Santos Sambajon (born September 10, 1960) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

professional

pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

player. His nicknames are "The Little Giant" and "The Saint." Originally from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, he now resides in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Professional career

In 2004, Sambajon was first seen on television playing at the finals of the

BCA Open Nine-ball Championship BCA may refer to: Commerce *Bangladesh Caterers Association UK *Bank Central Asia, a private bank in Indonesia * Boeing Commercial Airplanes *Book Club Associates * British Car Auctions *Broadcasting Company of America, former American Telephone & ...

. While he did not win that event, Sambajon dominated the World Summit of Pool, a tournament featured on ESPN several months later, by defeating Mike Davis in the finals. In 2005, he won the

Skins Billiards Championship The Skins Billiards Championship was an annual nine-ball tournament held in the United States from 2005 through 2007. It was promoted by Allen Hopkins Productions and Billiards International, and was broadcast on ESPN. While most pool tournament ...

, another tournament televised on ESPN, by besting

Danny Basavich Daniel (Danny) Basavich (born September 25, 1978) is an American professional pool player from New Jersey. He is fondly called "Kid Delicious", a nickname he acquired after defeating a player monickered "Kid Vicious". Basavich grew up in Manala ...

in sudden death. This was Sambajon's greatest win, earning him $73,500, the most he has earned from a single event.Sambajon Big Skins Winner
'AzBilliards.com''. Retrieved June 18, 2007. He nearly had the chance to compete in the

WPA World Nine-ball Championship The WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual professional nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1990. The championship is sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and principally sponsored and organised by Matchroom Sport, ...

in 2004 but could not, due to passport problems. He made his debut at that tournament in 2006. He served as

Efren Reyes Efren Manalang Reyes (born August 26, 1954), popularly known by the nickname "Bata" (English: "Kid"), is a Filipino professional pool player. Reyes is widely considered one of the greatest pool players of all time. A winner of over 100 inte ...

's corner man (players who reached the finals of an IPT event get to have someone who would instruct or give them advice during the match) at the final of the 2006

IPT World Open Eight-ball Championship The IPT World Open Eight-ball Championship was an eight-ball pool tournament held between 3–9 September 2006 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, by the International Pool Tour. It was the third and last event of the tour It was the riches ...

Titles

*2007 Blaze Tour Stop *2007 Blaze 9-Ball Tour Stop *2005

*2005 Joss NE 9-Ball Tour Stop *2004 World Summit of Pool *2004 Joss NE 9-Ball Tour Stop *2004 Joss NE 9-Ball Tour Stop *2004 Jay Swanson Memorial *2003 New England 9-Ball Championship *2003 Joss NE 9-Ball Tour Stop 1 *2003 Hard Times 4th Annual Summer Jamboree One Pocket *2003 Joss NE 9-Ball Tour Stop #25 *2003 Joss NE 9-Ball Tour Stop #24 *2003 Joss NE 9-Ball Tour Stop #20 *2003 Joss Northeast Tour Stop 7 *2003 Joss Northeast Tour Stop 5 *2002 Joss Northeast Tour Stop 16 *2002 Joss Northeast Tour Stop 14 *2002 Joss Northeast Tour Stop 13 *2000 Joss Northeast Tour Stop 13 *2000 California Billiard Club Open One Pocket *2000 Planet-Pool.com Tour Stop 3 Men's Division *2000 Joss Northeast Tour Stop 12 *2000 Joss Northeast Tour Stop 8

References

External links

Last rack video footage of the Skins Billiard Championship
Living people Filipino pool players 1960 births Place of birth missing (living people) {{pool-bio-stub