Day 1 of the Philippine Open Pool Championships.
Bob Guerrero shares with Bleacher's Brew inside tidbits from the 2011 Philippine Open Championships, a 10 Ball event.
The future of Women's Pool is Xiao Fang Fu. She was on display in full bloom at Day 1 of the Philippine Open Championships. The young lady from China, already 2010 World 9 Ball champ, easily dispatched of Vietnam's Duong Thuy Vi in the first round of the Ladies Draw. It's my first time to see her play and I'm impressed.
Pool is oftentimes a game of consistency, and Fu ghe gets out of racks that most other ladies would have lots of trouble handling. The Women's game, already rising to a higher standard than ever, is getting even tougher.
Both Yen Makabenta, head of tournament promoter Raya Sports and commentator Jay Helfert confirmed with me that Fu has duked it out with veteran Pinoy pros like Ramil Gallego in money games and has held her own.
Helfert also told me that China has a dozen teenagers that can already play at the elite level in women's Pool. Amazing what government support can bring you.
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Think the life of a pro pool player is glamorous? Check out the brutal schedule of Germany's Ralf Souquet. Last March 12 he lost the final of the US Masters in Virginia to Mika Immonen. Then the next week he bested Rob Saez in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to take the the Super Billiard Expo crown. Then the week after he jetted off to Brandenberg, Germany where he entered several events in the European Championship, claiming the Silver in 8 Ball. After that he schlepped over here where he stays til Monday. Immediately after he hies off to the Eurotour event in Treviso, Italy, then goes straight to the Ultimate 10 Ball event in Dallas on April 21. Then guess what happens the week after that? A flight right back across the Pacific for the Beijing Open, after which he drags himself back to the Philippines for the World 10 Ball Championship in May. Then another transpacific jaunt to the US Open 10 Ball in Las Vegas.
The saddest part? “I can't remember the last time I got upgraded to Business Class.” he confessed to me wearily.
The good news for Ralf? Jet lag or no jet lag, he is still one of the greatest players of all-time and he proved it by downing Carlo Biado 9-8 on the TV table.
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Raya Sports' JP Fenix is not amused at the Games and Amusement's Board's involvement in the local pro Pool scene. “They want all the players, officials and referees to have licenses. It's ridiculous.” he fumed. While we were chatting, Finland's Mika Immonen walked up and Fenix asked him “do you need a license to play anywhere in the world?” For Fenix, it is clear that Pool should be different from the PBA, where, according to him, even the waterboys need licenses. He believes a corporate license for Raya Sports should suffice.
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This is a double-elimination tournament and thus far several big names have been shunted off to the one-loss side for an arduous trek back to the Final match where the first prize of US$25,00 for the men and US$15,000 for the women await.
Immonen, Ramil Gallego and Jeffrey De Luna all dropped their first matches, with De Luna losing 9-8 in heartbreaking fashion; he got a “slide” or a bad contact in the deciding rack that caused him to miss a ball and let his opponent, Pei-Wei Chang, back on the table.
Shane van Boening was also dropped 9-4 by Naoyuki Oi while Roberto Gomez fell to Kuwait-based Pinoy Allan Cuartero.
In the ladies side the biggest shock was Allison Fisher of England, the Duchess of Doom, stumbling 9-4 to China's Wu Jing.
The action will be fierce at the Philippine Open in both Men's and Women's draws. Catch the matches on TV5's all new AKTV channel until Monday or on IBC 13. Yours truly will be on the call on Friday, Sunday and Monday.
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Bob Guerrero is a good friend of mine and we share many commons passion including music and sports. He will frequently contribute to Bleachers’ Brew when he takes time away from his busy schedule. As it is right now, his office is only one floor above mine.
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