Billiards fans are looking forward to the 2024 World Cup of Poll after James Aranas and Johann Chua won the 2023 World Cup of Pool in Lugo, Spain. Aranas and Chua became the third Filipino pair to win this prestigious billiard tournament. It's also the fourth World Cup of Pool title for the Philippines, the most by any country. Filipino fans are looking forward to this year's edition, hoping it will be held in the Philippines. Robinsons Place Manila was the venue of the 2012 World Cup of Pool.
It was the last time that the Philippines hosted it. Mikka Immonen and Petri Makkonen of Finland won the tournament. They were disappointed at Matchroom's release of schedule for the remaining months of 2024. The World Cup of Pool isn't included in the schedule. Is it due to lack of sponsorships? Matchroom didn't release any statement. Yet. But the British sporting events promotion company announced a new tournament. Are you ready for the Reyes Cup?
The Reyes Cup is named after Efren "Bata" Reyes, one of the legendary figures in billiards. Reyes, nicknamed "The Magician", won the 1994 US Open Pool Championship, the 1999 World Pool Championships, and the 2004 WAPA World 8-Ball Championship. Reyes and Francisco Bustamante won the World Cup of Pool in 2006 and 2009.
He was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame in 2003. Reyes is arguably the best billiards player outside the US, if not the greatest billiards player. Ever. Matchroom's new billiards tournament is a fitting tribute to the Filipino cue artist, who inspired lots of young and upcoming Pinoy billiard players and turned the Philippines into the mecca of pool.
The Reyes Cup is patterned after the Mosconi Cup, a Ryder-Cup format that would pit the best European cue players against the best Asian billiard players. It should be an exciting matchup, as Europe and Asia have dominated the billiards tour these past years. Russian-born Fedor Gorst is the top-ranked player, but American players took a beating in the recent editions of the Mosconi Cup.
The top three European players and top three Asian players will be determined after the 2024 World Pool Championships in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2024 European Open Championship in Fulda, Germany, and the 2024 US Open Pool Championship in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. The two remaining players will be selected by the Team Asia captain and Team Europe captain respectively. The 2024 World Pool Championship concluded last month, and billiard betting fans were excited about the first two players who would play in Manila this October.
Eklent Kaci of Albania and Aloysius Yapp of Singapore were the top performers from Europe and Asia respectively after the conclusion of the 2024 World Pool Championship. Kaci, a native of Lac, Albania, is the two-time WPA World Ten-ball Championship while Yap won the 2023 International Open 9-Ball Championship in Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
"I'm thrilled to be part of the first-ever Reyes Cup. Competing at this level and representing Team Europe for the first time is an incredible honor, and I can't wait to showcase my talent at this prestigious tournament," Kaci said.
After maintaining his 10th position in the WNT rankings, Aloysius Yapp became the first player to join Team Asia.
"It's an amazing feeling to be selected for team Asia in the inaugural Reyes Cup. I'm excited to compete against the best and bring my best game to the table. This tournament is going to be something special," the Singaporean pool player said.
The 2024 European Open Championship will be held on August 6-11. The results can change the Team Europe standing. At this very moment, the Top 5 are:
The 2024 US Open Pool Championship will really shake the rankings up, as this major tournament isn't restricted to American billiard players. Billiard fans are more interested in Team Asia, though. At this very moment, the Top 5 are:
What about Carlos Biado? The native of La Union is the most decorated Filipino billiards player at the moment, He can qualify as a wildcard. The Asian team captain will decide the last two players.
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