MANILA, Philippines — Filipino cue artist Carlo Biado ruled the inaugural Ho Chi Minh City Open after defeating Austrian Mario He, 13-8, in the final at the Ho Xuan Huong Gymnasium in Vietnam on Sunday.
The 40-year-old Biado bagged a prize money of $35,000 or more than P1.9 million for ruling the 9-ball game.
This is Biado's third title of the year following his conquests of the World Nine-Ball Tour in Taipei last January and the World 10-Ball Championship conquest in Las Vegas last March.
He also became the second Filipino player to win an international title in September after Rubilen Amit seized the Women's World 9-Ball Championship earlier in the month.
Biado added this Open title to a buttload of trophies including the 9-ball championship in 2017, World Games title, and three Southeast Asian Games gold medals.
After getting through stage 1, Biado topped Taiwanese Wang Hu-Hsian, 11-7, in the round of 32.
He then knocked off compatriot Valeriano Pajuay in the round of 16, 11-3, and another Filipino shot maker Anton Raga in the quarterfinals.
Biado then outlasted Bosnian Sanjin Pehlivanovic in a semifinal hill-hill battle, 11-10, before taking down He in the championship round.
The 31-year-old He pocketed $728K for his runner-up finish.
Semifinalists Pehlivanovic and Greek Alexander Kazakis took home $5K each while quarterfinalists Raga, Taiwanese Wu Kun-Lin, Polish Edward Koyongian, and German Ralf Souquet grabbed $3K each.
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