Orcullo captures World Pool Masters crown

He's a former world No.1 player and has beaten the previously top-ranked cue artist in the world. Now Dennis Orcullo is on top of them all once again. The Filipino’s No.1 money player ruled the World Pool Masters in Las Vegas, Nevada, whipping surprised finalist Toru Kuribayashi of Japan, 8-3, and pocketing the $20,000 top prize of this event participated by some of the world’s finest cue artists. Among those who competed in the tournament include formidable foreign bets headed by former world champions Darren Appleton and Daryl Peach of Great Britain, Oliver Ortmann, Thomas Engert and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, Neils Feijen and Marcus Chamat and local players led by double world titlist Ronie Alcano, former world 9-ball champion Efren Bata Reyes and world pool runner-ups Roberto Gomez and Lee Van Corteza. In the end, it was Orcullo who hoisted the trophy with tears in his eyes when he was interviewed. "I'm very happy and you can see tears in my eyes. If only I could fly to the sky, then I would fly. This is a tough tournament, but I’m really proud to win this one. It’s my biggest win," said Orcullo, whose previous big triumph in the international billiard circuit was when he defeated former world No.1 Ralf Souquet of Germany in the finals of the Predator 10-Ball Challenge. “I was nervous in the finals, thinking that you have to win the match. I wasn’t feeling that kind of moment in the semis, but I have to control my emotions," he added. Orcullo, the more experienced player, showed his younger counterpart Kuribayashi a neat lesson in playing in the championship round. Already overachieving when he stunned one big name after another, Kuribayashi appeared on his way to go all the way and pull off one of the most shocking performances in a major invitational pool event. The Japanese bet led 2-0 then 3-1 the last time before his luck ran out. Kuribayashi and Orcullo got themselves engaged, exchanging safety shots in the fifth rack until the Japanese failed to cash in on an opportunity to take a more comfortable lead. It was a moment Orcullo had been waiting for as he cleaned up the next eight remaining racks all the way to securing the win. But Orcullo’s climb to the top didn’t come easy, though. He went through the loser’s side after bowing to Chamat in the early goings and needed to win the rest of his matches against Jasmine Ouschan (last 32), Chamat (round-of-16), John Morra (quarterfinals) and compatriot Roberto Gomez (semis). - Rey Joble, GMANews.TV