Espiritu, Soriano, Zheng out of $1K pool tourney

The island’s top pool cue artists—Roger “The Ghost” Espiritu, Jerry Soriano, and Zheng Jian Qing—are barred from taking part in the Top Pool Bar Professional 8-Ball Billiards Tournament set tomorrow night, Aug. 23, at the Garapan sports bar and watering hole.

Zheng, who owns the billiards venue, said he is taking himself out of the competition and will not extend invitations to Espiritu and Soriano to allow other players to win the annual big-money competition.

He said, in the past, other billiards players on Saipan have shied away from tournaments after finding out that the three of them are competing.

Zheng said with him, Espiritu, and Soriano out of the equation, it would make the field more balanced and anyone can take home the $500 first place purse.

Registration for the Top Pool Bar Professional 8-Ball Billiards Tournament starts at 7pm with game time set an hour later at 8pm.

The $1,000 tournament kicks off with the elimination phase of the single-elimination, race-to-seven billiards competition. Slots are open for as much as 32 players.

The number of players would be whittled down to eight players in the tournament’s second phase with Top Pool Bar expected to crown the champion shortly before midnight.

One of the glitziest billiards halls on Saipan is putting out all the stops in hosting the biggest cash prize for a billiards tournament in the Commonwealth in the one-day pool extravaganza.

The Top 3 players get to divide the $1,000 pot. The champion takes home $500, while the first runner-up gets to line his pockets with $300. The second runner-up wins $150, while the third runner-up bags $50.

Entry fee for the Top Pool Bar Professional 8-Ball Billiards Tournament is $30 per person and pairings will be done through a draw.

Top Pool Bar, located along Hotel Street Garapan a stone’s throw away from the Paseo de Marianas, is as spacious as it is modern and boasts of two 9-1/2-by-5-foot tables usually found in professional tournaments abroad.

Zheng also reminded interested players that early birds get a chance to practice for free on any of Top Pool Bar’s full-size billiard tables an hour before the competition.

For more information on the Top Pool Bar Professional 8-Ball Billiards Tournament, call Zheng at 287-7676 or check out the competition’s website at www.saipanero.com/bars/toppoolbar.