Derby City Q&A Series: Alex Pagulayan
Former world and US Open champion Alex Pagulayan speaks about his week at the Derby, starting his own brand and more.
ELIZABETH, Ind. — As I walked back into the main playing area tucked away in a ballroom at the back of the Caeser’s Southern Indiana casino floor, the man checking wristbands for entry said: “He’s one-of-a-kind.” He was referring to the short, Canadian-Filipino with an infectious smile and a penchant for jokes who was walking just ahead of me — Alex Pagulayan.
A fan-favorite in the world of pool, Pagulayan recently launched his own brand. He spoke about that venture, his play at the Derby so far this week and more in our short conversation on Friday night.
Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: How’s the 2023 Derby City Classic gone so far for you?
Alex Pagulayan: “Felt pretty good. I didn't play the best I could, but overall, I had a good performance. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out the way I wanted to [in one-pocket], but I was happy with the way I was playing, so if I keep it up, I think the future is looking bright for me.
If I'm playing the way I'm playing right now, I'll have a pretty good chance of winning [the nine-ball], but you never know. Every day changes, every moment changes, we don't know how we're going to play or how we're going to perform the next match or my next opponent, so only the pool God can answer that question.”
Q: What’s your schedule looking like for the next few weeks?
A.P.: “Oh, it's going to be rough. After this I'm going to Poland for the World 9-Ball, then I'm going to Louisiana right after that, then the Texas Open right after that. Then I'm going to play the World 10-Ball, US Open 8-Ball, US Open 10-Ball. It's a pretty busy schedule. And then I'm running my brand, the Pagulayan brand. I just launched it about a week ago — me and my business partner and the Pagulayan team.”
Q: What’s that all about?
A.P.: “It's all a bunch of apparel, clothes, hats, a cue eventually, chalk, the whole nine yards.”
Q: What made you want to launch it now?
A.P.: “Everything actually. I'm at that age now where I need to do something for myself, and I think I got something to bring to the fans, so we'll see. Just stay tuned and wait for my YouTube channel. For now, just follow me on Facebook, and by the way, everybody's welcome to sign onto pagulayan.net. Just go on my Facebook and just sign up, and we're giving away free stuff.”
Q: Who was your pool hero/idol growing up?
A.P.: “Of course there's a lot of them. Efren's one of them for sure. Jose Parica's one of them. What really meant to me a lot and helped my games, you probably don't know him, his name's Paul Thornley. He's my mentor. He's the one who helped me a lot.
When I was young, when I was 16. He was always there for me every time I asked him a question. I never got to see him play. He's about 80 years old now. I still call him any time, every time I need him — ask for advice.”
Q: The pool world has seen some major changes in the last couple of years, especially with what Matchroom Pool has done. What have you liked about it and is there anything more you want to see changed?
A.P.: “It's good for the pool players, now we got more tournaments. But they should get together and become as one. One people, one unity, one organization is better than many. But for now, it's good for us. We get choices now.”