Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp weaves magic in Team Asia’s inaugural Reyes Cup win

SINGAPORE – The inaugural Reyes Cup, a continental tournament pitting the best pool players from Asia against their European counterparts, is named after Filipino legend Efren “The Magician” Reyes, one of the sport’s greatest exponents of all time.

Fittingly, Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp left spectators at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila and TV viewers worldwide spellbound throughout the Oct 15-18 tournament, as he wielded his cue like a wand and potted balls at will to lead Team Asia to an 11-6 win over Team Europe.

The 28-year-old southpaw secured the winning point with a 5-1 victory over Spain’s Francisco Ruiz – ranked fifth in the World Nineball Tour (WNT) standings – in a match that featured a delightful 3-9 combination that had his team captain Reyes smiling and applauding in appreciation.

Yapp told The Sunday Times: “It is an amazing feeling and I’m very happy to be able to win this alongside my fantastic teammates.

“Nothing else was going through my mind for the final rack, to be honest. I was just so focused. At the start of the week, I was feeling very nervous and made a lot of mistakes but my teammates, family and fans supported me and lifted my spirits.”

Like the Europe v United States Mosconi Cup, the Reyes Cup comprises doubles and singles matches, and the first team to reach 11 points win. There are no ranking points on offer, though each of the 10 players took home US$15,000 (S$19,700).

Team Asia were represented by Filipinos Johann Chua (10th) and Carlo Biado (27th), Taiwanese Ko Pin-yi (12th), Vietnam’s Duong Quoc Hoang (38th) and Yapp (11th), while Team Europe, captained by Englishman Karl Boyes, consisted of Albanian Eklent Kaci (2nd), Briton Jayson Shaw (3rd), Spaniards David Alcaide (7th) and Ruiz, and Denmark’s Mickey Krause (14th).

In the face of such strong competition, the Singaporean, who was Team Asia’s first pick, could almost do no wrong as he was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and hoisted by his teammates.

After winning and losing one rack in Team Asia’s 5-4 opening match loss to Team Europe, Yapp was unbeatable. He teamed up with Ko to beat Alcaide and Ruiz – 2022 World Cup of Pool winners – 5-2 before he edged out Shaw 5-4 to hand Team Asia a 3-2 lead after Day 1.

He scored again in the team and doubles matches as Team Asia completed a whitewash on Day 2, before he repeated the trick on Day 3 to extend their advantage to 9-3.

Shaw gave Team Europe hope on the final day with back-to-back singles wins over local favourite Biado and Vietnam’s Hoang, but to chants of “MVP”, Yapp stepped up with a dominant victory over 2023 nine-ball world champion Ruiz, as Team Asia climbed onto the pool table to celebrate.

Yapp, who is hoping this triumph will help spark what has been a mediocre season as he plays the Beasley Open, Puerto Rico Open and International Open in North America in November, said: “I haven’t been playing well for almost the entire nine-ball season since the UK Open in May.

“I have been fiddling with my equipment, toggling between lighter and heavier cues to find one that I feel comfortable with under pressure, to the point that I’m confusing myself and not hitting the ball as well as I know I can.

“So, this is a big confidence boost for me going into tournaments in North America and then China.”

Cuesports Singapore president Christopher Chuah praised the former world No. 1, saying: “We are extremely proud of Aloysius’ performance at the inaugural Reyes Cup held in Manila.

“He was focused and clinical throughout to deliver the trophy for Team Asia. His performance will no doubt inspire many Asian, and in particular Singaporean, players.”