Pecelj gets the call — Rest of the World line-up is set
Aleksa Pecelj is going to Manila. This morning the World Nineball Tour named the Serbian as its Wildcard Pick to complete Team Rest of the World for the Roobet Reyes Cup at Makati Coliseum, 15–18 October. It's his first teams event on the tour.
He earned it the hard way. Pecelj's August run through America brought the Phoenix Open title and a semi-final at the US Open, and he came back from the brink to reach the Arizona Open final. "I've been practicing more than ever before, eight hours a day," he said, "and now I'm going to practice even harder, even if it means I sleep on the table."
Ralf Souquet, captaining the side for the first time, now has:
- Francisco Sánchez Ruiz
- Shane Van Boening
- Joshua Filler
- Fedor Gorst
- Aleksa Pecelj
Team Asia, going for a third straight win, still have one seat to fill. Yesterday Duong Quoc Hoang was confirmed for his third Reyes Cup in a row, fresh from winning Premier League Pool, alongside Carlo Biado, AJ Manas and Robbie Capito. Biado and Manas will arrive sore. Sánchez Ruiz and David Alcaide edged them 4–1, 0–4, 3–4, 4–1, 4–2 in Sunday's world doubles final in Bali, after 19-year-old Manas scratched the cue ball at 2–2 in the decider. Every match goes out live on WNT TV (Pecelj announcement).
Matchroom also has a new Major on the books. The World Grand Prix comes to Fira Barcelona Gran Via on 18–20 January 2027, run alongside the ICE gaming expo: 64 players, single elimination over eight tables and a $100,000 prize fund. Before that, Spain gets the Mezz Sevilla Open on 5–7 December.
Al-Ajlani lands Saudi Cup in Riyadh
Omar Al-Ajlani won the Saudi Snooker Federation Cup on Monday at the Ronnie O'Sullivan Academy in Riyadh, beating Abdullah Al-Shammari 4–1 in the final. Al-Ajlani lost his opening group match, then won four knockout ties in a row, edging Ayman Al-Omari 4–3 in the semis. Al-Shammari was unbeaten until the final and made the top break of the week, a 115. Al-Omari added tons of 108 and 104.
The same 24-man field goes straight into the Kingdom Snooker Championship from tonight, with the final on Saturday. The federation picks its national team from the overall ranking. Scores are on CueScore.
Belfast waits on Allen
There's still no word on whether Mark Allen will play the Northern Ireland Open at the Waterfront Hall (18–25 October). He hasn't played since losing his Crucible semi-final to Wu Yize in May, and he's drawn against fellow Antrim man Jordan Brown on Tuesday 20 October. Brown told Metro his friend is "doing okay" but admitted: "I honestly don't know if he's going to play or not." At 65th in the world, Brown was frank about it: "If I play him then great and if he doesn't play I get a bye." Judd Trump said: "I think all of us would like him to be back playing again."
Wu's win in Shenzhen has also guaranteed Ronnie O'Sullivan a Champion of Champions invite (Leicester, 9–15 November) thanks to his World Seniors title. Whether he takes it up is another matter. Neil Robertson gets the 16th place unless a new qualifier wins in Belfast.
Seniors back in Reading
The draw is out for World Seniors Tour event three at The Crucible Club, Reading, on 9–11 October. Both of this season's winners, Craig Steadman and Ryan Day, are in, along with WSS world No.1 Aaron Canavan. Robert Milkins returns, and Jimmy Robertson makes his WSS Tour debut. Live scores are on WPBSA SnookerScores.
Women's diary
- WPBA Borderline Brunswick/Pechauer Invitational, Bristol, Tennessee, 7–11 October, $20k added.
- Australian Women's Snooker Open, Mounties, Sydney, 17–20 October. Entries are closed; Ploychompoo Laokiatphong won it last year.
- Niche Cues Women's Snooker Open, Kuala Lumpur, 24–27 October, the WWS Tour's first event in Malaysia. Entries close at noon BST on 16 October.
Further out
- WPA Blackball World Championships, Thistle Hotel Heathrow, 20–28 October, hosted by the British Pool Federation. Malta are among the confirmed nations.
- Q Tour Europe event three, Oberhausen, 22–25 October. Sanderson Lam leads the race to the play-offs, with Aaron Busuttil second.
- Predator Euro Tour Revora Spanish Open (men's 9-ball), 29 October–1 November.
Who should take Team Asia's last seat, and does Pecelj make Rest of the World favourites this time? Have your say below.
— Reggie Rutherford
Feature image: “Pool Table with Cue & Ball” by Stuart Kerr (Liberty Games), via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 2.0.
Sources: World Nineball Tour, Philstar, CueScore, Saudi Press Agency, Metro, Belfast Live, The Sun, TotallySnookered, WPBSA, World Seniors Snooker, WPBA, World Women's Snooker, WPA/BlackBall South Africa, Gozo Sports, EPBF.
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