By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
World-renowned Filipino pool star Carlo Biado continued his dominant international run and added the 2021 Abu Dhabi 9-Ball Open championship title to his list of accolades this year.
Fresh off a spectacular and historical 2021 US Open title campaign a few months ago, Biado used all the experience he absorbed at the Power Break Billiard Hall to outlast fellow Pinoy Jordan Banares, 13-6, in the grand finals.
It was a majestic display of pool as the two-time international champion outplayed Banares when he started to pick up his rhythm in the middle rounds.
As Biado was progressing at the start of the sixth rack, his position plays also improved which made everything for him easier to gain rack after rack.
Banares had decent chances for the scores but Biado’s tremendous defensive plays to cover the target balls were all executed to perfection.
Biado had to overcome Venancio Tanio, Roland Garcia, Harry Vergara, Mohamad Eiljeffrey, and Arnel Bautista before tangling with Banares in the finals.
The Filipino champion grabbed the total grand prize money of 20,000 UAE dirham (around P270,000) while Banares won 10,000 UAE dirhams (around P130,000).
“I’m very happy to win again, especially in an international tournament like the Abu Dhabi Open 9-Ball Championship. Christmas came early!” Biado said.
