ANTHONY Raga’s magical run in the European Open Pool Championship came to a heartbreaking end late Sunday night, narrowly losing a 12-13 down-the-wire thriller to Spanish veteran David Alcaide at the Hotel Esperanto in Fulda, Germany.
Raga seemed poised to achieve a golden debut in the elite tournament after knocking out hometown favorite and reigning World Games men’s 9-ball champion Joshua Filler 11-9 in the semifinals hours earlier.
In the race-to-13 championship match, the diminutive Filipino cue artist known by his moniker “Dragon” engineered a fiery comeback from 8-11 down, winning the four straight racks to reach the hill first at 12-11.
But Alcaide, 44, a two-time European 10-ball champion, pounced on Raga’s loose safety shot on the 2-ball in the 24th rack to clear the table, forging a 12-all.
The winner-take-all 25th frame was just as nerve-wracking that began with a safety battle with the 3-ball, which Raga eventually sank in the left corner pocket to seize the initiative.
He had no problems in sinking the 4 and 5 balls as the European Open Pool trophy seemed to be within his reach.
But his title aspirations evaporated when he failed to sink the 6-ball in the left side pocket in what looked like an easy shot.
It proved to be a costly blunder that Alcaide exploited to clear out the rack and pocket the top prize of $30,000 (roughly P1.7 million).
Still, it was memorable maiden campaign for the unheralded Pinoy pool shark, who took the runner-up purse of $15,000 (P854,430) while outshining his more prominent compatriots Johann Chua and James Aranas.
“All my finals go hill-hill and I was like ‘oh, not another time, please,’” said Alcaide, who also survived an 11-10 cliffhanger at the expense of American legend Shane Van Boening in the semis.
“This (championship) is special. Last year I played well but I didn’t come up well. This is important for me, I’ve come up good, and the Matchroom tournaments are always special.
Today we celebrate but tomorrow we get back to practice,” the newly-minted European Open Pool champ added.
