Women’s Pool takes centerstage at the Queens Cup

MANILA, Philippines – The women’s pool world will have its eyes fixed on Resorts World Manila next week when the second running of the AM8.com Queens Cup takes place. It’s the first time since the inaugural event in 2013 that a women’s team event pitting East versus West will be held.  

The matches will run from April 16 to 18 and will be televised live on ABS-CBN Sports +Action from 6 pm to 10 pm. The event is a production of Charlie Williams’ Dragon Promotions, which has been holding events in the country for several years now.  

Leading the way for the Asian squad will be our very own Rubilen “Bingkay” Amit, a two-time world 10 ball champ. Resorts World Manila is hallowed ground for the Mandaue, Cebu native. Just before the first Queens Cup in 2013, she won her second world 10 ball title in the Resorts World atrium. 

Amit will have world #1 Chen Si Ming of China by her side. The 20-year old phenom snapped off her first major title three years ago when she won the China Open at the age of seventeen. She is a two-time runner-up in world championships and is tipped by many to one day be one of the best female pool players ever. 

South Korean Eunji Park, 27, is another member of the East squad. Park, who is blessed with one of the smoothest strokes in the game, was a Korea Pro Tour rookie of the year eight years ago and also has experience in the Women’s Professional Billiards Association tour in the USA. 

Rounding out the Asian team is legendary Chinese Taipei shooter Jennifer Chen.  

Amit and Si Ming are holdovers from the East team that drubbed the West 10-4 in 2013, while Jennifer Chen and Park replace Penny Tsai and Ga Young Kim. 

The only player left on the West (America and Europe) side from the 2013 team is the “Texas Tornado” Vivian Villareal. The colorful veteran, who likes to spin her finger in the air like a twister when she wins racks, is part of a side that features plenty of experience.  

The team’s ace is likely going to be Karen Corr of Ireland. The Irish Invader was part of the huge contingent of former snooker players who crossed over to “American Pool” in the 90s and dominated the game in the United States.  

“She is our strongest and most consistent player,” says Ewa Mataya Laurance, the West skipper.  

The Swedish-born Laurance was an icon of women’s pool for decades, and is still a powerful player even after 37 years on the scene. The “Striking Viking” is a former world champ and US Open champ.  

Jennifer Barretta, an American tour veteran from Pennsylvania but now living in New York City, is the fourth member of the East team. 

The series will be a race-to-ten match affair, with several different kinds of matches on every day. Day one will start off with a four-on-four match involving all players. Then two doubles matches will followed by two singles games then a three-on-three. 

On April 17 we will have two singles games, a three-on-three, a doubles encounter, another four-on-four, then a captain’s pick singles.  

On the final day, Saturday, there will be a doubles match where the team trailing selects both its own players and the players of the opponent. Then a captain’s pick singles, a three on three, a four-on-four, two more singles, then a final four-on-four scramble for the nineteenth match if needed. 

Ladies take spotlight

What makes this event so alluring? A brief history of women’s pool will show that once upon a time, Americans ruled the roost. Then the British and Irish snooker players like Corr, Allison Fisher and Kelly Fisher crossed the pond and obliterated the north American players. Then Chinese and Korean stars like Kim, the two Chens, Amit, and Fu Xiao Fang made waves, and are arguably in command of the game at the moment. 

So the waxing and waning of continental world powers in women’s pool is sort of encapsulated in this event.  

Apart from the undeniable fact that many top pros are easy on the eyes, women’s pool has also plenty to offer. 

Many see men’s pool as shady and somewhat unsavory. The image of the sport is that of a pursuit played out in smoky pool halls where money is exchanged in late-nighty challenge matches, with dodgy characters in every corner.  

This just isn’t a problem with the ladies. Women’s pool has a totally different vibe. There is an elegance and grace to the women’s game that is somewhat absent among the men at times. There is also a camaraderie that is refreshingly apparent once you spend time around the girls.  

More than once, I’ve known of women players whose birthdays fall during tournaments receive a birthday cake, courtesy of the other players. The friendships cut through borders too. One year Ga Young Kim was the one organizing the cake for England’s Kelly Fisher. I’ve never seen anything similar with the male players.  

Another reason to love the Queens Cup is the one skippering the East: Rubilen “Bingkay” Amit. The Cebuana is the kind of sporting superhero we all wish we could be. She is humble, well-spoken, extremely respectful, and has a renowned work ethic. Unlike most Filipino pros she has a college degree, from UST no less.  

And Amit is probably the greatest Filipina athlete ever, with her two world 10 ball titles and one world 9 ball runner-up finish. I strain to think of another Filipina with a CV like that. Only Arianne Cerdeña, with her Olympic medal in bowling when it was a demo sport in the 1988 Seoul Olympic games, seems to come close. Even Lydia De Vega was just Asia’s fastest woman, but was never near being the world’s quickest. 

The fact that it’s a team event with nations, (well, continents, er, hemispheres) involved also ratchets up the appeal. The Mosconi cup, pool’s Europe versus the USA team event that is similar to the Ryder Cup in golf, draws loud and boisterous support from fans and is beamed all over the world. 

Women’s pool just might help reinvigorate the game in the Philippines and abroad. See it happen on Thursday when eight of the world’s best cue it up.  

– Rappler.com

Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH.