Andy Segal Wins 2005 Comet Classic

Andy “The Magic Man” Segal won his fourth Artistic Pool championship at the 2005 Comet Classic, held November 18-20 at Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ. 16 top trick shot artists came from all over the United States, Canada, and even as far as Russia, all hoping to bring back the title.

Bruce Barthelette, APA league operator, and 2005 ESPN Trick Shot Magic participant, finished in the # 1 position after the preliminary round of 40 shots, followed closely by Andy Segal in the # 2 spot. In third place was the Canadian Nick Nikolaidis, who just came off a recent second place finish in the 2005 ESPN Trick Shot Magic. The fourth place spot was taken by local favorite Bill Meima, who won the title of World Jump Shot Champion this past January at the Bicycle Casino in California.

On Sunday, the top 8 players advanced to a head-to-head single elimination knock-out format. Players select 10 shots each, accumulating points for each successful attempt. All four quarter final matches were close. Bruce Barthelette defeated David Nangle. David, in his second professional tournament, kept pace with the number 1 seed and despite his loss, proved that he belongs among the top professionals. Number 2 seed Andy Segal had his hands full with newcomer Al Relf from Massachusetts. In this nail-biter, Relf came back from a large deficit to force a one shot tie-breaker. Both players shot the 8-rail bank on to a dollar bill and Segal emerged victorious by getting only 1 inch closer to the bill than Relf.
Matt MacPhail, an up-and-coming player from Massachusetts, defeated Canada’s Nick Nikolaidis on the final shot of the match, making it on the third and last attempt, to move him into the semi-finals. 2001 World Champion Charles Darling narrowly defeated the local favorite Bill Meima. Meima held an early lead but Darling was able to win in the end.

In the semi-final matches, Bruce Barthelette played Charles Darling, and Andy Segal played Matt MacPhail. Both Barthelette and Segal held a steady lead throughout the match and advanced to the finals. The stage was then set for two players who practice together regularly, to playoff for the championship. The match started off with both players matching shot for shot, keeping pace with each other. Towards the middle of the match, Segal pulled ahead by a couple of shots, and didn’t relinquish the lead. The final shot of the match, Bruce Barthelette picked one of the hardest shots in the Artistic Pool Shot Program. The cue ball must jump over an object ball, skimming it along the way, causing both balls to travel diagonally across the table into the far corner pocket, cue ball first. Barthelette made it on the first attempt, keeping the match alive. Segal missed his first two attempts, but on the third, the cue ball went in and the object ball rolled slowly down the table, and just barely fell in, giving him the win.

Final Results
1 Andy Segal
2 Bruce Barthelette
3 Charles Darling
4 Matt MacPhail
5 Nick Nikolaidis
6 Bill Meima
7 Al Relf
8 David Nangle
9 Paul Danno
10 Sal Conti
11 Arkady Loshakov
12 Jose Rivas
13 Tom Kinzel
14 Andrea Shiffman
15 Cyndi Haefner
16 Gerry Woodlief

Medal Winners
Trick & Fancy Charles Darling
Prop / Novelty / Special Arts Andy Segal
Draw Nick Nikolaidis
Follow Bill Meima
Bank / Kick Bruce Barthelette
Stroke Bruce Barthelette
Jump David Nangle
Masse Bruce Barthelette
Sportsman Gerry Woodlief

A special thanks to Bill Haley, owner of Comet Billiards for hosting this event. Bill Haley, along with Tournament Director Steve Lillis, ran a separate Hurricane Katrina fund raiser on behalf of Comet Billiards, GTS Ministries Inc, and Dr. Cue Promotions. All donations were sent to the Red Cross.

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