AFTER taking Jakarta by storm, Jundel Mazon is setting his eyes on an even bigger prize—the US Open 9-Ball Championships.
Mazon, the least known among the Pinoy entries in the Guinness World Series of Pool Championships, overcame an early deficit to beat Indonesian Irsal Nasuition, 10-5, in the finals to pocket $40,000.
Nasuition, who beat Ronato Alcano in the quarterfinals, seemed destined to win in front of his home fans as he took the lead, 5-1.
But the Filipino began to heat things up with some supreme safety shots and rail escapes to have his opponent second guessing his shots.
And when the pressure got too intense, the Indonesian wilted while the Pinoy shone.
“I could not have hoped for a better result. For sure, it was a difficult uphill battle but I was able to regain my composure in the middle stages of the match. From there, I was on a roll and it was then that I knew I had a chance. So I just kept on pushing until the very end. After this extremely grueling competition, I plan on going home, probably relax for a month or two before going overseas again to compete in the
2010 US Open championship,” said Mazon.
The two relatively unknown combatants actually surprised everyone with their incredible play all throughout the four- day tournament organized by ESPN Star Sports.
The Filipino defeated a number of pool heavyweights such as England’s Darren Appleton, 8–6, in the semifinals and Japan’s top-seed Naoyuki Oi, 8–6, in the quarters to barge into the final round. (PR)