One of billiards’ most anticipated 10-ball showdowns returned in Doha, featuring 128 of the game’s most skilled cue artists battling for glory. But with limited spots on the line, the final 16 players were decided by a demanding set of matches.
Jonas Magpantay’s Remarkable Run Through the Doha 10-Ball Championship
Magpantay had one of the toughest roads in the tournament, battling through the qualifiers four times before finally breaking through on the last day, securing his main event slot through the points system. From there, Jonas didn’t waste his opportunity, opening with a flawless 9-0 win against Qatar’s Arab Team Champion Abdullatif Alfawal and following it up with a convincing 9-6 victory over Japan’s top cue artist Naoyuki Oi and moving on to the knockout rounds.
In the Last 64, he defeated World Games gold medalist Oliver Zsolnoki, 11-7, to set up a clash with compatriot and 2025 World Nine-Ball Champion Carlo Biado. In a thrilling 11-8 win, Magpantay pulled off a major upset to advance further. In the Last 16, he continued his sharp play, taking down the two-time European Champion Wojciech Szewczyk of Poland, 11-5. Also reaching the quarterfinals was Jerico Bonus, who was on an impressive run of his own, defeating his compatriot and World No. 4 Johann Chua in a nail-biting 11-9 win.
Magpantay then faced former World Nine-Ball Champion Niels Feijen. The Dutchman took an early 3-1 lead, but Magpantay caught fire, winning eight straight racks to go up 9-3. Feijen mounted a late comeback to close the gap to 9-7, but Magpantay managed to stay composed and sealed the win. Afterwards, he met Moritz Neuhausen — the top player in Europe. Magpantay stormed to a 6-1 lead and never looked back, taking an 11-6 victory.
In the finals, he faced Szymon Kural, who had earlier defeated Jerico Bonus, 11-5. It was a tightly contested match, but Magpantay ultimately prevailed, 13-9 and claimed the $100,000 top prize and the crown for the Philippines.
