FORMER world champion Alex Pagulayan and former world No.1
Francisco "Django" Bustamante will vie for honors in the 2008 PartyPoker.net
World Pool Masters which unreels May 9 at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las
Vegas.
The two Filipinos were picked by the organizing Matchroom
Sports.
Pagulayan and Bustamante will be joined by 18-year-old
Taiwanese sensation Ko Pin Yi as the only Asians seeing action in the tough
three-day tournament offering a prize pot of $62,000 (around P2.48-million),
with $20,000 going to the champion.
They will go up against 13 other world-class pool masters led
by defending champion Thomas Engert of Germany and reigning World Pool champion
Daryl Peach of England.
Others seeing action are former world champions Mika Immonen
of Finland and Ralf Souquet of Germany, Christian Reimering, Tony Drago of
Malta, Niels Feijen of the Netherlands, Bruno Muratore of Italy, Mark Gray and
Imran Majid of England, and Shane Van Boening, Rodney Morris and Corey Deuel of
the US.
"With four World 9 Ball Champions, six US Open Champions and
a host of other title-holders in the field, I believe that this will be the
toughest ever World Pool Masters," said Matchroom Sport chairman Barry Hearn.
"With winner breaks, race to eight matches on the toughest equipment it will
take a series of fantastic performances over the three days to lift this
prestigious trophy," he added.
