MANILA, Philippines — Carlo Biado ticked off another item from his bucket list after securing the 2024 WPA Predator World 10-Ball Championship at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, March 2 (Sunday, March 3, Manila time).
Nicknamed the “Black Tiger,” Biado knocked out Japan’s Naoyuki Oi in the finals, 3-1, in sets to secure his first 10-ball world title after falling short in the 2015 edition.
Aside from bagging the US $75,000 (P4.2 million) prize, Biado added the crown to his stellar collection that also includes the 2017 world 9-ball championship and the 2021 US Open crown.
He, along with Rubilen Amit and Johann Chua, also won the WPA World Mixed Teams 10-Ball Championship in Austria in 2022.
Biado said in his personal YouTube account right after his semifinal win that clinching the elusive 10-ball title is one of his targets.
“[This] is one of my dreams, the world 10-ball (championship), I’ve been trying for a long time to win this,” said Biado, adding that the world 8-ball crown is also on his wish list.
Biado took the first game, 4-1, before Oi clapped back with a 4-3 decision to tie the contest at 1-all.
The lone Filipino out of 64 participants went ahead in the third game, 4-2, before taking the final set, 4-1, knocking in a clean shot to win the title.
“It’s overwhelming. I’m very happy that I won this match. I finally got the world 10-ball championship,” Biado said after the championship round.
“When I heard that national anthem, it felt like [shedding] tears of joy. I finally won the championship,” he continued.
Biado emerged victorious against Russia’s Fedor Gorst in the semifinals, after eliminating Taiwan’s Ko-Ping Chun in the quarterfinals. — Rappler.com