Johann Chua Wins the 2026 Roobet Philippines Open Pool Championship

The Roobet Philippines Open Championship brought five days of fast-paced nineball to Gateway Mall in Quezon City.

The 128-player open-format tournament, which was organised by Matchroom Multisport and supported by title sponsor Roobet, built off last year's inaugural edition to deliver the thrills that fans hoped for.

So, without further delay, here is a wrap-up of what went down in arguably the most unique competition in pool.

Day 1

The first rounds of large open-format championships are often defined by established stars winning crushing victories over lesser-known challengers. The first day of the 2026 Roobet Philippines Open Pool Championship was no different.

Defending champion David 'El Matador' Alcaide cruised past Filipino Rodlin John Bautista 10-1, while Robbie Capito whitewashed Thai challenger Sowiset Namfon. His 10-0 win was a strong response to a disappointing defeat in October's Roobet Reyes Cup.

Filipino stars Carlo 'Black Tiger' Biado and Johann 'Bad Koi' Chua easily beat their American opponents, while world number one Aloysius Yapp swept past American cueist Raphael Dabreo 10-2.

But it was not to be for every big name on the WNT. Filipino hero Francisco 'Django' Bustamante lost 10-0 to compatriot Rodrigo Geronimo, and it was clear from the first rack that Bustamante struggled to find his rhythm.

Teenage sensation AJ 'Star boy' Manas looked in control at 8-3 up against fellow Filipino Rommel Janael Santos, but he lost his nerve. Santos fought back to win 10-9 in the closest match of the day.

The quality of pool and dramatic losses on day 1 showed fans that 2026's Roobet Philippines Open would not disappoint.

Day 2

The Round of 128 continued on day 2, with several of the biggest names still yet to play.

The tour's leading stars continued to show their quality. Roobet Reyes Cup MVP Francisco 'El Ferrari' Sánchez Ruiz swept past Filipino Genesis Ouano 10-2, while American legend Shane 'South Dakota Kid' Van Boening won eight straight racks to beat Britain's Chris Stripple. Fedor Gorst was even more dominant, whitewashing Russian challenger Vitaly Pavlukhin 10-0.

The opening round finished midway through the afternoon, and the Round of 64 kicked off immediately afterwards.

Aloysius Yapp beat Rodrigo Geronimo, who had cruised past Bustamante so confidently in the opening round. Then, in the tensest match of the day, defending champion David Alcaide held his nerve to edge out Paul John Ortega 10-9 in a hill-hill thriller.

In an all-Filipino tie, Johann Chua beat Jaycee Cordova Garcia, while relative unknown Tristan Deocareza beat Duong 'The Martian' Quoc Hoang 10-7. It capped a difficult two weeks for the Vietnamese star.

Day 3

The Round of 64 continued on day 3 at Gateway Mall, with Gorst, Biado, Van Boening and Souquet taking to the four main tables in the opening session.

Gorst, Biado and Van Boening won to progress to the Round of 32. Gorst faced Filipino Jerico Banares and had to contend with a partisan crowd. Playing under such conditions was no easy task, but 'The Ghost' remained composed, reacting to the crowd's cheers with a wry smile as he secured a 10-7 victory.

The most watched match of the day pitted teenage Filipino TikTok star Jaybee Sucal against Estonia's Denis Grabe. Once again, the crowd was firmly behind the home favourite, but it was not to be. Grabe came through to win 10-5.

The tournament moved into the Round of 32 later that afternoon.

Aloysius Yapp made light work of Michael Feliciano, and Johann Chua squeezed past James Aranas, winning 10-8. British cueist Jayson 'Eagle Eye' Shaw then went rack for rack with young German Felix Vogel before edging a hill-hill thriller 10-9.

The crowd had brought plenty of energy over the opening two days, but there was a noticeable shift on day 3 as the stakes rose.

Day 4

The Round of 16 kicked off at midday on Friday. Anton Raga beat fellow Filipino Jefrey Roda 10-7, while Sánchez Ruiz whitewashed Thorsten Hohmann, continuing his fine form. Filipino Bernie 'L'il Prince' Regalario crushed defending champion David Alcaide 10-2, and Johann Chua was neck and neck with Aleksa Pecelj to 6-6, before the Filipino ran away with the match.

In the most entertaining match of the round of 16, Januarta raced into a 6-1 lead before Biado fought back to level the scores at 8-8. Januarta then missed an easy pot, allowing the 'Black Tiger' to take the rack and make a golden break to complete a remarkable comeback.

The quarter-finals began in the late afternoon, delivering upset after upset, much to the delight of the home crowd.

Francisco Sánchez Ruiz, who won the MVP award at the Roobet Reyes Cup, was shocked 10-1 by Filipino Bernie Regalario, a scoreline he had been inflicting on opponents throughout the tournament.

The next match then had the same result. Chua stunned Biado by winning the opening five racks in quick succession. The 'Black Tiger' Biado was able to claim only one before Chua took the next five.

In the third quarter-final, Anton Raga raced into a 7-1 lead against Jayson Shaw and looked dominant throughout. Shaw mounted a brief comeback, bringing the score back to 7-4, but it was not to be. Raga secured a 10-4 victory.

Fans were then treated to another Van Boening thriller in the quarter-finals. 'The South Dakota Kid' raced into a 6-1 lead and appeared in complete control, but Baseth Mocaibat, also known as the Kingpin, dug deep to shift the momentum. He fought back to 7-5 before Van Boening surged into a 9-7 lead, but again, Mocaibat would not break. He held his nerve to win a hill-hill thriller 10-9.

Day 4 produced the best pool of the tournament so far, setting up an all-Filipino semi-final line-up.

Day 5

In the first semi-final of the day, Bernie Regalario took on Johann Chua. The score was level at 2-2, and Regalario looked to be playing well, but 'Bad Koi' Chua's experience began to show. Chua moved ahead at 3-2 and did not miss another shot, closing out a commanding 10-2 victory that included a golden break.

The second semi-final, between Baseth Mocaibat and Anton Raga, was a much closer affair. The pair were evenly matched through the first 12 racks, and at 6-6 neither looked likely to break the deadlock. But Raga took the thirteenth rack and pulled away, moving 9-6 ahead before Mocaibat conceded with only the bumblebee remaining to set up a final for the ages.

The final was played in front of a packed arena, with fans filling all three levels. Chua came out firing, racing into an early 5-0 lead while Raga took time to warm up.

Then the match really came alive. Raga won six of the next eight racks to cut Chua's lead to 7-6. From then, the pressure continued to intensify as the pair traded racks.

A Raga mistake allowed Chua to move 10-7 ahead. But Chua did not pot off the break, and Raga held his nerve to take the next two racks and close the gap to 10-9. However, Raga's late comeback fell short at the final hurdle. He scratched off the break and Chua cleared the table to seal a thrilling 11-9 victory.

What a match played by two of the biggest stars in Filipino pool.

Roobet Philippines Open Pool Championship

The second Roobet Philippines Open Pool Championship delivered five days of exhilarating pool, brought to fans by the ever-growing WNT and Roobet, the online crypto casino.

The competition was fierce throughout, with established stars falling at every stage and Filipino talent rising to the occasion. An all-Filipino semi-final line-up was a fitting finale in one of the sport's heartlands.

Now in its second edition, the Roobet Philippines Open has established itself as one of the most exciting tournaments on the pool calendar. Congratulations to Johann Chua, the winner of the 2026 Roobet Philippines Open Pool Championship.