Johann Chua is the last Filipino standing in the US Open Pool Championship after he made it to the semifinal Saturday at the Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City.
Chua defeated Niels Feijen of the Netherlands in the quarterfinal, 10-2, and moved a few steps closer to the trophy and the prize pot of $100,000 (P 5.7 million).
The 33-year-old pool admitted that taking down Feijen gave him a boost of confidence as he is only two wins away from the title and become the third Filipino to win the crown after Efren “Bata” Reyes in 2002 and Carlo Biado in 2021.
“I’m so happy to finally make it to the US Open semi-finals. To defeat a player like Niels gives me a lot of confidence,” Chua said.
“Winning this title would mean the world--not just for me, but for everyone back home supporting me. I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”
Chua first defeated Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, 10-2, in the Round of 64, Alexander Kazakis of Greece in the Round of 32, 10-6, and Aleksa Pecelj of Serbia in the Last 16, 10-7, to face Feijen.
Defending champion and home bet Fedor Gorst is battling Chua as of this writing.
Should Chua emerge victorious, he will take on either Aloysius Yapp of Singapore or Ko Pin Yi of Vietnam in the final, which will be played shortly after the semis.
Meanwhile, Jefrey Roda bowed out of the Last 16 after a 2-10 loss to Yapp while Michael Baoanan suffered a heartbreaking 9-10 defeat to Gorst in the quarterfinal.
Despite their exits, Roda will take home $8,000 (P450,000) while Baoanan will pocket $15,000 (P850,000).