Orcollo wins “Master of the Table” award and 14.1 crown in Derby City Classic
They call him “Robocop.” But now, Dennis Orcollo has another title: Master of the Table.
On Sunday the Pinoy Pool genius from Surigao won the Derby City Classic Straight Pool (14.1 Continuous) title in Elizabeth, Indiana, USA. That crown, coupled with a triumph in the Bank Pool Division, and final four finishes in the 9 Ball and One Pocket Divisions means he takes the prestigious Master of the Table prize and US$20,000 bonus money.
The annual Derby City Classic is something of a Cue Sports Decathlon/Heptathlon with hundreds of shooters competing in different Pocket Billiards disciplines. The MOTT award goes to the player who does the best in all the different games based on a points system.
Orcollo succeeds fellow Pinoy Francisco Bustamante, who won the MOTT last year. Previous Pinoy winners of the prestigious overall title are Efren Reyes, who grabbed it in 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2010, Bustamante, (2008 and 2013), and Jose “Amang” Parica, the Master of the Table in 2002.
In the Straight Pool event Orcollo downed his quarterfinal opponent, Jayson Shaw of Scotland, by a score of 125 to 1. Obviously the young Brit was unable to get much of a look at the table.
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In the semis Orocollo then dispatched Dutchman Alex “The Plague from the Hague” Lely, 125 to 47. The title match was another display of Orcollo's brilliance as he steamrollered Russia's Konstantin Stepanov, 125 to 36 for the US$3,000 top prize.
Orcollo also won the Banks Pool event, which he took via a 3-1 victory in the final against Francisco Bustamante.
Straight Pool is an venerable American Pool game that uses all fifteen numbered balls and allows the shooter to shoot at any ball at any pocket, with each ball worth one point. Once there is one numbered ball left on the table, the remaining balls are re-racked, and the shooter then attempts to shoot the solo ball, break up the rack with his cue ball, and continue shooting, hence the moniker “14.1 Continuous.”
Skilled players can run up rack after rack, pinning their opponents on their chair for long periods of time. High runs in the hundreds are not unheard of. The discipline requires tactical thinking and pinpoint cue ball control since the layouts are often quite congested, and the positional play on the “break ball” is vital. It can be said it is both Pool's easiest, and yet at the same time hardest, discipline.
Straight Pool is widely played in the United States, especially along the East Coast, and is also played in Europe and Taiwan. It is hardly ever played in the Philippines, but that did not stop Orcollo from succeeding this week.
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The official name of the 14.1 event is the George Fels Memorial Straight Pool Challenge in honor of the noted Pool writer who passed away last New Year's Eve at the age of 75.
Efren Reyes finished third place in the MOTT race thanks mostly to his victory in the One-Pocket division, which he has won a record six times. That podium finish is worth an additional US$3,000.
Runner-up in the MOTT points table is South Dakotan Shane Van Boening, who defeated Canadian John Morra in the centerpiece 9 Ball event final via a 9-8 scoreline. That victory means Van Boening takes home US$16,000.
Orcollo continues his fine form into the new year after striking gold in the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar and partnering with Lee Vann Corteza to win the World Cup of Pool for the Philippines.
Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH.
