Django Keeps San Miguel Philippine 9-Ball Open Crown
New Talent Found In Person Of Mike Takayama

Casino Filipino Pagcor Theater, Manila, Philippines - Francisco "Django" Bustamante successfully defended his title in the San Miguel Philippine 9-Ball Open by defeating veteran campaigner Leonardo Didal in the finals to the score of 17-11, October 14th.

The tournament was a great success, owing to the presence of grizzled veterans and the emergence of very young talents. One of the revelations would be Mike Takayama who reached the semi-finals of the event.

Mike defeated big names like: Alex Pagulayan (9-2), Gandy Valle (9-7) and Dennis Orcullo (9-4).

Bustamante takes home PHP500,000 (approximately $10,000) and Didal has PHP250,000 (approximately $5,000) for finishing 2nd.

Philippine Billiards Ranking (Q3 - 2006)
Let us revisit our billiards ranking before the highly anticipated World Pool Championship to be held the very first time in Manila. We have 6 likely heroes in this quarter's ranking. We may expect them to lead the Philippine's ques for the coveted World Pool Championship crown. We have three grizzled veterans and three young guns on our list, and here they are...

1. "The Magician" Efren "Bata" Reyes [2]
The Magician in definitely in a hot streak. He has not only been winning left and right, he is also making history in the process. Efren has been very consistent in his performance in the International Pool Tour (IPT). After landing 4th place in the 2006 IPT North American 8-Ball Championship he upped the ante by winning the 2006 IPT World 8-Ball Championship and taking home the biggest ever prize money in pool history. He also copped the first ever PartyPoker.Com World Cup of Pool with his buddy Francisco Bustamante. And then lastly, he paved the way for the Philippine's sweep of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour by following up his win in Ho Chi Minh City by another win in Jakarta. The sweep was the first ever in the tour history.

1st - 2006 Asian 9-Ball Tour Jakarta Leg
1st - 2006 IPT World Open 8-Ball Championship
1st - World Cup of Pool
4th - 2006 IPT North American 8-Ball Championship
1st - Derby City Classic, One Pocket Event
1st - 2006 Asian 9-Ball Tour Ho Chi Minh City Leg

2. Dennis "Surigao" Orcullo [1]
Though overtaken by Reyes in the list, Orcullo coninues to sizzle. He, like Reyes, is also a picture of consistency in the International Pool Tour (IPT). He placed 3rd and 5th in the IPT North American and World Championship respectively. Also, he continued Reyes' and Bustamante's legacy in winning the World Pool League.

1st - 2006 World Pool League
5th - 2006 IPT World Open 8-Ball Championship
3rd - 2006 IPT North American 8-Ball Championship
1st - World (9-Ball) Championship Bar Table Tournament
1st - US Bar Table Championship, 8-Ball
1st - 43rd Annual Reno Open

3. "Marvelous" Marlon Manalo [New]
It has been a very quiet year for Manalo. But he did almost catch a biggie, he finished second in the 2006 IPT North American 8-Ball Championship, and that is more than enough to put him in third.

2nd - 2006 IPT North American 8-Ball Championship

4. Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan [3]
Alex became the first ever Philippine champion when he took the BSCP National Pool Championship crown undefeated. Although, it should be noted that Efren Reyes and Django Bustamante were not in the competition as they were together busy making history in the World Cup of Pool.

1st - BSCP National Pool Championship
2nd - 2nd SML Open 9-Ball Championship
2nd - 2006 World Pool Masters

5. Rodolfo "Boy Samson" Luat [New] & Francisco "Django" Bustamante [New]
These two veterans are finally waking up. Luat has been performing well, he topped one of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball tour legs, and the most difficult leg to capture at that, the Kaohsiung Leg. Also, he almost took the 31st Annual US Open 9-Ball Championship crown. Meanwhile, Django has been fairly quit this year. But the historical win for the first ever PartyPoker.Com World Cup of Pool, together with his friend Efren, cannot be overlooked.

Luat's achievements:
2nd - 2006 US Open 9-Ball Championship
1st - 2006 Asian 9-Ball Tour Kaohsiung Leg

Bustamante's achievements:
1st - PartyPoker.Com World Cup of Pool

"Boy Samson" Luat Is 2006 US Open Runner-Up

Chesapeake Convention Center, Chesapeake, VA, USA - Rodolfo "Boy Samson" Luat was defeated by John "Mr. 400" Schmidt in the finals to win the 31st Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship. 219 players entered for a chance to walk away with the prestigious title and $40,000 first-place prize, but in the end only one man could achieve it.

Luat was undefeated all through out the tournament. On the contrary, Schmidt came from the losers bracket to snap up the grand prize.

Luat took home $20,000 for placing 2nd in the prestegious event held Sep 25 - Oct 1.

Dennis Orcullo Is The New World Pool League Champion

NOT Building, Warsaw, Poland - Continuing in the legacy of legendary Filipino cue masters Efren Reyes and Django Bustamante, Dennis "Surigao" Orcullo is the 2006 PartyCasino.com World Pool League

Orcullo defeated Holland's Niels Feijen, 8-5, in a very exciting final match.

Orcullo bested everybody in the six-man tourney which includes former world champions Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany. Other contenders are Chan Pei Wei of Taiwan and Radislaw Babica of Poland.

Orcullo would bring home a sweet $20,000 pay check for his win.