MANILA – Filipino cuemaster Carlo Biado ended the country’s nearly three-decade drought for a championship in the United States (US) Open Pool on Saturday night (Sunday in the Philippines) at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City in New Jersey.
The Muntinlupa City-native stunned the crowd in the championship match to seize the title, defeating Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp, 13-8.
It was the first time a Filipino billiards player had won the US Open Pool championship since Efren “Bata” Reyes ruled the same competition in 1994, or 27 years ago.
The championship is Biado’s second major international billiards event next to the World Pool Championship four years ago.
“I’m very happy because this event is one of my dreams,” he stated in a post-match presser. “I dedicate this to my family, also to my baby.”
Biado’s championship dreams appeared to be fading midway through the decider when his 3-1 lead deteriorated into an 8-3 deficit after Yapp dominated the next seven racks.
A miss on the 9 ball by Yapp in the 12th round swung the momentum in Biado’s favor. The 37-year-old Filipino cuemaster snatched the rack and scraped the score to 4-8.
It was all Biado since then as he captured the next nine racks to seal his come-from-behind victory over Yapp, who was still reeling from his final round breakdown.
The former pocketed the top prize of $50,000, while the latter received $25,000.
On his way to the finals, Biado ousted Japan’s Naoyuki Oi, 11-9. Yapp, on the other hand, avoided an all-Filipino final by crushing Dennis Orcollo in the semifinal./PN
