Johann Chua is in the Philippines Open final. This morning he was 2–2 with Bernie Regalario, the 19-year-old who beat David Alcaide and Francisco Sánchez Ruiz on Friday, and then he won eight racks in a row to take the semi-final 10–2. Across the quarter-final and semi-final he has lost three racks. Mocaibat v Raga, the other semi-final, was still going as we published. In Belfast, Mark Williams made three centuries in a row to beat David Gilbert, and Jak Jones beat Scott Donaldson in a deciding frame just before midnight, so tonight's second Northern Ireland Open semi-final is Welsh against Welsh.
Quezon City — Chua runs away with it
Result from the World Nineball Tour's live scoring (via Rack 9), with detail from WNT's match updates:
- Johann Chua 10–2 Bernie Regalario: Regalario had the better of the start and made the 3–9 combination WNT highlighted early on. Chua won three racks in a row to go in front, and from 2–2 he didn't lose another rack. There was a golden break along the way. WNT said he was "much more methodical" than usual and called it "one of the finest performances he has ever produced on a major stage." Regalario leaves with $7,000 for his semi-final, and he beat a defending champion and the US Open champion to get there.
- Baseth Mocaibat v Anton Raga: Mocaibat won the opening rack, and it was level after four. When we last saw the WNT scoreboard, at about 7.45am our time, Mocaibat led 5–4. We'll leave it there and give you the result when we have it.
The final is scheduled for 6pm in Manila, which is 11am here. The winner gets $20,000 and the runner-up $10,000, per Rack 9. It will be an all-Filipino final, and at number 10, Chua is the highest of the four on the WNT prize-money list. None of the semi-finalists are in the Mosconi Cup race, so once the final is done, the World Nineball Tour should confirm the standings, and after that it's up to the captains to make their picks.
Belfast — Williams' three tons, and a late finish for Jones
Friday evening's quarter-finals (results per BBC Sport and WST, detail per Totally Snookered and TNT Sports):
- Mark Williams 6–4 David Gilbert: Gilbert led 3–1 at the interval and 4–2 after six frames. Then Williams made 104, 115 and 101 in consecutive frames to lead 5–4. A 68 did most of the work in the tenth. Gilbert scored 43 points in the last three frames, according to TNT Sports. Williams is 51, and this is his 71st ranking semi-final, per Totally Snookered. If he wins on Sunday, he breaks his own record as the oldest winner of a ranking event, gets the last place at next month's Champion of Champions and goes top of the Home Nations Series order of merit, where there's a £150,000 bonus.
- Jak Jones 6–5 Scott Donaldson: Donaldson made 54, 52 and 78, and Jones didn't make a fifty for most of the night but still got to 5–4. The tenth frame came down to the last colours. A snooker on the pink led to a long safety battle and fouls on both sides, and Donaldson potted the black for 5–5. In the decider, Donaldson went in first and rattled a red, and Jones cleared up with 84. Jones has already won the Championship League and the British Open this season.
Saturday's semi-finals (best of 11): Kyren Wilson v Sam Craigie at 1pm, then Williams v Jones at 7pm. Wilson and Williams have both won this title before, so they could meet in the final. The final is on Sunday, best of 17.
Gandia — Kokten comes back, and Portugal take two more golds
The European Seniors 10-ball finals were played on Friday night (per EPBF):
- Ladies: Sinem Kokten (Türkiye) beat Silvia Lopez Fibla (Spain) 5–4. She was 4–3 down with Lopez at the table, but the Spaniard missed, and Kokten made a bold table-length shot on the 10 to force the decider. She won it, and that's her fourth gold at the European Seniors. She had played two 8-ball matches that morning before the semi-final and final. "I was 4–3 down and thought 'it's finished'," she said. "I'm a fighter."
- 46-plus: Miguel Silva beat his Portuguese team-mate and defending champion Jorge Tinoco 7–2 for his third Seniors gold.
- 56-plus: Henrique Correia beat Manuel Pereira 7–5 in another all-Portuguese final. Correia was 2–0 and 3–2 behind, and it was 5–5 before he won the last two racks. He has now won the straight pool and the 10-ball this week. "10-ball is the game I really love to play," he said.
The bronzes went to Yvonne Ullmann-Hybler and Tiina Nakari (ladies), Anthony Brabin and Sami Karttunen (46-plus), and Bjorn-Erik Bergh and Geir Holmqvist (56-plus). The team events and 8-ball carry on today.
Goyang — LPBA semi-finals under way
Both NH Nonghyup Card LPBA semi-finals were scheduled for 2.30pm local time, which is 6.30am here. Kim Bo-mi plays Lee Seon-young and Lee Mi-rae plays Im Jung-sook. Kim Bo-mi has lost three LPBA finals and never won a title. Lee Seon-young, who turned pro through the 2024/25 tryouts, came from two sets down in her quarter-final (MK Billiard News). We didn't have results when we published. The final is on Sunday. The men's PBA event reaches the last 16 today, and the tie to watch is Kang Dong-koong v Cho Gun-hwi. Cho won this season's opening event, and Kang averaged 2.500 in his 3–0 win over Lütfi Çenet in the last 32. The men's final is on Monday.
Elsewhere
- Niche Cues Women's Open, Kuala Lumpur: Bai Yulu, last year's champion, started with a 2–0 win over Lau Sum Yi in the best-of-three group stage. Panchaya Channoi also won 2–0, and India's Shruthi L beat the 12th seed Cheung Yee Ting 2–0, according to the live scoring. Ng On Yee hadn't played yet.
- Q Tour Europe, Oberhausen: Ryan Davies beat Mark Davis 4–3 in round three last night, and Mark Joyce beat Nathan Jones 4–2. Milkins v Lines is expected at about 11am, and the winner plays Paul Deaville or Alexander Widau.
- Blackball Worlds, Heathrow: Malta's Men's B beat Ireland 15–10 and lost 14–11 to Morocco on day four, and their under-18s beat South Africa and Mexico (Times of Malta). The championships run until Wednesday 28 October, and the finals start at 3pm that day.
Where to watch / coming up (BST)
- Philippines Open final: about 11am, on WNT TV, the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel (one table) and One Sports in the Philippines.
- Northern Ireland Open: Wilson v Craigie at 1pm and Williams v Jones at 7pm. On TNT Sports, Eurosport, HBO Max and WST Play. The final is on Sunday at 1pm and 7pm. The clocks go back overnight, so Sunday's times are GMT.
- Niche Cues Women's Open: Mink Nutcharut v Candyce Leow at about 9am and Reanne Evans v Liu Weiyilu at about 10.30am. The WPBSA YouTube channel is streaming it.
- Ultimate Pool Masters, Telford: day two runs from 9am to 11.30pm, and the women's event starts today. Live on the Ultimate Pool Group's channels.
- European Seniors, Gandia: the team events and 8-ball are on the Pro Billiard TV YouTube channel. The 9-ball and team finals are on Tuesday, and the Euro Tour's Spanish Open starts on Thursday 29 October.
- PBA/LPBA, Goyang: on PBA TV and Billiards TV on YouTube.
Whoever wins the final this morning, the trophy stays in the Philippines. We'll have the result, and Belfast's first semi-final, at lunchtime.
Sources: World Nineball Tour and Rack 9 (Manila); BBC Sport, WST, Totally Snookered, TNT Sports and the Snooker Org results service (Belfast, Oberhausen and Kuala Lumpur); EPBF (Gandia); MK Billiard News, Billiards & Sports and Herald Economy (Goyang); Times of Malta and the British Pool Federation (Blackball Worlds); Ultimate Pool Group (Telford).
Feature image: “Gladiator Billiards at the Elizabeth Mall (2025-04-09)” by Wide Awake!, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 4.0.
