Ginamit ni Alex Pagulayan ang kanyang galing sa safety shots upang makawala sa mahigpit na laban at itakas ang 8-6 panalo laban kay American Rodney Morris at naging unang player na nakapasok sa semifinals ng 2008 World Pool Masters sa Riviera Convention Center sa Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sa tagumpay na ito ng 28-gulang na former world champion, dalawang panalo na lamang ang kanyang kailangan para maghari sa three-day event at sa $20,000 top purse.
Susunod niyang makakalaban ang mananalo sa quarterfinals match sa pagitan ng kababayang si Francisco ‘Django’ Bustamante at Englishman Imran Majid.
“I was nervous and a bit shaky but I think I played well under the conditions and tried really hard to focus,” ani Pagulayan, buhat sa Puyat Sports at miyembro ng Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP). “In the end I had a bit more luck than him. Out there, under the gun, the table played tough but race to eight, with the TV and crowd, everything is tough,” dagdag nito.
Naungusan ni Pagulayan si Mark Gray, 8-7, sa first round.
Nasa kontensiyon pa rin sina Taiwanese Ko Pinyi , Malta ’s Tony Drago, American Corey Deuel at former world champion Mike Immonen ng Finland.