Johann Chua won the 2026 Philippines Open on October 24, defeating Anton Raga 11–9 at Gateway Mall 2 in Quezon City to become the tournament’s first Filipino champion. The victory earned him US$20,000 and his second Matchroom Major title.

Chua won seven matches in the 128-player knockout draw, finishing with an overall rack score of 71–33. His run included decisive victories over Carlo Biado and Bernie Regalario before Raga pushed him through a much closer final.

Raga’s comeback keeps the final alive

Chua took the first five racks, opening with a 3–9 combination after Raga scratched on the break. Raga responded with three straight racks and later narrowed the gap to 7–6.

Chua rebuilt his lead and reached the hill at 10–7. A dry break gave Raga another opportunity, and a Chua miscue in the following rack helped the challenger close to 10–9, one rack away from forcing a decider.

Raga then scratched on the break for the fourth time. With ball in hand, Chua cleared the table to secure the championship. He had led throughout, but Raga’s repeated fightbacks kept the result open until the final rack.

Raga earned US$10,000 as runner-up. His four break scratches proved costly in a match ultimately decided by two racks.

Decisive wins over Biado and Regalario

Chua’s closest match before the final was a 10–8 victory over James Aranas in the Last 32. After beating Aleksa Pecelj 10–7, he defeated reigning world champion Carlo Biado 10–1 in the quarterfinals.

Regalario took a 2–0 lead in their semifinal, but Chua answered with ten consecutive racks to win 10–2. Across those last two matches before the final, Chua won 20 racks and conceded only three.

Chua’s complete path to the title

The tournament used races to 10 through the semifinals, followed by a race to 11 in the final. All scores below list Chua first.

Four Filipinos reach the final day

The quarterfinals had already guaranteed a Filipino champion, with Chua, Raga, Regalario and Baseth Mocaibat taking all four semifinal places.

Regalario eliminated defending champion David Alcaide 10–2 and US Open champion Francisco Sánchez Ruiz 10–1. Mocaibat beat world No. 1 Aloysius Yapp 10–3, then recovered from 1–7 down to defeat Shane Van Boening 10–9.

Raga reached the final by following his 10–4 quarterfinal win over Jayson Shaw with a 10–6 victory against Mocaibat. Regalario and Mocaibat each received US$7,000 as semifinalists.

A second Major title, this time at home

Chua’s first Matchroom Major came at the 2024 Hanoi Open, where he defeated Ko Pin Yi 13–7 in the final. His Philippines Open victory came in his first Matchroom Major appearance of 2026.

He succeeds Alcaide, who won the inaugural edition in 2025. The five-day event ran from October 20 to 24 and brought together players from 23 countries, including 74 Filipino entrants, competing for a US$100,000 prize fund.

Speaking to World Nineball Tour after the final, Chua described what winning a Major at home meant to him:

“It has always been a dream to win a Major in my country, and it feels amazing to do it this week.”