Repeki reigns supreme in Pool Bar 8-ball

Jerald Repeki went undefeated en route to winning the Top Pool Bar’s 8-Ball Amateur Tournament last May 22 at the Garapan sports bar.

Repeki out-dueled Robert Ramirez in the championship round to succeed the tournament’s inaugural winner Arthur Miron, as the all-amateur poolfest compelted its second week of competition.

Incidentally, Repeki met Miron in the opening round and kicked off his campaign on the right foot by relegating the defending champion to the losers’ bracket.

Repeki then made quick work of Simon Camacho before besting Ramirez in their first meeting of the evening. He advanced to the finals after beating Reineir Lazaro in the semis and then routed Ramirez, who upset Lazaro in the losers’ bracket finals, in their rematch for all the marbles.

Other players who saw action in the tournament last Friday were Norbert Camacho, Ray Alvarez, B.J. Saimon, Gentry Williams, Jun Torres, Mathew Kisa, Andrew Santos, Roman Torres, Shawn Camacho, Kevin Aldan, and Andrew Aldan.

Repeki won $50, while Ramirez and Lazaro took home a one-hour and 20-minute free pool gift certificates, respectively.

Manager Zheng Jian Qing congratulated Repeki and company for topping the inaugural poolfest and is inviting other up-and-coming pool artists to participate in this Friday’s resumption of the 8-Ball Amateur Tournament.

“We want to give beginners and players that don’t normally play in billiards tournaments a chance to shine. This is a good way of developing pool talent on Saipan,” he said.

The 8-ball pool competition is open only to players 18 years old and above and participation is free.

Aside from the amateur 8-ball tournament, Zheng is also planning to unveil an open 9-ball competition on the weekend.

The 9-ball open tournament would most probably be held every Saturdays with 8pm starts. Zheng said the maximum number of participants would be 16 and entry fee would be $15.

He said the champion of the weekly 9-ball event could possibly have a win-fall of $120 plus a trophy, while second place and third place could bring home as much as $80 and $40, respectively.

The still unnamed 9-ball billiards competition is open only to players 18 years old and above. Zheng said he would not discriminate against any player and would welcome everyone to play in the open format.

For more information on Top Pool Bar’s 8-Ball Amateur Tournament and the planned 9-ball open competition, call 233-6999 and look for Zheng. Zheng can also be reached on his mobile phone at 287-7676.

Top Pool Bar is as spacious as it is modern. It boasts of seven 9-1/2-by-5-foot tables usually found in venues for professional tournaments abroad.