Reyes Cup — Day 1 at Makati Coliseum
Francisco “Django” Bustamante’s Team Asia open their bid for a third straight Reyes Cup tonight at the Makati Coliseum, with Ralf Souquet’s Rest of the World loaded for a first title of their own.
Action starts at 7pm local time. Per Absolute Pool and Matchroom Pool, the first session lines up like this:
- Doubles: Carlo Biado and Robbie Capito v Joshua Filler and Aleksa Pecelj
- Singles: Duong Quoc Hoang v Francisco Sánchez Ruiz
- Doubles: AJ Manas and Albert Januarta v Fedor Gorst and Shane Van Boening
- Teams: Asia v Rest of the World
Asia bring Biado, last year’s MVP Manas and Duong Quoc Hoang back, with Capito and Januarta on debut. Souquet’s side mixes returning pair Sánchez Ruiz and Gorst with Reyes Cup newcomers Filler, Van Boening and Pecelj — four world champions in the Rest of the World orange.
First to 11 points takes the $150,000 purse ($20,000 per player for the winners). Live coverage is on WNT TV in several territories, ESPN+ in the USA, and One Sports in the Philippines, with more regional partners listed by Absolute Pool.
Northern Ireland Open — Allen teases a home return
The BetVictor Northern Ireland Open runs 18–25 October in Belfast, and Mark Allen has dropped a heavy hint that his five-month World Snooker Tour absence may end in front of his own crowd.
The world No. 12 has not played a ranking match since losing 17–16 to Wu Yize in the World Championship semi-finals in May. Per TNT Sports, he sat out the opening stretch of the season after withdrawing from the Shanghai Masters for personal reasons, and he has also withdrawn from International Championship qualifying in Leicester. On social media he posted a short clip with the caption “Is it time?” — and he is drawn to face close friend Jordan Brown in a first-round local derby on Tuesday afternoon at 13:00.
Also in the Belfast mix: world No. 1 Zhao Xintong opens against Gao Yang, while world champion Wu Yize — only £26,650 behind Zhao after winning the Shenzhen Open 10–5 over Yuan Sijun — starts against Scott Donaldson. Per Eurosport, a final for Wu could be enough to leapfrog Zhao and become the third Chinese player ever to top the rankings. Defending champion Jack Lisowski returns to the venue of his first ranking title, live on TNT Sports.
Week ahead — Blackball Worlds and Doha’s $450k 10-Ball
- WPA World Blackball Championships — Thistle Hotel Heathrow, London, from 19–29 October (men’s, women’s, juniors, seniors, masters and wheelchair divisions; scores on CueScore).
- Qatar World Cup 10-Ball — Ezdan Palace Hotel, Doha, 19–29 October, $450,000 prize fund (stage one 19–23, main draw 24–29).
- Ultimate Pool League UK Nationals — Semi-final two is live on TNT Sports on Monday evening, with the national final set for 26 October.
Feature image: “9ball rack 2” by GoHawks4, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0.
