World Cup of Pool 2013: Philippines Will Rule Sunday Competition in East London

Dennis Orcollo and Lee Vann Corteza have Team Philippines as the ones to beat going into the semifinals of the 888.com World Cup of Pool in London. The duo easily defeated Hungary 9-1 to advance to Sunday’s semifinals. Chinese Taipei will provide the opposition, but the result is likely to be the same. The winner of that semifinal match will face the victor in the Finland vs. Holland semifinal.

Orcollo and Corteza confidently dispatched Croatia and Singapore before destroying the Hungarians. The Filipinos have kept their opponents on their heels throughout the matches leading up to this point. With confidence playing a major role in a duo's success, Orcollo and Corteza have to be sitting pretty in that department.  

The Hungarians were no easy win. They had knocked off Russia and China to get to the quarterfinals, but the Filipinos made them look as if they didn’t belong on the same table. This was a statement victory and proves Orcollo and Corteza are on a mission.

They would like to right the wrong from last year’s event. The 2012 tournament was held in Manila, but the duo couldn't come through in front of their home fans. They were ousted in the first round. Corteza told Matchroom Pool that competing in London brings about less pressure.

That has certainly seemed to be the case up to this point. 

Corteza has had a good amount of success in his career, but Orcollo has been dominant in 2013. His play is a major reason the team looks to be unbeatable. The man they call Robocop has already won the U.S. Open One Pocket Championships, the U.S. Bar Table 10-Ball, the Jay Swanson Memorial 9-Ball tournament and the Derby City Classic 10-Ball Bigfoot Challenge this year.

Here's a look at his winning shot at the U.S. Open One Pocket championship in Las Vegas.

Winning the World Cup of Pool will just be the latest trophy on his mantle.

Chinese Taipei's duo of Chang Jung-lin and Ko Pin-yi played very well on Saturday in defeating the English on their home turf, but it is quite possible the English pairing of Darren Appleton and Karl Boyes felt and succumbed to the same type of pressure Orcollo and Corteza did in 2012.

Jung-lin and Pin-yi ran rack after rack against the English and kept them off the table most of the match. That won’t happen on Sunday. This is the Philippines year to shine at the tournament. Count on Orcollo and Corteza advancing to the finals and winning it all.

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