Marlon Manalo (born November 27, 1975, in

Mandaluyong Mandaluyong, officially the City of Mandaluyong ( fil, Lungsod ng Mandaluyong), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 425,758 people. Loca ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

) is a former

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

professional

pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

player from

. He became the League of Barangays of the Philippines Press Relation Officer and ABC president.

Career

Originally a

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

player, Manalo has represented the Philippines a number of times in the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

and

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

. In the 2001 World Games, Manalo won the silver medal in the snooker event, placing second to

Bjorn Haneveer Bjorn Haneveer (born 4 September 1976 in) is a Belgian snooker player and commentator. Haneveer, formerly a professional competitor, now plays at semi-professional level and also commentates on snooker matches for Dutch Eurosport. Career A six ...

of Belgium. His professional debut in pool was the Tirador Nine-ball Tournament in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

in 2003. He reached the final, but eventually lost to

Warren Kiamco Warren Kiamco (born May 2, 1970) is a Filipino professional pool player from Cebu, Philippines. He is known for his performances in the Southeast Asian and Asian Games. Kiamco was a runner-up in three events of the Asian Nine-ball Tour but nev ...

. Weeks later, he competed in the Tirador Ten-ball Tournament. Again, he made it to the final, but lost to

Ramil Gallego Ramil "Bebeng" Gallego (; ) (b. September 21, 1966 in Bacolod, Negros Occidental) is a Filipino professional pool player. As veteran player, Gallego has been competing in tournaments outside the Philippines, mainly in Japan. The Philippine publi ...

. The first pool tournament he won in the Philippines was the Corporate Billiards League, a tournament where a team of three players plays against another three. All the players were local but

Marcus Chamat Marcus Chamat (; born 6 May 1975), is a Swedish professional eight-ball and nine-ball pool player. He was nicknamed "Napoleon" due to his personality and standing at tall. He is a two time European Pool Championships winner, and one of the most ...

, a pool specialist from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, was in contention. Predominantly a

player in a country with just four tables, Manalo is nicknamed "Marvelous." He defeated

Yang Ching-shun Yang Ching-shun (Chinese: 楊清順; born 3 April 1978) is a Taiwanese professional pool player, nicknamed "the Son of Pool". Yang won the nine-ball event of the 1998 Asian Games against then World Pool champion Kunihiko Takahashi. He defe ...

Francisco Bustamante Francisco Bustamante (born December 29, 1963) is a Filipino professional pool player from Tarlac, Central Luzon and the 2010 World Nine-ball Champion, nicknamed "Django", after the lead character of the 1966 film of the same name,Efren Reyes Efren Manalang Reyes (born August 26, 1954), popularly known by the nickname "Bata" (English: "Kid"), is a Filipino professional pool player. Reyes is widely considered one of the greatest pool players of all time. A winner of over 100 inte ...

in successive matches at the 2004 WPC before losing in the last eight to

. Manalo nearly won his first world title at the 2004

WPA World Eight-ball Championship The WPA World Eight-ball Championship is a professional eight-ball pool tournament sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), initially contested from 2004 to 2012 in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. After not being held for several ...

, but lost to his compatriot,

Efren Reyes Efren Manalang Reyes (born August 26, 1954), popularly known by the nickname "Bata" (English: "Kid"), is a Filipino professional pool player. Reyes is widely considered one of the greatest pool players of all time. A winner of over 100 inte ...

. Manalo won a number of tournaments in the United States in 2005, including the short-lived Texas Hold'em Billiards Championship where he earned the $100,000 winner-take-all purse, and the 2005 New Jersey Straight Pool Open."Marlon Manalo Wins 2005 New Jersey Straight Pool Championships"
''AZBilliards.com'', 2005; accessed February 11, 2007 In 2006, he could have been one of the first Philippine players, along with

Dennis Orcollo Dennis Orcollo (born January 28, 1979), is a Filipino professional pool player, nicknamed " RoboCop" and has been called "The Money-Game King" throughout the Philippines and the United States. Early life Orcollo is the second of four brothers. ...

, to compete in the

World Straight Pool Championship The World Straight Pool Championship is a pool competition, that was held up until the game of Nine-ball became popularized in America. It was the most prestigious straight pool tournament up until the early 21st century, tournaments like the Amer ...

but withdrew to compete in another tournament in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. That same year, he made it to the final of the IPT North American Eight-ball Open Championship. He was defeated, however, by

Thorsten Hohmann Thorsten Hohmann (born 14 July 1979 in Fulda, West Germany) is a German professional pool player, nicknamed "the Hitman." He is a three-time world champion, winning the WPA World Nine-ball Championship in 2003, and 2013, and winning the WPA Worl ...

who won the $350,000 first prize. Manalo received $99,000. After he was runner-up in the 2007 Philippine National Championships to

Lee Van Corteza Lee Vann Corteza, also spelled Lee Van Corteza, (born 1 March 1979 in Davao City, Philippines) is a Filipino professional pool player.

, Manalo won the title against Antonio Gabica a year later.

Achievements

* 2008 Philippine National Championship * 2007 Southeast Asian Games Nine-ball Doubles * 2007 Seminole Florida Pro Tour Stop * 2005 Texas Hold Em Billiards Championship * 2005 NJ 14.1 Championship * 2005 Hard Times 9-ball Championship * 2005

Sands Regency Sands Regency is a hotel and casino located in Downtown Reno, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Jacobs Entertainment. History The Sands Regency opened in the early 1970s by the Cladianos family, with a small hotel and casino. The hotel tower ...

9-Ball Open * 2003 Corporate Billiards League * 2000 ACBS Asian Snooker Championship * 1995 Southeast Asian Games Nine-ball Doubles * 1991 Southeast Asian Games Nine-ball Team

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20060825170510/http://azbilliards.com/thepros/2000showplayer2005.cfm?playernum=2555 * https://web.archive.org/web/20060825071539/http://www.billiardster.com/players/marlonmanalo/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Manalo, Marlon Filipino pool players Living people 1975 births People from Mandaluyong Sportspeople from Metro Manila Cue sports players at the 2010 Asian Games Cue sports players at the 2002 Asian Games World Games silver medalists Competitors at the 2001 World Games Southeast Asian Games gold medalists for the Philippines Southeast Asian Games medalists in cue sports Cue sports players at the 1998 Asian Games Competitors at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games Asian Games competitors for the Philippines