Pool legends in Cebu

WORLD champion billiards trick shot artists will showcase their wares in a three-day Rack Up a Victory world tour at the Atrium of J Center Mall on June 27-30.

Mike “Tennessee Tarzan” Massey, Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman and Steve “The Pastor of Pool” Lillis will be the main show of the three-day event, which will offer a trick show, competition against selected Filipino billiards masters, and a pool challenge with the audience.

This will be their 15th stop since arriving in the Philippines last June 9, their first country in a world tour that is aimed to spread the Gospel of Christ through the pool table.

“We wanted to showcase pool as a beautiful game and give billiard a different image. Usually, billiard has been related to gambling, drugs and alcohol and we want to change that image,” said Rossman.

Lillis explained that sharing the Word of Christ through the pool table has never been done before.

“And second, we wanted to put up a pool room, which we will call the Rack Room, where we will encourage people to play billiard as a wholesome game, and with a new image,” Lillis said during the press conference at the Malakius Art Kaffe at the third level of J Center Mall yesterday.

Aside from the Gospel Trick Shot (GTS) Rack team, Massey, Rossman and Lillis, those who attended the conference were Cebu-based ESPN billiards producer Clive Cox, Malakius owner Rob Boswell and Scott Pruiksma, a councilman and fireman in Midland Park-New Jersey.

The three-day event will be aired internationally through ESPN where the three American artistic pool champions will be playing against three Filipino trick shot masters.

Massey, who was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame, has a long list of trick shot titles to his name as he ruled different trick shots competitions from 1992 up to the present and has been winning 8-ball and 9-ball competitions prior to shifting his skills to the artistic pool.

Just like Massey, Rossman has a long list of titles in artistic pool competition and has been WPA World Artistic Pool Champion, ESPN and World Masters Trick Shot Champion, and North American Professional Trick & Fancy Shot Champion.