Daryl Peach, a former snooker professional, defied pre-event odds of 150-1 to become the first British player to win the World Pool Championship. He did so by beating Roberto Gomez 17-15 in Manila, Philippines, yesterday.
The Araneta Coliseum, venue for the Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975, was packed with a crowd of 3,000, the overwhelming majority of who supported Gomez, a Manila resident, who established a 15-12 lead.
Peach, who beat Ronnie Alcano, the title-holder, in the last 64, isolated the 31st extension rackas the most crucial. Having missed a straightforward 5-ball, Gomez left the 9-ball hanging in the jaws of a pocket.
Peach potted to lead 16-15 and retained his composure in the next rack to collect the first prize of $100,000 (about ￡49,000). “This is the stuff that dreams are made of. I can’t believe what I’ve achieved,” Peach, a 35-year-old from Blackpool, said.
The final was dramatic but nothing compared to Peach’s 11-10 win over Francisco Bustamante, the local hero and tournament favourite, in the quarter-finals on Saturday. Bustamante completed a 3-9 carom, which involved skimming the cue-ball off the 3-ball to pot the 9-ball, but Nigel Rees, the referee from Wales, sensed that the cue-ball had illegally made contact with the 9-ball first. Pandemonium reigned, but after a 20-minute delay involving countless video replays, Rees was proved correct.
Peach won the extension rackand cleared from his break in the deciding frame with a cacophany of boos ringing out as he potted the final ball.
