Team Rest of the World went two-from-two on the final day to dismantle Team Asia 11-4 on aggregate and win the Reyes Cup for the first time in the Philippines.
Coming into the final day with a five-game deficit, Asia needed a stroke of magic to turn the tie around and keep their title defence alive. Carlo Biado and Albert Januarta brought them that much-needed inspiration, putting the home side 2-1 up early in the team match.
Fedor Gorst quickly restored parity for the Rest of the World, however, after successfully hooking AJ Manas and running out the rack.
The biggest drama of the night came in rack five when Aleksa Pecelj’s missed carom left the nine-ball hanging on the jaw of the pocket. Both Duong Quoc Hoang and Pecelj had several tries at potting the alluring bumblebee before the Serbian sunk an all-important seven-nine combo to give Team ROW the lead.
That moment turned the tide completely for Ralf Souquet’s boys. Francisco Sanchez Ruiz added another rack before Joshua Filler officially put them on the hill with another massive seven-nine combination shot.
With their backs against the wall, Robbie Capito and Duong Quoc Hoang carried the heavy duty of kickstarting an almost impossible comeback in the doubles against Sanchez Ruiz and Van Boening.
The Asian pairing was off to a decent start, winning the first rack. Unfortunately, it turned out to be an early consolation point for Team Asia.
Capito and Duong made several blunders, while Sanchez Ruiz and Van Boening were clinical with their safeties and runouts, with a bit of luck on their side.
Team ROW’s pairing won five straight racks to clinch an emphatic 11-4 rout over Team Asia and their first Reyes Cup title after three editions.
Sanchez Ruiz crowned MVP
A brilliant year for Sanchez Ruiz continued after he was chosen Reyes Cup MVP after four days of action.
The Spaniard displayed remarkable consistency from the very first team match to the last nine-ball he sank to win the showdown for Team ROW.
El Ferrari remained unbeaten in his singles and doubles matches while coming up clutch for his team on several occasions in the team matches.
Sanchez Ruiz becomes the third Reyes Cup MVP, following Aloysius Yapp in 2024 and AJ Manas in 2025. He is the first-ever MVP recipient from Team ROW.
Captain Souquet rowing his crew to victory
The selection of Ralf Souquet as team captain was arguably the most important decision for Team ROW, even more than adding Joshua Filler and Shane van Boening to the mix.
The legendary former world nine-ball champion brought the intensity and German discipline to the star-studded lineup. Team ROW looked much more like a unit compared to the previous editions.
Their team spirit showed on the table, as they constantly offered each other encouragement and compliments after every good shot. That sort of connection was built from weeks of practising together in the Philippines before the tournament.
The ‘rowing’ celebration led by Souquet after his team’s victory was an awesome moment of camaraderie. After all, ‘The Kaiser’ is back ruling the world.
