Filipino billiard player Lee Vann “The Slayer” Corteza hacked out an 8-5 victory over Rodney “The Rocket” Morris of the US in the finals to capture the Predator Sweet 16 title at SM North Edsa, Quezon City on Tuesday night.
The pride of Davao City, whose stint was supported by Kopiko and Energen, came back from a 0-4 deficit by scoring 7 consecutive racks to seize the lead en route to his victory.
According to Negros Billiards Stable (NBS) coach Christopher Palses, Corteza prayed for an opportunity to return to the table when he was down 4-0. The Slayer did get the chance when Morris committed an error in the 5th rack.
The scores were already 7-4 in favor of Corteza when Morris ran the 12th rack to cut the lead, 7-5.
The Filipino, however, took the next rack to carve an 8-5 win in the event organized by Dragon Promotions and supported by Predator CEO Karim Belhaj.
Corteza claimed the top prize of 10,000 Euros for his feat while Morris went home with 6,000 Euros.
“I would like to thank Sir Jonathan Sy and coach Christopher Palses. They always supported my campaigns in local and international tournaments alongside Kopiko and Energen,” said the Filipino, who is currently ranked as the world's No. 2 billiards player.
NBS President Jonathan Sy lauded Corteza's latest feat.
“He deserves this... I'm really happy for him. This proves once again that the Filipino can be at par with the world's best cue artists.
Corteza's dream is to win the World Pool-Billiards Association (WPA) 9-ball title.
Semifinalists Niels Feijen of the Netherlands and David Alcaide of Spain didn't go home empty-handed as they received 4,000 Euros each for reaching the Final Four.
The Predator Sweet 16 completes the Predator billiards competition that was postponed in Spain.
The Last 16 for the tournament was hosted by long-time billiards patron Sebastian “Baste” Chua at the famous Star Billiards Center in Grace Village, Quezon City.
The semi-finals and finals were held at the SM North Edsa, the same venue for Predator 10-Ball Championships, which starts on Wednesday.
