LEE Van Corteza stunned fancied German veteran Ralf Souquet 8-6 early yesterday morning (Wednesday night in the US) to advance to the next round of the $250,000 Predator World 10-Ball Championship at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Unfazed by the reputation of Souquet, the current European 8-ball champ and former world 8 and 10-ball king, Corteza became the first Filipino to reach the next phase of the tourney offering a top prize of $60,000 (around P3.3 million).
The five-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist drew another tough foe today (Thursday in the US) in Spain’s Francesco Sanchez Ruiz, the reigning US Open champion, who routed Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Alshammari 8-3 for a spot in the round-of-32.
Also advancing from the loser’s bracket were Filipinos Roberto Gomez and Jeffrey de Luna.
Gomez, who dropped a close 7-8 decision to Corteza in the opener, won two matches to remain in contention, first whipping American Nathan Wallace 8-3 before nipping Italian Francesco Candela 8-6.
