Crispian Ng
On the one hand, a player can't but feel confident about an opponent he's already defeated in a double elimination tournament. On the other hand, when that opponent starts mowing 'em down on the loss side, and gets all the way back to the finals, a hot seat occupant can't help but wonder whether he'll be next. Crispian Ng faced just such a scene during the April 26-27 stop on the Omega Billiards Tour. He'd survived a double hill battle against Tony Sulsar and watched, as Sulsar battled his way back to the finals. Ng shut him down in a single set final to complete an undefeated run on the $1,500-added event that had drawn 80 entrants to JR Pockets in Denton, TX.
Once Ng had dispatched Sulsar to the loser's bracket in a winners' side quarterfinal, he turned to face Steve Raynes. Ricky Jaramillo, in the meantime, met up with Chuck Dement. Ng and Jaramillo met in the hot seat match, once they had defeated Raynes and Dement, both 7-5. Ng and Jaramillo battled to double hill before Ng prevailed to sit in the hot seat, and watch Sulsar complete his loss-side run.
That loss-side run began with an 8-4 victory over Greg Sandiser, and an 8-3 win over Robbie Smith, which set Sulsar up for a match against Dement. Steve Raynes drew Barry Emerson, who'd gotten by Todd Comitini 8-4 and Robin Barbour 8-5. Sulsar and Emerson eliminated Dement and Raynes, both 8-4, and faced each other in the quarterfinals.
Sulsar chalked up another 8-4 win, leaving Emerson in fourth place, and then, defeated Jaramillo in the semifinals 8-5. Five down on the loss side, and two to go, as Sulsar moved into the double elimination final against Ng. Ng, though, defeated Sulsar a second time 7-5 to complete his undefeated run and claim the event title.
Tour Director Melinda Bailey thanked Richard and Nona Bryan of JR Pockets, as well as Michael Hoang of Omega Billiards. The next stop on the Omega Billiards, set for June 14-15, will be a $1,500-added event hosted by Rusty's Billiards in Fort Worth, TX.
