Johann Chua and James Aranas currently battle separate rivals at the start of the World Pool Championship in Targi, Kielce, Poland.
Chua, the reigning Southeast Asian Games 9-ball champion, is playing Abdullah Alyousef of Kuwait, while Aranas is competing against Pin Yi Ko of Chinese Taipei.
The tournament is dubbed as one of the most prestigious events in Nineball staking a total cash purse of $325,000.
The champion will pocket $60,000 while the runner-up will get $30,000.
A total of 128 players are competing in the event, which is split into two stages and following a double elimination format.
The Last 128, Losers Elimination, Losers Qualification will be played in a race-to-9 format, the Last 54 until the semifinals will be a race-to-11, and the final round will be race-to-13.