As Antonio Lining also fell by the wayside in the Round of 16, Andam kept the Philippine flag waving at the Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales as the Misamis Oriental native rolled past American Charlie Williams and into the quarterfinals of the rich event.
Andam bucked the pressure of the reality that the task of winning the prestigious crown is resting solely on his shoulders, fashioning out a gripping 11-9 win over Williams to advance to the Round of Eight against Canada’s Alain Martel.
Lining joined Efren "Bata" Reyes, Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Warren Kiamco, Reynaldo Gallego and Rodolfo Luat in the sidelines as he absorbed a 7-11 defeat at the hands of Taiwanese Chia Hsiung Lai.
Chia, who stunned United States hotshot Johnny Archer, 9-4, in the previous round, got a shot at the semifinals against another American bet Jeremy Jones, who disposed of Spain’s David Alcaide.
Others who stayed in the running for the crown and the $65,000 prize that goes with it were Germany’s Ralf Souquet, Sweden’s Marcus Chamat, Finland’s Mika Immonen and the Netherlands’ Niels Feijen.
Feijen, who created giant waves in Cardiff and caused heartbreaks to Filipino billiard fans in pulling the rug from under Reyes in the Round of 32, sustained his giant-killing run by toppling Germany’s Ralh Eckert, 11-2.
Souquet, the biggest name remaining in the star-depleted field, routed Taiwanese Chin Shun Yang, 11-3, while Chamat advanced past Germany’s Andres Roschkowski, 11-9, and Immonen past England’s Anthony Ginn, 11-2.
Martel lined himself up against Andam in the quarters as he pulled off an 11-9 decision over another English Chris Melling.
Andam has matched Luat’s finish last year on his conquest of Williams. Three more wins and he’ll cop the biggest title and biggest paycheck in his career.
The 41-year-old has had victories in the international front, including the 1993 Target Pool Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, the 1994 Tennessee State 9-Ball Championship and the 1995 Dallas 9-Ball Open. He topped the San Miguel Beer International Masters 9-Ball Tournament at Casino Filipino last year – a star-studded tourney which featured Reyes, Souquet, Archer and Japenese aces Akikumo Toshikawa and Kunihiko Takahashi among others.