Dennis Orcullo became the first Filipino to advance to the knockout stage in the second day of the WPA World Ten Ball Championship at the World Trade Center in Pasay City yesterday.
Orcullo, a former fisherman from Bislig Surigao del Sur made it to the Last 64 after an easy 9-2 triumph over Max Eberle of the United States.
The player known in the international pool circuit as “The Robocop” raced to an 8-0 lead and was poised to sweep his opponent. But a dry break in the ninth rack allowed Eberle to win the next two racks that proved to be the American’s last token challenge as he failed to get the better of safety exchanges against Orcullo.
Meanwhile, defending World Ten Ball champion Mika Immonen of Finland became the first player of the tournament to advance to the round-of-64 after whipping Ruben Cuna of the Philippines, 9-3.
Former world champion Thomas Engert of Germany and double world champion Wu Jia Qing of China (formerly known as Wu Chia Ching) joined him several minutes later.
The New York based Immonen, a former world No. 1 player, is aching to bounce back from a miserable performance in the recent Philippine Open Pool Championship where he was booted out as early as the round-of-32.
Engert, a former World Straight Ball and International Challenge of Champion 9-Ball winner, subdued Francis Diaz-Pizzaro of Spain, 9-6.
Wu, a double world champion, played true to form by dumping 17-year-old Jonas Magpantay of the Philippines, 9-4.
But the player who caught everyone’s fancy was Tony Drago of Malta, who posted the fastest kill by demolishing Radoslaw Babica of Poland, 9-1, in just 35 minutes of play. /correspondent Marlon Bernardino