CARLO Biado etched his name in Philippine billiards history, even eclipsing what the great Efren “Bata” Reyes had achieved.
In the wee hours of Sunday, July 27, when the Philippines was deep asleep, Biado was fully awake, shouting and jumping for joy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as he ruled the 2025 World Pool Championship and became the first Filipino to win the prestigious nine-ball tournament twice.
“I’m so happy because I’m a two-time world champion now and I (will) bring the trophy going (back) to the Philippines,” Biado said in a post-match interview.
The 41-year-old “Black Tiger” Biado flashed unyielding fierceness to finish the prestigious tournament unwounded, dethroning world No. 1 and last year’s champion Fedor Gorst of the USA with a down-the-wire 15-13 victory in the final round.
His victory in Jeddah marks a follow-up championship to his 2017 breakthrough, placing him ahead of legendary Filipino male players Reyes (1999), Alex Pagulayan (2004), and Django Bustamante (2010), all of whom hoisted the coveted crown once.
“This final is an unforgettable game because Fedor is one of the best players in the world and he’s a monster in the table,” Biado said.
Attaining this success, however, was never a piece of cake for Biado as Gorst put him to a severe acid test.
The Filipino looked comfortable with a commanding 9-2 lead before the American crawled up from seven racks down to tie the match at 9-9.
Biado regained control and swept four consecutive racks for a 13-9 edge, but Gorst mounted another comeback for a 13-13 deadlock, sending the match into a heart-stopping climax.
The defending champion miscued in the next rack that opened the path for Biado to pocket the remaining balls in the final two frames, giving the newly crowned king the $250,000 top prize.
Biado, who is set to banner Team Asia for the 2nd Reyes Cup in October in Manila, completed an undefeated run of nine games in the tournament.
He beat Jan Van Lierop of the Netherlands and fellow Filipino Lee Vann Corteza in the eliminations and booted out England’s Chris Melling (Round of 64), Wiktor Zielinski of Poland (Round of 32), compatriot Jeff Ignacio (Round of 16), Chinese-Taipei’s Ko Ping Chung (quarterfinals), and fellow countryman Bernie Regalario (semifinals). / RP2 SPORTS
