The 2010 Pattaya 9 Ball Invitational took place at the Royal Garden Plaza in Pattaya, Thailand with a little over half the field earning their place in the 32 man event by invitation and the rest by winning qualifiers in Bangkok or Pattaya.
The list of invited players read like a "who's who" from the Philippines including Ronnie Alcano, Efren Reyes, Lee Van Corteza and Dennis Orcollo. Joining them were the likes of Darren Appleton, Hui Chang Lu, Che Wei Fu, Chris Melling and the lone US entry Stevie Moore.
The single elimination event got started with a bang when Swedish qualifier Pontus Reece upset Darren Appleton 9-8 in the first round. Other than that shocker, there were no other real upsets.
As the field narrowed, it was looking like the event might be heading for an all Filipino final four. The lone competitor to stop the Filipino freight train was Taipei's Hui Chang Lu who ran over Efren Reyes 9-3 to make his way to the final four.
Reyes' countryman Lee Van Corteza would avenge Reyes' loss by beating Lu 10-4. Meanwhile, Ronnie Alcano eliminated Dennis Orcollo by a lopsided 10-3 scoreline.
The final match was a close one, with Alcano edging Corteza 11-7 to pocket the 300,000 baht (roughly $10,000) first prize.
