Reigning National Open champion Carlo “The Black Tiger” Biado defeated Francisco Diaz-Pizarro of Spain, 7-2, while countryman and fellow Bugsy Promotions ace Roberto “Pinoy Superman” Gomez crushed Luke Rollinson of Great Britain, 7-3, yesterday to earn a spot in the Last 64 round of the 2012 World 8-Ball Championship at the Fujairah Tennis and Country Club in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.
Both Biado and Gomez are competing in Group M.
Raymund Faraon also breezed through the main draw as he ripped Ahmed Al Hosani of UAE, 7-1 and Nick Van den Berg of the Netherlands, 7-4, in Group N; Demosthenes “Plong-Plong” Pulpul held off Albin Ouschan of Austria, 7-6, in their do-or-die match in Group J; Elmer Haya routed Yousfi Chaouki of MAR, 7-5, in Group D while Elvis Calasang smashed Al Howri Hanni of UAE, 7-5, in Group F.
A total of nine Filipinos, headed by defending champion Dennis “Robocop” Orcollo, Lee Vann “The Slayer” Corteza and Joven “Snooker Specialist” Alba, made it to the Last 64 which is a single round, race-to-11 knockout format.
The tournament has a total of $156,000 in prize money with the champion getting $20,000 in cash.
In the round of 64, Orcollo takes on Nasser Al Mujaibel of Kuwait; Corteza squares off with Lee Chenman of Hongkong; Alba battles Ahmad Jallad of Jordan; Biado goes up against Haya; Gomez meets Mario He of Austria; Pulpul tangles with Hwang of Korea; Faraon meets Ko Pin-yi of Taiwan while Calasang faces Yukio Akagariyama of Japan.