2026 Roobet Philippines Open Pool Championship

[fullfitlarry]

I wanted to post this at the start of the tournament, but I totally forgot it. Now, we are already in the semi-finals and it's down to 4 Filipino players as the last of the foreign players lost their match. For this year, it is being promoted by Matchroom thru Roobet. But last year, it was Sportsbet.



https://worldnineballtour.com/events/2026-philippines-open-pool-championship/#summary

And the semi-finals looks like this:



Anyone betting on this sports besides us Filipinos? There are a lot of foreign entries here and if you are familiar with this sports for sure you know who I'm talking too.

To give another context, we have Reyes Cup prior to this tournament wherein we (Team Asia) were denied a 3rd consecutive win.

https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/10/18/team-rest-of-the-world-denies-team-asia-s-bid-for-reyes-cup-three-peat-2217

And again, if we talk about billiards or pool, we have the one and only GOAT, Efren "Bata" Reyes. That's why this sports is very popular not just in the Philippines but in Asia as well.

[Darker45]

I'm familiar with some of the names, even the ones in the semis because they're also into money games. But I'm not closely following the tournament.

I'm just amazed that the remaining ones are all locals, and young prospects in the sport, too. As a matter of fact, Benok, as Bernie is more known locally, is just 21. This young man is an amazing pool player and has a really bright future ahead of him. He's even the one who eliminated David Alcaide, the defending champ from Spain, and in a dominating fashion at that.

I'll probably not bet at all but I'm cheering for both Anton and Baseth. It's unfortunate they're the ones facing each other in the semis. It would have been better if they're facing each other in the finals.

Of course, props to Roobet for making this happen! By the way, the Reyes Cup was a Roobet-sponsored tournament as well.

[yhiaali3]

To be honest, I have never followed the Philippine Open Billiards Championship and I have never bet on it before, probably because this sport is not my favorite and is unfamiliar in my country.

Although the game is very popular among young people, no major tournaments are organized here in my country; the games are limited to some small local competitions and betting.

[bisdak40]

Anyone betting on this sports besides us Filipinos? There are a lot of foreign entries here and if you are familiar with this sports for sure you know who I'm talking too.

I haven't bet on this tournament yet as i only know that this exist because of this post. To be honest, i have not known these players remaining in the final four. Is this the same cup that Jaybee Sucal participated or different? After Efren Reyes i have not followed any pool players from the Philippines except those popping out in my social media feed.

[coinrifft]

Chua is the more familiar name as he is been touring billiard circuit for many years and he could be in the top 10 or top 15 in the world. But the 3 of them are could be playing underground or what @Darker45 said, money games as there are a lot of that kind of games here not televised but participated by known Filipino players.

So out of the 4 names, Chua I think will be the favorite to win the Philippines Open. One thing I don't like with Chua though is that he is somewhat arrogant as compare to Reyes or even Bustamante is that they are very humble even with they won a lot of tournaments in abroad.

Bustamante is the coach/mentor the Team Asia that recently lost to Team World.

[Cointxz]

I’m not familiar anymore with who’s the top player on PH right now. It will be helpful if you can make a power list on current PH players as a guide to back them on my bet instead of relying alone on odds offered by sportsbook.

Only JB Sucal is the only player I knew due to his social media exposure which I doubt he will be on this tournament due to his young age. 

I might place some bets to Efren as support. Nice thread to bring back pool greatness discussion in the forum.