Pelinga's opening challenge was this deceptive draw shot. With the cue ball and object ball no more than a couple millimeters from each other (and cigarettes standing in between them), the cue ball pockets the object ball in the corner and draws back to pocket another ball hanging in the other corner. The key to the shot is hitting your hand on the table to stop your follow through. Pelinga demonstrated his mastery of the shot, but Nikolaidis was able to follow suit, keeping the score level.

Pelinga responded with this version of the Hustler Masse shot. In this version though, the object balls are stacked on top of each other. The cue ball pockets the bottom ball, dropping the top ball in place. The cue ball then shoots up table, hits the long rail, and masses back to pocket the now hanging ball. Pelinga easily made the shot. Nikolaidis also made it, albeit slightly less elegantly, getting the cue ball to bounce out over a diamond away from the long rail before arcing back.

The third challenge from Pelinga was an incredible jump-masse. The cue ball pockets an object ball, jumps over a wall of blocking balls, kicks off the far side rail, then makes a quick turn back for the end rail, kicking off two more rails and comes back across the table to hit the rack and pocket the last hanging ball. In spectacular fashion, Pelinga nailed the shot. Nikolaidis tried using more of an elevated draw stroke, but couldn't get enough spin on the cue ball.

Pelinga picked out another masse shot for his next challenge. With the cue ball frozen in a six ball cluster, it's masse'd back through a tube and splits a two ball combination by the side pocket, sending one into the side and another across the table into the corner. Pelinga picked up a point, but Nikolaidis wasn't so lucky.

With the score tied, Pelinga turned to this novelty jump shot. Getting the shot set up was half the trick though, as the cue ball is put inside a balloon. Then, with one stroke of the cue, the balloon pops and the cue ball jumps over a wall of blocking balls, and pockets a hanging ball in the corner, with some possible guidance from a rack, a great combination of sight and sound! Both players made it happen, keeping the score tied.

Pelinga tried to get some separation by choosing this fancy stroke shot, similar to the Passing Lane. In this shot, though, the object ball shoots down the table, pocketing the lower ball in a stack. The cue ball curves around a pin, pocketing the ball that started on top of the stack. Again, both players proved up to the task, each making the shot, keeping the score tied.

Pelinga turned back to a masse shot to try to take the lead, this one of the table-length variety. The cue ball fires up table, pocketing the end ball in a combination, then comes all the way back, again to make the combination near the starting corner pocket. Much like before, Pelinga nailed this amazing shot, never leaving the result in doubt. A bit of contreversy stirred up on Nikolaidis' attempt, as he initially made the required balls, but the cue ball had caught the far end rail. His second attempt was also unsuccessful, handing Pelinga a late lead.

Needing to end the match, Pelinga went with a jump-masse. The cue ball jumps over a wall of balls, then masse's straight back, possibly with the help of a cue, pocketing the 1-9 combination in the corner pocket. Pelinga got a bit unlucky, catching the cue ball off the butt of the cue. Nikolaidis wasn't able to make the shot though, sending the tense match into a tiebreaker.

In the tiebreaker, Pelinga went first. His shot looked good all the way and the cue ball came to rest just a couple inches from the $100 bill. Nikolaidis' attempt looked a little harder and sailed just a bit long and ended up scractching in the corner pocket, sealing his fate and sending Pelinga to the Trick Shot Magic final.