Dennis Orcollo (born January 28, 1979), sometimes called Dennis Orcullo, is a Filipino professional pool player, nicknamed "Surigao" (after a province in the Philippines) and "RoboCop".[1] He has been called "The Money-Game King".[2][3][4] Orcollo is considered one of the greatest pool players of all time.[5][6]
Since 2005, Orcollo has won over 100 international titles, including over 20 major titles.[7] He is a world champion, winning the 2011 WPA World Eight-ball Championship. Orcollo has been a dominant player at the annual Derby City Classic, winning seven times overall, including Master of the Table three times in 2014, 2017, and 2020.[8][9]
Orcollo is the second of four brothers. His father was a fisherman in the southern village of Mangagoy, Surigao Del Sur, but a typhoon claimed his life in a boating accident when Dennis was just 5 years old. At 9 years of age, Orcollo dropped out of school because of financial problems and to focus on billiards and run racks on his grandfather's pool table, routinely beating grown men for 20 pesos a game. He was a pure shooter, cleanly sinking shots that others usually missed. At 16, despite pleas from his mother and grandfather, who wished he'd stay and become a fisherman, Orcollo left home for a gold mining town called Compostela, where he hustled pool. Within days no-one would play the prodigious teen, so he left for the capital of Manila at the age of 19, with a handful of dollars and nowhere to sleep. It was the mid 1990s and Orcollo had picked a good time in pool.[10]
Career
Orcollo began competing outside the Philippines in 2002. That year, he competed in the WPA World Nine-ball Championship where he finished 17th place.[11]
In 2007, Orcollo reached the finals of the WPA World Eight-ball Championship only to be bested by countryman Ronato Alcano. He would again reach the finals of the same event in 2011, this time to win against Niels Feijen.
In 2008, Orcollo won the Japan Nine-ball Open beating Ryogi Aoji of Japan 9–2 in the finals. Four months later, Orcollo ruled the inaugural Qatar World Nine-ball Open tournament defeating Niels "The Terminator" Feijen of Netherlands 13–5 in the championship match to bag the title and the top purse of $40,000. Feijen, received the runner-up prize of $20,000.[13]
In 2011, Orcollo snapped off his first World title after beating Neils Feijen of Netherlands 10–3 in the final of the World Eight-ball Championship.[17] Orcollo won the 2011 Derby City Classic nine-ball, beating American player Shane Van Boening 7–2 in the final.[18] Orcollo also won the Predator International Ten-ball Championship for the second time after he beat Mika Immonen of Finland 10–8.[19] Orcollo was named the 2011 WPA player of year.[20]
In 2012, Orcollo won the US Open Ten-ball Championship, defeating compatriot Francisco "Django" Bustamante, 11–5 in the championship match to win the top prize of US$15,000.[21] He then won the Hard Times Ten-ball Open after he dominated Shane Van Boening 11–3 in the final.[22] Orcollo also conquered the China Open Nine-ball Championship when he dispatched Chinese Taipei’s Lu Hui-Chan, 11–9.[23] Orcollo was named the 2012 AZBilliards player of the year.
In 2013, Dennis Orcollo and Lee Vann Corteza clinched the World Cup of Pool after defeating the Dutch tandem of Niels Feijen and Nick van den Berg, 10–8, at York Hall in London, England. They became the third Filipino duo to win the annual single-elimination tournament for doubles teams in nine-ball competition after Efren "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante won the inaugural event in 2006 and then repeated in 2009.
In 2020, Orcollo recorded a 120–119 victory against Shane Van Boening to be crowned The Money Game King in a three-day one-on-one 9-ball tournament held at Bill's Bar and Billiards in Oklahoma City.[28]
In 2021, Orcollo defeated Shane Van Boening again, this time by a score of 120–115 in their race to a 120 nine-ball rematch.[29]
In their early match on day 1, Orcollo runs an incredible 11 straight racks in a row.[30] The only other pool player to ever have run 11 consecutive racks in history was Earl Strickland.[31]
In 2022, Orcollo was the fourth Filipino pool player to be inducted into the BCA Hall of fame, joining fellow countrymen Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, and Jose Parica. He was the clear choice of voters in the Greatest Players category and have earned induction into the sport’s most prestigious club.[32]
Deportation
Orcollo was deported from the United States in January 2022 reportedly due to overstaying in the country. He is barred from going back to the United States for five years, consequentially making him unable to compete in US tournaments.[33][34]
