Magpantay stuns Kural, captures Qatar 10-ball World Cup crown

Letting his performance speak for itself, Filipino cue artist Jonas Magpantay stunned his Polish rival, Szymon Kural with a 13-9 victory to clinch the Qatar-10 ball crown in the Qatar 10-Ball World Cup in Doha on Nov. 2.

Magpantay established an early commanding 6-2 cushion before pulling off to an 8-4 break, putting the Polish cue artist in a tough spot, ultimately falling to Magpantay.

Kural attempted a late comeback, taking three straight racks to cut the deficit to 9-11, but a dry break in the 21st rack opened the door for the Oriental Mindoro native to seal the championship.

Before his title run, Magpantay endured a tough road, defeating Carlo Biado in the Round of 32, Poland’s Wojciech Szewczyk in the Round of 16, and Netherlands’ Niel Feijen in the quarterfinals.

The semifinals also tested the Filipino cue, who overcame Germany’s Moritz Neuhausen to book his spot in the final round.

His fellow Filipino cue artists, Carlo Biado and Johann Chua, commended Magpantay’s Qatar stint.

“Lord God Ang bilis mo naman binigay ang birthday wish ko na sana Filipino ang mag champion sa Qatar,” Biado stated.

“Masaya kaming lahat na dumating narin yung araw na napatunayan mo ang galing mo sa buong mundo,” said Chua.

“Sana sa panalo mong to mas maraming pang sumunod sayo at mainspire. Maraming salamat sa karangalan,” he added.

Magpantay’s championship victory earned him a $100,000 cash prize.

With reports from Manila Bulletin