Kiamco faces Souquet; Bata plays Swede

Warren Kiamco and Efren "Bata" Reyes open the country’s bid against Ralf Souquet of Germany and Swede Marcus Chamat, respectively, at the start of the On-Cue! Europe vs Philippines 9-ball tournament Wednesday (July 2) at The Loop Center at the ABS-CBN compound in Quezon City.

Kiamco, ranked No. 10 in the latest WPA (World Pool Association) rankings, battles the fancied Souquet at 6 p.m., hoping to surprise the reigning European 8-ball champion and set the tone for the Filipinos’ campaign in the five-day tournament pitting four of Europe’s best pool players against the cream of the country’s crop.

Reyes, who put the country on the world pool stage when he won the 1999 world championship crown in Cardiff, Wales, takes on Chamat in the other encounter set at 7 p.m. with the amiable Filipino pool wizard heavily fancied to dispose of the Swede whose credentials include a third-place finish in last year’s World Pool Masters.

Antonio Lining, a SEA Games gold medallist, gets his chance to showcase his talent and skills next as he goes up against Mika Immonen, the talented Finnish cue artist who holds the top ranking in the WTA list, in the 8 p.m. game.

Francisco "Django" Bustamante anchors the host’s bid in the $33,000 event as he clashes with reigning Finland Open titlist Niels Feijen of The Netherlands at 9 p.m.

"Magagaling silang magpahulog pero kung sa dunong lang, di naman tayo nahuhuli," said Reyes, who after faring miserably in last year’s World Pool tilt, regained his winning ways this year by topping the Mid-Atlantic 9 Ball Championships in Virginia in January then routed Kiamco, 11-2, to win the $20,000 purse in the Asian 9-ball Tour.

"Siguradong balikatan ang laban dito," said Bustamante, who finished second while grieving on the death of his daughter in last year’s World Pool Championship won by American Earl Strickland.

The first two opening day games will be telecast live on Studio 23 while the other two will be aired on a delayed basis beginning at 10:30 p.m.

A top purse of $15,000 is up for grabs in the event, put up by ABS-CBN in cooperation with Puyat Sports, that will have the Filipinos playing against the

Europeans in a single-round robin, race-to-7 affair under the alternate break format.

The top two players from each team will then advance to the crossover semis with the No. 1 Filipino player clashing with Europe’s No. 2 and the top-ranking player from Europe tangling with the local bet’s second-ranked player in a pair of race-to-11 matches.

The championship will be a race-to-13 affair, also under the alternate break format, with the winner running away with the $15,000 purse. The second placer will get $10,000 while the third and fourth finishers will receive $5,000 and $3,000, respectively.

While the Europeans are expected to come into the tournament in tip-top form, the Filipinos said they are ready and in fact raring to display their wares before the local crowd.