By JONAS TERRADO
Carlo Biado is hoping to ride on the momentum of his title victory in the US Open Pool Championship in Atlantic City, New Jersey when he competes in five major events in 2022.
Biado is scheduled to compete in the World 10-Ball Championship and the UK Open while also slated to represent the Philippines in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Southeast Asian Games and World Games.
The 37-year-old is scheduled to return home late this month for some rest and relaxation before heading back to the United States to compete in local tournaments as part of his buildup for the said competitions.
An emotional Biado ruled the US Open with a come-from-behind 13-8 win over Singaporean Aloysius Yapp to claim the top purse of $50,000 (P2.5 million) which is a huge reward for the veteran cue artist who left the country in May to prepare for one of pool’s premier events.
“Nung nasa Pilipinas ako, wala talagang nasa bahay ka dahil nga nakakatakot dahil sa COVID-19 na yan,” Biado said during the online session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.
“Pero hindi ako nagpa-apekto kasi hindi naman pwedeng habang buhay na nasa loob tayo ng bahay. Kaya nag-decide akong umalis, magpunta dito sa Amerika para makapag-practice at makapag-training dahil nga alam kong may darating kaming mga events tulad ng SEA Games at yung AIMAG so hindi ako puwedeng tumigil sa paglalaro.”
Biado have tasted success in the SEA Games when he won gold in the men’s 9-ball doubles of the 2015 Singapore Games and the men’s 9-ball singles in the 2017 Kuala Lumpur edition while winning the men’s 9-ball event of the 2017 World Games in Wroclaw, Poland.
He came up short in claiming the World 10-Ball crown back in 2015, losing to Taiwan’s Ko Pin-yi in the final while settling for a bronze in the men’s 9-ball singles of the 2017 AIMAG edition in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
The UK Open, meanwhile, is a new 9-ball competition launched by Matchroom Pool, which organized the US counterpart where Biado joined the great Efren “Bata” Reyes as the only Filipinos to win the event.
