by Absolute Pool • January 28, 2023

Carlo Biado and Dennis Orcollo are amongst the players who have turned down invites for the upcoming World Pool Championship, with only two Filipino representatives set to travel to Poland for the prestigious tournament.

Biado, the 2021 US Open champion, made his intentions clear at the beginning of the year, revealing that he planned to take a few months away from the sport due to ongoing health problems.

Orcollo, meanwhile, headlines an additional four players from the Philippines who declined their invitations. The former World Pool Masters champion is currently banned from entering the USA but has competed in Europe since receiving that setback.

Lee Van Corteza, who won the 2013 World Cup of Pool alongside Orcollo, is another notable Filipino who has opted against travelling to Poland, as well as Roberto Gomez and Roland Garcia.

Elsewhere, three-time world champion Earl Strickland also received an invite to the tournament following his Mosconi Cup return in November but turned it down.

Other notable players to decline their invites include former Mosconi Cup star Chris Reinhold, Nicholas De Leon, Danny Olson, Jonathan Pinegar, South Africa’s Kyle Akaloo and Venezuela’s Jesus Atencio.

The 2023 World Pool Championship takes place between February 1-5 in Kielce, Poland, with 128 players competing for $325,000 in prize money at one of two Matchroom blue ribbon events.