Django gains early lead in world pool

Francisco "Django" Bustamante of the Philippines racked up two straight victories Friday for the early lead in the 888.com World Pool League event at the N.O.T Building in Central Warsaw.

Bustamante started his day with a 6-4 win over reigning champion Rodney Morris of Hawaii then followed it up with a similar 6-4 win over Steve Davis of England.

Morris scratched on the break at 2-2, allowing Bustamante to take the lead and he never relinquished it. Against Davis, the score was also tied at 2-2 before Bustamante took control and won the match.

Running second after the opening day of the round-robin eliminations was Niels "The Terminator" Niels Feijen who drew with Davis, 5-5, in the afternoon before beating Filipino World 9-Ball reigning champion Alex Pagulayan in the evening, 6-4.

The event continues on Saturday and Sunday (Sunday-Monday in Manila) with each player taking on the other five players in 10-game matches. After the round robin phase, the top four players will play a single elimination tournament with the champion receiving $20,000 of the $50,000 prize money.

Pagulayan, who still carries a Canadian passport, won his other match, 6-4, against European champion Thomas Engert who led, 3-1, but missed a relatively easy shot on the No. 4 with the score tied at 3-3.