Filipino cue artist James Aranas gave his all against world No. 1 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz of Spain, but sadly, his best was not enough, absorbing a 9-6 loss in the opening round of the 2024 World Pool Masters at Halle39 in Hildesheim, Germany Saturday, April 27 (Manila time).

Aranas, 31, produced several spectacular shots early on that kept the contest exciting especially after rallying from a 5-2 deficit to tie the count at 5-all.

But with vengeance on his mind – he lost to the Filipino star last year – the Spaniard fought back furiously, banking on his experience to go up 8-5.

Aranas, who lost to eventual champion Chinese Taipei’s Ko Pin-Yi in last year’s semis, found a second wind and took the 14th rack to close the gap once again at 8-6.

Ruiz, however, was not to be denied of his redemption bid in the 16-player field as he unbleashed a string of brilliant shots that all but disarmed the other half of 2023 World Cup of Pool titlist.

The win over Aranas will certainly give Ruiz the extra zest when he battles Ko in the next round of the event offering $40,000 (roughly P2.3 million) to the champion.