page_title: Stefano Pelinga
hierarchical_section_title: Stefano Pelinga
caption_attribution_description: English: Close up of Stefano Pelinga
context_page_description: Stefano Pelinga is an Italian professional pool player from Rome. He is best known as a multi-year international artistic pool champion, as both an individual and team captain. He has also served as an officer for the Polizia di Stato for 27 years, retiring from police work in 2011, then moving to Las Vegas, Nevada to play pool full-time. Pelinga has served as a board member of the International Artistic Poolplayers Association. He was the featured player on the cover of the May 2010 issue of Billiards Digest magazine, which named him one of the world's best trick shot artists. He has been nicknamed "Mr. Trick Shots" and "Il Maestro". Aside from competition, Pelinga performs exhibitions, organizes competitions and raises funds for a variety of charitable organizations with his personal appearances. He was invited to tour in the USA with Paul Gerni, Norway's Lars Riiber, and Japan's Yoshikazu Kimura, and nominated by Paul Gerni for a spot on ESPN's Trick Shot Magic, where he has been featured for over ten years. He won two Trick Shot Magic events, in 2005 and 2007, after a few second places.
context_section_description: Stefano Pelinga (born May 1964) is an Italian professional pool (pocket billiards) player from Rome. He is best known as a multi-year international artistic pool champion, as both an individual and team captain.  He has also served as an officer for the Polizia di Stato (Italy's national police) for 27 years, retiring from police work in 2011, then moving to Las Vegas, Nevada to play pool full-time. Pelinga has served as a board member of the International Artistic Poolplayers Association (IAPA). He was the featured player on the cover of the May 2010 issue of Billiards Digest magazine, which named him one of the world's best trick shot artists.  He has been nicknamed "Mr. Trick Shots" and "Il Maestro" ("The Master"). Aside from competition, Pelinga performs exhibitions, organizes competitions and raises funds for a variety of charitable organizations with his personal appearances. He was invited to tour in the USA with Paul Gerni, Norway's Lars Riiber, and Japan's Yoshikazu Kimura, and nominated by Paul Gerni for a spot on ESPN's Trick Shot Magic, where he has been featured for over ten years. He won two Trick Shot Magic events, in 2005 and 2007, after a few second places.
  In addition to having won several international titles, Pelinga has also produced a series of instructional videos, and he was appointed on January 31, 2000, as official instructor of cue sports by the Italian Federation of Billiard Sports (FIBiS) and the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI). He was also awarded the honorary title of Professor of Sport Games by the University of Kharkov (Ukraine).
  Pelinga has a large repertoire of trick shots and is able to execute over 1,000 unique and "fancy" shots.  He is recognized as one of the greatest trick shot champions in the history of the sport, and has earned a spot in ESPN's Trick Shot Magic Hall of Fame.   In 2012, Pelinga was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
  Pelinga is represented by (and in turn represents, as co-founder and Western & International Executive Manager) the booking agent Billiards Superstars Promotions, who also represent Paul Gerni, Allison Fisher, Mike Massey, Ewa Laurance and other top pool pros.
caption: Stefano Pelinga
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