Reyes Cup

The Reyes Cup is an annual nine-ball pool tournament contested between teams representing Asia and Rest of World. The inaugural staging in 2024 was contested between Asia and Europe.

Similar in format to the Mosconi Cup, the inaugural event was held in Manila, Philippines, during October 2024 and is named after Filipino Hall of Fame player Efren Reyes, whom the event’s organizers describe as being “widely regarded as the sport’s greatest-ever player.”[1][2][3] Asia are the defending champions.

Format

The contest is played over four days between two teams of five players. Three players for each team qualify automatically and each captain can pick two wildcards. There are twenty matches, each a best of nine racks with players having alternate breaks. The match winner wins one point and the first team to eleven points wins the Reyes Cup. On days one to three, the first match is a team match followed by a mixture of singles and doubles matches. Day four is just singles matches. In the event of a tie, each captain must select a player for a deciding match.[4]

History

In April 2024, a new nine-ball event was announced to be played in October 2024, similar to the Mosconi Cup, but held between Europe and Asia.[5] Karl Boyes and Efren Reyes were announced as team captains for the inaugural staging of the event at Ninoy Aquino National Stadium.[6] Europe's team comprised Jayson Shaw, Mickey Krause, Eklent Kaçi, David Alcaide and Francisco Sánchez Ruíz. The Asia team was Carlo Biado, Aloysius Yapp, Johann Chua, Ko Pin-yi and Duong Quoc Hoang.[7] Asia took a 3‍–‍2 lead on day one[8] and secured a day two whitewash to extend their lead to 7‍–‍2.[9] On the third day, Asia took a 9‍–‍3 lead.[10] On day four, Yapp won his match against Sanchez Ruiz to seal the victory as Asia won the event 11-6. Yapp was also crowned as the Most valuable player.[11][12]

In July 2025, it was announced that the second edition of the tournament would take place in Manila from 16‍–‍19 October 2025. In a change from the previous year, it was also revealed that Asia would compete against a 'Rest of World' side, instead of Europe.[13]

Results by year

Year Venue Winners Score Runners-Up MVP Ref
2024 Manila, Philippines Asia 11‍–‍6 Europe Aloysius Yapp [11]
2025 Manila, Philippines

References

  1. ^ Pool, Matchroom (April 26, 2024). "HISTORY MADE AS EFREN REYES CUP TO LAUNCH IN THE PHILIPPINES IN 2024". Matchroom Pool. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  2. ^ Villar, Joey. "Billiards GOAT 'Bata' Reyes showered with praises at The Derby City Classic". Philstar.com. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  3. ^ Dioquino, Delfin (April 27, 2024). "Tournament pitting best pool players from Asia, Europe named after Efren 'Bata' Reyes". Rappler. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  4. ^ "Reyes Cup 2024: Schedule, live scores, teams, format, prize fund and how to watch". Absolute Pool. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  5. ^ "World Nineball Tour announce Reyes Cup between Asia and Europe live on Sky Sports". SkySports. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  6. ^ "EFREN REYES AND KARL BOYES NAMED CAPTAINS FOR THE INAUGURAL REYES CUP". Matchroom Pool. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  7. ^ Lee, David. "Singapore pool player Aloysius Yapp to star for Team Asia at inaugural Reyes Cup". The Straits Times. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  8. ^ Binh, Xuan. "Vietnam's top pool player defeats former world number one in Reyes Cup". VnExpress. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  9. ^ "Team Asia Whitewashes Team Europe On Second Day". Pro9. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  10. ^ Binh, Xuan. "Vietnam's top pool player beats former world champion three times at Reyes Cup". VnExpress. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Team Asia win inaugural Reyes Cup with 11‍–‍6 victory against Team Europe". SkySports. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  12. ^ Demigillo, Kiko. "Singapore's Aloysius Yapp delivers as Team Asia captures inaugural Reyes Cup crown". onesports.ph. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  13. ^ Malanum, Jean (July 26, 2025). "World's best pool players to join Reyes Cup on Oct. 16-19". Phillippine News Agency. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
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