Bustamante, Gallego in quarterfinal duel

BACOLOD CITY—Joven Bustamante started hot and held fort on Friday, forging a quarterfinals duel with local favorite Ramil Gallego in the First Senate President Manny Villar Cup Bacolod leg at the Garden Royal function hall of Goldenfields Commercial Complex here.

The 29-year-old Bustamante zoomed to a 9-0 lead before dumping Elmer Haya, 11-5, while Gallego pocketed six straight racks en route to a similar 11-5 thumping of Japanese Kenji Taguchi in the $37,750-event presented by Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng RP sports.

Sustaining the form that carried him past former World Cup of Pool titlist Fu Jianbo of China in the first round, Bustamante cleaned up the first four racks and was never threatened by Haya, a homegrown talent.

“It was a good start as I ran out the first four racks and it was the key,” said Bustamante, a member of the star-studded Bugsy Promotions of businessman Perry Mariano, in Filipino.

Fired up by the gallery, Gallego, who hails from Fortunetown of this progressive city, built a 9-2 lead to send Taguchi packing home.

Gallego, a frequent campaigner in Japan, thus moved three steps closer to duplicating his win in the Bulacan leg of the series organized by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines.

For reaching the last eight, Bustamante and Gallego assured themselves of at least $1,000 each in the four-day competition.

In late matches Thursday, former double world champion Ronnie Alcano squeaked past unheralded Noel Caro, 11-9, to avoid the fate that befell current world No. 1 Dennis Orcollo.

Unable to sink the shots that mattered, Orcollo yielded to Rodolfo Luat, 11-7, joining former world champion Alex Pagulayan and Davao leg titlist Robert Gomez at the exits.

The 33-year-old Alcano is slated to face Luat in a late quarterfinal match yesterday.

Other first round results saw Francisco “Django” Bustamante rout lone female entry Rubilen Amit, 11-3; Cebu leg champion Gandy Valle down Alabang leg champion Warren Kiamco, 11-7; Lee Van Corteza subdue Chinese Wang Ming, 11-9; Michael Feliciano beat Japanese Kenichi Uchigaki, 11-7; John Rebong thwart Carlo Biado, 11-7; and Ronnie Aying repulse Janno Mazon, 11-6.

Efren “Bata” Reyes was tangling with 16-year-old sensation Johann Chua at presstime.

‘Biggies’ in Villar Cup

Expect an even more exciting and more competitive pool action as the First Senate President Manny Villar Cup goes international for its fifth leg slated from November 13 to 16 at the Garden Royal Function Hall of Goldenfields Commercial Complex in Bacolod City.

After four highly successful stops, where the cream of the country’s billiards’ crop battled for supremacy, the island-hopping series, presented by Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports, has opened its door for some of the world’s top cue artists.

“We want to make this tournament even more competitive, more challenging to our top players, while giving our young players the experience of playing in the international level,” said Senate President Manny Villar during the press launch Wednesday at the Bacolod Goldenfields’ Garden Royal.

“This is part of my commitment of helping sports, especially those where we Filipinos can excel in and dominate, like billiards,” added Villar, now considered as the biggest benefactor of Philippine billiards.

Former World Cup of Pool titlist Fu Jianbo of China leads the visiting forces, who will mix it up with 24 local bets for the coveted title and the $15,000 top prize at stake in this four-day event, organized by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines in cooperation with the city government of Bacolod, led by Mayor Evelio Leonardia, and the Negros Billiards Stable of businessman Jonathan Sy and sponsored by Camella Communities.

Besides Fu, the other foreign entries in this tournament, also dubbed as “the Bacolod International VILLARDS Festival,” are former Asian Games gold medalist Satoshi Kawabata of Japan and Christian Johannessen of Norway, among others.

“Mas mabigat nga ang laban ngayon, pero tingin ko kami-kami pa rin ang magkikita sa finals,” said pool icon Efren “Bata” Reyes, reprising one of his famous lines.

Reyes will once again lead the local charge, along with fellow former world champions Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, reigning world No. 1 Dennis Orcollo, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Lee Van Corteza and previous Villar Cup leg winners Kiamco (Alabang), Gandy Valle (Cebu), Ramil Gallego (Bulacan) and Roberto Gomez (Davao).

Also in the 32-man field are Carlo Biado and Ricky Zerna. The rest of the slot will be filled through wild-card entries and a series of qualifying tournaments slated from November 8 to 11 at the Celebrity Billiards and Bar in Bacolod City.

Besides the international invitational division, there will also be the Executive Class and Amateur divisions for both men and women, where almost half-a-million pesos cash prize is at stake.

Bustamante, Alcano stay unscathed

Filipinos Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Ronnie Alcano posted their fifth consecutive victories Thursday to stay in the winners’ bracket in the 33rd Annual US Open 9-Ball Championship at the Chesapeake Convention Center in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Bustamante of Puyat Sports overwhelmed Oscar Dominguez, 11-1, while Alcano of Bugsy Promotions outlasted compatriot Lee Van Corteza, 11-9, as they stayed unscathed in the star-studded event that offers a total cash purse of $250,000.

Corteza made amends by getting the better of Germany’s reigning world eight-ball champion Ralf Souquet, 11-8, in the losers’ bracket to enter the tournament’s last 16.

United States-based Jose “Amang” Parica later pulled the rug from under defending champion Shane Van Boening of the US, 11-10, to join Bustamante, Alcano, and five others in the tightening circle of unbeaten players from the original field of 238.

Counting the eight remnants in the one-loss bracket, only 16 players stayed in contention heading into the final two days of the race for the $40,000 champion’s purse.

Joining Alcano, Bustamante and Parica in the winners’ side are former world champions Mika Immonen, Johnny Archer and Thorsten Hohmann, as well as reigning world 9-ball titlist Darryl Peach and World Cup of Pool co-champion Rodney Morris.

Immonen blasted Shawn Putnam, 11-1; Archer downed Brandon Shuff, 11-5; Hohmann routed Petri Makkonen, 11-2; Peach outsmarted Raj Hundal, 11-8; and Morris trounced Adam Smith, 11-4.

The unfriendly draw, however, has Alcano and Bustamante going up against each other in the next round. Parica will meet Immonen, Archer battles Peach and Hohmann collided with Morris.

Warren Kiamco scored five wins in the losers’ bracket to stay in the hunt.

Eight Billiard Players Return for U.S. Open including Bustamante

Only eight players are still alive at the 33rd Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, held this week in Chesapeake, VA.

Friday’s elimination rounds began with Lee Van Corteza sending 22-year-old Oscar Dominguez home 11-6, while fellow countryman Warren Kiamco ousted Tony Chohan 11-3. Also, Donnie Mills continued his winning ways, eliminating Canada’s Tyler Edey 11-8, with Corey “Cash Money” Deuel defeating Larry Nevel 11-7.

The 1 p.m. round featured winners’-bracket matches. Reigning 9-ball champion Daryl Peach went up against Johnny Archer in one of the event’s lengthiest matches, 4 hours and 40 minutes. It was close throughout, going to 9-all. Peach almost scratched on the break, but Archer cleared that table to take the hill. Archer jumped the cue ball off the table on his next break, but Peach hooked himself on the 4 ball and was forced to jump, almost making the 9. With only five balls left on the table, Archer cleared the table easily for the 11-9 win.

Rodney Morris had a tight match against Thorsten Hohmann. The score went all the way to 10-9 in Morris’ favor when he scratched on the break and screamed. Hohmann cleared to make it hill-hill and then engaged Morris in a lengthy safety battle on the 1 ball. Finally Hohmann left Morris a shot, and Morris jacked up and fired in the 1 ball to clear the remainder of the balls for the 11-10 win.

Mika Immonen grabbed an early lead in his match against Jose Parica and never relinquished it, winning 11-8. In the last winners’-side match, Francisco Bustamante never seemed to show up in his match against Ronnie Alcano. At one point he was down 9-4 but managed to take two racks before Alcano won their match 11-6.

In the 3 p.m. elimination rounds, Corey Deuel demonstrated serious prowess over Francisco Bustamante. Though Bustamante had few errors, they were important ones, while Deuel didn’t always make his position but made some excellent shots to win 11-7.

Hohmann finally ended Donnie Mills’ run at the title after defeating him 11-9, while Corteza sent fellow Filipino Parica home 11-5. Additionally, Kiamco dealt Peach an 11-3 defeat in their elimination match.

In the evening rounds, winners’-bracket matches will be Johnny Archer versus Mika Immonen, and Rodney Morris versus Ronnie Alcano. In the one-loss side, Thorsten Hohmann will play Corey Deuel, while Warren Kiamco plays Lee Van Corteza.

Bustamante Busts Appleton

The winners’-bracket matches kicked off the evening session of the 33rd Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, leaving 16 players undefeated to return Thursday evening.

Recently crowned 10-ball champion Darren “Dynamite” Appleton was sent west by crowd favorite Francisco Bustamante after their winners’-bracket match. Appleton took the first two racks but lost a safety battle in the third game, giving Bustamante the momentum to forge ahead 5-2. Put to the test, Appleton tied up the score at 5 apiece. They traded the next few racks to make it 7-6 in Bustamante’s favor, and then “Django” pocketed the 2-9 combo. A miss by Appleton on an easy 1 ball in the next rack made it 9-6 Bustamante. Rattled, Appleton did not win another game, and Bustamante won 11-6.

A slow start did not bode well for Shannon Daulton in his match against Filipino phenom Lee Van Corteza. In the first rack Daulton missed hitting a very tough 9 ball by a hair, and from there it was a slow grind, with no player having more than a two-rack lead. Finally the score reached 10-9 in Corteza’s favor after he played a 2-9 combo to reach the hill, and Corteza swept the last rack as well to win the match.

A strong opening bid of 5-0 for Josh Lewis led to surprising results in his match against the 22-year-old Oscar Dominguez. Dominguez took advantage of Lewis’ empty breaks to bring the score to 6-3 and then knot the score at 8-all. Finally it seesawed to double-hill, at which point Lewis missed the 1 ball, which was hanging in the corner. Dominguez had an easy run through the 7 ball but was left with a tricky shot on the 8, but he hit it perfectly and won the match 11-10.

Former U.S. Open champion Jeremy “Double J” Jones was sent to the left side after his match against Sam Monday. Down throughout the match, at 9-7, Jones snookered himself on the 3 ball to hand that game to Monday, who then broke and ran out the final rack, winning 11-7.

Virginia State champion Eric Moore played in the one-loss side Wednesday against Florida’s Hunter Lombardo and came out ahead. Moore suffered a second-round loss to Larry Nevel 11-3 and has been making a comeback from the west side, defeating Rick Hamlin 11-2. His match against Lombardo was one-sided—Moore had a 10-1 lead before Lombardo put three more racks under his belt. At 10-4, Lombardo missed a thin cut on the 2 ball, and Moore cleared for the win.

Orcollo-Bustamante nails WC semis slot

Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Dennis Orcollo overwhelmed dark horse Japan, 9-2, Saturday to advance to the semifinals of the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool at the Outland Nightclub in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The veteran Filipino pair, teaming up for the first time, proved just too powerful for the Japanese pair of Doha Asian Games gold medalist Satoshi Kawabata and Naoyuki Oi.

They now need two more wins to rule the $250,000 event.

The second-seeded RP team was slated to face the sixth-ranked United States pair of former world 10-ball titlist Shane van Boening and Rodney Morris Sunday night for a final slot.

The Americans advanced after nipping Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan and Martin Kempter, 9-7, in their quarterfinal encounter.

The other Final Four match pits defending champion China against No. 5 England.

The Chinese pair of Fu Jianbo and Li Hewen demolished No. 9 Italy (Fabio Petroni and Bruno Muratore), 9-2, while the English tandem of reigning world 9-ball champion Darryl Peach and Mark Gray upended the fourth-seeded German pair of Ralf Souquet and Thomas Engert, 9-7.

The semifinal winners will advance to the race-to-11 title duel, also slated Sunday (Monday, 1 a.m. Manila time). The winning team will receive $60,000.

Just as in their previous wins over Denmark (8-2) in the opening round and Russia (8-3) in the Last 16, Bustamante and Orcollo needed just a couple of racks to get into the groove.

The Filipinos surrendered the lag and the first rack to the Japanese but won the next three to seize the lead.

After the Japanese won the fifth frame, Bustamante of Puyat Sports and Orcollo of Bugsy Promotions swept the next six racks to clinch the win and surpass the country’s quarterfinal finish here last year.

It’s the first time the Philippines will meet the US in this event since 2006, when Bustamante and Efren “Bata” Reyes trounced Morris and former two-time world 9-ball king Earl Strickland, 13-5, in the finals of the event’s inaugural edition in Newport Centre, Wales.

Bustamante, Orcollo test Danish duo

Team Villards-Philippines’ Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Dennis Orcollo hope to duck the upset storm that already claimed a couple of high-seeded teams right in the opening day as they take on an unheralded pair from Denmark on Thursday to open their bid in the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool in Rotterdam, Holland.

The Filipino duo, seeded second in the field of 32, collides with the tandem of No. 31 seeds Martin Larsen and Kasper Kristoffersen in the last scheduled match of the opening round of this $250,000 tournament.

“The field is very tough, and that any team can beat the others,” assessed Bustamante. “That’s why we need to come up with our best right from the start of the match to avoid the upset, just like what happened to those two teams.”

Bustamante was referring to the fate suffered by one of the host country’s squad and last year’s runner-up Finland, which succumbed to their lower-ranked opponents.

The No. 3 seed Holland A of world No. 2 Niels Feijen and Nick van den Berg lost to No. 30 Belgium of little-known Noel Bruynooghe and Serge Das, 8-3.

The No. 8 Finland pair, made up of former world champion Mika Immonen and Markus Juva dropped an 8-4 decision to the Korean duo of Jeong Young-hwa and Kim Woong-dae.

“A race-to-eight match is very short, so you need to have a strong start,” said world No. 1 Orcollo. “ Hangga’t maari nga ‘wag mo nang patirahin yung kalaban, dahil baka pag binigay mo ‘yung mesa hindi ka na makabalik (If it’s possible, you should not let your opponents get to the table because you might not have the chance to get it back).”

The campaign of Orcollo and Bustamante is supported by Senate President Manny Villar and the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP).

Other opening round matches saw defending champion and top seed China hold off No. 32 India, 8-6; No. 5 England, led by reigning world 9-ball titlist Darryl Peach, beat Malta, 8-4; No. 9 Italy blast Peru, 8-4; and No. 16 Switzerland prevail over Hong Kong, 8-5.

A team needs to win five straight matches to become the third holder of the World Cup of Pool crown.

Bustamante and Efren “Bata” Reyes topped the inaugural edition in Newport Centre, Wales two years ago over USA’s Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris, 13-5. They lost to China in last year’s quarterfinals, 6-9.

China’s Li He-wen and Fu Jian-bo nipped Finland’s Mika Immonen and Markus Juva, 11-10, for the title last year, also in Holland.

Bustamante and Abraham Co-Champions at Blaze Stop

One Shot Billiards hosted Blaze 9 Ball Tour Sunday August 31, 2008.  A strong field came out player’s like Francisco Bustamante, Matt Krah, Eddie Abraham, and  Mike Fingers to name a few.

Leading the top half of the bracket was Matt Krah with wins over Ben Sadowski 7-4, Jose Burgos 7-0, and Noel Bensurto 7-2.  Leading  the bottom half of the bracket was Francisco Bustamante with wins over Mike Seas 7-2, Eddie Abraham 7-4  Playing for the hot seat was Mat Krah Vs Francisco Bustamante this was a great match that went to the hill when it was all said and done it was Francisco Bustamante winning the match 7-6 and sending Matt Krah to the one lost side.  Waiting for Matt Krah on the one lost side was Eddie Abraham, this too was a great match that went to the hill but it was Eddie Abraham with the win 7-6.

Playing in the finals was Eddie Abraham Vs Francisco Bustamante  both players are co-champions of the tournament.

ACKDO Supports QC Vs The World Grand Billiards Showdown

The QC-Philippines vs the World Grand Billiards Showdown received another boost with the Association of Clubs, Karaoke and Disco Operators (ACKDO) throwing its all-out support to the much-anticipated event slated December 2 to 4 at the Trinoma Mall in Quezon City .

With promoting Quezon City as the country’s sports tourism capital, ACKDO did not think twice in backing the project when approached by its chief proponent, City Council Majority Floor Leader Ariel Inton.

“We are very happy to be part of this big event. Entertainment is one of the premier tourist attractions here in Quezon City, so we in the industry are giving our all-out support to this project, which in more than one way will also benefit us,” said ACKDO secretary-general Amil Yap.

ACKDO has been supporting a number of sports events, including the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP)'s Search for the New Billiards Idol series.

Also known as the “City of Stars ”, Quezon City boasts of having the biggest and liveliest entertainment spots in the country.

Already home to major television broadcasting networks, including giants ABS-CBN and GMA-7, Quezon City also houses dozens of restaurants, bars, night clubs, massage parlors, KTVs and the likes.

Pool icon Efren “Bata” Reyes banners the eight-man Team Q.C.-Philippines, which will pit prowess against a selection of topnotch cue artists from other countries in this three-day competition supported by the Quezon City Government led by Mayor Sonny Belmonte, QC Tourism Council headed by chairman Raffy Chico, and BMPAP with Solar Sports, RPN and the Philippine Star as media partners.

Besides Reyes, the other members of the Team QC Philippines are fellow former world champions Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, reigning world no.1 Dennis Orcollo, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, Lee Van Corteza and Warren Kiamco.

They will go up against a foreign team also led by three former world titlists in Chia-Ching Wu of Chinese-Taipei, Mika Immonen of Finland and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany. The other players of Team World are 2006 Asian Games gold medalist Satoshi Kawabata of Japan , Ching-Shun Yang of Chinese-Taipei, and Charlie William and Rodney Morris of the United States and another top European player.

They will compete for the $40,000 winner purse.

Bustamante on QC-RP faces The World

Billiards superstars Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante will banner the Philippines’ charge against a selection of top foreign cue artists in the 9-Ball Grand Billiards Showdown Quezon City will host from Dec. 2 to 4 at the Trinoma Mall.

Reyes and Bustamante will lead an eight-man squad against eight equally-talented foreign pool masters in a team tournament where the winning group gets the ,000 (R1,800,000) cash prize.

Reyes and Bustamante will be joined by Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, reigning world no.1 Dennis Orcollo, 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, Lee Van Corteza and Warren Kiamco in the dream billiards match dubbed as Quezon City-Philippines vs the World.

"This event will not only showcase the talents our players but promote Quezon City as sports hub of the Philippines," said event organizer and QC Councilor Ariel Inton during yesterday’s formal launching of the tournament at the Mario’s Restaurant in Tomas Morato.

The three-day event, which is a joint project of Inton, Quezon City Sports Tourism Council led by Raffy Chico and Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) headed by Perry Mariano, is aimed at promoting the Quezon City as the billiards destination of the world.

Except for Bustamante, all members of Team Philippines were on hand to display their solid ground against their equally competitive opponents who will be coming to town in the next few months.

The foreign invasion will be spearheaded by Finish Mika Immonem, German Thorsten Hohmann and former European No. 1 Russian Konstantin Stepanov.

Also joining the foreign squad are Americans Charlie Williams and Rodney Morris, Taiwanese Yung Ching Shunand Wu Chia Ching and 2006 Asian Games gold medalist Japanese Sotoshi Kawabata.

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte and Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista were also in attendance to add glitter to the star-studded gathering which saw the formal unveiling of the logo of the tournament.

"I’m honored to meet our world champions and some of them pa nga ay legendary na tulad in Efren," said Belmonte, who also signed a Memorandum of Agreement that formally accepted the city’s hosting of the event.

"Dito sa Quezon City, tanggap na tanggap ang billiards dahil dito mismo nakatira ang mga billiard players natin," said Belmonte, boasting that reigning World No. 1 Orcullo was a recipient of last year’s Outstanding QC Citizen award.

"Unstoppable ang Quezon City at ang billiards. Hindi na mapi-pigilan ang pag-unlad. We hope to make our city the sports capital," Belmonte said.

For his part, Bautista cited the honor and pride the billiards players bring to the country and even thanked Reyes for his exploits in the past that made the country known to the world of billiards.

BMPAP co-founder Jonathan Sy, BMPAP president Atty. Vic Rodriguez, Solar Sports Vice president for Marketing Jude Torcuato, Quezon City Councilors Toto Medalla and Vincent Belmonte, members of the Quezon City Chamber of Commerce, heads of the Quezon City-Red Cross Chapter were also present.

Django routed in New Jersey straight-pool finals

Francisco “Django" Bustamante lost to Neils Feijen of The Netherlands, 200-11, in the championship round of the World 14.1 Straight Pool Championships held Saturday in East Brunswick, New Jersey.

Feijen stormed to an 80-0 lead and never looked back to win $14,000. Bustamante settled for the runner-up purse worth $6,000 (P277,740).

To reach the finals, Bustamante defeated Danny Harriman of the US 200-137, Huidji See of The Netherlands 200-141 and Jasmin Ouschan of Austria 200-148 in that order.

The object of straight pool, also called the 14.1 game, is to pocket as many balls as possible to reach the required number of points. One ball is equivalent to one point.

Final Four Set at Straight Pool Championships including Bustamante

The final four are set at the Predator Straight Pool Championships at the Hilton Hotel in East Brunswick, NJ. Niels Feijen will join Nick Van Den Berg, while the Philippines’ Francisco Bustamante and Jasmin Ouschan meet in a final single-elimination round of play on Saturday to determine the champion.

Bustamante was the first to make his way to the final four with an early evening 200-41 victory over Huidj See. The remaining matches played out simultaneously, with Feijen facing USA’s John Schmidt, Thorsten Hohmann versus Nick Van Den Berg and Jasmin Ouschan, continuing an unlikely streak of victories, playing the number-one-seed Oliver Ortmann.

Ahead by two balls at 184-182, Schmidt allowed a moment of pique to cost him the victory, not to mention some cold hard cash. After missing a shot that he presumed signaled victory for his opponent, Schmidt swept his stick across the table and conceded the match to Feijen. Van den Berg was next. He and Hohmann were rarely more than 20 or so balls apart until the score hovered in the area of the 120s, when Van den Berg took repeated command of the racks and finished it at 200-126.

World Straight Pool Final Sixteen

Phase two is complete at the Predator World Straight Pool Championship and the field has now been narrowed to just sixteen players.

The rest of the event is single elimination and all prior losses have been forgiven.

At the time of this writing, Oliver Ortmann had already defeated Thomas Engert 200-42 and was comfortably awaiting the winner between Mika Immonen and Jasmin Ouschan.

Other matches for today are Huidji See vs Corey Deuel, Danny Harriman vs Francisco Bustamante, Ignacio Chavez vs Niels Feijen, John Schmidt vs Mike Dechaine, Ralf Souquet vs Thorsten Hohmann and Nick Van Den Berg vs Dominic Jentsch.

Bustamante first Tickets Punched to Final 16

For any player who lost the first match in the bracket stage of the Predator World 14.1 Championship, the format is not single elimination — as was first reported.

The field of 32 is currently drawn on a double-elimination bracket. The event will then go to a knockout format once 16 players remain — eight from the winners side, eight from the one-loss side.

As play resumes on Friday, three players have already moved into the round of 16. Corey Deuel easily advanced with wins over Steve Lipsky, 150-3, and Raj Hundal, 150-104.

Thorsten Hohmann and Mika Immonen, two of a handful of European favorites, also won their first two matches in bracket play.

Nick Van den Berg and Niels Feijen, who remained unbeaten through group play, stand just one win away from advancing. And Oliver Ortmann will square off against Mike Dechaine, with the winner moving into the 16-player field.

The biggest surprise in the 32-player bracket has to be the early departure of Johnny Archer. After going 7-0 in the round-robin stage, Archer was sent to the one-loss side by Raj Hundal, 150-89, then sent packing by Lipsky, 150-141.
American hopefuls Mike Sigel, John Schmidt, Allen Hopkins are still alive on the one-loss side, while Danny Harriman faces Francisco Bustamante on the right side.

Django advances to last 32

Lone Filipino entry Francisco “Django” Bustamante kept pace with the titans of world billiards with an impressive, 100-67 win yesterday over reigning World 8-ball champion Ralf “Kaiser” Souquet of Germany in the World 14.1 Straight Pool Championships at the Hilton East Brunswick, in New Jersey, USA.

The former world No. 1 Bustamante, playing under the banner of Puyat Sports, had already secured his spot in the last 32 because of the win alongside former World Pool champions Johnny “The Scorpion” Archer of the US and Mika “The Iceman” Immonen of Finland.

The undefeated trio have already racked up five wins. Archer stunned compatriot Steve Lipsky, 100-24, in Bracket 8 while Immonen routed Mike Davis of the US, 100-52, in Bracket 7.

Bustamante, who is fresh from winning the Blaze 9-Ball Tour Stop worth $3,053 last August 23 to 24 at the Skyline billiards in Brooklyn, New York, also defeated Americans Tony Robles, 100-39 and Carmen Lambardo, 100-79, Vincent Facquet of France, 100-43, and Martin Kempter of Austria, 100-2, in Bracket 5 in the event hosted and organized by the Dragon Promotions of Charlie “The Korean Dragon” Williams.

Bustamante's remaining assignments are against Dan Wallace and Jonathan Smith of the United States in the group stage.

Other top cue artists playing the event include former World Straight Pool champion Allen Hopkins and Mike Sigel of the USA, Nick Van Den Berg and Neils “The Terminator” Feijen of the Netherlands, Thorsten “The Hitman” Hohmann and Oliver “Machine” Ortmann of Germany, Radoslaw Babica of Poland, Konstantin Stepanov of Russia, Alan Rolon of Puerto Rico and world women's No. 1 Jasmin Ouschan of Austria.

Django joins World Pool tourney in New Jersey

Francisco “Django” Bustamante will be shooting it out with the world’s best cue masters as they compete at the 2008 World Straight Pool Championship (14.1) in East Brunswick, New Jersey.

A report posted on AZBilliards.com said Bustamante was among those in the alternate list to replace some of the top names in the tournament. Other placers in the list are Ignacio Chavez of Mexico, Alan Rolon of Puerto Rico, and

Carmen Lombardo, Earl Herring and John Rousseau of the US. The hard-breaking “Django” is the lone Filipino in the 64-man line up for the tournament which runs from Aug. 25-30, 2008. It will be his international debut in 14.1.

Dragon Promotions which handles the event described Bustamante as a superb cue artist that established himself on a level even higher than just a top pro player in the eyes of some of today's best players.

"If you could pick four top pros that stand head and shoulders above the rest, Bustamante would be in that mix," said India representative Raj Hundal, currently ranked number 5 on the US Pro Rankings.

"I play a little bit of straight pool in Germany awhile ago, but this is my first time in a big tournament," said Bustamante, former world number 1. "But I think I can play a little still."

Bustamante is listed in Group 5, which includes German Ralf Souquet was runner-up in the 2006 World 9-Ball Championship in Manila.

Among the top names competing in the five-day tournament are Niels Feijen of Netherlands, Mika Immonen of Finland and Johnny Archer of the US.

Bustamante wins NYC Championship

The Blaze 9 Ball Tour hosted the 3rd Annual NYC Championships, held at Skyline Billiards in Brooklyn, New York. Special thanks to Sammy Wu and Robert Pole for hosting the event.

A strong field of 61 players came out to play, including notable players like: Francisco Bustamante, Johnny Archer, Manny Chau, Mika Immonen, Mike Davis, Ignacio Chavez, Shaun Wilkie, Eddie Abraham, Matt Krah, Mike Dechaine and Alan Rolon.

Leading the top half of the bracket was Mika Immonen with wins over Alex Gilvarg 9-1, Ray Lee 9-0, Mhet Vergara 9-2, Francisco Bustamante 9-7, and Mike Davis 9-7. Leading the bottom half of the bracket was Manny Chau with wins over Ariel Rivera 9-1, Kevin Coyle 9-3, Mike Fingers 9-1, Mike Dechaine 9-5, and Ignacio Chavez 9-3.

Playing for the hot seat was Manny Chau vs Mika Immonen. This was a great match with Manny Chau winning the match easily 9-5, sending Mika Immonen to the one loss side. Waiting for Mika Immonen on the one loss side was Francisco Bustamante. This was a one way match with Francisco Bustamante winning easily 7-1 to get to the finals.

In the finals it was Francisco Bustamante vs Manny Chau. This was one race to 9 and it was all Bustamante taking control of the match from the start and winning easily 9-4.

Django opens bid in Straight Pool

Francisco “Django” Bustamante hopes to live up to his lofty billing as one of the world’s top billiards player when he competes Wednesday, in the World 14.1 Straight Pool Championships in Hilton East Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.

Fresh from a third place finish in the inaugural Million Dollar 9-Ball held recently in Pennsylvania, Bustamante - playing under the banner of Puyat Sports - is bunched in Group 5 in the company of reigning world 8-ball champion Ralf “Kaiser” Souquet of Germany, Martin Kempter of Austria, Vincent Facquet of France, Tony Robles, Dan Wallace, Carmen Lombardo and Jonathan Smith of the United States.

“If you could pick four top pros that stand head and shoulders above the rest, (Django) Bustamante would be in that mix,” commented Raj Hundal in the official website yesterday. Hundal is currently ranked No. 5 in the US Pro Rankings and he is representing India in the event.

“I play a little bit of straight pool in Germany, but this is my first time in a big tournament,” said 2002 World Pool Championships runner-up Bustamante who will be making his international debut in the 14.1. “But I think I can play a little still,” he says with a smile.

Other renowned cue artists set to play were former World Straight Pool champion Allen Hopkins and Johnny “The Scorpion” Archer of the host country, Neils “The Terminator” Feijen of the Netherlands, Thorsten “The Hitman” Hohmann, Thomas “The Lean Machine” Engert and Oliver “Machine” Ortmann of Germany, Mika “The Iceman” Immonen of Finland, Radoslaw Babica of Poland, and world women's No. 1 player Jasmin Ouschan of Austria, among others.

Bustamante, Immonen, and Archer Win Opening 14.1 Rounds

Three days of preliminary round robin play launched the $25,000-added, 2008 Predator Straight Pool Championships in East Brunswick, NJ, August 25. Eight groups of eight players, featuring competitors from all over the world, squared off to play two or three opening rounds of play (depending on match progress within the groups) at the Hilton Hotel.

The Philippines’ Francisco Bustamante started his tournament bid with a 100-79 victory over Carmen Lombardo and then handed Tony “The Silent Assassin” Robles his first defeat of the tournament 100-39. Germany’s Ralf Souquet (#12), in that same group, defeated Austria’s Martin Kempter (#5) 100-64 in his opening match.

Finland’s Mika Immonen (#7) started off in grand style, allowing two opponents to sink only 39 balls between them. He defeated USA’s Bobby Hunter 100-9 in a match that saw Immonen sink 86 in a row, and then defeated Mark Ritter 100-30.

Fresh off his Turning Stone Classic win, Johnny Archer started his tournament off with two victories, as well, defeating Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan 100-36 and then Netherland’s Mohammed Hakim 100-68. Though Thorsten Hohmann (#2) defeated tournament founder Charlie Williams 100-68 to start his tournament off on a positive note, Williams rebounded to win his next two against Jonathan Fulcher 100-66 and Devon Cataldi 100-31.

Recent Hall of Fame inductee Allen Hopkins, seeded #16, handed defending champion Oliver Ortmann an early defeat 100-60 and followed it with an even stronger showing versus fellow American, Bernie Pettipiece 100-18. Within that same grouping, USA’s Mike Dechaine defeated Korea’s Yu Ram Cha 100-35 and followed it with a 100-41 victory over countryman Bill Maropolous.

High run of the day honors went to USA’s Corey Deuel in a 100-54 victory over Earl Herring. Deuel had been defeated by Nick Van Den Berg 100-30 in the opening round of play and watched as Herring broke and ran 54 balls in the opening moments of their match. Deuel stepped to the table and ran 100 balls to win the match.

Other double winners in the opening rounds of play included the Netherlands’ Niels Feijen (#13), who ran 91 balls in a 100-41 victory over USA’s Danny Harriman (#4), and followed that with a 100-33 victory over Bob Maidhof. Shaun Wilkie defeated Dominic Jentsch 100-76 and turned in a commanding 100-8 performance against Dan Heidrich. Germany’s Thomas Engert (#6) opened his tournament bid with a 100-52 victory over Raj Hundal (#11). The Netherlands’ Huidji See (#3) fell to USA’s John Schmidt 100-85 before rebounding to defeat John Rousseau 100-19.

Bustamante Headlines Alternates at Predator World 14.1 Championship

Five players have emerged from the shadows of the alternate list to replace some of the top names in The Predator World 14.1 Straight Pool Championship. The event is being held at the Hilton East Brunswick, NJ from Aug 25-30,2008. A few of the top names that had run into challenges making the event included Dennis Hatch, George SanSouci, and Stevie Moore.

The players joining play will be Francisco Bustamante (PHI), Ignacio Chavez (MEX), Alan Rolon (PUR), Carmen Lombardo (USA), John Rousseau (USA), and Earl Herring (USA).

Philippines has sent their lone soldier, but it’s a good one. Francisco Bustamante will be making his international debut in 14.1 . Bustamante has for the past decade established himself on a level even higher than just a top pro player in the eyes of some of today’s best players.

“If you could pick four top pros that stand head and shoulders above the rest, Bustamante would be in that mix.” noted Raj Hundal, currently ranked #5 on the US Pro Rankings and representing India in the event. “I play a little bit of straight pool in Germany awhile ago, but this is my first time in a big tournament.” commented Bustamante, former #1 in the world. “But I think I can play a little still.” he says with a smile.

One historic note is the participation of throw back player Earl Herring. Herring will be the first African American player to play in the World 14.1 Championship in over twenty years, and the first in the new millennium since Dragon Promotions has revived the World 14.1 . Herring played in his last World Straight Pool in 1977, which Allen Hopkins would win. Herring placed 4th in the 1976 event.

“Earl is a legend in his home parts of New York. In his younger days they said he ran 100’s all the time, and he has a ton of fans coming down to support him. He has been practicing for months for this event, so I’m so glad he got in even at the last minute.” said Tony Robles, one of the hometown favorites to win this year.

At the players meeting, Herring was greeted with many handshakes from old friends and an embrace from Allen Hopkins who remembered Earl well from that era. “Earl has played against names such as Irving Crane, Luther Lassiter, Joe Balsis, Cicero Murphy and more. He is a living link to an era long gone. It’s amazing to have him in this event.” said Charlie Williams, co-producer of the event.

Latin America will have additional representatives in Mexico’s Ignacio Chavez and Puerto Rico’s Alan Rolon. Chavez is a well known money player who is feared throughout the US circuit, while Rolon is one of the best players to come out of Latin America. John Rousseau was one of the fortunate alternates who had played in the Arizona Qualifier and was actually on hand in person at the event when the spot opened. Carmen Lombardo, a regular on the Joss Northeast Tour, also got in.

Fans and players can still reserve rooms at Hilton East Brunswick at 1-732-828-2000
The room code for the event is “POL” There are still limited amount of rooms available.
Tickets can be purchased in advanced at Dragonpromotions.com or in person at Amsterdam Billiards in NYC or Comet Billiards in NJ.

The 2008 Predator World Straight Pool Championship is proudly sponsored by Dr.Michael Fedak of NYC, Joel Schapiro of NYC, The Predator Group, Diamond Billiard Products, Aramith Balls, and Simonis Cloth. For more information on player registration, sponsorship, or if you would like to submit a comment, please email worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or contact Dragon Promotions at 1-407-782-4978.

2008 Predator World 14.1 Championship Group Pairings

East Brunswick, New Jersey-  Dragon Promotions announces the official group pairings for the 2008 Predator World Straight Pool Championship. The round robin stage will be held Aug 25-27, with the field narrowed to 32 in the double elimination stage races to 150 on Aug 28, and the last sixteen playing race to 200 points on Aug 29-30.

There may be last minute changes and substitutions in the schedule and the event if a player is not able to attend.
Official Group Pairings of the 2008 Predator World 14.1 Championship. Round Robin Races to 100 Points.

Group 1

Oliver Ortmann  GER
Allen Hopkins USA
Yu Ram Cha KOR
Mike Dechaine USA
Bernie Pettipiece USA
Bob Chamberlain USA
Bill Maropolous USA
Peter Burrows USA

Group 2

Thorsten Hohmann  GER
Mike Sigel USA
Jonathan Fulcher  SCO 
Charlie Williams USA
Stevie Moore USA
Jim Gottier USA
Devon Cataldi USA
Allan Cornia USA

Group 3

Huidji See NED
John Schmidt USA 
Dominic Jentsch GER
Shaun Wilkie USA
Mark Vidal SPN
Jimmy Mendoza  USA
Dan Heidrich USA USA
David Daya USA

Group 4

Danny Harriman USA
Niels Feijen  NED
Danny Barouty USA
Gerda Hofstatter AUT
Bob Maidhof USA
Chris Lynch USA
Mark Snodgrass USA
Stefan Cohen FRA

Group 5

Martin Kempter AUT
Ralf Souquet GER
Tony Robles USA
Francisco Bustamante PHI
Vincent Facquet FRA
Dan Wallace USA
Dennis Hatch USA
Jonathan Smith USA

Group 6

Thomas Engert GER
Raj Hundal  IND
Corey Deuel USA
Nick Van Denberg NED
Sebastian Staab GER
Liz Ford USA
Tom Parisian USA
Shin Young Park KOR

Group 7

Mika Immonen FIN
Bobby Hunter USA
Konstantin Stepanov RUS
Mike Davis USA
Ed Deska USA
Mark Ritter USA
Michael Yednak USA
Bob M. Cozzolino USA

Group 8

Johnny Archer USA
Jasmin Ouschan AUT
Radoslaw Babica POL
Tony Rodriguez  USA 
Calvin Coker USA
Mohammed Hakim NED 
Steve Lipsky USA
Steve Lillis USA

Fans and players can still reserve rooms at Hilton East Brunswick at 1-732-828-2000. The room code for the event is "POL"    There are still limited amount of rooms available. Tickets can be purchased in advanced at www.dragonpromotions.com or in person at the event, or at Amsterdam Billiards in NYC or Comet Billiards in NJ.

The 2008 Predator World Straight Pool Championship is proudly sponsored by Dr.Michael Fedak of NYC, Joel Schapiro of NYC, The Predator Group, Diamond Billiard Products, Aramith Balls, and Simonis Cloth. For more information on player registration, sponsorship, or if you would like to submit a comment, please email, worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or contact Dragon Promotions at 1-407-782-4978.

Orcollo, Django team up for World Cup of Pool tilt

World No. 1 Dennis “Robocop” Orcollo and Francisco “Django” Bustamante will seek to surpass the Philippines’ quarterfinal finish last year, when they compete in the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool which gets underway on October 7 to 12 at the Outland Nightclub in Rotterdam, Holland.

Orcollo and Bustamante, will represent the second-seeded Team Philippines. They will play in the last first round match against Denmark's Martin Larsen and Kasper Kristoffersen. It shall be recalled that Bustamante teamed up with pool maestro Efren “Bata” Reyes in reaching the quarters last year where they lost to eventual champion Li He-wen and Fu Jian-bo of China.

Li and Fu, the tournament’s top seed, will open their title-retention bid against India's Sumit Talwar and Alok Kumar. Reyes dubbed as the Magician in the world of pool and Bustamante, beat the US team of Earl “The Pearl” Strickland and Rodney “The Rocket” Morris in the 2006 finals held in Newport, South Wales, England to bag the tournament’s inaugural championship trophy.

The USA pair of Morris and American No. 1 Shane “The South Dakota Kid” Van Boening will meet newcomers Iceland bannered by Bjorgvin Hallgrimsson and Kristjan Helgason. The host country, on the other hand, will parade the pair of Nick van den Berg and Niels “The Terminator” Feijen, ranked fifth and sixth respectively in Europe. They will open against the Belgian duo of Serge Das and Noel Bruynooghe.

The World Cup of Pool is a Scotch doubles event, which features 32 two-player teams from around the world. The World Cup of Pool will be produced by Matchroom Sport into 31 1-hour highlights program which will be seen on stations throughout the world. The format calls for each player pair to alternate shooting in every inning until they miss or finish a rack.

Prizes for this year will remain the same: a total purse of $250,000 with $30,000 going to each member of the winning team. First round losers are guaranteed $1,500/player.

Bustamante still red-hot in Turning Stone Classic

Former world No. 1 Francisco "Django" Bustamante racked up huge wins in the winner's bracket to stay in the hunt for a title in the 2008 Turning Stone Classic XI 9-Ball Tournament at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York, USA on Sunday.

Bustamante, playing under the banner of Puyat Sports, dumped Americans Chris Szuter, 9-2, in the fourth and Dennis Hatch, 9-5, in the fifth.

But Filipino legend Jose "Amang" Parica and Mhet Vergara were not as fortunate as they dropped their respective matches in the loser's bracket to get ousted in the $25,000 total pot prize, double-elimination tournament.

The West Covina, California resident Parica, acknowledge leader of the Filipino invasion in the US pool circuit in the mid 80s, bowed to American Shawn Putnam, 9-6, while the New York-based Vergara yielded to Mexican warrior Oscar Dominguez, 9-4.

Parica earlier lost to reigning US Open 9-Ball Champion Shane "The South Dakota Kid" Van Boening, 9-0, in the fourth round of the winner's bracket. Vergara dropped his opening match against Bulgarian Ivaylo Petrov, 9-5.

The 2002 World Pool Championship runner-up Bustamante, who is fresh from a third place finish in the Million Dollar 9-ball shootout, will face UK's pride Raj Hundal in the next round.

Hundal won over Greg Antonakos, 9-4, and Ronnie Wiseman, 9-4, in order. Other noted players who remained in the win column were Charlie "The Korean Dragon" Williams, Shaun Wilkie and Jeremy Jones.

Django maintains hot start in NY 9-ball tourney

Former world no. 1 Francisco "Django" Bustamante of the Philippines extended his winning run in the 2008 Turning Stone Classic XI 9-Ball Tournament Saturday at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York on.

Bustamante defeated Chris Szuter, 9-2, in the fourth round and Dennis Hatch, 9-5, in his next match in the $25,000 (P1.13-million) tournament.

Bustamante will next face Englishman Raj Hundal.

Philippine pool legend Jose "Amang" Parica was not as lucky after he bowed to American Shawn Putnam, 9-6, in the one-loss side to exit the tournament.

Parica was sent to the loser’s’ bracket after absorbing a 9-0 defeat at the hands of American top pool player Shane Boening.

Another US-based Filipino player Mhet Vergara was also ousted after he absorbed a 9-4 defeat in the hands of Mexican Oscar Dominguez.

Vergara was relegated to the loser’s bracket after bowing in his opening match against Bulgarian Ivaylo Petrov, 9-5.

Pool Players Welcome NBL

The soon-to-be-launched National Billiards League (NBL) has received an overwhelming support from the local pool community, particularly the players who are all excited to begin what they call “the new era of Philippine billiards.”

“We’re all very happy with this development as we know that having this professional league will really lift (Philippine) billiards to new heights, and this will be the start of a new era of Philippine billiards,” said former world champion Alex Pagulayan.

After finding a television partner – Solar Sports – that would broadcast the games for the league’s inaugural season, NBL’s main proponents Philippine billiards godfather Aristeo “Putch” Puyat and fellow managers Perry Mariano and Jonathan Sy are now negotiating with several companies for sponsorship to the teams to be formed.

Last Saturday, they met with the players from the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) to formally inform them of the development and invite them to join the league. They also introduced the newly-appointed NBL commissioner in businessman Martin Misa.

“We’re formally inviting you to join the NBL, a dream that we all share for a long time, which is now coming into reality,” said Puyat during the gathering attended by the country top cue artists, led by Efren “Bata” Reyes, as well as the sport’s up-and-coming stars.

“NBL will be exclusive for you BMPAP members, who have been with us in our crusade to put out sport in the right direction,” added Puyat.

The NBL is slated to start late this year with eight teams of six players each in the fold.

Meanwhile, the players present in the meeting reiterated their stand of not joining any event “that has anything to do with Mr. Yen Makabenta” and his Raya Sports, including the planned World 10-Ball Championship, until all the issues that caused them to break away from the groups affiliated with him are resolved.

“The main reason why BMPAP bolted away from the groups affiliated with Mr. Makabenta is because of his dual role as chairman of the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) and President of Raya Sports, which clearly constitutes conflict of interest,” the players said in a statement.

Besides Reyes and Pagulayan, also in the meeting were former double world champion Ronnie Alcano, 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, Warren Kiamco, Rodolfo Luat and Joven Bustamante, among others. Reigning world no.1 Dennis Orcollo and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, who are campaigning in the United States, sent their representatives.

They said that having nothing against BSCP and they are willing to reestablish their ties with the association “if all the issues are resolved.

Orcollo, Bustamante share 3rd in Million Dollar tilt

Filipino star Dennis Orcollo yielded to former world 10-ball champion American Shane Van Boening, 13-8, in the semifinals and settled for joint third place with Francisco “Django” Bustamante in The Million Dollar 9-Ball Shootout on Sunday at the Valle Forge Convention Center in Pennsylvania, USA.

The defeat denied Orcollo, currently the world’s top player, his fourth crown this year as he settled for the losing semifinalists purse of $10,000 (about P440,000) with Bustamante, who bowed to American Corey Deuel, 13-6, in the other match. Van Boening routed Deuel, 13-7, in the finals to rule the 12-man, five-day event and pocket the top prize of $20,000. Deuel took the $12,000 runner-up purse.

“The ball didn’t go my way,” said Orcollo,who had won the Quezon City 9-Ball Championship, the Japan Open and the Qatar International 9-Ball tilt earlier this year. “But I’m still happy because I played well overall in this event, which I hope I can carry into my next tournament,” added Orcollo, stalwart of the star-studded Bugsy Promotions of businessman Perry Mariano.

Orcollo’s next stop in his two-week US sojourn would be the International Challenge of Champions, a $50,000 winner-take-all event featuring eight of the world’s best players slated Aug. 14 and 15 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The 29-year-old Orcollo came into the knockout stage as the top seed, having won five of his six first round matches and accumulated the most number of racks won (93 out of 150) from among the 12 entries. But that didn’t give the pride of Bislig, Surigao del Sur, any advantage as the tournament shifted to a do-or-die format.

In the Challenge of Champions, Orcollo will pit skills with world No. 2 and defending champion Niels Feijen of the Netherlands, reigning world 9-ball king Darryl Peach of England, Van Boening, Fu Jianbo of China, Chang Jung-lin of Chinese-Taipei, Satoshi Kawabata of Japan and Seung Woo Ryu of Korea.

Orcollo, Bustamante fall in Pennsylvania 9-ball semis

Filipino cue artists Dennis Orcollo and Francisco “Django" Bustamante lost in their respective semifinal assignments and settled for joint third place in The Million Dollar 9-Ball Shootout set Sunday at the Valle Forge Convention Center in Pennsylvania.

World no.1 Orcollo lost in his bid to win a fourth title this year when he dropped a 13-8 decision to Shane Van Boening, while Bustamante fell to Corey Deuel 13-6.

The two Filipinos took home $10,000 (P445,000) each.

Orcollo’s next stop in his fortnight-long US sojourn will be the International Challenge of Champions, a $50,000 (P2.22-million) winner-take-all event featuring eight of the world’s best players.

The tournament is slated August 14 and 15 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.

In the Challenge of Champions, Orcollo will pit skills with a roster that includes world no.2 and defending champion Niels Feijen of the Netherlands and reigning world 9-ball king Darryl Peach of England.

Orcollo, Django advance to semis in Pennsylvania 9-bal tiff

World no.1 Dennis Orcollo of the Philippines won all but one of his first-round matches to advance to the knockout stage of the Million Dollar 9-Ball Shootout held in the weekend at the Valle Forge Convention Center in Pennsylvania.

Orcollo’s 93 won-game total put the Surigao-raised cue artist on top of the 12-man field vying for the $20,000 (P886,000) top prize.

Orcollo opened his campaign by demolishing Evan Broxmeyer 22-3 then followed it up with a 15-10 trouncing of Stevie Moore.

He lost a close 13-12 decision to former world champion Johnny Archer in the third session, but immediately rebounded by beating former US Open titlist Corey Deuel 15-10, countryman Francisco “Django" Bustamante 13-12 and Dennis Hatch 16-9 in that order.

Behind Orcollo were Deuel and Bustamante who finished with 86 wins (out of 150 games) each, while former world 10-ball champion Shane Van Boening rounded up the final four with 83 points.

The semifinal matches pit Orcollo and Van Boening, and Bustamante and Deuel in a race-to-13 affair with the winners moving up to the title showdown.

Orcollo has been on a roll recently, winning the Qatar 9-Ball Open and finishing runner-up in the Guinness 9-Ball Tour Singapore leg

Marlon Manalo of the Philippines narrowly missed the semifinals with 81 won games.

Bustamante lost his first two matches (against Van Boening 15-10 and Manalo 14-11) But the former world no.1 bounced back by annihilating Daryl Peach 18-7 and Archer 16-8 before he bowed to Orcollo.

He closed out the preliminaries with a 19-6 whipping of Tony Chohan.

Bustamante on Million Dollar Billiard Shootout Cut to Four

Allen Hopkins’ Million Dollar 9-Ball Shootout has cut 8 of its original 12 players, with the last 4 returning Sunday for the final rounds. This inaugural event is hosted by the Valley Forge Convention Center and will award its winner a $20,000 first-place prize Sunday.

Saturday was the final day for the players to fall into place and either advance to Sunday’s rounds or leave early. In the same format as the previous two days, there were two rounds, each consisting of 25-game matches. There were no major changes in the line-up, though, for the top four players after Saturday’s rounds were the same as after Friday’s: Dennis Orcollo, Corey Deuel, Francisco Bustamante, and Shane Van Boening.

While there were no real blow-outs in the first round Saturday, there were some extremely lopsided scores in the final round. Dennis Hatch, who up to the evening round seemed a strong contender to make it to Sunday’s rounds, only won 9 games against Orcollo. Equally, Tony Chohan, who took 15 games to Marlon Manalo’s 10 in the first round Saturday, only put together 6 games against another Filipino champion, Bustamante, in the second round.

Orcollo is still the games leader at this point with a grand total of 93 out of 150 games played. His break and run-out total is 32. Tied for second place are Deuel and Bustamante, both with 86 total games; however, Deuel leads in the run-outs with 34, compared to Bustamante’s 38. The player with the most break and run-outs is Van Boening, who has 38, though he has the lowest total games won of the top four with 83.

Matt Krah fared the worst in the evening round, only winning 4 games to Deuel’s 21, cementing Deuel’s advancement to Sunday. Krah’s total games won for the event amounted to 53, with 16 break and run-outs. Evan Broxmeyer eked out 5 racks against Manalo in the final round Saturday, bringing his total to 38 games with 3 break and run-outs.

Manalo ended the event only 2 racks behind Van Boening with 81, with Steve Moore and Hatch tied with 78 games. Daryl Peach notched one less, and Johnny Archer had 72. Sunday’s semifinals will be a race to 13 and will feature Orcollo versus Van Boening and Deuel versus Bustamante.

Francisco 'Django' Bustamante can't make it to the Davao leg

A Guaranteed total cash prize of P800,000 will be up for grabs in the star-studded First Senate President Manny Villar Cup 9-Ball Open Davao leg set August 21 to 23 at the Gaisano Mall of Davao Atrium.

Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) secretary-general Gandy Valle made the announcement during the Davao Sportswriters Association (DSA) Forum at the Tower Inn.

Valle, who guested with Davao Billiards Association (DBA) president Menlee Migellano, said the office of Senator Villar has yet to send a breakdown of the prizes, although he revealed that the champion will take home not less than P300,000. The runner-up and the next top players will also receive huge prizes.

Valle said they will also hold an inter-barangay competition on August 17 for all-Davao players and a qualifying tournament on August 18 and 19 at the NCCC Mall B3 Center. The qualifying tournament is open for those who want to earn a slot to the main event to be held at the Gaisano Mall.

Migellano said the inter-barangay champion will pocket P10,000 while the qualifying champion will bag P20,000 and book a slot in the Villar Cup Open along with the runner-up who will get P9,000. The qualifying third and fourth placers, meanwhile, will go home with P3,000 each.

Valle, a former Bangkok Asian Games doubles gold medallist, confirmed the participation of pool sharks Efren "Bata" Reyes, current World No. 1 Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan, reigning World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, Davao City's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games back-to-back medallist and New York champion Lee Vann Corteza and former two-time world pool champion Ronato Alcano, among other big names.

"Only Francisco 'Django' Bustamante can't make it to the Davao leg because he has a campaign abroad on the same schedule as our tournament here. The leg champions in Alabang, Cebu and Bulacan will also come and put up a stiff challenge," said Valle, who won the Cebu leg of the prestigious cuefest.

Valle downplayed his chances to winning the Davao leg title citing the huge cast of veterans entered in the knockout, race-to-nine, alternate-break format meet. "I'll just focus on my game," he said.

RP pool masters off to Qatar for 9-ball tournament

Manila, Philippines – Former World Pool champs Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex Pagulayan, and Ronnie Alcano will lead the Philippine contestants going to Doha for the 2008 Qatar 9-Ball Championship, which starts on Friday, June 27, at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation Hall.

The other contestants are current world no.1 Dennis Orcollo, former world no.1 Francisco "Django" Bustamante, 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, defending national champion Lee Van Corteza, veterans Warren Kiamco and Ramil Gallego, upcoming stars Joven Bustamante and Benjie Guevarra, and recent Villar Cup Cebu leg champ Gandy Valle.

The tournament offers total prizes worth $150,000, according to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP).

"I hope I could carry a momentum from my Villar Cup triumph," Valle said.

Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, Orcollo, and Corteza are all seeded to the main draw. But Valle, Pagulayan, Alcano, Gomez, Kiamco, Gallego, Guevarra, and Bustamante still need to earn their spots in the 96-person main draw through the two-day qualifying tilt starting on Friday.

Bustamante Eases Way Into Semis

Francisco Bustamante made his way into the semi-finals of the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters to set up an all-Filipino clash with Alex Pagulayan following an 8-4 win at the Riviera over England ’s Imran Majid.

Majid played well in patches but his luck deserted him at critical moments and Bustamante made enough quality run outs to keep himself ahead throughout.

“That was a great match and I played good in the beginning,” said Bustamante. “Majid got close and I was lucky when he scratched on the break at 5-4. That was a very big game for me. “I’ll try my best against Alex in the semi-final. I last played him in the World Championship in the Phil ippines last November when I beat him.”

The Filipino won the lag and completed a comfortable run out to take the early lead and with two balls off the break in the next, another clearance made it 2-0.

There were two more balls down from Bustamante’s next break but he scratched as he needed to force the cue ball to gain position off the yellow 1. Majid’s first visit to the table was with ball in hand but he missed an easy 8 ball into the corner pocket to gift the rack to Bustamante.

A fluked 3 ball from the Filipino set up another run out to take the score to 4-0 but he came up dry in the fifth game to give Majid his best chance.

He missed the 1 ball into the centre pocket though and Bustamante pocketed it with a precise bank shot. A bank on the blue 2 wobbled in the jaws and stayed out and Majid set about the table but a nudge on the cue ball made him lose position.

Majid’s snooker on the 7 ball forced Bustamante to reach for his jump stick and although he made contact, it fell nicely for Majid and he ran out to take his first rack of the match.

A dry break from Majid allowed Bustamante back to the table but he was forced to play safe. Majid though laid an excellent snooker and although his opponent escaped, it left the 1 ball on.

A positional error from Majid forced him to play safe and both players went back and forth with safeties. Bustamante made the first mistake which allowed Imran to clear to get the score back to 2-4.

The Filipino though won the next rack to move into a 5-2 lead and he made two balls off the next break to put himself in a good position. He missed a tough pot on the 1 ball though, and Majid ran the table to grab a rack back.

Yet another dry break resulted in Bustamante looking good for a run out but he inexplicably scratched into the side pocket with just three balls left on the table. The Englishman returned to the table and finished it off to reduce his deficit to a single rack.

Majid looked to have made a golden break but the cue ball scratched to deny him. With ball in hand, Bustamante ran out to go to 6-4.

He broke and ran the next to reach the hill at 7-4 and there was more of the same in what was the final rack of the game to seal an 8-4 win for Bustamante.

2008 World Pool Masters Site Starts Today

Matchroom Sport is delighted to announce that www.worldpoolmasters.com , the Official Online Home of the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters, is now live.

With the tournament being held for the first time ever in Las Vegas, the site will be your first port of call for news, player profiles, results, stories and pictures of what promises to be a hugely exciting event featuring some of the world’s top players.

Four World 9-ball Champions – Daryl Peach, Mika Immonen, Ralf Souquet, Alex Pagulayan – will be taking part in the event as well as some of the biggest names in the game, including Shane Van Boening, Francisco Bustamante, Niels Feijen and Corey Deuel.

All will be vying for the $20,000 top prize.

The World Pool Masters will be taking place at the Riviera Hotel and Casino from Thursday 9th to Sunday 11th May with afternoon and evening sessions daily, concluding with the final scheduled to commence around 9.15pm on Sunday evening.

www.worldpoolmasters.com will feature exclusive interviews with the stars who make up the field as well as comments and predictions from the big names of world pool.

Bookmark www.worldpoolmasters.com today for full details and information about the 16th annual running of one of pool’s most prestigious events.

Final Names added to 2008 World Pool Masters Line-up

The final names have been added to the players’ roster for the forthcoming 2008 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters which takes place at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from May 9 to May 11.

Filipino superstars Francisco Bustamante and Alex Pagulayan have confirmed their attendance as well as top-rated Europeans Ralf Souquet (Germany) and Niels Feijen of Holland.

With 16 players in the field competing for a $62,000 prize fund, event promoters Matchroom Sport believe they have assembled the strongest line-up yet in the 16 year history of the event.

“With four World 9 Ball Champions, six US Open Champions and a host of other title-holders in the field, I believe that this will be the toughest ever World Pool Masters,” said Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn.

“With winner breaks, race to eight matches on the toughest equipment it will take a series of fantastic performances over the three days to lift this prestigious trophy,” he added.

Other recent confirmations include 2001 US Open Champion Corey Deuel and a quartet of stars recently qualified from the Euro Tour.

They are the latest English 9 Ball sensation Mark Gray, Germany’s dangerous Christian Reimering, up-and-coming Italian player Bruno Muratore and 2006 Mosconi Cup player Imran Majid (England).

World Junior Champion, the 18 year-old Ko Pin-Yi of Taiwan cemented his credentials to a Masters spot at the weekend by coming from 14-4 down to beat Dennis Orcollo 15-14 and lift the Brunswick Thailand 9 Ball Open.

Elsewhere, 2003 Masters Champion Tony Drago won the Paris Open at the weekend, his first Euro Tour title, after three losing finals.

2008 World Pool Masters Field:

Daryl Peach (England)
Thomas Engert (Germany)
Mika Immonen (Finland)
Tony Drago (Malta)
Shane Van Boening (USA)
Rodney Morris (USA)
Francisco Bustamante (Philippines)
Alex Pagulayan (Philippines)
Ko Pin-ye (Chinese Taipei)
Niels Feijen (Netherlands)
Ralf Souquet (Germany)
Corey Deuel (USA)
Mark Gray (England)
Christian Reimering (Germany)
Bruno Moratore (Italy)
Imran Majid (England)

2008 Partypoker.net World Pool Masters Announced

The 2008 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters will be heading to Las Vegas for the first time. A total of 16 of the finest players from around the world will be competing in the event, which will be staged at The Riviera Hotel and Casino from May 9 to May 11.

2007 champion Thomas Engert from Germany will be back to defend his title and will be joined by a host of big names from the sport. Other players confirmed include 2007 World Pool Champion Daryl Peach (England), 2001 World Champion Mika Immonen (Finland), 2007 Mosconi Cup players Tony Drago (Malta), Shane Van Boening and Rodney Morris (both USA) and 2007 World Junior Champion Ko Pin-yi (Chinese Taipei).

Francisco Bustamante and Alex Pagulayan (both Philippines) have also been invited while the leading four players on the Euro Tour rankings after the Paris Open later this month will also qualify with the other players to be announced shortly.

The PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters is now in its 16th year and has grown into one of the biggest and most prestigious Pool competitions in the sport's calendar. This year it will be hosted by the BCA National 8-Ball Championships with the opening matches on Friday, May 9 with the final on Sunday, May 11.

Matchroom Sport spokesman said: "It's fantastic that the event is coming to the USA for the first time. "I'm sure there will be big crowds, lots of excitement and drama and will be a great competition.

"The invite list is taking shape and, through our agreement with the WPA, we take the top four ranked players on the Euro Tour after their next event which finishes on the 24th of this month."

As always, the World Pool Masters will be televised throughout the world in 15 one-hour highlights programmes. There will be a $62,000 prize fund with the winner collecting $20,000.

Tickets will be made available in March on the Playbca.com website, and if any are left, at the Championships. The BCAPL, in conjunction with the Riviera, is working on a seating plan that will accommodate a few hundred spectators.

BCAPL's Mark Griffin added: "Our players love professional action. This is the first time the Masters has been held on U.S. soil and we are honored Matchroom has chosen us.

"It's been a tradition to entertain the thousands of BCA Pool League members who travel the globe to compete in our National 8-Ball Championships. This year will be no different."

Bustamante Vs Dueul on IPT Challenge Match

Reports from the Derby City Classic state that Francisco Bustamante has secured the 2008 "All-Around" Championship. The IPT congratulates Mr. Bustamante on this prestigious accomplishment. The Derby City Classic is put on by Diamond Billiard Products, the makers of the official IPT Table.

On the 23rd of January, you will have the opportunity to see this great champion play live. The International Pool Tour presents "East vs. West," an IPT Challenge Match. Bustamante will face Corey Deuel, a top American Player. These two players have radically different playing styles, and they are going to clash live, on a free broadcast on the International Pool Tour web site. Meet the players here!

The live match will take place Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008 at 8pm (eastern). The game is 8-Ball, and the first player to win fifteen games takes the match. Viewers can watch the live stream absolutely free by being a Basic Member of the IPT web site. We suggest registering early so that viewers don't miss the beginning of the live broadcast. Registration is simple and takes just a minute. There are no costs to become a Basic Member- This show is just pure pool for anyone who wants to watch two famous champions represent their respective countries. Become a Basic Member Today- It's Free! Also, please share this free broadcast with friends, family, and colleagues by forwarding this email to them.

Bustamante vs Souquet for Derby 9-Ball

The finals of the Derby City Classic 9-Ball Division are now underway. Ralf Souquet will face Francisco Bustamante and Bustamante will face the task of defeating Souquet twice.

With three players left in the event, Bustamante drew a bye and Souquet had to play John Schmidt. Souquet won that match 7-6, but Schmidt had a buyback available and bought back into the event.

Bustamante had the luck of the draw again and drew the bye which forced Souquet to face Schmidt again. The score was 7-5 the second time, but it was still the same winner as Souquet eliminated Schmidt.

Souquet will now face Bustamante. Souquet has a buyback available, while Bustamante does not.

Bustamante has already locked up the all around award.

Francisco Bustamante at 4th Annual Hall of Fame Dinner

It was another full house for the 2008 One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner held Tuesday night during the middle of the action at the Derby City Classic in Louisville, Kentucky. With special guests with names like Reyes, Varner, Bustamante and Corr, and veterans of the road like Di Liberto, LeBron and Rood, the room was chock full of veteran players and fans of pool action. This was truly an occasion of great players being honored by their peers. Like One Pocket inductee Billy Incardona said, “To be honored among all these great champions is really something special.”

Co-Master of Ceremonies Grady Mathews and Freddy ‘The Beard’ Bentivegna led numerous other guest speakers in honoring each inductee in turn. Of course there were old road stories galore, and plenty of good-natured ribbing, but there were a few surprisingly touching stories as well. As much as these players have butted heads over the years, it is something special to see the genuine respect these guys have for each other when it comes time for Hall of Fame honors.

First up was this year’s Lifetime Pool in Action award that went to Jimmy Reid, the champion player who has been fighting a tough personal battle against esophageal cancer. Jimmy not only came to Louisville to receive his award, he valiantly entered all three divisions of the tournament, which is tough enough for those in good health to handle. When the banquet crowd was asked to “raise your hand if you’ve got Jimmy Reid stuck,” not a single hand went up in a room loaded with great players, past and present. The man is a definite fighter, with a very strong will to survive, and we all wish him the very best.

Turning our attention to the One Pocket inductees, Philadelphia’s Jimmy Fusco was honored, and good-naturedly harangued, as his cousin Pete Fusco and others described Jimmy’s unrestrained desire to tangle with the best, even if it meant going broke. Their entertaining narratives illustrated that to become the best, you have to compete against the best. Jimmy was clearly humbled to be considered one of the best, and in Freddy Bentivegna’s words, “One of the very select few that truly understand the right way to play the game.”

JoAnn (Jansco) McNeal graciously accepted induction for her father and uncle, the brothers George and Paulie Jansco, for their contribution to the legacy of the game as promoters. Between the Johnston City and Stardust tournaments, these two dressed up both the game and the players, got pool on TV, and into the history books for all time. Danny Di Liberto shared a few of his personal Johnston City stories, as he likened his own experience there to going to pool college – especially a college for pool gambling. In his rookie year at Johnston City, the veteran hustler Earl Schriver advised the young and admittedly square Di Liberto, “Kid, keep your mouth shut and your ears open and you’ll learn a lot.” It is hard to overestimate the significance of Johnston City to the legacy of ‘Pool in Action’, and the induction of George & Paulie Jansco is long overdue...

Freddie ‘The Beard’ introduced a dapper and dignified Billy Incardona, who clearly had a great time, equally ribbing his peers and basking in the recognition for an exemplary career as a great player, a savvy gambler, a wise and entertaining commentator, and a human being with a big heart. Player after player paid respects to Billy’s forty years of winning pool, and he’s not done yet, having been spotted several times in the action room at the Derby this year, with cue in hand and cash on the line. Pat Fleming spoke about the important role Billy played in turning Accustats from a statistical reporting concept for pool into the industry leader in pool videos.

Last, but not least, was the induction of banking legend Donny Anderson in the Legends of Bank Pool category. His long-time rival and fellow Hall of Fame member, Truman Hogue, joined ‘The Beard’ in introducing ‘The Cincinnati Kid’. For years and years Donny was a banking terror in a town that had some terrors. Truman acknowledged that he never could beat Donny, and hated competing against him all those years, until finally he became a fan himself, admitting, “I guess he beat me so much I began to like him.” Despite his physical frailty, Donny was determined to stand out of his wheel chair and be helped up to the podium, where he brought the evening to a rousing conclusion with a surprisingly strong voice.

Meanwhile, Ed Kelly, who has been unable to attend the annual HOF dinner since his 2005 election into the One Pocket Hall of Fame, was able to slip over to Louisville on the Sunday after the Derby City Classic ended to receive his belated induction. In a small private gathering of legends of pool action assembled by photographer Diana Hoppe, Grady Mathews surprised Kelly with his HOF plaque.