IN THE FINAL match of the afternoon session at the PartyPoker.com World Pool Masters, Francisco Bustamante made light work of debutant Bruno Muratore (Italy) running out an easy 8-1 winner.
In front of a knowledgeable crowd at the Riviera Hotel, Bustamante easily subdued a nervous Muratore as he raced ahead from the off.
The Italian, who gained entry to the Masters following some impressive showings on the Euro Tour, could never get going and his sole success for in the seventh game.
Bustamante, who now matches up against either Shane Van Boening or Imran Majid in Sunday's quarter-finals, was pleased with his performance.
“If I play like that everyday then no-one can beat me. In the beginning I was a little nervous but I really tried to concentrate and when he made mistakes, it gave me confidence.
“Everyone in this tournament is tough but really, I don't care who I play. Muratore was so nervous but I was too with the crowd and the TV.
“I only made two run outs from the break but a lot of the time he had no shot and also missed lots of balls.
“It's a good table though, the pockets are tight and you've got to play exact shots. If you hit it too hard, the balls come out.”
It was an assured performance from the popular Filipino and on this showing he will be hard to beat.
In previous matches on Friday, Rodney Morris scored an 8-3 win over defending champion Thomas Engert and Alex Pagulayan scored an 8-7 win over England's Mark Gray. Morris and Pagulayan will face off in the next round.
“Rodney has always been a good friend and we're going to have some fun. We'll kick it!” said Pagulayan.
