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SEVENTY-NINE players – 23 foreign and 56 locals -- will vie in the prestigious Puerto Princesa Mayor's Cup, which starts Monday, June 16, with the Elimination Round at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City.
The final round will be on June 19-23 in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany and Wu Chia-Ching of Taiwan have been tipped as favorites to win the event having won two world championships each.
Another contender for top honors is Chang Jung-Lin, who has dominated the Guinness 9-Ball Tour for two years running.
However, Filipino players are not to be discounted, led by Antonio Gabica, winner of the Mandaluyong Mayor's Cup last month and reigning San Miguel Philippine Open champion. Four Filipinos figured in the final four of that first leg of the Philippine Pool Tour.
Also tipped to finish strongly are Marlon Manalo, Jeffrey de Luna, Leonardo Andam, Leonardo Didal, and Jericho Banares.
Souquet, currently the money leader among billiard players this year, will bring in his rich championship experience and his recent triumph in the 2008 World 8-Ball Championship in Fujairah last April.
Hohmann will try to relive the magic that gave him the 2003 WPC in Cardiff, Wales, the 2005 world straight pool championships in New York and the 2006 IPT North America 8-Ball Championship.
Wu, who dominated the billiards scene in 2005 by winning the 9-Ball and 8-Ball crowns, is also the man to watch in this event organized by the Billiards and Snookers Congress of the Philippines in partnership with Raya Sports, Star Billiards and the Philippine Billiards Development Foundation.
The tournament, hosted by Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn and supported by San Miguel Beer offers a total of $30,000 in prize money.
The Puerto Princesa Cup is the second leg of the Philippine Pool Tour, a series of Ten Ball tournaments in strategic Philippine cities designed to promote both billiards and tourism in the country. Correspondent MARLON BERNARDINO
