QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES - AT LEAST 55 foreign players will be seeing action in the World Pool qualifiers that will start on Saturday here at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City, Raya Sports announced today (Sunday, October 22).
Leading the list are 14 players from Chinese-Taipei, who will be flying in together this Thursday, Oct. 25. The group is bannered by highly-regarded Hui-Kai Hsia, who was once a quarter-finalist in the World Pool Championship.
Meanwhile, Matchroom Sport has informed Raya that one more spot has been opened in the qualifying phase. As a result, there will now be 11 spots up for grabs in the qualifiers.
The other qualifier entries come from Japan, Kuwait, Qatar, Sweden, Brunei, Singapore, England and Hong Kong. .
The foreign pros will be matching skills with over 50 Filipino pros for a place in the 128-man main draw of the 2006 Philippines World Pool Championship. Competitors will see action in 10 qualifying events. A player must win an event to get a spot in the main tournament, or have the highest cumulative points rating to bag the 11th spot.
The competition format is single-elimination knockout. Apart from the finals which is race to 9, all matches are race to 7, alternate breaks.
Registration in the qualifiers is ongoing in two venues: (1) Rizal Memorial Billiards Center, under the supervision of national pool coach Ramon Ancaja; and (2) Raya Sports Office, 5F Pdaf Bldg., Puyat Ave., Makati City.
Players can also register by submitting their entries online or by fax. Log in to www.2006worldpool.com
