Qatar International 9-Ball Open 2008 Update!

Billiards friends, pool players, and fans, here is an update on the ongoing 2008 Qatar International 9-Ball Open billiards competition! It is a direct update from the Gulf Times! And I kid you not!

Germany's Ralf Souquet ended Filipino pool player Efren Bata Reyes' run with an 11-7 win yesterday to enter the last 16 of the Qatar International Open 9-ball Pool Championship!

In front of full-house at the QBSF hall, crowd favorite Efren Bata Reyes, aka The Magician, had no luck with his break shots, while the German carried on with his soft break and exquisite positioning to race on to 5-1 lead.

Efren Reyes (Puyat Sports) fought back to close in, 6-4, but he struggled with his shots, while Ralf Souquet, aka The Kaiser, continued to ride on his luck to go 8-4 up. The Filipino pool player had a brief control over the billiards table, winning two racks in a row to narrow the deficit to 9-5. After Souquet took the 15th, Reyes delayed his victory taking the next rack but the German brought the match to an end with a big breaking shot, pocketing the 9 ball.

Efren Bata Reyes put on a brave face after the match, though. "You need a lot of luck in 9-ball pool and it deserted me today. With my break shots going dry time and again, there was nothing much I could do," he lamented.

Ralf Souquet attributed his performance to the conditions yesterday. "It was cold in there yesterday (Wednesday) and that affected my game. "The temperature was ideal for me today and I matched it with equally good performance. I am happy to get better of Reyes, who is also my favourite pool player," added the two-time world 9-ball pool champion.

However, world No. 8 Souquet is not letting this victory get over his head. "Now it's the last 16, so it's going to be even tougher." He will now meet Great Britain's Darren Appleton, who saw off the challenge of Naef al-Jaweeni of Saudi Arabia 11-3.

"I played a lot better today as I had good breaks and I didn't miss any ball," Darren Appleton said, reflecting on the match. The Briton, who defeated Swiss Marco Tschudi 9-5, admitted that he was quite lucky with the draw in the last 32 but said he has seen all his opposition with respect. "You've got to treat all the players the same way," he said of his Saudi opponent. "When somebody's got into the last 16, he deserves a respect."

Despite the ousting of seven players today, Philippines still has the largest contingent of players left in the competition at five, with another Filipino pool legend Francisco Django Bustamante and Alex Pagulayan, both from Puyat Sports, leading their charge in the last 16. With four of them squaring up in two matches, they are also guaranteed of at least two players in the quarter-finals.

Francisco Django Bustamante defeated compatriot Antonio Gabica 11-2 in the most one-sided affair of the last 32. His opponent in today's round of 16 will be Ramil Gamello, who beat Japan's Satoshi Kawabata 11-7.

But Alex Pagulayan sealed his place in the last 16 with a thrilling 11-10 comeback victory against Chinese Taipei's Wu Chia-Ching in what turned out to be the best match of the championship so far! Alex Pagulayan, who fell 3-1 behind Wu managed to narrow the gap to 5-4, the Taiwanese 2005 world champion ran the next three racks for an 8-4 cushion.

Alex Pagulayan, the 2004 World Pool champion, however, played some exquisite shots and helped by Wu's foul - dropping his cue ball - in the 16th to win three straight racks to the deficit to 9-8. Wu, who has been highly consistent with break shots, went within a rack of winning the match as he quickly finished off the 18th rack completing a 4/9 combination. Alex Pagulayan broke and won the 19th and leveled the scores at 10-10 when Wu missed on the break for the first time. He then sank three balls on the break in the final game amid a big round of applause. With the 9 ball screening the 7, Pagulayan played for safety and got the ball in hand when Wu missed the 7 with his jump shot. And Pagulayan grabbed his chance to pull off an amazing victory.

The Filipino pool player, known as the Lion in pool circles, felt he was very lucky. "I couldn't believe it," Pagulayan reacted on his victory. "When it was 9-6 I thought I had no more chance. The table was easy breaking and everything was in his control. "But I had a feeling 'I can still do it' when he had the first dry break in the match in the 20th rack. And I was very lucky to come through after he missed the jump shot," he added.

Alex Pagulayan will take on fellow Bugsy Promotions' Roberto Gomez, aka Superman, today for a place in the quarter-finals.

RESULTS
Round of 32: Dennis Orcollo (PHI) bt Oliver Ortmann (GER) 11-6; Warren Kiamco (PHI) bt Ronato Alcano (PHI) 11-7, Ramil Gallego (PHI) bt Kawabata Satoshi (JPN) 11-7, Francisco Bustamante (PHI) bt Antonio Gabica (PHI) 11-2, Darren Appleton (GBR) bt Naef Al Jaweeni (KSA) 11-3, Ralf Souquet (GER) bt Efren Reyes (PHI) 11-7, Alex Pagulayan (PHI) bt Wu Chia-Ching (TPE) 11-10, Roberto Gomez (PHI) bt Vilmos Foldes (HUN) 11-3, Shane Van Boening (USA) bt Gandy Valle (PHI) 11-10, Radoslaw Babica (POL) bt Thorsten Hohmann (GER) 11-8, Thomas Engert (GER) bt Marlon Manalo (PHI) 11-8, Martin Kempter (AUT) bt Chang Jung-Ling (TPE) 11-8, Jeffrey De Luna (PHI) bt Mika Immonen (FIN) 11-6, Ohi Naoyuki (JPN) bt Lee Van Corteza (PHI) 11-9, Ko Pin-Yi (TPE) bt Zhang Shuchun (CHN) 11-6, Niels Feijen (NED) bt Allan Cuartero (PHI) 11-3

Round of 16 line-up: Dennis Orcollo (PHI) v Warren Kiamco (PHI), Ramil Gallego (PHI) v Francisco Bustamante (PHI), Darren Appleton (GBR) v Ralf Souquet (GER), Alex Pagulayan (PHI) v Roberto Gomez (PHI), Shane Van Boening (USA) v Radoslaw Babica (POL), Thomas Engert (GER) v Martin Kempter (AUT), Jeffrey De Luna (PHI) v Ohi Naoyuki (JPN), Ko Pin-Yi (TPE) v Niels Feijen (NED)

"The AnitoKid loves 9-ball!"

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