Toughest nat’l pool event set

THE Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines, the governing body of pool in the country, will hold the toughest national pool championship ever staged with the multi-discipline 2011 BSCP National Championships scheduled on Oct. 3-11 at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City.

In the battle for the men’s championship, the players will compete in three disciplines — eight ball, nine-ball and ten-ball — each a tournament on its own right.

The 2011 men’s national champion will be determined based on total points garnered by each player from all three disciplines. Points will be assigned to players based on their order of finish in each event.

In the women’s championship, players will only compete in the 10-ball event.

A total prize fund of P800,000 await the winners of the three tournaments and the grand national championship.

Because of the grueling format in the men’s championship, “whoever emerges as the winner will be the truest national champion ever,” says BSCP spokesman Butch Argonza.

He explained that the BSCP adopted the format to accelerate the development of cue sports in the country and defend its image as the leading pool-playing nation in the world. “As the rest of the world have gotten better at pool, it is important that Filipino players excel in all pool games. We have to maintain our edge,” he said.

BSCP, AKTV, Star Billiards and Raya Sports are mounting this year’s championships while KTV on IBC 13 will broadcast the event. Star Billiards, under BSCP president Sebastian Chua, will host the nine-day pool extravaganza.

Top Filipino players and fast-rising enthusiasts are expected to join the event.

The full schedule of the 2011 National Championships is as follows: Men’s 8-Ball (Oct. 3-4), Men’s 9-Ball (Oct. 5-6), Men’s 10-Ball (Oct. 7-8), Women’s 10-ball (Oct. 6-8).

The finals of all tournaments will run from Oct. 9 to 11.

To register, call Sol Gueco at (0910)887-5216 or Edgar Acaba, BSCP secretary-general (0916)573-1458.