Johann Chua reigned victorious at the Philippines Open Championship in Quezon City, defeating Anton Raga 11-9 in an all-Filipino final in front of a packed Gateway Mall crowd.
Filipino fans witnessed history on all three levels of the Quezon City shopping mall as Chua became the first Filipino to win the World Nineball Tour major on home turf, sealing the $20,000 champion’s cheque in the process.
Competing in his first WNT major since being beaten in the 2025 Philippines Open first round by unknown Filipino Yves Cabrito, Chua needed no time to get back up to speed and added to his 2024 Hanoi Open triumph.
Chua made the most of a nervous start from Raga to seize early control of the final. After Raga scratched on the opening break, Chua converted a three-nine combination and capitalised on further errors to race into a commanding 5-0 lead, with the home crowd sensing a potential rout.
But Raga refused to fold. A superb kick shot on the two ball sparked his revival, and a jump shot followed by a four-nine combination helped him claw his way back into contention. Raga pulled the score back to 5–3, although another scratch off the break allowed Chua to stem the comeback and regain control at 6–3.
Chua gained a 7-4 advantage following an astonishing rack which saw him execute a two-rail kick on the two, a table-length pot on the three and a four-nine combination. Nevertheless, Raga reduced the arrears to a solitary rack following positional mistakes from his opponent.
Nerves were palpable for both as the business end of the contest neared. Former European Open runner-up Raga received his chances following unforced errors from Chua, who notably executed a phenomenal four-seven combination, but jitters got the better of him and Chua eventually moved onto the hill at 10-7.
Raga, who had beaten Jayson Shaw, Jefrey Roda and Baseth Mocaibat, on his way to a second WNT major final, had time for one last surge. He took advantage of Chua’s dry break and a subsequent positional error to narrow the deficit to a single rack.
However, his fourth scratch off the break proved fatal. Chua received ball-in-hand with the championship on the line and made no mistake, clearing the table to clinch the title amid jubilant scenes at the Gateway Mall.
Raga was the fifth Filipino to have been left by the wayside during Chua’s title-winning campaign, with the eventual champion having notably beaten reigning two-time world champion Carlo Biado, World Cup of Pool-winning teammate James Aranas and Bernie Regalario along the way.
Regalario sensationally defeated Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and defending champion David Alcaide to the loss of a mere three racks, while Mocaibat completed an all-Filipino final four by beating world number one Aloysius Yapp and the legendary Shane van Boening in successive rounds.
