When the International Pool Tour held their World 8-Ball Championship between Mike Sigel and Loree Jon Jones earlier this year, there were many who wondered what reigning WPA World 8-Ball Champion Efren Reyes might have to say about it. On Sunday, we will get to find out.
Reyes came out on top of a Filipino trio of players who were all leading the charge for first place in the final round robin group on Saturday.
By midday, it was apparent that the final victor would be either unbeaten Marlon Manalo, Francisco Bustamante or Reyes. Manalo was finally stopped by Bustamante in what appeared at first to be a controversial win. Trailing 6-5, Manalo tried a touchy safety and a foul was called by the referee who claimed Manalo never contacted the object ball. Much to Manalo's dismay, Bustamante was awarded ball in hand and he proceeded to run out that rack and the next for the 8-5 win. Asked about the shot later, Manalo was sure that he had contacted the object ball. Later replays showed that the referee had made the right call.
The loss to Bustamante left Manalo with a 3-1 record and only Reyes to play. Reyes was also 3-1 and it came down to their final match which Reyes won 8-4 to earn the match with Sigel on Sunday for $200,000.
The $200,000 first prize will be the largest purse for a professional pool tournament to this date. The previous top amount was $160,000, coincidentally won by Reyes, years ago.
We now have three galleries from the event online and will have more pics on Sunday. Gallery 1 | 2 | 3
Photo courtesy of Diana Hoppe - Pool Pics by Hoppe
