The Rest of the World are on the brink of a historic first Reyes Cup title after moving 9-4 ahead of defending champions Asia, leaving themselves just two points away from lifting the trophy in the Philippines.
Ralf Souquet’s Rest of the World team delivered another strong performance on Saturday, combining team strength with impressive individual displays to tighten their grip on the contest. Their advantage leaves Asia facing an uphill battle as they attempt to keep their hopes of a third consecutive crown alive.
The day began positively for ROW, who secured a 5-3 victory in the teams point to maintain their momentum. Fedor Gorst, who was instrumental in that match, then produced a commanding performance in singles, defeating Indonesia’s Albert Januarta 5-1 to extend their lead.
Asia responded through Carlo Biado and Januarta, who combined to claim an impressive 5-3 doubles victory over Gorst and Joshua Filler. However, the defending champions struggled to build on that success, with rookie Aleksa Pecelj defeating AJ Manas 5-1 to move ROW to the brink of victory.
Having won the inaugural Reyes Cup in 2024 and successfully defended their title in 2025, Francisco Bustamante’s Asia entered this year’s event eyeing a three-peat. Instead, they now face the possibility of surrendering the crown to a ROW side growing in confidence with every match.
Under captain Souquet, the Rest of the World have demonstrated the composure and consistency required in a high-pressure team competition. Their ability to dominate the big moments and capitalise on crucial errors has put them in a commanding position heading into the final day.
Asia, perhaps suffering from the absence of world number one Aloysius Yapp, still have the experience and quality to mount a comeback. However, they will need to produce a near-perfect response while hoping ROW falter under the pressure of closing out the contest.
With just two points separating ROW from glory, the final session promises a tense conclusion. For Rest of the World, they stand on the threshold of Reyes Cup history. For Asia, the challenge is to prevent their reign from coming to an abrupt end.
