Reyes Cup press conference: teamwork, the MVP and a return next year

Rest of the World came to the official post-event press conference for the 2026 Roobet Reyes Cup on Monday morning, hours after beating Team Asia 11–4 for their first title. Captain Ralf Souquet, MVP Francisco Sánchez Ruiz, Shane Van Boening, Joshua Filler, Aleksa Pecelj and Fedor Gorst sat on the panel, alongside Emily Frazer, CEO of Matchroom Multi Sport. The press conference was streamed on Facebook. Rack 9 watched the full stream, and the quotes below come from it.

It was a relaxed one. Frazer warned the room that the players were “a little bit worse for wear” after a night of celebrating.

Next year: the Reyes Cup and Philippines Open return

The biggest news came at the end. Frazer said the Reyes Cup and the Philippines Open will be back next year, with venues and dates to be announced soon. She called it an annual event, comparing it to the Mosconi Cup, and said it will stay in Manila and might also move to other locations.

“It's great to be back in Manila,” Frazer said. “We love these two events.” She also said the Reyes Cup had its best attendance on Sunday, even with Rest of the World needing only two points to win, and she asked for more international fans to come over next year.

The Reyes Cup wouldn't be the event that it is without the Filipino fans coming.

Emily Frazer, CEO of Matchroom Multi Sport

Souquet: “We acted as a team”

Frazer told Souquet he was “the right captain to pick.” Souquet credited the team's unity, and joked that it carried on well past the final.

We acted as a team, we played as a team, we stuck together as a team.

Ralf Souquet, Rest of the World captain

Souquet noted that his team mixed players from the two sides who meet at the Mosconi Cup in Orlando in about five weeks, and said the main job was to make them one team.

In order to win, you have to be a team. That's not only on the table, also off the table.

Ralf Souquet

Asked how it felt to be down early, Souquet said Rest of the World lost the team match on Day 1 and then the first doubles match. “It was not a great feeling,” he said, but he never doubted the team. He said they carried that form into Day 2, went up 5–2 and finished the day at 6–3.

I really, really felt comfortable that it would take a lot for Team Asia to overcome us.

Ralf Souquet, on going into Day 3 with a 6–3 lead

Sánchez Ruiz on the MVP award

Sánchez Ruiz, who was named Reyes Cup MVP, called it one of the best weeks of his life. He said winning the Cup with his teammates mattered more to him than the individual award, and that it meant extra because he had lost in earlier years. Frazer joked that he was loving being MVP, coming right off his US Open win.

Filler on showing emotion

Joshua Filler was asked about the energy he brought all week. He said events like this are made for energy, and that players have to show it.

You've got to show it. And I'm not scared to show any emotions.

Joshua Filler

He said being on the winning side with his teammates was “incredible,” with so many ups and downs in every match, especially the team matches.

What's next

Several of the team head straight to the Philippines Open, which starts Tuesday, October 20 at Gateway Mall in Quezon City. Frazer encouraged fans to come and watch. The Mosconi Cup follows November 27–30 in Orlando. For the final result and how it was won, read Rack 9's Reyes Cup recap.

Sources

• Official post-event press conference, 2026 Roobet Reyes Cup (Facebook live stream, October 19, 2026)
• Matchroom Pool: Reyes Cup
• Spin.ph: Sanchez Ruiz leads Team Rest of World to first Reyes Cup title