MANILA -- Filipino cue masters Demosthenes “Plong-Plong” Pulpul and Jeffrey de Luna are among the first batch of players to be given guaranteed seats in the second World 10-Ball Championship slated at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, Metro Manila from November 25-30.

According to RayaSports.com, Pulpul and De Luna have made it into the World Pool-Billiard Association’s Top 32 players based on WPA’s new ranking system.

De Luna, the runner up in the 2009 Philippine 10-Ball Open, is ranked No. 8 while Pulpul, a semifinalist in the 2008 World 10-Ball Championship, is ranked No. 9.

Their ranks therefore earned them automatic qualification for the 2009 edition of the WTBC.

The Top 32 are led by current World No. 1 and reigning World 10-Ball champion Darren Appleton of Great Britain. He is followed by Ralf Souquet of Germany (2), Mika Immonen of Finland (3), Niels Feijen of the Netherlands (4), and Shane van Boening of the United States (5).

Besides the top 32 ranking players, spots are mainly allocated to the continental federations which then award the spots to deserving players.

The World 10-Ball championship offers a total prize fund of $250,000. The $75,000 lion’s share will go to the champion.

Around 300 players from over 50 countries are expected to participate in the main tournament and qualifying tournament.