Marlon Manalo

Originally a snooker player, Manalo has represented the Philippines a number of times in the Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games. In the 2001 World Games, Manalo won the silver medal in the snooker event, placing second to Bjorn Haneveer of Belgium.[2]

His professional debut in pool was the Tirador Nine-ball Tournament in Manila in 2003. He reached the final, but eventually lost to Warren Kiamco. Weeks later, he competed in the Tirador Ten-ball Tournament. Again, he made it to the final, but lost to Ramil Gallego. 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, a pool specialist from Sweden, was in contention.

Predominantly a snooker player in a country with just four tables, Manalo is nicknamed "Marvelous." He defeated Yang Ching-shun, Francisco Bustamante and Efren Reyes in successive matches at the 2004 WPC before losing in the last eight to Marcus Chamat.[3]

Manalo nearly won his first world title at the 2004 WPA World Eight-ball Championship, but lost to his compatriot, Efren Reyes.[4]

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.[5] In 2006, he could have been one of the first Philippine players, along with Dennis Orcollo, to compete in the World Straight Pool Championship but withdrew to compete in another tournament in Bangkok, Thailand. 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 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,[6] Manalo won the title against Antonio Gabica a year later.[7]

• 2008 Philippine National Championship
• 2007 Seminole Florida Pro Tour Stop
• 2006 IPT North American Open 8-Ball Championship, Runner-up
• 2005 Texas Hold Em Billiards Championship
• 2005 NJ 14.1 Championship
• 2005 Hard Times 9-ball Winner
• 2005 Reno Open Champion
• 2005 WPC Second Runner-up
• 2004 Asian Games, Silver Medal Winner
• 2004 WPC, 5th Place
• 2004 World 8-Ball Championships, Runner-up
• 2004 World Pool Masters, 9th Place
• 2003 Corporate Billiards League
• 2003 WPC, 17th Place
• 2002 IBC Tokyo 9-Ball International, 5th Place
• 2001 World Games, Silver Medal Winner
• 2000 Asian Snooker, Champion

• 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/