Down 2-0 to the same team that had beaten them earlier in the tournament, the powerhouse trio of Carlo Biado, Jefrey Roda, and Chezka Centeno of Team Philippines completely flipped the script, winning the next three sets and completing a stunning 3–2 reverse sweep to capture the 2026 Predator WPA World Teams 10-Ball Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday.
Team Poland, featuring former World 10-Ball Champion Wojciech Szewczyk, Katarzyna Wesołowska, and rising star Daniel Maciol, came out firing in the first set, racing to a 3-1 advantage. The Philippines managed to climb back and force a decider; however, Szewczyk took over in the seventh rack, running out the table to give his team the opening set.
Szewczyk and Maciol then joined forces in the second set, dominating Biado and Roda 4–1 to move one set away from the title.
Team Philippines Rises from the Dead
But Team Philippines stood their ground. Roda and Centeno stared down the pressure, extending the match with a crucial 4–2 victory in the third set. Then it was veteran Biado’s turn to step up. In a tense back-and-forth duel against young Maciol, Biado’s experience and pinpoint precision proved decisive, outclassing the rising star to force a deciding shootout.
Both teams displayed incredible accuracy in the shootout, repeatedly finding the pocket on their first attempts. But after the cue ball was repositioned a diamond farther away, the shot became significantly harder, forcing back-to-back-to-back misses from both sides—until Roda rose to the moment, calmly sinking the ten-ball to secure the title and bring the championship back to the Philippines. For their triumph, Biado, Roda, Centeno, and Rubilen Amit will bring home a total prize of $120,000 (₱6,928,860).
A True Powerhouse
This victory marks the Philippines’ fourth finals appearance in the tournament’s history and their second world title, adding to a legacy that includes silver finishes in 2010 and 2014. Both Biado and Amit are now two-time champions, having previously won the event in 2022 alongside Johann Chua.
It was a grueling road for the Nationals, who dropped their very first match of the tournament. But following that crushing 0–3 defeat to Poland in the opening rounds, Team Philippines found its gear. They battled out of the Losers’ bracket, defeating Puerto Rico and the Netherlands 3–1 before sweeping Taiwan. Their dominance continued into the knockout stages, where they overcame Great Britain 3–1 in the quarterfinals and eliminated USA Team A in the semifinals to set up their golden revenge.
(Watch the entire finals below.)
