The World Pool Championships begin today in Manila and AZB and AZBTV are both here to cover all the action for you. We will be posting video broadcasts several times each day at AZBTV.com as well as keeping you informed right here on the front page of AZBilliards.com
Stan James, the online bookmaking firm out of Gibraltor, has picked a favorite for the tournament that has a bit of a twist. They now have Shane Van Boening favored to take the crown but SVB had to go to the hospital upon his arrival here on Tuesday as he was suffering from a foot infection. We spoke with him yesterday and he says he will be fine and that he is not concerned about the foot, but this is hardly the arena to enter with any form of health issues. He does not play until Tuesday so he still has time to heal some more.
Ralf Souquet is also on the injured list. He has been down with a virus that he says is now under control but his back pain is not fully alleviated. He has been going for daily back massages but he has not been able to hit a ball for several days and exhibited some quiet concerns in the interview he did with AZBTV.com.
Trailing Van Boening (13:1) on the odds list at stanjames.com (scroll down the left hand side of the page and click on ‘pool') is a group of local heroes. Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, Marlon Manalo and Alex Pagulayan are all listed at 19:1 this morning, though the lines may change as wagers come in throughout the day. Chin-Shun Yang and Dennis Orcollo are both down at 23:1 and the list continues down the odds from there.
ESPN/Star and Sky Sport are covering the event live so that fans from around the world may tune in to views the action as it unfolds.
For the first time in WPC history, this event is also available as on online PPV. More details are available here.
