US, Tokyo, Manila elims up for women's 10-Ball

MANILA, Philippines - Dragon Promotions will hold international qualifying tournaments for the 2009 Women’s World 10-Ball Championship on May 2, May 3, and May 11 in Orlando, Florida, Tokyo and Manila.

Corner Pocket Billiards in Orlando will host a qualifier May 2, while Fast Break Billiards in Orlando will host the other qualifier May 3.

Asia’s qualifier will be held in Japan on May 11 at CESPA Ageo. The final three qualifiers will be held in Manila, May 31-June 1 at a venue to be announced.

The winners will join the 48 women international players who will fly to Manila to vie for the chance to become the Women’s World 10-Ball champion.

Countries such as the US, Korea, Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Germany, Austria, China, and Canada will be among the participating nations sending their best female billiard players. The event is officially recognized by The World Pool-Billiards Association.

The winner of each qualifier will receive free entryworth $60 and gets a shot at the $20,000 champion’s purse.

The runner-up earns $9,000 while the losing semifinalists get $5,000 each. The losing quarterfinalists earn $3,000 each.

The fourth placer in each group gets $250, while the fifth and sixth placers get $125 each.

The event promises to be bigger than any other women’s sporting event of 2009 in the Philippines and one of the biggest in Southeast Asia.

Organizers said ABS-CBN will air the event June 2-6 with 25 hours live coverage as well as delayed taping of other featured matches.

“We’re really honored to be one of the selected sites to host one of the two USA qualifiers for the World Championship. It’s great to be a part of this humongous event and to be able to send a hard working women’s player over to Asia,” said Kelli Lepak, co-owner of Fast Break Billiards in Orlando.

“Even in Orlando, and all around Florida, there are so many talented women players. It would be thrilling to see one of our local girls get a shot at the world title,” she added.

“I’m really excited about trying to qualify for this huge event. I’m part Filipino, so it will be a big honor for me to go represent Guam and Philippines both,” said Shanelle Loraine, one of the rising pro-am stars of the game.

If an American girl wins a qualifier, Dragon Promotions said the hometown crowd will be able to sweat it from stateside as it will be broadcast on ABS-CBN International channels spanning the USA in strong territories such as New York, Illinois, California, Florida, New Jersey, and 30 other states.

It said additional coverage will include Canada, Puerto Rico, and Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

Fifteen countries on three continents will be airing the matches.

“We have no doubts that many of these women will experience fame and celebrity status and treatment during their stay in the Philippines. Billiards is one of the top three sports in the Philippines and by far the most common one to play. The general public really follow the sport,” said Cindy Lee, CEO of Dragon Promotions.

Some of the ladies entering the qualifiers include former WPBA player Angel Paglia of Arizona, amateur star Loraine of Guam, and local Florida favorite Jeannie Seaver.

The event consists of a double elimination race-to-seven format.

Players, sponsors, and fans can request more info and join DP’s mailing list at [email protected]