Nelvis victorious at Top Pool Bar

Marc Brian Nelvis became the first main event qualifier of Top Pool Bar’s $600 Open 8-Ball Tournament after beating Zheng Jian Qing last Sunday.

Nelvis bested a field of eight players who participated in the event’s opening episode.

He won $20 and entrance into the $600 main event scheduled for Jan. 8, 2012; Zheng won back his $5 entrance fee for placing second.

As the first qualifier, Nelvis is now prohibited to compete in future weekly events.

There are 16 more chances to qualify for the main event, where $300 and a custom pool cue goes to the winner with $200 set aside to the runner-up and another $100 for third place.

Nelvis defeated Greg DeLeon Guerrero Jr. in his first match, but fell to Qing in the first semifinal pairing. However since the tournament utilizes a double-elimination format, Nelvis still had an outside chance for first place.

Zheng went on to best R.J. Mascarinas to clinch a twice-to-beat advantage over the remaining field.

Mascarinas sunk three balls after the break, but Zheng caught fire and did not give him a second chance at the table.

Meanwhile, Nelvis survived James Wabinga in their elimination match and went on to take out Dean Borja and then Mascarinas for a berth into the finals.

In his second crack at Zheng, Nelvis pocketed four balls after the break, but missed his fifth shot.

Qing scored five balls before giving Nelvis a second chance, in which the latter wasted no time settling the score with his rival.

Then in the final rack, Nelvis won the break, but came up empty. Zheng drained six shots in a row and it looked as though he had the title in the bag, but missed a tough seventh shot.

Nelvis answered and sunk four balls, but had to opt for a defensive fifth shot. This led to Zheng being forced to announce a safety shot, and as the game went on, Nelvis managed to pocket his remaining three balls before being left with just the 8-ball still on the table.

Under pressure, Zheng tied the score at seven apiece, but missed the critical money shot for the win. Nelvis buckled down and caught his second wind to pull off the unlikely upset.

There are still openings for this Sunday’s event. It costs $5 to enter and all players of any skill level are welcome to compete.

The weekly double-elimination events utilize Billiard Congress of America rules, which basically means “ball-in-hand” rules will be in effect. Contact Top Pool Bar’s Zheng at 287-7676 for more information.