Bustamante started his day with a 6-4 win over reigning champion Rodney Morris of Hawaii then followed it up with a similar 6-4 win over Steve Davis of England.
Morris scratched on the break at 2-2, allowing Bustamante to take the lead and he never relinquished it. Against Davis, the score was also tied at 2-2 before Bustamante took control and won the match.
Running second after the opening day of the round-robin eliminations was Niels "The Terminator" Niels Feijen who drew with Davis, 5-5, in the afternoon before beating Filipino World 9-Ball reigning champion Alex Pagulayan in the evening, 6-4.
The event continues on Saturday and Sunday (Sunday-Monday in Manila) with each player taking on the other five players in 10-game matches. After the round robin phase, the top four players will play a single elimination tournament with the champion receiving $20,000 of the $50,000 prize money.
Pagulayan, who still carries a Canadian passport, won his other match, 6-4, against European champion Thomas Engert who led, 3-1, but missed a relatively easy shot on the No. 4 with the score tied at 3-3.