San Miguel-Solar Philippine 9-Ball Open

THE 4th staging of the San Miguel Beer-Solar Philippine 9-ball Open promises to be the biggest event ever - now open to pool players of all ages and nationalities.

There will be five qualifying stages: two in Metro Manila and the other three in Davao, Bacolod and Baguio City.

The top four players of each qualifying leg will compete in the final leg in Manila on Sept. 14-16, 2007. To complete the 32-man field, the top eight players from last year will also be seeded including four invited players (to be announced later).

Last year's top 8 were No 1. Francisco Bustamante, No 2. Leonardo Didal, No 3. Dennis Orcollo, No 4. Mike Takayama, No 5. Carlo Biado, No 6. Ronnie Alcano, No 7. Japanese Yusuke Kuruda and No 8. Marlon Manalo

Here are the venues and dates for the qualifying legs:Aug. 4-5 Paeng's Skybowl, Robinson's Galleria (Metro Manila), Aug. 11-12 B3 Bowling Billiards and Bar, NCCC Mall (Davao City), Aug. 18-19 Celebrity Billiards and Bar (Bacolod City), Aug. 25-26 Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall (Baguio City), Sept. 1-2 AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth (Q.C). Finals: Sept. 14-16 (Venue TBA)

Matches for the qualifying legs will be played with a double elimination format, race to seven, alternate breaks.

The entry fee for the event is Php 1,500 inclusive of a free case of SMB Pale Pilsen.
Fans are also encouraged to come to the venue to enjoy the buy 2 get 1 free SMB promo.

Players must be at the venue by 10:00 a.m. on the first day of each qualifying leg. Entries will be accepted no later than 10:30 a.m. and the draw will follow immediately after.

The 2007 SMB Philippine 9-Ball Open is the joint initiative of Puyat Sports and Solar Sports with the continued patronage of San Miguel Beer.

For foreign participants who wish to join or for any inquiries,
Please email: ishpuyatsports@yahoo.com
Here's the PRIZE STRUCTURE:
Champion: Php 500,000
Runner-up: Php 250,000
2 semifinalists: Php 100,000 each (200,000)
5th and 6th: Php 40,000 each (80,000)
7th and 8th: Php 30,000 each (60,000)
9th-12th: Php 20,000 each (80,000)
13th-16th: Php 15,000 each (60,000)
17th-24th: Php 10,000 each (80,000)
25th-32nd: Php 5,000 each (40,000)

Total: Php 1,350,000

(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)