Filipino pool players once relied mostly on money games. That is changing, and the Philippine Open is part of the transition.
The Philippine Open 9-Ball Championship is finally back on the calendar. Previous events with this moniker have been played before, but now is the first time the Sharks Billiard Association will be staging the event.
The first matches will take place on Monday, April 21, at Cue Hub along Visayas Avenue. The format is simple: single elimination 256-player bracket, race to 8 nine ball, winners break, nine on the spot. The semis and final, which will be longer races, with the final set at race-to 13. They will likely be contested on April 27 at the Sharks Arena. Every game will be on Rasson tables with Andy Cloth.
There is absolutely no seeding in this tournament. Two heavyweights might be drawn in the opening match, and there is nothing they can do about it: one of them will be eliminated.
As the name suggests, it is an open competition. Anyone, male, female, amateur, or pro, who was willing to pony up the PHP 3000 entry fee can participate.
The prize fund is PHP 1 million, with a remarkably large cut of that, PHP 400,000, going to the champ. The runner-up receives PHP 150,000. One suspects plenty of “savers,” or prize-cut agreements, might be quietly made once we get to the business end.
There is a non-exclusive broadcast agreement with PTV4, so other outlets might be airing the matches.
The name players to watch out for include Lee Vann Corteza, Anton Raga, Alexis Ferrer, Plongplong Pulpul, and Baseth Mocaibat. I don’t see any of the top Marboys players in the field, which is explained by the fact that Marboys is staging their own P1M pool tournament, the Marboys National Championship, from April 25 to 29. That means there is a two-day overlap.
Sharks CEO Hadley Mariano says he has no issues with Marboys; in fact, they also use the Rasson tables he distributes. We are hoping that, going forward, these big local pro tournaments can be scheduled a few days apart so that the top pros can join all of them.
There is also a World 10 Ball Championship qualifying tournament from April 25 to 29 in Hanoi, Vietnam, that Carlo Biado is playing in, and another event, the Baticulin Open in Indonesia, that has several top Filipinos entered, like Jeff De Luna and Kyle Amoroto. It will be done by the time you read this.
I guess the plethora of tournaments is a bit of a good problem to have for Filipino shooters.
At the Sharks press conference, the speakers mentioned a lot about how the Philippine Open will help team owners in the Sharks Billiards League scout talent for the next season. This is where entities like Sharks are slowly but surely changing the landscape of the Filipino professional shooter.
Money games were, and still are, a big part of the occupation for the Filipino billiards pro. But that world, whether we like it or not, also helps enforce the sport’s low-brow reputation.
Mariano definitely wants a shift in the paradigm for the pro pool player.
“My vision is for the players to be playing in SBA and getting salaries, that way, mawala yung tinatawag na ‘negative pressure’ sa players. Kasi when you have salaries, you are no longer playing to feed yourself, you are playing for the glory, the pride of the team, the pride of the city. We want to turn that ‘negative pressure’ into ‘positive pressure.’”
It goes without saying that having a salaried pool players means less reliance on the swings of money games and more steady income. It can also disincentivize players from making unethical choices when it comes to challenge matches.
This way, Filipino pool players can grow in stature in the greater sports community and be recognized for what they really are: elite athletes.
Tournaments like the Sharks Philippine Open are definitely part of the equation. These lucrative local competitions complement big events in Taiwan, Vietnam, and Indonesia that many Pinoy join because they are just a few hours’ flight away.
It is also noteworthy that some pro shooters are branching out into various pursuits apart from simply winning matches. As we have chronicled in the past, Rubilen Amit started her own league for women pool players. Raymund Faraon has branched out into teaching with his “Pharoah’s Billiard Academy” on Facebook. Alex Pagulayan has excellent pool content on his reels and currently has 117,000 followers on Facebook. Johann Chua is opening his BadKoi Billiards room, and Jeff De Luna did the same with his KissBall Billiards in Marikina last year. It is one of several businesses “The Bull” has gotten involved with.
The Filipino pool pro is evolving, and it’s great to see. Plongplong Pulpul says it best.
“Dati ang bilyar larong tambay lang, ngayon sport na talaga.”
Special thanks to the 77 Billiards Facebook page for their info. Follow the Sharks PH Open on the Sharks Billiard Association Facebook page. Banner image from Matchroom Pool on Facebook.