Sal Conti made his television debut opening with this basic shot. The cue ball is trapped between the first object ball and the rail. It's shot into the rail, kicking the first object ball to make the first hanging ball in the corner pocket. In the meantime, the cue ball travels up table, catching the cue stick and rolls to make the second hanging object ball. Conti cooly made his attempt. Tom Rossman wasn't able to figure it out though.

Conti followed up with a jump-kick shot. The rack is wedged into the side pocket, with the cue ball and another object ball inside it. Four other object balls are placed as blockers on the back side. The cue ball is jumped out of the rack, kicks off the far side rail and comes back hitting the blocking balls and/or the rack, making the other object ball in the side. Conti had no difficulty with the shot and neither did Rossman.

Rossman's challenge was a heavily regulated Hustler Bank shot. With a couple balls stacked on the opposite side rail, the shot had to be made while keeping the cue stick below the top ball as well as not knocking the balls over. Rossman easily nailed it. Conti couldn't quite get it to go though, leveling the score at 2.

Conti brought out a cue again to help him with this shot. First, the cue ball breaks a cluster near the side pocket, knocking one in the side and sending the other object ball up the rail into the corner. Then the cue ball hits the far rail and comes back into the cue stick, pushing another ball into the side pocket, and then rolls up to make the final ball hanging in the corner pocket. Conti looked well-practiced at the shot, but it posed no problem for Rossman either.

One of Rossman's specialties has always been wing shots. This one took it to another level, literally. The cue ball starts on top of a stacking ball. The stacking ball is hit down the table, dropping the cue ball in its place, and then the cue ball is struck to knock in the rolling stacking ball. As usual, Rossman nailed the shot, but Conti equalled it, keeping the score level.

Some bottles made their way on to the table for Conti's next challenge, creating an alleyway with the rail. But first, the cue ball squeezes two object balls into one corner pocket, and then slides down the alley knocking in another hanging object ball in the opposite corner. Conti was never in danger of missing, easily putting another point on the board. Rossman kept pace though, also making the shot.

The next pick for Rossman was a classic hand-is-quicker-than-the-eye shot with a twist. The cue stick follows through the cue ball and hits a second object ball, sending it down splitting the combination out from under a handkerchief into their respective corner pockets. Rossman was obviously familiar with the shot, making it handily. It didn't prove much of a challenge for Conti either.

Conti countered with this kiss bank jump shot, made more difficult because it requires bridging through the standing rack. The cue ball is jumped off an object ball frozen to the rail, back through the rack, and pockets a ball hanging in the corner pocket. Conti hit it well picking up a point. Rossman had some issues though, letting Conti take the lead again.

Rossman was testing for patience and dexterity with this challenge. The cue ball is volleyed three rails around the table. In the meantime, one ball is pocketed. The cue ball is then hit again while it's moving and the process is repeated until all of the balls are cleared off the table. The shot was intense, taking Rossman over three minutes to complete, but he picked up a point. Conti was up to the task though and he maintained his lead.

Breaking out the bottles again, Conti went with this classic shot. Three balls are arranged near the side pocket. The cue ball hits one, sending it down the rail into the corner and combo-ing another ball into the side. The cue ball caroms off the first object ball, into a second, pocketing it into the side, then hugs the rail to get to the hanging ball in the corner. Conti again had no problem with the shot. Rossman was unfortunate though, catching the bottles on his way down, slipping behind Conti by two.

Needing to get back in it, Rossman came with this twist on one of his signature shots, bringing up this jump version of his Starburst shot. With three sets of three balls, the middle ball is jumped through a gap (and over a coin) into the opposite corner while the other two balls split into the side and corner pockets. Even though his signature may have changed a bit, the results didn't, as Rossman picked up a point. Conti was unlucky, missing his last jumped ball.

Trying not to give up any more points, Conti challenged with this interesting jump shot. With the cue ball no more than a ball width from a piece of chalk and a roll of tape standing up behind that, the cue ball clears the chalk, knocks the roll of tape down and ends up inside of it. This shot was actually a creation of Andy Segal. Conti made it elegantly. Rossman even got the roll of tape to flip a couple times, but also made the shot, staying within striking distance.

Rossman picked out this version of the classic railroad shot. The 7 ball is hit into the 2 ball, pocketing the 1 ball in the side and the 2 in the corner. The 7 ball goes three rails coming back between the cues, rolls up and over in the corner pocket, knocking the row of balls propped on the cues down the ramp. The cue ball pockets the 3 ball in the side and clears out of the way, making room for the 4 through 7 balls to get in to the side pocket. Rossman got the shot to go, excitingly blowing his train whistle on the way. Conti wasn't so lucky though, and the match was tied back up.

Wanted to get the lead back, Conti pulled out this triplet set of one-handed jumps. Three balls are jumped one-handed over a cue stick laying across the rails and into the corner pocket, with the help of a rack. Conti calmly popped all three jump shots over and in, keeping the pressure on Rossman. Rossman didn't mind however, repeating the shot and keeping the score tied.

Out of Rossman's bag of tricks came his large cue ball for his next shot. The small cue ball knocks into the big one, pushing in an object ball and knocking off another ball balanced on top of it with two chalks. The small cue ball bounces off the large one and comes back to pocket another object ball in the side pocket. Rossman made his attempt easily. Conti didn't have any problem keeping pace though, as the score remained tied.

Sticking with shots he knew he could make, Conti brought out this interesting kick shot. The cue ball starts on top of a stacking ball near one side pocket. It's shot through a rack and over a row of blocking balls, kicking off the end rail and pocketing a ball in the opposite side pocket. Conti kept the pressure on making his attempt. Rossman found the shot simple though and kept the score tied.

Rossman took a slightly different tack, wanting to put the pressure on. This prop intensive shot requires the cue ball to go into the bag, flip it over, come out of the bag, kick off the rail, re-enter the bag, flip it over again, come out of the bag again, enter a box that has been positioned by hand, come out of the box and finally finish inside the bag. It's a lot of steps that happen really quick. Rossman calmly made the shot, re-asserting himself. Conti wasn't quite quick enough to get the box positioned right and fell behind for the first time in the match.

Conti's final challenge really needed to get him a point. He picked this stacked ball kick shot. With the cue ball on the bottom this time, the cue ball is shot across the table, kicks off one of the far rails, and spins back to pocket the top ball which is now hanging by the side pocket. Conti did his part, putting just the right amount of spin on the cue ball to knock the object ball in. Rossman strode up confidently and sank it too, maintaning his lead into his final challenge.

Just needing a point to win the match, Rossman picked this magic gate throw shot. The first two object balls are set up so the tangent line runs into the side rail, and the path to the side pocket is blocked by a wall of balls. The cue ball needs to throw the first object ball toward the side pocket while clearing out the object balls. Rossman confidently nailed the shot, winning the highest scoring match in Trick Shot Magic history and sending him to the finals for the second consecutive year.