The 8-Ball of Greatness in Philippine Pool

Two major international pool events recently put the spotlight back on the Philippines as one of the hotbeds of the pool world. These are the 2025 Reyes Cup pitting Team Asia against Team Rest of the World) and the inaugural Philippines Open Pool Championship, which showcased some of the most prominent foreign and local players and treated Filipino fans to two weeks of top-quality pool action.

The Philippines has been experiencing a renaissance of sorts in a sport it once dominated during the halcyon days of Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante. Four Filipinos are in the top 20 of the World Nineball Tour rankings, including world no. 4 Johann Chua, the 2024 Hanoi Open champion who won for the Philippines the 2023 World Cup of Pool (with partner James Aranas), and world no.19 Jefrey Roda, the 3rd Universal Chinese Taipei Open champion in 2024. Youngsters such as 20-year-old world No. 18 Bernie Regalario and 18-year-old Reyes Cup MVP AJ Manas made sure that a strong succession plan is in place to sustain the country’s standing among the sport’s elite.

We have compiled a list of the eight greatest pool players this country has ever produced. Any list that claims to name the greatest of anything will naturally invite debate and disagreement, given that there have been so many accomplished Filipino cue masters. In naming the players included here, we considered their overall body of work and impact on the game, with the bare minimum requirement of having won at least one individual world championship.

(The list below is not in any particular order.)

1 | Efren “Bata” Reyes

Reyes is to pool what Michael Jordan is to basketball—the undisputed Greatest Of All Time. Experts say so, players say so, and fans concur.

He has won practically everything there is to win, including both the World Nine-Ball and the World Eight-Ball, making him the first in history to emerge as champion of the two disciplines. He has also lifted the trophy in the US Open Nine-Ball and the US Open One-Pocket. In 2005, he topped the money-rich King of the Hill Eight-Ball Shootout which offered $200,000 to the winner. The following year, he banked half a million dollars for winning the IPT World Open Eight-ball Championship.

He and Bustamante won for the Philippines the first-ever World Cup of Pool in 2006. The pair replicated their title run in 2009.

The man dubbed “The Magician” opened the eyes of the pool world to a new way of playing the game. His ability to see angles that others would not even consider and his adroitness with kick and bank shots have become a gold standard that the younger generation have drawn inspiration from.

2 | Francisco “Django” Bustamante

Next to Bata, perhaps the most revered name in Philippine pool is Django.

Bustamante was the 1998 Billiards Digest’s and Pool & Billiard Magazine’s Player of the Year after he bagged four major titles. He pocketed five US events in 2002, in the process earning the Billiards Digest’s and Inside Pool’s Player of the Year accolades.

Eight years after finishing runner-up in the WPA World Nine-ball Championship, he finally won the title in 2010.

Bustamante also excelled in competitions which were limited to just the elite. He has won twice the World Pool Masters, an annual single-elimination event for the top 16 players in the world. He also won the 2004 World Pool League, a competition for six of the top players in the world.

Known for his unparalleled power breaks, Bustamante was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 2010.

3 | Jose “Amang” Parica

Before a Bata terrorized pool halls in the United States, there was an Amang (“Father) who paved the way and first sowed fear among American players.

Jose Parica opened the doors for Filipinos to compete internationally. He holds the distinction of being the first male Asian to clinch a pro event championship in the US (1982). He scored a huge double in Japan in 1988, copping the All Japan Nine-Ball Championship and the JPPA World 9-Ball Championship, which at that time was the biggest tournament with 900 players coming in from all over the world. His title triumph effectively made him the first Asian to become a world pocket billiards champion. In 2014, he earned his place in the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame.

4 | Rubilen “Bingkay” Amit

Not only is Rubilen Amit a world champion many times over, she is as much a pioneer and a trailblazer as Parica.

Amit has numerous world titles in individual and team events to emerge as one of the best female pool players in the world in the last two decades.

She became the first female player in history to become a two-time WPA World Ten-ball champion, snagging the titles in 2009 and 2013. Eleven years later, she became the 2024 World Nine-ball champion.

Amit and Bata Reyes bagged the 1st World Mixed Doubles Classic title in 2009 and repeated the feat in 2011. She teamed up with Carlo Biado and Chua in 2022 to win the Predator World Teams Ten-ball Championship in Austria.

Her initiative of staging the Amit Cup has given Filipinas the opportunity to compete in a pool league and further develop their skills.

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5 | Carlo “The Black Tiger” Biado

At just 41 years old, current world no. 3 Carlo Biado has built a resume that could rival that of Pinoy cue legends and any active player in the world.

2017 was Biado’s breakthrough year as he nabbed the gold in the World Games then followed it up by winning the WPA World Nine-Ball Championship.

In 2021, he became the second Filipino champion, after Reyes, to win the US Nine-Ball Open.

Biado went on another tear the past two years. He became the first Filipino in history to become both nine-ball and ten-ball world champion when he won the WPA World Ten-Ball Championship, an accomplishment matched later that year by Amit. Biado made history anew when he crowned himself king of the 2025 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, making him the first Filipino in history to become nine-ball world champion two times.

6 | Dennis “RoboCop” Orcollo

Dennis Orcollo kept the Philippine flag up high in the international stage towards the tail end of the glory days of Reyes.

Orcollo has been ranked the no. 1 player in the world on multiple occasions.

Perhaps his best year was in 2011 when he copped gold in the eight-ball singles of the SEA Games and won the Derby Classic Nine-Ball and the Predator International Ten-Ball. He capped off the year by becoming a world champion, bagging the World Eight-Ball Championship. He was named the World Pool Association 2011 Player of the Year.

Orcollo’s portfolio of title conquests also includes the 2006 World Pool League, the 2008 World Nine-ball Open, the Japan Open, the World Pool Masters, and the US Open Ten-Ball. In 2013, he partnered with Lee Van Corteza to win the Philippines’ its third World Cup of Pool.

7 | Chezka “The Flash” Centeno

The youngest on this list, Chezka Centeno has accomplished in just 26 years of existence a body of work that others would probably take a lifetime to achieve.

A few weeks before turning 16 years old, she won gold in the women’s singles in the 2015 Singapore SEA Games. She defeated two-time world champion Amit in the finals.

Then came worldwide recognition. She won the 2023 WPA World Ten-Ball Championship, prevailing over three-time world champion Han Yu of China in the finals. After falling in the semifinals of the same competition in 2024, she roared back by winning the 2025 WPA World Ten-Ball Championship. Also this year, she finished second in the World Games and the World Eight-Ball Championship, signaling to the rest of the field that she soon might just take over the pool world.

8 | Ronnie “The Volcano” Alcano

At one point in his career, Ronnie Alcano was generally considered the best player in the world. This after he flew under the radar then stunned everyone by defeating 1996 world champion Ralf Soquet of Germany in the finals of the 2006 World Nine-Ball Championship. He was among eight sportsmen named 2006 Athletes of the Year by the Philippine Sportswriters Association.

The following year, Alcano proved that he was no fluke. He won the 2007 WPA World Eight-Ball Championship. He almost became a world champion three times over, but fell short against Soquet in the finals of the 2008 WPA World Eight-Ball Championship.