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Carlo Biado and Bernie Regalario arranged themselves a semifinal clash to assure the Philippines a spot in the World Pool Championship final at the Green Halls in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Saturday, July 26.
The 41-year-old Biado, who once ruled the 9-Ball competition in 2017, got the better of former world champion Taiwanese Ko Ping Chung after listing an 11-7 quarterfinal win.
Meanwhile, Regalario earned his semis ticket after a huge upset against the 2023 king Francisco Sánchez Ruiz of Spain, 11-4, in the tournament that dangles $250,000 (around P14 million) for the grand champion.
Vying in the other semifinal pairing are reigning champion Fedor Gorst of the US and Kledio Kaci of Albania which is a rematch of sorts for the last year’s finalists.
Gorst scored an 11-4 demolition of Filipino Jefrey Roda to advance to the Final Four. On the other hand, Kaci punched his ticket after disarming Iraq’s Ameer Ali, 11-9.
“Bernie is young, but he can beat anybody. He’s a real fighter—one of the best young players in the Philippines,” said Biado on his semis clash with Regalario. "If he beats me, I’ll be cheering for him in the final."
Prior to their quarters triumphs, the two Filipino cue artists first survived their compatriots in the Last 16 with Biado carving out an 11-9 win against Jeffrey Ignacio, and Regalario finishing the same against Patrick Gonzalez.
No matter what the outcome is, Biado and Regalario are assured of taking home $50,000 (P2,857,490) for reaching the semifinals.
The last time a Filipino won the tournament was eight years ago when Biado beat Roland Garcia, 13-5.
The first four champions from the Philippines were Efren “Bata” Reyes (1999), Fil-Canadian Alex Pagulayan (2004), Ronnie Alcano (2006), and Francisco “Django” Bustamante (2010).
