FILIPINO Dennis Orcollo won the 2012 China Open Sunday afternoon after beating Taiwan's Lu Hui Chan, 11-9, held at the Shanghai Pudong Yuanshen Stadium arena in Shanghai, China.
It was the second major title of the year for the Surigaonon, who in May won the U.S. 10 Ball Championship in Vegas, when he beat Francisco Bustamante in the final.
Orcollo pocketed the US$40,000 for the title, while Lu settles for US$20,000.
The top player of Bugsy Promotions Orcollo broke open a 3-3 tie with six racks in a row in the Alternate-Breaks format final to take a commanding 9-3 advantage according to Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) founding head Ceferino “Perry” Mariano.
"Mula sa 3-all deadlock rumatsada si Dennis (Orcollo) ng anim na racks bagama't naging matatag pa din y'ung Taiwanese sa bandang huli," said Mariano.
However, the Lu then bounced back into the contention at 9-7. The see-saw battle continued with Orcollo eventually reaching the hill 10-9.
In Rack 20 Lu left a two ball open and Orcollo siezed the opportunity, running out for the victory.
World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) press officer American Ted Lerner quoted Orcollo who said “I was so nervous today, but I just tried to calm down and enjoy the game. Chang is a great player and he played good today. I have a lot of experience playing on the TV table and I’ve had a lot of tough matches this week so this helps me with the pressure. For the final I just need to relax, wait for my chances and be aggressive when I find an opening.”
On the road's to the final, the former fisherman from Mindanao bested Fu Jian Bo of China 11-4, in the Round of 32, Dang Jin Hu of China, 11-9, in the Round of 16, Han Hao-Xiang of China, 11-8, in the Round of 8, and Chan Yu-lung of Chinese-Taipei, 11-19, in the Round of 4.
Earlier, Orcollo lost his first match 9-8 to Andreas Gerwen of Sweden.In the China Open, players first play a double-elimination phase that halves the field to 32. Then the tournament shifts into single-elimination. Orcollo then had to beat Dutchman Nick Van Den Berg 9-7 then buck a 1-6 deficit against China's Wang Ming to win 9-8 and make the single-knockout stage.-Marlon Bernardino-
