July 14, 2011 Current World no. 1 Dennis Orcollo displayed impeccable pool skills to earn a dominating win over Indonesia's Sumaryadi, 6 – 0 to jump start his bid for the 2011 Guinness World Series of Pool -10Ball Challenge championship here at the Mall Taman Anggrek Jakarta. Not to be outdone, fellow country man and defending champion Jundel Mazon overcame a slow start to defeat his Indonesian rival Roy Apanco 6 – 4.
Seemingly relaxed and well prepared, Orcollo wasted no time in his match against Sumaryadi. Running out the table whenever he broke and pouncing on countless careless mistakes by the Indonesian, it almost seemed the match was over even before it began. In fact, by the 5th rack, confidence broken and still seemingly unable to find his stroke, Sumaryadi unintentionally conceded by arriving a few minutes late after the mandatory 5th rack timeout which gave away the final rack to the Filipino.
On the other hand, things were a bit more interesting in the match between Mazon and Apanco. Down 1 – 3 and with momentum on the Indonesian's side, Mazon seemed to be in trouble. But once again, luck proved to be a huge factor in the game of pool as a dry break from Apanco in the 7th frame with the score 2 – 4 gave the soft-spoken Pinoy the only window of opportunity he needed to notch four unanswered racks for a thrilling come from behind victory.
Asked about how he felt about his chances of a repeat championship run, Mazon humbly remarked: "Of course I want to win the championship again. But as you can see from the match today, it takes a combination of skill and luck in order to keep winning. Hopefully, I can sustain this momentum and at the same time get the lucky breaks I need whenever I'm in a tough spot."
Despite the incredible start from Orcollo and Mazon, by the end of the day one Filipino is destined to be relegated to the loser's bracket with Jeffrey 'The Bull' De Luna pitted against compatriot and Bugsy Promotions stablemate Carlo Biado.
De Luna commented: "It's unfortunate that we ended up going against each other. I'd hate to see him lose but at the same time, I don't want to go home either. These are just breaks of the game and whatever happens, we do this for the honor of our country."
Telecast of the 2011 Guinness World Series of Pool – 10Ball challenge will be carried LIVE on STAR Sports, with fifteen hours of exhilarating competition from July 15 - 17, 2011. Broadcast times are as follows:
Fri, July 15, 2011 from 18.00-22.30 (HKT) Preliminaries
Sat, July 16, 2011 from 12.00-18.00 (HKT) Quarterfinals
Sun, July 17, 2011 from 11.00-16.00 (HKT) Semifinals & Finals
(Competition on Friday will start at 11.00 (HKT); TV Schedules subject to change without prior notice)
The 2011 Guinness World Series of Pool – 10Ball Challenge is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU) and organized by ESPN STAR Sports' Event Management Group (EMG). Guinness is the title sponsor for the Event. The local sanctioning body is the All Indonesian Billiards Association (POBSI). Iwan Simonis and Aramith supply the official tablecloth and official balls respectively. Murray provides the official pool table while Predator is the official cue. Team Sports Marketing Sdn Bhd is the official apparel sponsor. STAR Sports is the official broadcaster.
Please visit www.guinnessworldpool.com and www.facebook/guinnessindonesia for more information
