Chinese Taipei underscored its seriousness in snatching the over-all championship trophy of the inaugural World Ten-Ball Championship by winning three of the four spots in the first of three qualification tournaments at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City, on Wednesday.

Wang Kuo-pin became the third Taiwanese qualifier in the 10-ball event after winning Qualifier 4 late Wednesday, beating compatriot Lu Hui-chan, 9-7, in an all Taiwanese final. Wang will join countrymen Chang Pei-wei and Chang Yu-lung, in the 128-man main draw of the inaugural tournament to be held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) from Sept. 29 to October 5.

Pei Wei, the 2004 WPA World 9-Ball losing finalist, defeated 1997 Jakarta Southeast Asian Games 9-Ball gold medallist Victor Arpilleda, 9-6, to top Qualifier 1 while Yu Lung outplayed Lee Po-hsien, 9-4, to win Qualifier 2.

Arnel Bautista, playing under the banner of Magi stable and a relatively unknown campaigner in the pool world, is the first Pinoy entry after winning Qualifier 3 on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old Barobo, Surigao del Sur-native crushed Taiwanese Chu Hu-ming, 9-3, in the final.

Bautista, earlier beat Arpilleda, 7-1, Booe Uyji, 7-4, Lu Hsun-cheng, 7-6, and Kuo chun-nan, 7-4, before crushing Hung ming, in the single knock-out affair, organized by Raya Sports in cooperation with Star Billiards Center, Philippine Billiards Foundation and the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP), the sole governing billiards body in the country.