--- title: "Rest of World Moves Two Points From First Reyes Cup Title" url: https://ncuemedia.com/rest-of-world-moves-two-points-from-first-reyes-cup-title published: 2026-10-18T11:18:36Z updated: 2026-10-18T11:18:36Z summary: "Rest of the World won three of four Day Three matches to lead Team Asia 9-4, moving within two points of its first Reyes Cup championship." author: "NCue Media" categories: ["Pool"] tags: ["2026 Reyes Cup", "Aleksa Pecelj", "Fedor Gorst", "Team Asia", "Team Rest of the World"] lang: en --- # Rest of World Moves Two Points From First Reyes Cup Title *Gorst and Pecelj powered another decisive session as the challengers turned an early 0-2 deficit into a commanding 9-4 advantage.* Team Rest of the World moved within two points of its first Reyes Cup title after winning three of four matches on Day Three, building a 9-4 lead over Team Asia at Makati Coliseum. The five-point gap tells only part of the story. Rest of the World lost the opening two matches of the event, then won nine of the next 11. On Friday, Fedor Gorst and Aleksa Pecelj supplied commanding singles victories, while the full team recovered from another slow start. Asia's only reply came from Carlo Biado and 17-year-old Albert Januarta in doubles. | Day Three match | Result | Overall score | |---|---:|---:| | Team match | ROW 5-3 Asia | ROW 7-3 | | Fedor Gorst vs Albert Januarta | Gorst 5-1 | ROW 8-3 | | Biado/Januarta vs Filler/Gorst | Asia 5-3 | ROW 8-4 | | Aleksa Pecelj vs AJ Manas | Pecelj 5-1 | ROW 9-4 | ## How did Rest of the World erase another early deficit? Team Asia opened the five-player match with urgency. Robbie Capito's safety forced a foul from Joshua Filler in the first rack, and AJ Manas punished a dry break from Francisco Sanchez Ruiz to make it 2-0. The lead did not survive the next two racks. Duong Quoc Hoang appeared ready to complete a break-and-run but scratched, presenting Shane Van Boening with the opening. Gorst then broke and ran to level at 2-2. From there, the match became a contest of nerve rather than shot-making. Pecelj escaped a snooker from Biado and put Rest of the World ahead. Capito answered by forcing another Filler foul, but Manas later fouled under pressure from Sanchez Ruiz. Van Boening won the final tactical exchange with Duong to close a 5-3 victory. It was the second straight day that Asia built a 2-0 lead in the opening team match and lost 5-3. Repetition made the result more damaging. A fast start should create freedom in a short race; instead, Rest of the World now expects to recover whenever Asia moves in front. ## Why has Fedor Gorst become the face of the turnaround? Gorst contributed to the team victory and then beat Januarta 5-1 in the first singles match. The score looked routine by the end, though the teenager won the lag and ran the opening rack. Januarta's chance to extend the lead ended with a missed 4-ball. Gorst levelled, then forced a scratch and used ball-in-hand to play a 4-9 combination. A run-out made it 3-1, and a short safety battle on the 1-ball took him to the hill. The last opportunity for Januarta came after another safety exchange. He left the 2-ball available, and Gorst cleared the table. Gorst's advantage was not simply firepower. He recognized when to attack, when to lock down the cue ball and when a combination offered the cleanest path through a rack. That range matters in the Reyes Cup, where a player can be asked to switch between team, doubles and singles formats within the same session. After the match, Gorst credited experience for the difference. Januarta has already shown that he belongs around elite competition, but the world No. 1 made the teenager pay for almost every opening. ## What did Biado and Januarta prove in Asia's only win? At 8-3 down, Team Asia needed more than a respectable performance. Biado and Januarta had to stop Filler and Gorst from moving Rest of the World within a single point of the trophy. The ROW pair took the first rack and threatened to double the lead after a dry break from Biado. Gorst could not escape a hook, however, and Biado recovered with a 1-9 combination. Another error from Gorst, this time on a jump attempt, put Asia ahead. The fourth rack became untidy. Januarta left the 3-ball near the pocket, but Filler missed the 4-ball and returned control to Asia. Filler then tried to send the 2-ball into the 9-ball in the fifth rack, a decision that helped Biado and Januarta reach the hill. Januarta ended the match in one stroke. His golden break secured the 5-3 result and produced the loudest Asian moment of the session. The teenager had lost heavily to Gorst only one match earlier. Returning immediately and helping beat a pair containing Gorst and Filler said plenty about his temperament. Biado also filled the role Asia needs from its most experienced player: stabilizer, partner and scorer. ## How did Aleksa Pecelj close the door on an Asian rally? Asia's doubles win could have changed the feeling inside the arena. Pecelj did not allow it to grow. He took the first rack after Manas misplaced a snooker, then went 2-0 ahead when the Filipino failed to execute a kick. Manas' push-out in the third created another opening, and Pecelj moved quickly to 3-0. Manas finally scored after Pecelj scratched, but there was no extended recovery. A failed safety on the 1-ball sent Pecelj to the hill, and the Serbian ran the final rack for a 5-1 win. This was Pecelj's most controlled display of the week. He entered the event as a Reyes Cup debutant and one of the less familiar names in a roster filled with major champions. By the end of Day Three, he had helped win the team match, partnered Gorst to a Day Two doubles point and beaten Manas in singles. His progress also gives captain Ralf Souquet options. Rest of the World is not protecting a weak link. Every member of the five-player roster has now been part of a winning combination, which makes it harder for Asia to identify one favorable route back into the contest. ## What does the 9-4 score mean for the final day? The Reyes Cup is a race to 11 points. Rest of the World needs two wins on the final day; Team Asia needs seven. That is a severe imbalance, but Day Four is built entirely around singles matches. The format removes the safety of a partner and can accelerate momentum if one team strings together quick victories. Asia's task is simple to describe and extremely difficult to complete: win the opening match, keep the crowd involved and refuse to let Rest of the World reach the hill. Rest of the World has a different challenge. A large lead can tempt players to think about the trophy before the last 9-ball drops. Pecelj acknowledged that danger after his victory over Manas, warning that the team still had one more day to finish the job. The recent numbers favor Souquet's side. Since falling 2-0 behind on Day One, Rest of the World has won nine of 11 matches. Gorst, Filler and Sanchez Ruiz have delivered the expected points, but Van Boening and debutant Pecelj have given the lineup balance. Asia has won the first two editions of the Reyes Cup. It now needs the largest comeback in the event's short history to protect that perfect record. Rest of the World, beaten 11-3 a year ago, stands two points from reversing the rivalry. ## When does the 2026 Reyes Cup conclude? The final session is scheduled for October 18 at Makati Coliseum in the Philippines. The action begins at 7:00 p.m. local time, with singles matches deciding whether Rest of the World claims its first title or Asia extends the contest. Coverage is available through ESPN platforms in the United States, ONE Sports in the Philippines and WNT TV in supported territories. :::faq ### What is the Reyes Cup score after Day Three? Team Rest of the World leads Team Asia 9-4 after winning three of the four matches in the third session. ### How many points does Rest of the World need to win? Rest of the World needs two more points to reach the winning target of 11. ### Who won singles matches on Day Three? Fedor Gorst beat Albert Januarta 5-1, and Aleksa Pecelj defeated AJ Manas by the same score. ### Who earned Team Asia's only point of the session? Carlo Biado and Albert Januarta beat Joshua Filler and Fedor Gorst 5-3, with Januarta sealing the match on a golden break. ### Has Rest of the World won the Reyes Cup before? No. Team Rest of the World is seeking its first Reyes Cup title after Team Asia won the first two editions. :::