-Viola, BSCP secretary-general.