Filipino Jonas Magpantay bags Qatar 10-ball World Cup title

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Filipino cue artist Jonas Magpantay shocked the whole pool scene after reigning supreme during the recently concluded Qatar 10-ball World Cup event on Nov. 2, 2025, at the Ezdan Palace Hotel in Doha.

Entering the main event as a qualifier via the points system, the unheralded Filipino defied the odds and stunned the pool world after besting Polish star Szymon Kural during the grand finals, 13-9, to take home the USD 100,000 (PHP 5,877,800) championship prize.

Heading to Qatar with a four-tournament losing streak, the pride of Oriental Mindoro didn’t receive the limelight like the other seeded players did, but he surely left a mark when he capped off his campaign with a run for the ages.

Magpantay was the underdog during the championship match but caught Kural off guard with a quick 6-2 blitz off his on-point safety game.

Kural received a dose of his own medicine when he sent several safety shots instead of taking a more aggressive approach to scatter the balls on the table.

As a result, Magpantay countered with safety bankers that softly touched the rails, leaving Kural with a difficult decision: using the jump cue or a double kiss in the corner.

Magpantay’s strategy weaved magic, causing Kural to fold under the pressure and miss crucial shots down the stretch.

From that point, Kural failed to gain any momentum and could only watch the “surprise finalist” operate down the stretch and seal the final rack with a clean sweep.

Before reaching the championship round, Magpantay ousted Hungary’s Oliver Szolnoki in the Round of 64, 11-7, and pulled off the upset over kababayan and title favorite Carlo Biado, 11-8.

In the Round of 16, Magpantay continued his majestic run with an 11-5 victory over Polish Wojciech Szewczyk, and prevailed over Dutch Niels Feijen in the quarterfinals, 11-7.

To complete the Cinderella run, Magpantay hurdled the tough challenge from Moritz Neuhausen of Germany during the semifinal round, 11-6.

Mabuhay ka, Jonas Magpantay!