Manalo, the lone Filipino survivor after the likes of dethroned champion Alex Pagulayan, Gandy Valle, Rodolfo Luat and Warren Kiamco bowed out one after the other in the Last 16 Thursday, pounced on Chen’s erratic game early to seize control then breezed through the victory in the race-to-11, winner’s-break-format event.
Chen nipped Valle, 10-9, in the Last 16.
It was a virtual repeat of his 10-0 rout of another Taiwanese bet, Huang Chien-Che, Thursday with Manalo set to play Mika Immonen for a spot in the semifinal round Saturday.
On Thursday, Pagulayan joined buddies Efren "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante in the sidelines as he bowed to Hungary’s Vilmos Foldes, 8-10.
Foldes, the 2003 WPA World Junior champion from Pecs in southern Hungary, put on a determined display as he stuck with Pagulayan through the early stages and closed the match out as he held his nerve.
Pagulayan’s setback, as well as the losses of three others, left Marlon Manalo as the lone Filipino survivor in the annual championship featuring the world’s best cue masters.
The Hungarian, who came through Group 2 with six wins from seven starts, including victories over Steve Davis and Ching-shun Yang, was something of a surprise package but a string of championship wins as a junior spoke well of the caliber of the player.
In contrast, Pagulayan was far from his top form and missed enough balls to create chances for the 20-year-old Foldes, the Hungarian European No. 8.
Just like Pagulayan, Valle also committed a crucial mistake down the stretch as he bowed down to Chen.
With the match hill-hill in the 19th rack, Valle had a golden opportunity to clean up the rack and reach the round of 16.
However, the Davao-native uncharacteristically missed an easy shot as the 4-ball rattled off the side corner pocket.
Chen seized the chance and pocketed the remaining balls to close out the match.
Luat took an 8-10 loss to Vietnamese foe Nguyen Thanm Nam, while Kiamco was outclassed by Chang Jung Ling, 4-10.