3rd BSCP National Pool Championship Begins Today

The 3rd Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) National Pool Championships unreels today, September 3-7 at the Star Billiards Center, Quezon City.

Up for grabs are four slots to the WPA 2008 World 10-Ball Championships from Sept. 23 to Oct. 9 at the PICC according to BSCP president Ernesto Fajardo.

Fajardo added that the Championships would also be an opportunity to discover new talents who could be their future players in the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Laos

The event will be 10-Ball, race-to-9, winners break format, knock-out system during the quarterfinals up to the finals and Race to 11.  WPA game rules will be enforced.

The Tournament Director is Julius Nidea and this event will be held in partnership with the Star Billiards, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, Raya Sports and the Philippine Billiards Foundation.

Meanwhile, the Raya Sports and  World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) have jointly announced the tournament format of the WPA World Ten Ball Championship (WTBC) scheduled at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on September 29 to October 5, 2008.
 
There will be 128 players in the main draw of the championship. In the opening round, all the players will be divided into 16 groups of eight, who will then compete under a double elimination format. Four players will advance from each group into the Last 64.
 
From the Last 64 to the Finals the competition turns to a single elimination format. The player who wins a match advances to the next round, and the loser is knocked out of the tournament.
 
WPA president Ian Anderson also announced that there will be a match for third place during the final day of the championship. Consequently, there will be a change in the payout. The third-place winner will get $25,000, while the fourth-place winner will get $15,000.
 
The championship will be played out over seven days, beginning on Monday, September 29 and concluding on Sunday, October 5.
 
Group play is scheduled on days one to three – September 29 to October 1. The rest of the schedule is as follows:
 
Last 64, day four, Thursday, Oct. 2
Last 32, day five, Friday, Oct. 3
Last 16, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals, day six, Saturday, Oct. 4
Finals and Match for Third Place , day seven, Sunday, Oct. 5.
 
There will be one TV table and eight tournament tables during the WTBC