Pagulayan Wins Magnificent 7 Title

Former world champion Alex Pagulayan out-steadied Joven Bustamante in their race to 100 finals showdown to rule the Magnificent 7 Winner-Take-All 9-Ball Invitational second qualifier Saturday night at the Bravio Sports and Resto Lounge in Mandaue City.

Pagulayan came back from a six-rack deficit at the start of the match to fashion out a 100-91 decision en route to pocketing the P300,000 top purse and booking a slot to the grand finals of this series organized by Hilton Professional Cues and Bravio Sports and Resto Lounge and supported by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines with Fundador, Cebu Rajah Hotel, Sunstar, and Monster Radio BT105 as sponsors.

“It feels good to win this tournament, especially when you’re up against a field with world-class players and a couple of young stars,” said the 28-year-old World Pool Championship titlist in 2004, who also won the World Pool Masters last month.

“This victory also kind of boosted my confidence, which I need coming back here in the next couple of weeks for the Manny Villar Cup, which is my next target,” added Pagulayan.

Pagulayan and Bustamante made it to the finals after emerging as the top two players with the most number of racks won after the round-robin elimination. Bustamante, who won all his matches, came in with a 78-rack aggregate, while Pagulayan had 72, despite losing two matches.

But after Bustamante won the opening rack of the championship round, it was all Pagulayan show, as he took advantage of the former’s inconsistent break, while holding for his own to take away the fight and become the second winner of this one-of-a-kind event after former Asian Games gold medalist Gandy Valle.

The tournament is the second of a series of winner-take-all competitions leading up to the grand finals slated in December.

It also serves as the preview to the First Senate President Manny Villar Cup Cebu Leg, the biggest pool tournament to be held in the Queen City of the South, on June 20 to 22.

Besides Pagulayan, Bustamante and Valle, the others who competed in this three-day tournament were 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, Cebuano rising stars Marvin Gentapa and JJ Kid, and Mike Hilton.

Final Names added to 2008 World Pool Masters Line-up

The final names have been added to the players’ roster for the forthcoming 2008 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters which takes place at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from May 9 to May 11.

Filipino superstars Francisco Bustamante and Alex Pagulayan have confirmed their attendance as well as top-rated Europeans Ralf Souquet (Germany) and Niels Feijen of Holland.

With 16 players in the field competing for a $62,000 prize fund, event promoters Matchroom Sport believe they have assembled the strongest line-up yet in the 16 year history of the event.

“With four World 9 Ball Champions, six US Open Champions and a host of other title-holders in the field, I believe that this will be the toughest ever World Pool Masters,” said Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn.

“With winner breaks, race to eight matches on the toughest equipment it will take a series of fantastic performances over the three days to lift this prestigious trophy,” he added.

Other recent confirmations include 2001 US Open Champion Corey Deuel and a quartet of stars recently qualified from the Euro Tour.

They are the latest English 9 Ball sensation Mark Gray, Germany’s dangerous Christian Reimering, up-and-coming Italian player Bruno Muratore and 2006 Mosconi Cup player Imran Majid (England).

World Junior Champion, the 18 year-old Ko Pin-Yi of Taiwan cemented his credentials to a Masters spot at the weekend by coming from 14-4 down to beat Dennis Orcollo 15-14 and lift the Brunswick Thailand 9 Ball Open.

Elsewhere, 2003 Masters Champion Tony Drago won the Paris Open at the weekend, his first Euro Tour title, after three losing finals.

2008 World Pool Masters Field:

Daryl Peach (England)
Thomas Engert (Germany)
Mika Immonen (Finland)
Tony Drago (Malta)
Shane Van Boening (USA)
Rodney Morris (USA)
Francisco Bustamante (Philippines)
Alex Pagulayan (Philippines)
Ko Pin-ye (Chinese Taipei)
Niels Feijen (Netherlands)
Ralf Souquet (Germany)
Corey Deuel (USA)
Mark Gray (England)
Christian Reimering (Germany)
Bruno Moratore (Italy)
Imran Majid (England)

2008 Partypoker.net World Pool Masters Announced

The 2008 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters will be heading to Las Vegas for the first time. A total of 16 of the finest players from around the world will be competing in the event, which will be staged at The Riviera Hotel and Casino from May 9 to May 11.

2007 champion Thomas Engert from Germany will be back to defend his title and will be joined by a host of big names from the sport. Other players confirmed include 2007 World Pool Champion Daryl Peach (England), 2001 World Champion Mika Immonen (Finland), 2007 Mosconi Cup players Tony Drago (Malta), Shane Van Boening and Rodney Morris (both USA) and 2007 World Junior Champion Ko Pin-yi (Chinese Taipei).

Francisco Bustamante and Alex Pagulayan (both Philippines) have also been invited while the leading four players on the Euro Tour rankings after the Paris Open later this month will also qualify with the other players to be announced shortly.

The PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters is now in its 16th year and has grown into one of the biggest and most prestigious Pool competitions in the sport's calendar. This year it will be hosted by the BCA National 8-Ball Championships with the opening matches on Friday, May 9 with the final on Sunday, May 11.

Matchroom Sport spokesman said: "It's fantastic that the event is coming to the USA for the first time. "I'm sure there will be big crowds, lots of excitement and drama and will be a great competition.

"The invite list is taking shape and, through our agreement with the WPA, we take the top four ranked players on the Euro Tour after their next event which finishes on the 24th of this month."

As always, the World Pool Masters will be televised throughout the world in 15 one-hour highlights programmes. There will be a $62,000 prize fund with the winner collecting $20,000.

Tickets will be made available in March on the Playbca.com website, and if any are left, at the Championships. The BCAPL, in conjunction with the Riviera, is working on a seating plan that will accommodate a few hundred spectators.

BCAPL's Mark Griffin added: "Our players love professional action. This is the first time the Masters has been held on U.S. soil and we are honored Matchroom has chosen us.

"It's been a tradition to entertain the thousands of BCA Pool League members who travel the globe to compete in our National 8-Ball Championships. This year will be no different."

Road to Becoming World Champion Ends for Martel and Pagulayan

Alain Martel and Alex Pagulayan were not able to crack the top 16 at the World 9-ball Championship however we are very proud of their accomplishment, way to go guys! French Canadian Alain Martel continues to have great success in this event, his top 16 finish will guarantee him a spot to play next year. In the closer of the two eliminations Martel watched Finlands Mika Immonen run out on him to an 11-8 victory.

Alex Pagulayan was representing the Philippines at this years event. His duel citizenship allows him to represent either country, as you probably remember it was our flag he was playing under in 2004 when he won this top prize in pool!! No matter who Alex is representing he has the respect and support of his fans and friends in Canada, he is our man no matter how he finishes!!

Alex drew a tough match in the last 16 and had to play fellow countryman and friend Francisco Bustamante. This match was one of few mistakes but Bustamante took advantage of a successful break and ran rack after rack as Alex was left in his chair watching the score grow farther apart. Bustamante took the match and after a classy Pagulayan said "I'm not disappointed, I played a guy that I predicted would win the tournament and I lost to the right guy."

World Pool Championships Down to the Single Knock Out Stage

It's been a tough 5 days in the Philippines as half the field at the 2007 World 9-Ball Championships will have to try to earn a trip back to compete next year as they have been eliminated from this years event. This was the case for Canadians Tyler Edey, Ronnie Wiseman, John Morra and Edwin Montal as they did not get past the group stage.

Our hopes are with Alain Martel who is no stranger to top finishes in this event and Pilipino Canadian Alex Pagulayan who in 2004 was on top of the World earning this title!!

Keep an eye on the World Pool Championship official site for up to the minute match results!

Two great things are going on this year.

First you can bet all the matches at StanJames.com, good luck to everyone hope you pick nothing but winners!

Second you can watch the event online for free! Just download the SopCast player below and install it. When you run it the easiest way to get to the pool is by clicking on ESPN under the channel list tab. You will have to wait a minute for the channel to come in. I'm not sure what time this event is on but I would think it starts late in the day and goes through the night, there is a 12 hour time difference.

Alex Pagulayan

Personal Background

• Name: Alejandro Salvador Pagulayan
• Also Known as: Alex Pagulayan, "The Lion" and "The Killer Pixie"
• Sex: Male
• Age: 29 Years Old
• Date of Birth: Born 1978
• Place of Birth: Cabagan, Isabela, Philippines
• Country: Philippines-Canada
• Nationality: Filipino-Canadian
• Spouse: na
• Hobbies: Playing Pool, Poker, Chess and Basketball
• Sports: Billiards

Achievements:

• 2007 World Summit of Pool
• 2006 Philippine National Championship
• 2005 Philippines Snooker Team Gold Medal, SEA Games
• 2005 US Open Nine-ball Championship
• 2005 Derby City Classic Ten-ball Ring Game Champion
• 2005 SML Entertainment Nine-ball Champion
• 2004 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
• 2003 Joss Tour Grand Final Winner
• 2003 Carolinas Open Nine-ball Division, Goldsboro, North Carolina
• 2003 IBC Western Canadian Open
• 2002 World Pool Trickshot Champion

Trivia:

Early days

• Pagulayan's parents emigrated to Canada when he was 15 years old. His father managed a pool hall, so Pagulayan's exposure to the game came early. Though he was attracted to others sports, he thought his stature may not have been right. "I like a lot of sports, but with pool, you don't have to be physically tough. His main hotspot was the pool call "Loma's".

Professional career

• Pagulayan also has expertise in the pocket billiards game of snooker, and his capabilities enabled his Philippines team to win the Snooker Gold Medal at the 2005 SEA Games (held in Manila, Philippines) with teammates Joven Alba and Leonardo Andam. After the team's 3–2 win against Thailand at the Makati Coliseum, Pagulayan emerged as a triple Gold Medalist.

• Very skilled players in nine-ball have the tendency to sometimes pocket four or even five balls on the break. Pagulayan in the first rack of the semi-finals in the 2004 BCA Open, sank six balls on the break, two-thirds of the entire rack. (But note that Rodolfo Luat also performed a similar feat in a Japanese tournament.) Pagulayan's break did not include the 9 ball, and despite the six ball advantage, he lost that game (to fellow countryman Santos Sambajon).

• In 2002, Pagulayan made it to finals of the US Open Nine-ball Championship, but was defeated by Ralf Souquet, 11–13. Three years later, he got another shot for the US Open Nine-ball Championship title and won it, defeating Jose Parica in the finals, 11–6.

• In 2003, Pagulayan went on the road in the United States with Canadian pool player Ronnie Wiseman to compete in pocket billiard tournaments. They both scored a double victory at the Carolinas Open at Fast Eddie's in Goldsboro, North Carolina, with Wiseman winning the one-pocket tournament and Pagulayan winning the nine-ball event. Later in 2003, Pagulayan reached the finals of the World Nine-ball Championship. Unfortunately, he was bested by Thorsten Hohmann 10-17.

• In 2004 in Taipei, Taiwan, Pagulayan captured the prestigous World Pool Championship title, representing Canada. The score was a 17–13 victory over Pei-wei Chang in the finals.
• In 2006, Pagulayan won the first national championship of the Billiards and Snooker Congress of Philippines (BSCP), besting Gandy Valle in the finals and earning P1,000,000 (US$20,639).

• Not many pool players in the Philippines excel at or even play straight pool. For a number of years, Efren Reyes was the only Filipino player known to have made runs of 100 or more. However, at an demonstration match at the 2006 Derby City Classic in Kentucky, Pagulayan made a high run of 130, the second-highest of the event. This makes him the second Filipino player known to have run 100 balls in straight pool in controlled competition.

• In 2007, won the World Summit of Pool nine-ball championship held at the Riviera Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. American Shane Van Boening defeated Pagulayan earlier in the event, 11–4, but the veteran Pagulayan came back from the losing bracket of the double-elimination tournament chart by beating fellow countrymen Francisco Bustamante and Warren Kiamco, only to face Van Boening in the final round. The semi-finals as well as the final matches were recorded by ESPN for future broadcast, and the final match between Pagulayan and Van Boening was a race to 7. Pagulayan shot out with a strong lead, 4–1, but Van Boening managed to tie the score at 5–5. However, after Pagulayan three-fouled him, resulting in a loss of game for Van Boening, Pagulayan advanced forward and captured the title in the final game, ending the match at 7–5.
  

Personal life

• Despite his 2004 relocation to the Philippines, Pagulayan still officially has a mailing address in Canada. In March 2007, when asked where he resides in a Pool Billiards News interview, Pagulayan jokingly replied, "My suitcase. Yes. That's where I live right now – out of my suitcase!"

• Aside from pool, Alex also plays poker, chess and basketball.

World Pool Championships Starts Today

So it's that time of year again and several Canadians are over in the Philippines trying to be crowned World 9-Ball Champion. Alex Pagulayan, Brady Gollan, Alain Martel, Edwin Montal, Tyler Edey, Ronnie Wiseman and John Morra join 121 other players from around the world in competition this week. Good luck to all our friends!!

Two great things are going on this year.

First you can bet matches on StanJames.com, good luck to everyone hope you pick nothing but winners!

Second you can watch the event online for free! Just download the SopCast player below and install it. When you run it the easiest way to get to the pool is by clicking on ESPN under the channel list tab. You will have to wait a minute for the channel to come in. I'm not sure what time this event is on but I would think it starts late in the day and goes through the night, there is a 12 hour time difference.