Taking place in Manila (Philippines), the Reyes Cup is considered the "Ryder Cup of billiards" with a face-off format between two continental teams. On the first day of competition on October 16, Duong Quoc Hoang and his teammate Johann Chua defeated Fedor Gorst - Skyler Woodward 5-4, ending the full day of competition for the home team. Before that, Carlo Biado, Aloysius Yapp and young player AJ Manas also brought home 3 victories, helping Asia lead 4-0 after the opening day.
Under the leadership of legend Francisco Django Bustamante, the Asian team has shown stable performance and a spirit of solidarity. Commentator Scott Frost commented that Asia is performing billiards perfectly with incredible confidence and accuracy.
This year's tournament has changed when the European team expanded to "The rest of the world", gathering many top players such as Gorst, Shaw or Ruiz. However, they have yet to find a formula to beat the Asian side - who won 11-6 in their first Reyes Cup last year.
With a favorable start of 4-0, Asia only needs seven more wins to defend the championship title. On the second day of competition, Duong Quoc Hoang will likely continue to participate in the individual event, aiming to strengthen the home team's advantage.
