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.