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]
Early life
Orcollo is the second of four brothers. His father was killed in a boating accident caused by a windstorm when he was young. He started practicing pool at 8 years of age through his grandfather's table. Because of financial problems, he gave up school at third grade, and focused on his sport.
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.[5][6]
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.[7]
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.[9]
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.
Orcollo sought redemption after he came up close in 2010 World cup with a second place finish with his partner
Roberto Gomez, bowing to eventual winners
Li He-wen and
Fu Jian-bo of China.[10]
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.[14]
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.[15]
In their early match on day 1, Orcollo runs an incredible 11 straight racks in a row.[16] The only other pool player to ever have run 11 consecutive racks in history was
Earl Strickland.[17]
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.[18]