By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Johann Chua, Jeffrey Ignacio and Anton Raga barged into the Last 16 but six other Filipino bets were not fortunate on Thursday, June 16, in the 2024 World Pool Championship in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Chua, a multiple Southeast Asian Games medalist and last year’s World Cup of Pool champion, cruised to an 11-5 victory over Ko Ping Hang of Chinese Taipei at the start of the 64-player knockout stage before surviving the gritty plays of 2022 quarterfinalist Max Lechner of Austria, 11-10.
Ignacio also had to dig deep to outlast Jonas Souto Camino of Spain, 11-10, before routing compatriot Patrick Gonzales, 11-5, to remain in contention in the $1 million tournament staking $250,000 (around P14.6 million) to the champion.
Raga also took a similar path with Chua, first blasting Liu Ri Teng of Chinese Taipei, 11-3, before holding his ground against two-time World Cup of Pool winner Mario He of Austria, 11-10.
All three PH bets face tougher tasks ahead with Chua setting up his next meeting with last year’s runner-up Mohammad Soufi of Syria, Ignacio clashing with 2021 semifinalist David Alcaide of Spain, and Raga colliding with 2018 champion Joshua Filler of Germany.
Lee Vann Corteza, who eliminated teammate James Aranas, 11-7, in the first round, yielded to China’s Dang Jin Hiu, 11-8, in the next round.
Bernie Regalario also bowed out in the first round at the expense of Chinese Taipei’s Ko Ping Chung, 11-4, teen sensation Albert Manas was sent crashing back to earth with an 11-1 mauling from Greece’s Alexander Kazakis, and Roland Garcia succumbed to Great Britain’s Elliot Sanderson, 11-5.
Meanwhile, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz of Spain fumbled in his title-retention campaign with a Round of 64 loss to Mickey Krause of Denmark, 11-7.
