Team Rest of the World finally have their Reyes Cup breakthrough.

Ralf Souquet’s side defeated Team Asia 11–4 at the Makati Coliseum on Sunday, October 18, ending the hosts’ two-year reign and denying them a third consecutive title.

Francisco Sánchez Ruiz delivered the final 9-ball alongside Shane Van Boening in a 5–1 doubles victory over Robbie Capito and Duong Quoc Hoang. The Spaniard then collected the tournament MVP award, completing a memorable finish to ROW’s four-day campaign.

For a team that lost the opening two matches, the response was emphatic. ROW won 11 of the next 13, turning an early deficit into their most convincing statement yet on the Reyes Cup stage.

Asia had initially given the home crowd reason to believe another successful title defence was taking shape. A 5–3 victory in the opening team match was followed by Carlo Biado and Capito’s commanding 5–1 doubles win over Joshua Filler and Aleksa Pecelj.

Sánchez Ruiz stopped that momentum with a 5–1 singles victory over Duong, before Van Boening and Fedor Gorst beat AJ Manas and Albert Januarta by the same score. From 2–0 down, ROW finished the opening night level at 2–2.

The balance shifted decisively on Day 2, when ROW won four of the five matches to establish a 6–3 lead.

Filler was central to that surge. He delivered the winning rack in the opening team match, defeated Capito 5–3 in singles, and partnered Sánchez Ruiz to a hard-fought 5–4 doubles victory over Capito and Januarta.

His celebrations and vocal presence also stood out during our coverage, adding to the energy of a ROW side growing in confidence. By the end of the second night, the German had made himself a strong contender for MVP.

Gorst and Pecelj added a 5–3 doubles victory over Manas and Duong, while Biado provided Asia’s only point of the session. Trailing Van Boening 3–1, the Filipino won four consecutive racks to complete a 5–3 comeback.

That resistance could not prevent the gap from widening on Day 3. ROW took another three of four matches, moving 9–4 ahead and leaving Asia needing seven straight victories on the final day.

Gorst defeated Januarta 5–1, while Pecelj produced a confident performance to beat Manas by the same margin. For Pecelj, it was a strong response to a difficult opening doubles appearance alongside Filler.

Asia’s highlight came through Biado and Januarta, who defeated Filler and Gorst 5–3. The Indonesian debutant sealed the match with a golden break, briefly lifting the home crowd and keeping the defending champions in contention.

But ROW had built enough breathing room to enter Sunday needing just two more points.

Asia threatened to extend the contest in the final day’s opening team match, taking a 2–1 lead. ROW answered through Gorst, Pecelj and Sánchez Ruiz before Filler finished the match with a 7–9 combination, securing a 5–3 victory and putting his team one point from the trophy.

The closing doubles began with another opportunity for Asia. Capito and Duong took the first rack, then received ball-in-hand after Van Boening scratched on a jump shot in the second.

Duong’s missed 6-ball proved costly. ROW levelled and went on to win five consecutive racks, with Van Boening contributing a 4–9 combination along the way.

In the final rack, Sánchez Ruiz benefited from a fortunate pot on the 2-ball following Capito’s safety. The pair cleared the remaining balls, leaving the Spaniard to sink the 9-ball that confirmed ROW’s first Reyes Cup title.

Sánchez Ruiz’s MVP award completed a campaign in which he helped deliver both ROW’s first point and their last. After struggling in his previous two appearances, the victory carried particular significance for him.

“We won this week because of every player on the team,” Sánchez Ruiz said in Matchroom Pool’s post-event report, crediting his teammates and Souquet’s preparation for the result.

That shared contribution was evident across the four days. Filler helped drive the crucial Day 2 surge, Gorst and Pecelj strengthened ROW’s position on Day 3, and Van Boening partnered Sánchez Ruiz to finish the job.

Souquet’s task had been to bring accomplished individual players together under one banner. His side’s response gave him the team performance he had wanted.

“We’re a team, and we can only win as a team,” Souquet said. He also acknowledged that Asia had made ROW work harder than the final score might suggest.

For captain Francisco Bustamante and Team Asia, the result ends a successful two-year hold on the trophy. Biado contributed to all four of Asia’s match victories, but the defending champions could not sustain the promising start they made on Thursday.

The focus now shifts to individual competition at the Philippines Open Pool Championship, scheduled for October 20–24 at Gateway Mall in Quezon City, with David Alcaide returning as defending champion.