I have been pretty steadfastedly bullish throughout most of this move upwards. Given the recent market action, I am now starting to pull in my horns a bit, as this rally looks to be getting a little tired and showing signs of technical deterioration. We may yet see a new high in this move off of the [...]

I have been pretty steadfastedly bullish throughout most of this move upwards. Given the recent market action, I am now starting to pull in my horns a bit, as this rally looks to be getting a little tired and showing signs of technical deterioration. We may yet see a new high in this move off of the [...]

Philippines’ world No.1 Dennis Orcullo lived up to his top billing to clinch the 2008 Qatar International 9-ball Open Championship title with a comfortable 13-5 victory over Niels Feijen of the Netherlands in the finals.

With all his compatriots already out of the competition, Filipino pool player Dennis Orcullo was under pressure to perform and he did just that in the final. “All the expectations was on me coming into the final,” he admitted. “But I managed to cope it well and did not make any mistake, which enabled me to win the match.”

Dennis Orcullo, aka Robocop, who earlier beat Germany’s Ralf Souquet, aka The Kaiser, in the semi-finals, was presented with the winner’s trophy and a cheque for $40,000 by the president of Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation Ibrahim Abdul-Aziz al-Sahlawi. Niels Feijen received $20,000 for his effort.

Having convincingly beaten his semi-final opponent Shane Van Boening 11-4 earlier in the day, things looked promising for Niels Feijen, aka The Terminator, as he won the lag. But the Dutchman missed his shot after a break to concede the opening rack. The Filipino did not have a bright start either, as he also conceded his home rack. Both the players lost their next home stretches to remain tied at 2-2.

Niels Feijen suffered his first dry break in the fifth rack which was the turning point of the match as Dennis Orcullo, after playing a safety on the 4 ball, took it and also his next rack to open up a 4-2 lead. And the moment Feijen lost his cool at the match referee for taking more time to set the balls on the table, he lost his momentum. After both the players went back and forth playing safety shots, Feijen missed a 2/3 combination opening up an opportunity for Orcullo. The Filipino duly took it to complete sixth consecutive racks for a commanding 8-2 lead.

Niels Feijen complained later that he lost his focus with the referee taking long to set the table. “He was taking it forever to fix the ball and I was kind of distracted by that. And I was in a lot of pressure with him (Orcullo) piling up one rack after another,” he said after the match.

Although Feijen broke and won his next home rack, Orcullo was flawless as he completed a combination shot in the 13th to extend his lead to 10-3. Dennis Orcullo’s foul on the break allowed world No. 2 Niels Feijen to win the 14th and then took another to cut the gap down to 10-5. But it was too little too late as Orcollo left the crowd in awe with his brilliant shot-making ability and ball positioning. He followed a successful 1/9 combination shot with another 4/9 to go within a rack from the victory. And when the Robocop cleared the table to win the 18th, he was greeted with a laud cheer from his fans.

Dennis Orcullo believes the title victory will be a big boost going into the next tournaments. “I hope to build on this victory to prepare for my next tournaments,” said the Filipino pool player from Surigao, who plans to compete in World Cup of Pool and Guinness Asian 9-ball Tour – both taking place in October.

Niels Feijen was disappointed on not repeating his semi-final performance. “I played well in the semi-final win in the other room. But I was unable to carry that form in to the final,” Feijen said. “But I wouldn’t like to take away anything from him; he played brilliantly in the final,” he added.

The nine-day Qatar International 9-Ball Open tournament drew more than 150 players, including several world champions, from 40 different countries.

Germany's Ralf Souquet ended Filipino pool player Efren Bata Reyes' run with an 11-7 win yesterday to enter the last 16 of the Qatar International Open 9-ball Pool Championship!

In front of full-house at the QBSF hall, crowd favorite Efren Bata Reyes, aka The Magician, had no luck with his break shots, while the German carried on with his soft break and exquisite positioning to race on to 5-1 lead.

Efren Reyes (Puyat Sports) fought back to close in, 6-4, but he struggled with his shots, while Ralf Souquet, aka The Kaiser, continued to ride on his luck to go 8-4 up. The Filipino pool player had a brief control over the billiards table, winning two racks in a row to narrow the deficit to 9-5. After Souquet took the 15th, Reyes delayed his victory taking the next rack but the German brought the match to an end with a big breaking shot, pocketing the 9 ball.

Efren Bata Reyes put on a brave face after the match, though. "You need a lot of luck in 9-ball pool and it deserted me today. With my break shots going dry time and again, there was nothing much I could do," he lamented.

Ralf Souquet attributed his performance to the conditions yesterday. "It was cold in there yesterday (Wednesday) and that affected my game. "The temperature was ideal for me today and I matched it with equally good performance. I am happy to get better of Reyes, who is also my favourite pool player," added the two-time world 9-ball pool champion.

However, world No. 8 Souquet is not letting this victory get over his head. "Now it's the last 16, so it's going to be even tougher." He will now meet Great Britain's Darren Appleton, who saw off the challenge of Naef al-Jaweeni of Saudi Arabia 11-3.

"I played a lot better today as I had good breaks and I didn't miss any ball," Darren Appleton said, reflecting on the match. The Briton, who defeated Swiss Marco Tschudi 9-5, admitted that he was quite lucky with the draw in the last 32 but said he has seen all his opposition with respect. "You've got to treat all the players the same way," he said of his Saudi opponent. "When somebody's got into the last 16, he deserves a respect."

Despite the ousting of seven players today, Philippines still has the largest contingent of players left in the competition at five, with another Filipino pool legend Francisco Django Bustamante and Alex Pagulayan, both from Puyat Sports, leading their charge in the last 16. With four of them squaring up in two matches, they are also guaranteed of at least two players in the quarter-finals.

Francisco Django Bustamante defeated compatriot Antonio Gabica 11-2 in the most one-sided affair of the last 32. His opponent in today's round of 16 will be Ramil Gamello, who beat Japan's Satoshi Kawabata 11-7.

But Alex Pagulayan sealed his place in the last 16 with a thrilling 11-10 comeback victory against Chinese Taipei's Wu Chia-Ching in what turned out to be the best match of the championship so far! Alex Pagulayan, who fell 3-1 behind Wu managed to narrow the gap to 5-4, the Taiwanese 2005 world champion ran the next three racks for an 8-4 cushion.

Alex Pagulayan, the 2004 World Pool champion, however, played some exquisite shots and helped by Wu's foul - dropping his cue ball - in the 16th to win three straight racks to the deficit to 9-8. Wu, who has been highly consistent with break shots, went within a rack of winning the match as he quickly finished off the 18th rack completing a 4/9 combination. Alex Pagulayan broke and won the 19th and leveled the scores at 10-10 when Wu missed on the break for the first time. He then sank three balls on the break in the final game amid a big round of applause. With the 9 ball screening the 7, Pagulayan played for safety and got the ball in hand when Wu missed the 7 with his jump shot. And Pagulayan grabbed his chance to pull off an amazing victory.

The Filipino pool player, known as the Lion in pool circles, felt he was very lucky. "I couldn't believe it," Pagulayan reacted on his victory. "When it was 9-6 I thought I had no more chance. The table was easy breaking and everything was in his control. "But I had a feeling 'I can still do it' when he had the first dry break in the match in the 20th rack. And I was very lucky to come through after he missed the jump shot," he added.

Alex Pagulayan will take on fellow Bugsy Promotions' Roberto Gomez, aka Superman, today for a place in the quarter-finals.

RESULTS
Round of 32: Dennis Orcollo (PHI) bt Oliver Ortmann (GER) 11-6; Warren Kiamco (PHI) bt Ronato Alcano (PHI) 11-7, Ramil Gallego (PHI) bt Kawabata Satoshi (JPN) 11-7, Francisco Bustamante (PHI) bt Antonio Gabica (PHI) 11-2, Darren Appleton (GBR) bt Naef Al Jaweeni (KSA) 11-3, Ralf Souquet (GER) bt Efren Reyes (PHI) 11-7, Alex Pagulayan (PHI) bt Wu Chia-Ching (TPE) 11-10, Roberto Gomez (PHI) bt Vilmos Foldes (HUN) 11-3, Shane Van Boening (USA) bt Gandy Valle (PHI) 11-10, Radoslaw Babica (POL) bt Thorsten Hohmann (GER) 11-8, Thomas Engert (GER) bt Marlon Manalo (PHI) 11-8, Martin Kempter (AUT) bt Chang Jung-Ling (TPE) 11-8, Jeffrey De Luna (PHI) bt Mika Immonen (FIN) 11-6, Ohi Naoyuki (JPN) bt Lee Van Corteza (PHI) 11-9, Ko Pin-Yi (TPE) bt Zhang Shuchun (CHN) 11-6, Niels Feijen (NED) bt Allan Cuartero (PHI) 11-3