AEPC’s Media Partner, the Jakarta Globe, has downloaded many of the games from the event’s TV table to their website and you can take a look at them here
Category: 2013 Jakarta
AEPC ’13 – Final Day
Yes, Bangkok win it again, the third time in a row, with Jakarta the bridesmaid once again in second place, having been pipped in the last frame of their match with the Champions in going down 16-14 on day 1.
Word has it that the Jakarta All Stars have decided that enough is enough and that Manila in ’14 will be their time; so watch out Bangkok, enjoy your win while you can!!
Very creditable performance performance by Saigon Legends to snatch third place from Manila Patriots, first timers both.
Manila also took some consolation by being the clear winner of the best team shirt competition!
Shanghai will be a little disappointed by their 5th position despite being almost unanimously voted the noisiest team in the competition.
Finally, well done Singapore for great team spirit and going from zero to hero in such a short space of time; we expect you to be competing in Manila!!
So all over for another year for the team competition – but watch out for the AEPC singles competition coming up in April next year!
Many thanks to all for your participation – we hope you had fun – and that we will see you in Manila in ’14!
AEPC ’13 – The first day’s play
With the Challenge being decided on points, 3 for a win an 1 for a draw, and points being awarded only on completion of a city v city match – so many matches are still “in-flight” that it is difficult to make anything anything of the above results-to-date table.
One thing that is clear, however, is that holders Bangkok are clear favourites after taking all three points in their encounter with Jakarta in a completed match that went right down to the wire in a 16 frames to 14 frames win.
A snap from a busy first day’s play; you’re on stripes, what would you do next??
Lots more photos from the day can be found on our Facebook page here … one of our favourite was this one.
Your scribe found the 5-6 seconds delay between play on table 3 and the otherwise most excellent telecast rather confusing but. apart from that, great organisation, fantastic buffet, sportsmanship all round, exciting play and the peerless Bintang made for a brilliant day; who could want more?
After nearly nine and a half hours play, it was revealing to note that all five match tables plus the two practice tables were immediately put into action for friendlies. Pool Nuts or what?!
Second and final day today – let’s do it!!
AEPC Players’ Reception at the Fez Dungeon
All AEPC players, officials and significant others were treated to a warm Jakarta welcome at Fez Dungeon in Kemang last evening with Bajai, Ondel-Ondel and fireworks as they stepped off the coaches from their base at the nearby Grand Kemang hotel.
A very fine evening followed in the Dungeon with a speech of welcome from event organiser Mark Sims as the crowd warmed up on the various fuels on offer.
Fantastic buffet spread sourced from Jakarta’s best Indian Restaurant and some great Indonesian dishes from Fez’s own kitchen.
Boat races, mutual abuse, making friends new – and meeting old friends made at previous AEPCs were then the order of the day before the tables were reopened and some extremely competitive doubles and singles got underway.
A smashing prelude to the real action getting underway at 1pm today at the Grand Kemang hotel – don’t be late, you will find the schedule here!!
Lots more photos of the evening can be found on our Facebook page here.
A Message from our Event Sponsor, Steel Blue
On behalf of Steel Blue I would like to say how proud we are to be the Event Sponsor for the Asia Expat Pool Challenge 2013 and wish all players and spectators an enjoyable time over the coming days.
The event is about getting expat players to improve, participate at a higher level and show their talent. Importantly it is also a networking event where players from different countries will form friendships across the region.
Steel Blue remains committed to supporting amateur pool in the Asian Region and we hope that the existence of AEPC will encourage more players to participate in local pool competitions.
Steel Blue would like in particular would to thank Mark Sims and the Jakarta All Stars Committee for their tireless efforts in making the 2013 event possible.
Finally, and most regrettably, I am unavoidably forced to be away on business and will therefore miss attending AEPC 2013 in person – but will be taking every opportunity to tune into the event live via the streaming that has been made available courtesy of the Jakarta Globe – our Media Partner.
Good luck to all teams!
Brian Piggott
Director
AEPC Singles Competition
Those competing in the Asia Expat Pool Challenge (AEPC) will already be pretty psyched up to perform over the next two days, however, AEPC’s announcement today that it intends to widen the scope of the Challenge to include an 8-ball Singles Competition cannot fail to add further spice!
The competition will involve top players from each of the 6 teams participating in the 2013 AEPC being held in Jakarta on 13th & 14th September – and will take place in Jakarta in April 2014
All qualifying and participating players will have their economy airfares to, and hotel accommodation in, Jakarta paid for by the event sponsor.
The singles competition is well endowed with prize money as follows:
Winner – $2,000
Runner Up – $1,000
Third Place – $500.
There are two ways for a player to get qualified for the Singles Championship.
Pathway One – Automatic Selection
The player from each city with the highest number of winning frames, and having played in all matches, will automatically qualify for the singles championship.
In the event that more than one player is tied on the most winning frames then an elimination match will be played in the players’ own city to determine the winner.
The losing player(s) will then qualify to participate in Pathway Two as prescribed below.
Pathway Two – City Play Off
A second player will be selected from each city to fill the final six positions for the Singles Championship.
The second player selected to represent each city needs to have won a minimum of six frames and to have played in all 5 matches. The city organizer will determine the minimum entry-level ie 6, 7 or a higher number of frames.
The city organizer shall arrange elimination matches in their respective city to determine a winner.
At the conclusion of the selection process there will be two players representing 6 cities (12 players in total) playing in Jakarta in April 2014. The qualifying players must be advised to the organizers no later than 31 January 2014.
The detailed playing format will be advised closer to the time of the Singles Championship.
Finally, please note that the schedule for the AEPC has changed a little to provide greater fairness towards all participating teams, as well as helping raise awareness in cities of origin.
The waiting is nearly over ….
At last the waiting is coming to an end with the teams soon arriving in Jakarta from all across Asia – and itching to get into AEPC action!
The teams participating are of course:
| City | Team | Captain | |
| Bangkok | Bangkok Pool League | Mark Dulgov | |
| Ho Chi Minh City | Saigon Legends | August Lee | |
| Jakarta | Jakarta All Stars | Mark Sims | |
| Manila | Manila Patriots | Lorenz Laureola | |
| Shanghai | Shanghai Sharks | Paul Gray | |
| Singapore | Singapore Expat Qs | David Gardner |
Play is over two days, the 13th and 14th September 2013, in the ballroom at the Grand Kemang Hotel in South Jakarta, where play commences each day at 1pm and goes on until 9pm. You can find the detailed schedule of who plays who, and when, by clicking here.
Tickets for the event are available at Fez Dungeon, Aphrodite and Everest, and may also be purchased at the door on the day though, with a limited number of tickets available, it is advisable to get your ticket in advance!
Two ticket options are available for the event as follows:
A 2 day pass 13 & 14 Sept from 1 pm to 9.30 pm on both days – including free flow beer, an international dinner buffet and free supporter’s shirt – Cost 600,000 Rupiah
A 1 day pass with the same benefits as above but without supporter shirt – Cost 300,000 Rupiah.
Supporter shirts are also available for purchase separately at a cost of 100,000 Rupiah per shirt – and are available at the event venue.
If you are not able to attend in person then, for the first time, live streaming from the event will be available throughout due to the efforts of our Media Partner, The Jakarta Globe. Play can be seen on http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/streaming-tv/
The playing schedule is out
Pleased to advise that the final playing schedule for the Asia Expat Pool Challenge is now published.
Scheduling took a little longer than previously due to twice as many teams this year and the need to make sure that all teams got time on table 3 – the table being broadcast live on TV!!
Full details of how to get tuned into the TV broadcast will be shared with you later this week.
Introducing Manila Patriots
The Philippines is an emerging economy nation of more than 100 million people, and Filipinos have traditionally and of necessity, engaged in sports with minimal costs with basketball, boxing, chess (yes, it is considered a sport in the Philippines) and of course pool, all extremely popular.
When a foreign pool player comes to the Philippines, the first thing he discovers is that there are pool tables on EVERY one of its 7,000+ islands. And with that comes a multitude of pool players of all levels in all parts of the country – and who ALL want to be a Bustamante, Alcano, Reyes, Corteza, Manalo, Kiampo, Biado, Orcollo – the list just goes on and on! The sport’s various feeder systems have in excess of 100,000 players!
It is against this background that “Manila Patriots”, a bunch of foreigners who have had the opportunity to learn and improve their game in the Philippines, when “learn” in this context can be defined as “If you think you are good, then just hang on for a moment and a guy will show up who looks like a taxi driver, fighter, doorman or congressmen (Paquiao will take your money), puts you in your place and takes your money!”
10 of the top 20 pool players in the world are Filipinos – and expats are great $$ targets for the citizenry of their great country.
Yes, what the Patriots team of expats has learned is how to play pool “Filipino style” with a wealth of teaching and experience that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
The majority of the Manila Patriots team come from the leading amateur pool club in the country, the Makati Pool Players Association (MAPPA ), headed by its President, and Philippines pool icon, Jesse Gonzales Cambosa.
In fact it was Jesse, teaming up with fellow MAPPA member and current Dragon Promotions’ International Tournament Director for the Women’s World 10-ball Championships Lorenz Laureola, who took the positions of team manager and captain of the team respectively, and who have now put the Patriots team together.
With the help of many mutual friends in the Manila and Angeles City pool communities, the pair have been able to bring together a strong 15 man team plus reserves to carry the banner of the Philppines in the 2013 Asia Expat Pool Challenge being held at the Grand Kemang Hotel in Jakarta , Indonesia on September 13th/14th.
Last word to Patriots team manager Jesse Cambosa, who summarises as follows:
Our team consists of players from Manila and Angeles City, home of the Angels and Bata Reyes. and where Makati Cinema Square is home for Puyat Sports – 100 great shooters can be found playing there on any given night, all very keen to improve the “experience” of the many expats who drop by to enjoy a game of pool and a beer or two. Do join them if you should ever find yourself in the Philippines.
Our team is a first year team that will grow up very quickly over the next 30 days ….. you don’t know us today, but in future, with our accumulating experience of playing the best, and training from unmatchable on the job teachers ….. buckle up!!
Thanks Jesse, we are all looking forward to seeing that “Filipino style” in Jakarta next month!
Singapore Expat Qs
Singapore’s team for the Asia Expat Pool Challenge is made up of a mix of expatriates from across the globe, meeting each week to practice and compete with each other – and socialise after a hard day at the office.
The team itself is now called Singapore Expat Q’s (SEQ’s, pronounced SEX)
The team first got together in September 2012 when there wasn’t an Expat Pool scene per se in Singapore, with founder David Gardner using Social Media, including his connections on LinkedIn initially, when the following was to attract the attention of what became the core of the team!
‘This is a group for Expats in Singapore to meet up for a few beers after work, socialize and have a few frames of Pool!! Simple really.’
SEQ’s now has a respectable following on Twitter and its own Facebook page – and has over 130 members of 33 different nationalities when last checked! A true reflection on the modern multi-cultural Singapore, which is a melting pot for a great variety of expatriate professionals.
What is perhaps unique about SEQ’s is that it is not formed out of players from a specific bar or pool league, instead, changing the location of where they meet each week to play and, through growing connections, challenge other local and expatriate teams – and grow the group by attracting new members. Of the existing members, there are competitive (and social!) players and social players, with the former making up the travelling contingent to Jakarta in September.
The majority of the players in the SEQ’s team are male, mainly from the UK, USA and a broad swathe of Asia, and ranging in age from 30 to 45 with professions as diverse as Engineers, Lawyers, Financial Advisors, Accountants, Teachers and Managing Directors – but all united by a shared passion for 8 Ball pool!!
For this, the first International tournament for the team, 20 players will be travelling to Jakarta in September when SEQ’s are looking forward to getting the AEPC under their belts, and then continue to build the team towards future events.
It’s difficult to predict where in the standings SEQ’s will finish in Jakarta, however, the team is made up of serious Expat pool players who really are not fond of losing, and bring many years of experience to the table having previously played competitively in their home countries and elsewhere, and now in Singapore.
A SEQ’s player to watch out for in September is Rico Santiago, from Manila in the Philippines where Rico started playing pool at the tender age of 12 years.
In Rio’s own words, “Back then, tournaments were rare and at the age of 15 I was already playing serious pool but didn’t consider myself a pro, but I was learning how to hustle!”.
At the age of 17 Rico moved to Canada and started playing there when he was to meet pool star Alex Pagulayan who has won numerous world championships. It was then that he had his first taste of tournament play. The tournaments Rio played were at entry point level and, although he lost more games than he won, it did give him invaluable experience at a higher level. Rica plays all forms of the games from 8 ball, through 9 ball to 10 ball.
After living in Canada for 15 years Rio moved back home to Manila, though at first he didn’t play a lot because he had lost contact with people and the country has changed so much. After a while, however, he found the pool table calling him back and has since played regularly, first in Manila and now, very pleasingly, since relocating to Singapore.
Finally, SEQ’s are ready for battle in Jakarta and enormously looking forward to the event where they hope, and maybe even expect, to bring off a few surprises!!
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