Andy Segal defeated Nick Nikolaidis on an unprecedented second tiebreaker to defend his Comet Billiards Classic title at Comet Billiards from Sep 5-7. The final match came down to the 5-4-3 Rush Hour shot, with both contestants missing all three balls on their first attempt. Segal's second attempt sank the 5 and 3 rail kicks, while Nikolaidis was again unable to pocket any. Nikolaidis did well to get it that far however, tying the match on his second attempt at a 2mm Draw, where a miss would have lost the match, which Segal was unable to duplicate. Segal, the reigning World Champion, subsequently chose a six point shot for his final challenge, making it on his first attempt. Nikolaidis, the recently-crowned Extreme Trick Shot champion under pressure, easily followed suit, setting up the tiebreak. Throughout the match, the players challenged each other to the most difficult shots in the program, making for plenty of exciting makes and near-makes with neither competitor able to pull decisively ahead. It marked the first time these two stars had met in a final.

The tournament marked the debut of a new format and shot program for the APTSA tour. Players were able to select among three shots of the same difficulty for each of their 40 preliminary round shots. Nikolaidis took full advantage accomplishing the second ever perfect discipline in a tournament nailing all of his jump shots on his first attempt. Segal and Nikolaidis dominated the preliminary round, finishing 1-2 and earning byes going into the playoffs. Segal pulled in four discipline medals (trick/fancy, prop/novelty, bank/kick, and masse) while Nikolaidis won two (follow and jump). Dave Nangle finished 3rd setting up a quarterfinal with 6th seed Bill Meima, who squeezed in by one point over Gordon Hedges. Stefan Mendrick and Tim Chin finished 4-5 setting up a quarterfinal between the two playoff debutants and first time medal winners (Chin in the draw discipline and Mendrick in stroke). Sixteen-year-old newcomer Steve Markle took home the sportsmanship award medal.

In the quarterfinals, Meima fell behind early against Nangle. However, he managed to brush off the rust of a 1 1/2 year layoff from trick shots, chipped away at the deficit and completed a stirring comeback, setting up a semifinal with Nikolaidis. Chin and Mendrick battled their nerves early on as much as each other, but Chin rode his comfort with some of the new shots to a deserved victory and a meeting with Segal.

In the semifinals, Nikolaidis jumped out to a quick lead, but difficult shots kept the scores low and Meima managed to stay within striking distance. Meima tried to pull off another comeback, but the 2004 World Jump Champion couldn't match the wizardry of Nikolaidis' jump shots. In the other semifinal, Segal went on an early tear and Chin was unable to keep up. Chin didn't leave without a bang however nailing his last shot, a jump-masse, almost 3/4 of the way down the table and getting it to masse all the way back for the points, though the final was already set.

Next up for most of these competitors is the Dr. Cue Classic Artistic Cup II hosted by Big Shot Billiards & Bar, East Windsor, CT from November 13-16, 2008. The next ranking APTSA tournament will be the 2008 WPA World Artistic Pool Championships from December 4-7, 2008 at The Pool Room Sports Bar & Grille in Duluth, Georgia. Check out the complete calendar of trick shot events.

Final Standings

1. Andy Segal
2. Nick Nikolaidis
3. Tim Chin
4. Bill Meima
5. Dave Nangle
6. Stefan Mendrick
7. Gordon Hedges
8. Paul Danno
9. Steve Markle
10. Gerry Woodlief

Discipline Medals

Andy Segal - Trick/Fancy, Prop/Novelty, Bank/Kick, Masse

Nick Nikolaidis - Follow, Jump (perfect discipline)

Tim Chin - Draw

Stefan Mendrick - Stroke

Steve Markle - Sportsmanship