Makati — Rest of the World break the Asian grip
Asia’s bid for a Reyes Cup three-peat ended in emphatic fashion. The Rest of the World finished the job 11–4 at Makati Coliseum on Sunday night, their first title in three editions, and Francisco Sánchez Ruiz was named MVP (per Absolute Pool and ABS-CBN).
Coming in 9–4 up, Ralf Souquet’s side needed two more points. They took them both.
- Team: Rest of the World 5–3 Asia
- Doubles: Sánchez Ruiz / Shane Van Boening 5–1 Robbie Capito / Dương Quốc Hoàng
Asia actually led 2–1 in the opening five-a-side before Fedor Gorst restored parity and Aleksa Pečelj won a chaotic five-ball scrap with a seven–nine combination. Sánchez Ruiz and Joshua Filler then put ROW on the hill. Capito and Duong took the first rack of the doubles, then lost the next five as Sánchez Ruiz and Van Boening closed it out.
Sánchez Ruiz was unbeaten in singles and doubles all week and becomes the first Rest of the World MVP, after Aloysius Yapp (2024) and AJ Manas (2025). Champions pocket $20,000 each; runners-up $10,000. The Philippines Open follows at Gateway Mall in Quezon City from 20 to 24 October, live on WNT TV.
Belfast — Selby dumped, Lisowski through
Day one of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open at the Waterfront Hall was brutal for the seeds (scores per snooker.org and the World Snooker Tour).
- Louis Heathcote 4–2 Mark Selby: from 0–2 down Heathcote won four straight, top breaks 64 and 59 — his second win in two meetings with the four-time world champion at this venue.
- Jack Lisowski 4–1 Huang Jiahao: the defending champion was nervous but did enough; he meets Anthony McGill (4–1 over Stephen Maguire) in the last 32.
- Mateusz Baranowski 4–3 Gary Wilson and Matthew Selt 4–3 Hossein Vafaei (Selt from 1–3 down with 61 and 90) — more high seeds gone.
- Sam Craigie 4–3 Xiao Guodong (82 in the decider), Wang Xinbo 4–2 Si Jiahui, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4–2 Aaron Hill (century 101).
Ronnie O’Sullivan is still down to face Cheung Ka Wai on Monday afternoon. Evening cards still running at press time.
Goyang — Srong out, Kim Ga-young flies
The NH NongHyup Card PBA–LPBA Championship opened at KINTEX. Defending LPBA tour winner Srong Pheavy led Oh Su-min 13–7 then lost 18–22 in 26 innings and is out of the last 128 (per MK Billiards). Kim Ga-young raced through Kim Seong-eun 2 25–5 in 13 innings (average 1.923) on her push for a career 20th title. Kang Ji-eun, Hida Orie and Han Ji-eun also reached the last 64.
Sydney — the big four stay perfect
Overnight groups at the Australian Women’s Open wrapped with Ng On Yee, Mink Nutcharut and Reanne Evans still unbeaten (scores on snooker.org). Anupama Ramachandran continued her perfect Group D run. Knockouts begin Monday at Mounties.
Landywood — Worlds next
The English Open billiards weekend at Landywood Snooker Club closes tonight; World Billiards were streaming the final on their channel as we went to press. The World Championship starts Monday at the same club, with Geet Sethi among the field.
Coming up
- Philippines Open: Quezon City, 20–24 October, WNT TV.
- Q Tour Europe Event 3: Oberhausen, 22–25 October — a record mainland Europe field, per the WPBSA.
- Northern Ireland Open: continues through 25 October at the Waterfront Hall.
Feature image: “Pool table and balls, 14 July 2026” by Danny William Wilson, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
