Philippines To Host World Pool Championship In November
6 April 2006, Singapore : All eyes of the billiards sports world will be on the Philippines come November as the biggest and most prestigious international pool tournament is finally brought to what some regard as the “spiritual home of the modern game.”
The 2006 World Pool Championship, considered the “Wimbledon of Billiards,” will be staged from November 4 to 12, 2006 in Metro Manila, in an announcement made during a press conference by its organizers ESPN STAR Sports, Matchroom Sports and Raya Sports.
Dubbed the “2006 Philippines World Pool Championship,” the fast-paced 9-ball pool tournament is officially sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiards Association, the sport’s international governing body, and the local sports association, the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines.
“For a long time people from all over the world have wondered when this top billiards tournament will be held in the Philippines since we have an abundance of world-class pool talents,” said Yen Makabenta, chairman of the BSCP and president of Raya Sports. “Finally, we can proudly say that the world championship has made it to our country.”
“I am proud to announce that ESPN STAR Sports will be the official host broadcaster of the event for the third year running – a role that brings with it our continued commitment to deliver the most comprehensive coverage of the tournament on Asian television. Pool enthusiasts will be able to look forward to world-class live coverage with telecasts of the competition reaching more than 130 million homes across Asia on ESPN not to mention millions more around the globe,” remarked Harvey Davis, Senior Director of ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group.
Top billiards contenders from some 50 countries are expected to vie for the top pot of US$100,000, the biggest in the tournament’s history. The total prize money is US$400,000, which will be awarded up to the top 64th slot. Among those expected to compete are last year’s champion Taiwanese Wu Chia Ching who won in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He will defend his title against Filipino cue masters like Efren “Bata” Reyes, who won the title in Cardiff, Wales in 1999, and Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan, who won in Taipei, Taiwan in 2004.
Also certain to see action in the tournament are former world champions Earl Strickland from the US, Mika Immonen from Finland, and Thorsten Hohman from Germany.
Evaluations for the final venue of the tournament are underway, with organizers inspecting facilities including the Philippine International Convention Center and the soon to be opened Mall of Asia of the SM Group.
ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world’s leading cable and satellite broadcasters, ESPN Inc. and STAR. We are Asia’s complete sports provider that reaches over 134 million households for ESPN and over 64 million households for STAR Sports. Our networks are ESPN Asia, ESPN India, ESPN Taiwan, ESPN Philippines, MBC-ESPN (Korea), ESPN Singapore, ESPN Hong Kong, STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Taiwan, STAR Sports Singapore, STAR Sports S.E.A. and STAR Sports Hong Kong. We bring the world’s premier live sports and leading regional events to viewers 24 hours a day. On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. On-line, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. This multilingual, online platform is closely integrated with ESPN and STAR Sports on air networks and has established the sites as the number one on-line sports destination in their respective markets.
For further information, please contact:
Stephenie Vasko
ESPN STAR Sports
Tel : (65) 6488 6126
E-mail: vaskos@espnstar.com
The 2006 World Pool Championship, considered the “Wimbledon of Billiards,” will be staged from November 4 to 12, 2006 in Metro Manila, in an announcement made during a press conference by its organizers ESPN STAR Sports, Matchroom Sports and Raya Sports.
Dubbed the “2006 Philippines World Pool Championship,” the fast-paced 9-ball pool tournament is officially sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiards Association, the sport’s international governing body, and the local sports association, the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines.
“For a long time people from all over the world have wondered when this top billiards tournament will be held in the Philippines since we have an abundance of world-class pool talents,” said Yen Makabenta, chairman of the BSCP and president of Raya Sports. “Finally, we can proudly say that the world championship has made it to our country.”
“I am proud to announce that ESPN STAR Sports will be the official host broadcaster of the event for the third year running – a role that brings with it our continued commitment to deliver the most comprehensive coverage of the tournament on Asian television. Pool enthusiasts will be able to look forward to world-class live coverage with telecasts of the competition reaching more than 130 million homes across Asia on ESPN not to mention millions more around the globe,” remarked Harvey Davis, Senior Director of ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group.
Top billiards contenders from some 50 countries are expected to vie for the top pot of US$100,000, the biggest in the tournament’s history. The total prize money is US$400,000, which will be awarded up to the top 64th slot. Among those expected to compete are last year’s champion Taiwanese Wu Chia Ching who won in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He will defend his title against Filipino cue masters like Efren “Bata” Reyes, who won the title in Cardiff, Wales in 1999, and Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan, who won in Taipei, Taiwan in 2004.
Also certain to see action in the tournament are former world champions Earl Strickland from the US, Mika Immonen from Finland, and Thorsten Hohman from Germany.
Evaluations for the final venue of the tournament are underway, with organizers inspecting facilities including the Philippine International Convention Center and the soon to be opened Mall of Asia of the SM Group.
ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world’s leading cable and satellite broadcasters, ESPN Inc. and STAR. We are Asia’s complete sports provider that reaches over 134 million households for ESPN and over 64 million households for STAR Sports. Our networks are ESPN Asia, ESPN India, ESPN Taiwan, ESPN Philippines, MBC-ESPN (Korea), ESPN Singapore, ESPN Hong Kong, STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Taiwan, STAR Sports Singapore, STAR Sports S.E.A. and STAR Sports Hong Kong. We bring the world’s premier live sports and leading regional events to viewers 24 hours a day. On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. On-line, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. This multilingual, online platform is closely integrated with ESPN and STAR Sports on air networks and has established the sites as the number one on-line sports destination in their respective markets.
For further information, please contact:
Stephenie Vasko
ESPN STAR Sports
Tel : (65) 6488 6126
E-mail: vaskos@espnstar.com