Marlon Manalo of the Philippines speaks to reporters after his 9-4 win over Sniegocki Mateusz of Poland in the Stage 2 of the World 9-Ball Pool Championship at Al Arabi Indoor Stadium in Doha, yesterday. Manalo has qualified for the round-of-64 which will begin today. The 37-year-old, a local elected politican for the last three years, made it to the main draw after booking a place in the qualifying rounds of the 12-day tournament. Manalo is returning to the pool world after a hiatus of three years. RIGHT: A player tries to pot a ball.
Efren Reyes of the Philippines in action during his match against Jeong Young H of Korea. Reyes won 9-4. pictures by: Kammutty VP
Doha: Marlon Manalo and Efren Reyes, both of the Philippines, advanced to the round-of-64 stage of the World 9-Ball Pool Championship at Al Arabi Indoor Stadium here yesterday.
Both qualified from the losers bracket after losing one match in the group stage of the tournament.
Manalo defeated Sniegocki Mateusz of Poland 9–4, while Reyes, a former world champion, got past Jeong Young H of Korea by an identical score.
But another former world champion Francisco Bustamante of the Philippines was not so lucky. Bustamante, winner here in 2010, lost to Thorsten Hohmann of Germany 9-6.
On Monday, 32 players booked their spots into the round-of-64, which will begin today.
The 128 player field that began here on Saturday was already considered by many to be the strongest ever gathered for this event. The round-of-64 to the final will follow the single elimination with race to 11, while the final will be race to 13. The winner of the 2013 World 9-ball Championship receives $36,000. The runner up will pocket $18,000.
The losing semi-finalists will each get $10,000, while fifth to eight place winners will $6,000 each. The total prize money for the entire tournament is $250,000.
World No.1 Darren Appleton is the reigning champion. The Englishman pulled off a thrilling 13-12 victory over China’s Lee He Wen in last year’s final.
The Peninsula
