Robbie Capito has moved into Reyes Cup contention following his sensational UK Open success, while Pijus Labutis has strengthened his hopes of qualifying for the respective European teams.
Having landed his maiden major accolade and accumulated $30,000 in the process, numerous doors will now unlock for the 22-year-old, including a potential bow on the Asian team for the inaugural staging of the anticipated Reyes Cup in the Philippines.
Only Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp, the reigning International Open champion, now stands in a better position on the one-year ranking towards the Asian team, with Capito leapfrogging Ko Pin-Yi, Carlo Biado and Scottish Open winner Duong Quoc Hoang.
From the European perspective, UK Open semi-finalist Labutis strengthened his hopes of Reyes Cup and Mosconi Cup debuts, now sitting behind only David Alcaide on $28,935 following his prior runs to the Derby City Classic and Super Billiards Expo finals.
UK Open runner-up Mieszko Fortunski moved himself into the picture, sitting in seventh place in the European rankings, ahead of both Albin Ouschan and world number one Francisco Sanchez Ruiz.
Meanwhile, Fedor Gorst leads the way in the American standings towards the Mosconi Cup ahead of Tyler Styer, while recent Scottish Open runner-up Oscar Dominguez has moved into contention of a return to the team.
Sam Henderson attracted attention at the UK Open, notably beating World Championship runner-up Mohammad Soufi, but the teenage prospect has some catching up to do and will perhaps be relying on a wildcard if he’s to make his debut this year.
Respective European and American Mosconi Cup cut-offs will occur following the European Open, the US Open and the Hanoi Open, while Reyes Cup cut-offs for teams Asia and Europe will occur after next month’s World Pool Championship, the European Open and the US Open.
