Francisco Bustamante (born December 29, 1963) is a Filipino professional pool player from Tarlac, Central Luzon and the 2010 World Nine-ball Champion,[1] nicknamed "Django", after the lead character of the 1966 film of the same name,[2] and sometimes also called "Bustie", especially in the United States. Bustamante has won over 70 international titles and is considered one of the greatest pool players of all time.[3][4]
Bustamante is the youngest of eight siblings. He picked up the nickname "Django" because his character and his appearance with a cigarette in his mouth was reminiscent of the movie character of that name. His father made a living through building toilets and planting rice, and Bustamante also worked in these activities. He began working in his sister's pool hall, racking and spotting balls on the tables, and practising alone on the tables after the hall had closed.[5]
Bustamante never completed high school and concentrated on pocket billiards from 10 years of age. After some success in the Philippines, Bustamante moved to Germany where he stayed for over ten years, competing in a number of tournaments in Europe.[6]
Career
Bustamante has won titles including the Munich Masters, the German Nine-ball Championship, and the All Japan Championship. With his win in Tulsa, Bustamante became champion of the 1998 Camel Pro Billiards Series year-long point fund. He then finished the season by winning the Columbus 10-Ball Open and becoming the first player to win three Camel titles in one season. His Columbus 10-Ball title completed the first ever Camel trifecta, with titles in each of the three games contested on the Camel Pro Billiards Series: eight-ball, nine-ball and ten-ball. Known for his flamboyant style at the table and behind-the-back shots, Bustamante also holds the world record for having the most powerful break shot.
The next year, Bustamante won the Motolite 9-ball Tournament, an event held in the Philippines, beating Antonio Lining. The victory prize was $30,000, the largest first prize offered in a Philippine-held tournament at that time.
In 2002, Bustamante received a phone call from his wife during the World Pool Championships, informing him that his daughter, who was less than a year old, had died. Bustamante considered forfeiting his contention at the tournament to return to the Philippines, but some people around including fellow countryman Efren Reyes convinced him to go on.[8] On his way to the final, Bustamante beat Antonio Lining in the last 16, Efren Reyes in the quarter finals, and Ching Shun Yang in the semis. In the final, he met Earl Strickland, twice winner of the tournament. After leading for most of the match, Bustamante lost the match 17–15.
Bustamante won the Peninsula Nine-ball Open, Gabriel's Las Vegas International Nine-ball tournament, the IBC Tokyo Nine-ball International, and the All Japan Nine-ball Championship. He also won the Sudden Death Seven-ball tournament, dedicating the victory to his daughter. With this string of victories, he became the AZBilliards 2002 Player of the Year.[9]
In 2006, Bustamante and his partner Efren Reyes won the inaugural World Cup of Pool, defeating the American duo of Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris 13–5 in the final.[11] They also won the event for the second time in 2009, defeating the German pair of Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann 11–9.[12]
In 2007, he was undefeated in the United States Pro Tour Championship held at the Normandie Casino in Los Angeles, California.[13]
For 2007, he was ranked No. 7 in Pool & Billiard Magazine's "Fans' Top 20 Favorite Players" poll.[14]
In 2010, Bustamante again reached the finals of the World Nine-ball Championship, winning the match and the title against Taiwan's Kuo Po-cheng.[16]
On July 27, 2010, Francisco Bustamante, along with Terry Bell and Larry Hubbart, founders of the American Pool Players Association (APA), were elected to the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame,[17] and inducted on October 21, 2010.[18] Bustamante was the second player from the Philippines to be inducted, after Efren Reyes.
Titles and achievements
2024 Midwest Billiards and Cue Expo One Pocket[19]
Efren Manalang Reyes, popularly known by the nicknames "Bata" and "the Magician", is a Filipino professional pool player, who is widely regarded as the greatest pool player of all time, and especially famed for his skill at the challenging one-pocket discipline. In 2003, he was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame.
Marlon Manalo, also known by the nickname "Marvelous Captain", is a former Filipino professional pool player. He previously served as barangay chairman of Barangay Malamig, Mandaluyong. He also became the press relation officer of the League of Barangays of the Philippines and ABC president.
Niels Feijen is a Dutch professional pool player, from the Hague. His nickname is "the Terminator". In 2014 he won the WPA World 9-ball championship.
Alejandro Salvador "Alex" Pagulayan is a Filipino-born Canadian professional pool player. His nickname is "the Lion", given to him by Paul Thornley, Canadian snooker player whom he credits as his mentor. Pagulayan is considered one of the best pool players of all time as well as one of the best one-pocket player of all time. He was born in Cabagan, Isabela, Philippines and was raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Pagulayan represented the Philippines in the mid-2000s and in 2012, he began carrying the Canadian flag in international tournaments again.
Jose Parica is a Filipino professional pool player from Manila, nicknamed "Amang" and "the Giant Killer." As a Filipino Hall of Famer, he pioneered the "Filipino invasion" in the United States in the late 70s, especially in the game of Nine-ball. Also known as "the King" in the Philippines, Parica is considered one of the greatest money players of all time. In 1997, Parica became the only player since to perform a perfect TPA score of .1000 in a race to 11 racks, making not a single mistake the entire match.
Dennis Orcollo, sometimes called Dennis Orcullo, is a Filipino professional pool player, nicknamed "Surigao" and "RoboCop". He has been called "The Money-Game King". Orcollo is considered one of the greatest pool players of all time.
Ronato (Ronnie) Alcano, is a Filipino professional pool player, nicknamed "Ronnie Calamba" and "the Volcano". He won both the 2006 WPA World Nine-ball Championship and the 2007 WPA World Eight-ball Championship.
Lee Vann Corteza, also spelled Lee Van Corteza, is a Filipino professional pool player. He is nicknamed "The Slayer", and started playing pool in 1993.
Mika Immonen is a Finnish professional Hall of Fame pool player, nicknamed "The Iceman."
Nick van den Berg is a Dutch professional pool player. He was the runner up at the 2005 WPA World Eight-ball Championship, where he lost to Wu Chia-ching 11–5 in the final. He is a multiple time winner of events on the Euro Tour, winning 10 tournaments between 2002 and 2017, the fourth highest in the history of the tour. A six-time winner of the European Pool Championships, Van den Berg has represented Europe at the Mosconi Cup on eight occasions, winning the event on six occasions as well as tying the event in 2006.
The WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual professional nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1990. The championship is sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and principally sponsored and organised by Matchroom Sport, who provide the event's official website branded as World Pool Championship. The championship is divided into men's, women's and wheelchair divisions.
Oliver Ortmann is a German professional pool player from Gelsenkirchen. Ortmann is a three-time world champion, winning the 1995 WPA World Nine-ball Championship and the 2007 and 2010 World Straight Pool Championship. Ortmann became the second player to win three WPA world championships. With fourteen wins, he the second most successful player at the European Pool Championships. Ortmann is also the second most successful player on the Euro Tour, winning fourteen events. Ortmann was the first non-American player to win the BCA U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship, in 1989.
Shane Van Boening is an American professional pool player from Rapid City, South Dakota. Van Boening is considered one of the best players of all time. Van Boening has won the WPA World Nine-ball Championship and has won the US Open Nine-ball Championship on 5 occasions, along with over 100 other professional titles.
The 2011 WPA World Nine-ball Championship was a professional nine-ball pool tournament held from June 25 to July 1, 2011, at the Al Sadd Sports Club in Doha, Qatar. A series of qualifying tournaments were held from June 21 to 23. It was the 2011 edition of the WPA World Nine-ball Championship, which was first held in 1990. The event was organized by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA).
Roy Apancho is an Indonesian professional pool player. During the 2006 WPA World Nine-ball Championship he survived the group stages despite losing 8–5 to Efren Reyes in the double elimination round, and the round of 64, but was eliminated in the round of 32 by Rodolfo Luat.
Rubilen "Bingkay" Amit is a Filipino female professional pool player from Mandaue, Cebu. Amit is a two-time WPA Women's World Ten-ball champion and the first Filipina pool player to become WPA Women's World Nine-ball champion in 2024. She is also the second Filipino player behind Carlo Biado to win both ten-ball and nine-ball championships.
The 2006 World Cup of Pool was a professional nine-ball pool competition, the first World Cup of Pool, a scotch doubles knockout championship representing 32 national teams. The event was held at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales, from 22 to 27 August 2006. The event was held as a single-elimination tournament, for a total prize fund of $250,000 with $60,000 being awarded to the winner. The tournament was organised by Matchroom Sport, sponsored by poker website Partypoker, and broadcast on Sky TV.
The 2007 World Cup of Pool was a professional nine-ball pool competition and the second edition of the World Cup of Pool, a scotch doubles knockout championship representing 32 national teams. The event was held in the Outland club in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from 25 to 30 September 2007. The event was held as a single-elimination tournament for a total prize fund of $250,000, including $60,000 for the winner. The tournament was organised by Matchroom Sport, sponsored by poker website Partypoker, and broadcast across 31 one-hour episodes.
Ko Pin-yi is a Taiwanese professional pool player. He became multiple World Champion in the disciplines of Nine-ball and Ten-ball in 2015.
↑ "The Survey Says...: Pool & Billiard Magazine's 22nd Annual Player and Fan Poll". Pool & Billiard Magazine. Vol.26, no.2. Summerville, South Carolina: Sports Publications. February 2008. p.14. ISSN1049-2852.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Philippines
