Hong Kong’s Robbie Capito ‘ready for battle’ at World Pool Championship after fifth-place finish at Derby City Classic
- Tournament debutant Capito storms back from behind to oust the legendary Efren Reyes in opening round in Indiana
- Hongkonger fights all the way before falling in quarterfinals against reigning world 9-Ball champion Shane Van Boening
Hong Kong pool star Robbie Capito is “ready for battle” at the next month’s World Pool Championship after storming to the quarterfinals at the Derby City Classic on Sunday.
In what will be his only warm-up for the showpiece tournament, which will be held in Kielce, Poland from February 1 to 5, Capito made a remarkable debut in Indiana in a daunting opening-round clash against the legendary Efren Reyes last Thursday.
The Filipino two-time world champion turned professional 23 years before Capito was born. But Capito ended up coming back from 5-1 down to beat the 68-year-old Reyes 9-6.
“Reyes was my childhood hero and also for many pool players,” said Capito, who was born and raised in Hong Kong by his Filipino parents. “He did stuff no one would ever do, the possibilities were unimaginable and with almost no effort.
“I felt very nervous coming into the match as he is the ‘GOAT’ [greatest of all time]. He attracted a bunch of spectators which made me want to perform even better, or to some extent, tried to not embarrass myself in front of him.”
Things did not go Capito’s way at the start of the match, with jet lag playing a part as well – the Hongkonger’s flight was delayed for 24 hours.