The inaugural Florida Open Pool Championship will be staged from August 5-10 at the Caribe Royale Orlando Resort, acting as one of six open championships on this year’s World Nineball Tour calendar.
Following a disappointing World Pool Championship, despite his 200/1 selection Ameer Ali reaching the quarter-finals, pool writer Ben Hudd returns with his best bets and analysis for the Florida event.
Florida Open Pool Championship 2025 betting tips
- Jefrey Roda to win the Florida Open Championship – 33/1 E/W Ladbrokes 1/2
- Pijus Labutis to win the Florida Open Championship – 66/1 E/W Ladbrokes 1/2
- Vitaliy Patsura to win the Florida Open Championship – 100/1 E/W Ladbrokes 1/2
- Jonas Souto Comino to win the Florida Open Championship – 125/1 E/W Ladbrokes 1/2
It was a Filipino domination at the recent World Pool Championship, with seven players from the Philippines reaching the last 16 and Carlo Biado ultimately becoming a two-time world champion. And, it wouldn’t be anything of a surprise to see pool’s most prominent nation rule the roost once again at the inaugural Florida Open.
Jefrey Roda (33/1), a World Championship and US Open Championship quarter-finalist, leaps off the page as a major champion-in-waiting and another Filipino bordering on the world’s elite. His technique is compact and dependable, and the way he plays is synonymous with the game’s best.
Roda, who was also a Hanoi Open semi-finalist last October, has gained the scalps of Joshua Filler, Jayson Shaw and Johann Chua in recent WNT majors. He’s someone capable of overcoming the big names and someone who regularly finds themself at the business end of events.
Having been dealt with a favourable draw for the early rounds, with a winners’ qualification round clash with Greece’s Dimitris Loukatos potentially on the cards, the dangerous Roda will be confident of another deep run. Perhaps he can make the quantum leap and seal an elusive major accolade in Orlando.
Roda will prove to be a stern opponent for tournament favourites Fedor Gorst (6/1), Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (9/1), Shane van Boening (9/1) and Carlo Biado (10/1) should their paths coincide.
Meanwhile, despite having a tricky passage into the single elimination phase, which could include Mika van Berkel and Lo Ho-Sum or Boris Ivanovski, Pijus Labutis (66/1) remains somebody on the upper end of people’s lists when it comes to the next first-time major champion. The Lithuanian has been simmering beneath the surface for some time now, and maybe his moment in the spotlight could arrive in Florida.
Labutis, a semi-finalist of open championships in Spain, England and Bosnia and Herzegovina, has significantly improved with former Mosconi Cup captain Johan Ruysink in his corner. He’s someone who always finds the positives and that certainly holds him in good stead.
Jonas Souto Comino (125/1) may have produced some outrageous stuff on his way to the UK Open final only three months ago and won two ranking titles, although the Spaniard still remains an outlandish price to win the Florida Open, especially considering he’s eleventh on the one-year rankings.
Having provided Fedor Gorst’s most taxing opposition at the World Championship until the finals, Souto Comino has avoided the trickier early round opponents, with world number 72 Luong Duc Thien potentially being his toughest assignment en route to the last 64. He was a beaten finalist when tipped on these pages for the UK Open, and Souto Comino is simply too inviting to ignore again.
Another in that category and therefore selected on value grounds is Ukraine’s Vitaliy Patsura. A US Open quarter-finalist last August, notably dismantling eventual champion Fedor Gorst en route, Patsura has already snapped off some huge titles since relocating to the USA two years ago and there’s no reason suggesting he couldn’t add the Florida Open to his haul.
Twice a Texas Open champion, Patsura does have a relatively difficult section of the double elimination draw. He could face Mosconi Cup hopeful Nathan Childress and either Mario He or Nicholas Tan on his way to the last 64, although he undoubtedly has the game to overcome anyone.
Florida Open Pool Championship 2025 selected odds
Fedor Gorst 6/1
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz 9/1
Shane van Boening 9/1
Carlo Biado 10/1
Johann Chua 12/1
Jayson Shaw 16/1
David Alcaide 20/1
Robbie Capito 22/1
Aloysius Yapp 25/1
Bernie Regalario 25/1
Eklent Kaci 25/1
Kledio Kaci 25/1
Mario He 28/1
Skyler Woodward 28/1
Albin Ouschan 33/1
Jefrey Roda 33/1
Mickey Krause 33/1
Konrad Juszczyszyn 40/1
Moritz Neuhausen 40/1
Patric Gonzales 40/1
Wiktor Zielinski 40/1
Duong Quoc Hoang 50/1
Luong Duc Thien 50/1
Mieszko Fortunski 50/1
Naoyuki Oi 50/1
Alexander Kazakis 66/1
Chang Yu-Lung 66/1
Hsiesh Chia-Chen 66/1
Lee Van Corteza 66/1
Lo Ho-Sum 66/1
Marc Bijsterbosch 66/1
Marvin Asis 66/1
Max Lechner 66/1
Michael Baoanan 66/1
Pijus Labutis 66/1
Aleksa Pecelj 80/1
Bader Alawadhi 80/1
Edward Koyongian 80/1
Harry Vergara 80/1
Kuo Po-Cheng 80/1
Roland Garcia 80/1
Sanjin Pehlivanovic 80/1
Tyler Styer 80/1
Bui Truong An 100/1
Emil-Andre Gangflot 100/1
Georgi Georgiev 100/1
Hunter Lombardo 100/1
John Morra 100/1
Lukas Fracasso-Verner 100/1
Mustafa Alnar 100/1
Petri Makkonen 100/1
Phuong Nam Pham 100/1
Raymond Linares 100/1
Thorsten Hohmann 100/1
Vitaly Patsura 100/1
Billy Thorpe 125/1
Francesco Candela 125/1
Jonas Souto Comino 125/1
Ralf Souquet 125/1
Shane Wolford 125/1
Dean Shields 150/1
Dimitris Loukatos 150/1
Elliot Sanderson 150/1
Jan van Lierop 150/1
Jesus Atencio 150/1
Yannick Pongers 150/1
Earl Strickland 200/1
All odds via Ladbrokes and correct at time of publishing
