Makati — Pečelj puts the Rest of the World on the brink
The Reyes Cup has never left Asian hands, but by Sunday night it probably will. The Rest of the World took three of the four matches on day three at Makati Coliseum to lead 9–4 in the race to 11, so they need just two more points on the final day (scores per the World Nineball Tour and Spin).
- Team: Rest of the World 5–3 Asia
- Singles: Fedor Gorst 5–1 Albert Januarta
- Doubles: Carlo Biado / Januarta 5–3 Joshua Filler / Gorst
- Singles: Aleksa Pečelj 5–1 AJ Manas
The mistakes came at the worst moments again. At 3–3 in the team match, Manas missed the 4 and Francisco Sánchez Ruiz cleared up to put the visitors on the hill, and then Duong Quoc Hoang left Shane Van Boening an open 5 to finish it. Gorst was ruthless against the Indonesian teenager: a jump on the 2 made it 4–1, and a long pot on the 9 closed it out.
Asia’s point was a good one. Biado and Januarta were pegged back from 3–1 to 3–3, then Biado’s 3–9 combination put them on the hill and Januarta finished it with a golden break, his second in three days.
The night belonged to the Serbian debutant, though. Pečelj dominated last year’s MVP, and when Manas scratched on the 1 in the sixth rack, the evening was over early. The WNT called it the most dominant display of the tournament.
Sunday’s sums: the Rest of the World need two wins. Asia need seven of the next eight, and at 10–10 the captains would each pick a doubles pair for a decider. Play starts at noon UK time, live on WNT TV, ESPN+ and One Sports. The winners get $20,000 each.
Belfast — will Ronnie turn up?
The Northern Ireland Open starts at the Waterfront Hall in the morning. The BBC says Ronnie O’Sullivan was still in the draw on Saturday morning but a late withdrawal can’t be ruled out. He’s due to play Cheung Ka Wai on Monday afternoon.
- Bonus race: WST says English Open champion Ali Carter goes into Belfast leading the BetVictor Bonus standings. He plays Xu Si at 7pm on Sunday.
- The Pistol returns: the BBC has Mark Allen playing his close friend and practice partner Jordan Brown at 1pm on Tuesday. It will be his first match in almost six months.
- Defending champion: Jack Lisowski, who beat Judd Trump 9–8 in last year’s final, opens against Huang Jiahao at 1pm on Sunday.
Sydney — the overnight shift
Day two of the Australian Women’s Open starts at midnight UK time, so there have been no new results since lunchtime. Anupama Ramachandran plays Linda Larrea at 2am and Agnes Kimura at 4am, and two more wins would give her top spot in Group D.
Landywood — no news yet
No English Open billiards scores had been published when we went to press. The event finishes on Sunday, and the World Championship starts at the same club on Monday.
Grassroots — a birthday in Yate
WST went to Maxi Lounge in Yate, near Bristol, where it says the local snooker scene is booming. The club, whose sporting director is former professional Andrew Norman, celebrates its first birthday this weekend.
Coming up
- Q Tour Europe, Event 3: the WPBSA says 153 players from 35 countries, the biggest Q Tour field ever in mainland Europe and a record 33 Germans, will be in Oberhausen from 22 to 25 October. Sanderson Lam and Aaron Busuttil won the first two events, and the draw includes Robert Milkins, Mark Davis and Barry Pinches.
Feature image: “MC2008 M10 015 - Shane van Boening” by Christian Werner, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 3.0.
