The opening day of the 2026 Reyes Cup at the Makati Coliseum ended in a 2–2 deadlock between Team Asia and Team Rest of the World, with both sides enjoying their share of momentum across four matches.

Team Asia drew first blood in the opening 5-on-5 team match, 5–3, in a contest that featured several missed opportunities and impressive safety exchanges. Duong Quoc Hoang opened with a smooth runout, while Carlo Biado’s missed 9-ball in the third rack briefly handed Team ROW the lead. AJ Manas later put Asia ahead, 3–2, before Albert Januarta delivered a golden break to put his team on the hill at 4–3. Biado then redeemed himself, closing out the deciding rack to secure the first point for Asia.

The momentum continued in the doubles as Biado and Robbie Capito dominated Joshua Filler and Aleksa Pecelj, 5–1. The Asian pair capitalized on their opponents’ mistakes, produced some clean runouts, and rarely allowed Team ROW to settle into the match. Pecelj’s missed 8-ball in the final rack sealed the convincing victory and gave Team Asia a commanding 2–0 advantage.

But Team Rest of the World had other plans.

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, fresh off his US Open triumph, delivered a clinical 5–1 victory over Duong Quoc Hoang in the first singles match of the tournament, putting Team ROW on the board.

Shane Van Boening and Fedor Gorst then completed the comeback with another convincing 5–1 win over AJ Manas and Albert Januarta in the final doubles match of the evening.

What initially looked like a dream start for Team Asia turned into a tightly balanced contest. After four matches, both teams head into Day 2 with two points apiece.

Who do you think takes the lead on Day 2?