---
title: "Manas Beats Maciol 11-10 to Reach Qatar World Cup Final"
url: https://sports23.net/manas-wins-hill-hill-thriller-last-filipino-into-qatar-final
published: 2026-10-29T12:02:22Z
updated: 2026-11-02T04:07:16Z
summary: "AJ Manas rallied from 6-1 down to beat champion Daniel Maciol 11-10 in the Qatar World Cup 10-Ball semi-final; he meets Joshua Filler for the title."
author: "Sports23 Editorial"
categories: ["Billiards"]
tags: ["AJ Manas", "Daniel Macioł", "Doha", "Joshua Filler", "Philippines", "Qatar World Cup 10-Ball"]
lang: en
---

# Manas Beats Maciol 11-10 to Reach Qatar World Cup Final

*AJ Manas beat 2024 champion Daniel Macioł 11-10 after trailing 6-1 and 8-10, and faces Joshua Filler for the $100,000 title tonight in Doha.*

The last Filipino standing will play for the title. AJ Manas overturned a 6-1 deficit and then survived three racks from defeat to beat 2024 champion Daniel Macioł 11-10 in a hill-hill semi-final at the Ezdan Palace Hotel on Thursday, setting up a Qatar World Cup 10-Ball final against Joshua Filler tonight.

## Revenge, the hard way

Macioł had beaten Manas 9-4 in the Stage 1 winners' qualification round earlier in the week — the defeat that sent the Filipino down the losers' side and began this improbable run. When they met again on Table 16 [with a final at stake](/manas-vs-maciol-last-filipino-qatar-10-ball-semi-final), the Pole looked set to repeat the dose: he took six of the first seven racks and later reached the hill at 10-8.

Manas never folded. He had already clawed back to 8-6, and when Macioł moved within a rack of the final, the Filipino won the last three racks of the match to close it out 11-10.

## A run built from the losers' side

The semi-final was Manas's fifth straight win in elimination matches, and the route says plenty about the week he has had:

| Round | Result |
|---|---|
| Stage 1 qualification | Lost 4-9 to Macioł — sent to the losers' side |
| Last 64 | Beat Bashar Hussain 11-3 |
| Last 32 | Beat Mustafa Alnar 11-5 |
| Last 16 | Beat Jundel Mazon 11-5 — all-Filipino tie |
| Quarter-final | Beat Hsieh Chia Chen 11-8 |
| Semi-final | Beat Daniel Macioł 11-10 — from 1-6 and 8-10 down |

Seven Filipinos reached the last 16 this week and Manas is the only one still standing. Defending champion Jonas Magpantay, No. 2 seed Carlo Biado, Miguel Salvilla, Rocky Tullao and Mazon all fell along the way, leaving him to carry the flag alone.

![File photo: Carlo Biado at the table during the 2022 International 9-Ball Open](media:2f5171677196777c)

## Filler ends the world No. 1's bid

On Table 17, No. 5 seed Joshua Filler beat world No. 1 Wojciech Szewczyk 11-9 in a match that turned on errors rather than brilliance. Rack-by-rack tracking showed Szewczyk missing nine times, including the late error that denied the crowd a second hill-hill finish. Filler — who ended Salvilla's breakout run in the quarter-finals — is the only seeded player left in the field.

## Tonight: race to 13

Manas vs Filler breaks at 5:30 p.m. Doha time (10:30 p.m. in Manila) on Table 17 — a race to 13 worth $100,000 to the champion and $40,000 to the runner-up. A first-time winner of this event is guaranteed: neither man has lifted the Qatar World Cup.

For the Philippines the stakes reach beyond one player. Magpantay won this title as a qualifier last year, and Manas — having already outlasted every bigger name left in the draw — is one evening away from keeping the crown in Filipino hands for a second straight year.

*Results verified against official QBSF live scoring via rack9pool.com and rack-by-rack tracking data on Inside Spin, cross-checked with eyewitness reports on AZBilliards. Cover image: file photo of Carlo Biado by Puddin Tain via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.*