Philippine Open Adopts Double Elimination Format

The first Philippine Open Ten Ball Championship scheduled on May 26-31 in Metro Manila will feature a double-elimination format (up to the Final Four) to give participating players more chances to do well in the tournament.

Raya Executive Director JP Fenix said the format was adopted after consultations with players and billiards officials.

“Double elimination means that a player has to lose twice in order to be booted out of the competition, unlike the knockout system when one loss means you're out,” he said. “This is only fair to all players, especially those who have to travel far to come to the Philippines.”

The Final Four players are determined with two players coming from the winners' bracket, and two from the losers' bracket. Once they are determined, the tournament becomes a knockout affair.

Semifinal matches will be a crossover of players from the winners' and losers' bracket. The winners of these matches then clash for the championship.
 
The other features of the Phil Open format are:

•    Ten Ball, WPA rules, call-shot
•    All matches up to semifinals, race to 9, winner breaks
•    Final, race to 11, winner breaks

The Philippine Open features 64 players, male and female, from all over the world. Spots are allocated by the World Pool-Billiard Association  (WPA) via a system of representation based on both geography and rankings. Eight spots are up for grabs in a qualifying tournament open to all (Stage 1).

The Stage 1 qualifying round will also be a double elimination tournament that will be staged at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City. Players will compete for eight spots in a single tournament. Matches will be race to eight, winner breaks.

Four players from the winners' bracket and four from the losers' bracket will make it to the main tournament (Stage 2).