Starry, starry night for Vincent

Vincent Quitugua couldn’t have painted a better scenario for himself in Friday evening’s Top Pool Bar 8-Ball Amateur Tournament at the Garapan billiards venue.

He bested 31 other up-and-coming pool artists in a single-elimination affair conjured up by Top Pool Bar manager Zheng Jian Qing because of the sheer number of participants in last week’s amateur pool competition.

Quitugua had his stroke working early and often in the tournament, debuting strong against Dean Borja before moving on with victories over David Cepeda and Nicole Muna to barge into the Final Four.

Ranged against Jon Teregeyo in the upper half of the semifinals, Quitugua leaned on better ball positioning and marksmanship to advance to the finals, where he faced Ohs Hernandez, who himself outlasted Joey Tudela in their own semis encounter.

Quitugua didn’t miss a beat in his winner-take-all match-up with Hernandez. He was the aggressor all throughout the championship round and made all the moves that mattered most to pocket the weekly title.

The win was worth $50 for Quitugua, while Hernandez settled for a gift certificate from Top Pool bar.

Zheng congratulated Quitugua for topping the poolfest and invited anew beginners to participate in this coming Friday’s resumption of the amateur 8-ball event.

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.