Former Guinness World Series of Pool Champion Jundel "Janno" Mazon of the Philippines gained a spot in the finals of the 2011 China 9-Ball Invitational Championships with a heart-stopping 11-10 victory over compatriot Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza.
The Davao City bet Corteza was confident at the start of the match, as he took a 6-4 lead against fellow Negros Billiards Stable (NBS) bet Mazon in the match held in Anhui Province, Eastern China.
But the table turned against Corteza as Mazon won the 11th and 12th racks for a 2-0 rally to tie the match at 6-all.
Corteza made a comeback, winning 2 of the 3 racks to seize an 8-7 lead in the race-to-11, alternate break format.
Mazon won the 16th rack to level the scores 8-all.
After trading racks, Corteza and Mazon tied the match again at 10-all count in the 20th rack.
In the 21st rack, Corteza played safety in the blue 2 ball but Mazon managed to sink it and clean up the table to escape with a narrow 11-10 victory.
"It was just all luck. I hope that this luck will still follow me in my finals match against Chao Fong Pao," said Mazon as quoted by his manager, NBS owner Jonathan "Bacolod" Sy.
Chao Fong Pao reached the finals by outclassing Filipino pool legend Efren "Bata" Reyes, 11-16, in the other semifinals.
The tournament offers a $16,000 top prize.
Mazon and Chao are already assured at least $8,000 for reaching the finals, while losing semifinalists Corteza and Reyes received $4,000 each.
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