Chua Tops Raga 11-9 to Win All-Filipino Philippines Open Final
The 'Bad Koi' went unbeaten through a 128-man draw, routing Biado and Regalario before surviving Raga's comeback in Quezon City.
Johann Chua completed a flawless week on home soil Saturday night, edging fellow Filipino Anton Raga 11-9 to win the 2026 Roobet Philippines Open Pool Championship at Gateway Mall 2 in Quezon City.
A final that flipped twice
Chua burst to a 5-0 lead before Raga clawed back to trail only 7-6. Chua steadied himself to reach the hill at 10-7, but Raga took the next two racks to close within one. Then came the decisive moment: Raga scratched on his break in rack 20, and Chua cleaned up the title-clinching table as "The Dragon" conceded.
"We both felt the pressure especially towards the end, but I just got the opportunity to get it," Chua said after collecting the $20,000 top prize. Raga took home $10,000 as runner-up.
The most ruthless run of the week
Chua never lost a match in the 128-player, single-elimination draw, giving up just 33 racks across seven rounds:
- Round 1: d. Tony Piazza 10-1
- Round 2: d. Jaycee Garcia 10-5
- Round 3: d. James Aranas 10-8
- Last 16: d. Aleksa Pecelj 10-7
- Quarter-final: d. Carlo Biado 10-1
- Semi-final: d. Bernie Regalario 10-2
- Final: d. Anton Raga 11-9
The loudest statement was the 10-1 dismantling of Carlo Biado, No. 2 on the WNT prize-money rankings, in the quarter-finals.
A home sweep of the semifinals
All four semifinalists were Filipino, and between them they had eliminated the top three on the WNT prize-money list — Aloysius Yapp, Biado and Reyes Cup MVP Francisco Sanchez Ruiz — plus defending champion David Alcaide. Regalario, the revelation of the week, removed both Alcaide (10-2) and Sanchez Ruiz (10-1) before Chua stopped him.
Raga's route to the final ran through Jayson Shaw, beaten 10-4 in the quarter-finals, and Baseth Mocaibat, beaten 10-6 in the semis. Mocaibat had earlier ended Shane Van Boening's tournament 10-9 in the quarters, while Fedor Gorst fell 9-10 to Shaw in the last 16.
What it means
Chua arrived in Manila at No. 10 on the WNT prize-money list and, in his return to the World Nineball Tour, closed out the Mosconi Cup qualification race with a major title. One wrinkle already confirmed: Thorsten Hohmann earned an automatic Team USA berth with his run here but has declined the spot, citing form and business commitments — Team USA's Orlando roster will need another name before November 27.
For the host nation, the title stays home for a second straight year after Alcaide's 2025 win for Spain. For everyone else, the warning from Cubao is clear: on a Filipino table, seedings are just numbers.
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Sources: Rack 9 Pool, SPIN.ph, ABS-CBN Sports, World Nineball Tour.