Jeffrey Ignacio pulled of a 13-1 win over Sean Mark Malayan in an all-Filipino finale to claim his first World Nine-ball Tour (WNT) title after ruling the TAOM Arena Open over the weekend in Kuala Lumpur.
The 33-year-old Filipino cue artist displayed his dominance to take home a pot money worth $10,000 — or roughly P616,720 — after conquering the 168-man tournament organized by Matchroom Pool.
He was impressive early, beating fellow Filipino John Vincent Vicedo, 9-3, in the Round of 32.
Then, he defeated Lo Ho Sum of Hong Kong, 10-6, in the Last 16 before overpowering Ponco Klinton Manurung of Indonesia, 10-3, in the quarterfinals.
As if that wasn’t enough, Ignacio, the 2024 Indonesia International Open champion, also eliminated Liu Ri Teng of Chinese Taipei, 11-7, to arrange a championship showdown with Malayan.
Despite falling short in the final, Malayan still pocketed $4,500 or around P277,000.
“Thank God for guiding me throughout this tournament. I already felt something special after surviving that hill-hill match against my fellow Filipino player. I am also grateful to my sponsors who continue to support me without hesitation,” Ignacio said.
“We are fortunate once again to secure a championship. To my opponent in the final, Sean Mark Malayan, you played exceptionally well throughout the tournament. Congratulations, brother.”
Meanwhile, world champion Carlo Biado bombed out in the Round of 32 following a 7-9 loss to Filipino cue artist Paolo Galito.
Jeffrey de Luna also made an exit in the quarterfinals after a 6-10 defeat to Malayan. He, however, pocketed a prize money of around P68,000.
Also suffering a quarterfinal exit was James Aranas, who absorbed a 5-10 loss to Liu.
