Deuel outduels Bata in new tour

In a thrilling final match, American Corey Deuel defeated Efren Reyes to win the first stop on the newly formed International Billiard Council Tour in Nanki, Japan yesterday.

Both players seemed fated to see each other in finals of this best-of-three, races to five format event as they bulldozed through their matches seeming almost unbeatable. Reyes scored 2-0 wins over German Michael Schmidt, Japanese countrymen Manabu Mori and Masatumi Mochiduki, and Nick van de Berg from The Netherlands before finally losing a set to German Thorsten Hohmann in the semifinals.

Reyes would bounce back to win the next two sets over Hohmann 5-0 and 5-2 to set up the final match.