How David Alcaide Built His Philippines Open Title Run

A deciding rack in the second round gave way to a commanding finish in 2025. As Alcaide prepares to defend his title, we revisit the seven wins that made him the inaugural Philippines Open champion.

The final score tells one part of David Alcaide’s Philippines Open story. His 13–3 victory over Arseni Sevastyanov delivered the inaugural title in 2025, but the route to that trophy had included a much narrower escape.

In the second round, 16-year-old Jaybee Sucal took the Spaniard to hill-hill. Alcaide came through the deciding rack, then won five more matches to complete a run that ended with two emphatic victories on the final day.

With Alcaide confirmed to return for the 2026 Roobet Philippines Open Pool Championship, that sequence offers a fuller picture of the defending champion than the final alone.

The closest contest came early

Alcaide opened with a 10–1 win over Saud Kareem Alshammari before meeting Sucal. The difference between those first two scorelines was striking: nine racks in his opening match, just one in the next.

The Sucal result remained his closest match of the tournament. It also gave his campaign an early turning point. Before Alcaide could build the run that would carry him to the trophy, he had to settle a contest that had reached the last possible rack.

He followed it with a 10–5 victory over Paul John Ladao, then beat Michael Baoanan 10–7 in the last 16. Through four matches, Alcaide had advanced from a comfortable opening win through a deciding-rack test and into the quarter-finals.

Jeffrey Ignacio was next. Four Filipinos faced in a row, live in front of a packed-out Gateway Mall cheering on their home contingent. Alcaide won their quarter-final 11–7 to reach the final day, where Robbie Capito stood between him and the title match.

A decisive final day

Against Capito, the gap widened. Alcaide’s 11–4 semi-final win was his biggest winning margin since the opening round and put him one victory from becoming the event’s first champion.

Sevastyanov had reached the final by beating Jayson Shaw 11–10 in the other semi-final. His last-four match had gone to a deciding rack; Alcaide’s had finished with seven racks between the players.

The final produced a still larger margin. Alcaide won 13–3, completing the championship with 24 racks won and seven conceded across the semi-final and final.

Those numbers describe the strength of his finish without erasing the earlier difficulty. Across the tournament, his winning margins ranged from one rack against Sucal to ten against Sevastyanov. The same title run contained both the narrowest possible victory and a final that ended well short of its full distance.

That is the precedent Alcaide brings back to the Philippines: seven wins, an early deciding-rack test and a final day on which his opponents took only seven racks between them.

The defence begins at Gateway Mall

The 2026 Roobet Philippines Open Pool Championship takes place from 20–24 October at Gateway Mall in Quezon City, beginning two days after the Reyes Cup concludes in Makati.

For Alcaide, the return brings the opportunity to defend a title he was the first to win. For fans, the final day offers the chance to see who completes this year’s run through the field.

Tickets are on sale for Saturday 24 October, covering the semi-finals and final. See the official Philippines Open ticket information to plan your visit. Broadcast coverage will also be available on WNT TV.