Down by the bayou, The Lion claims One-Pocket title

Alex Pagulayan

Alex Pagulayan and Scott Frost worked their way through a star-studded field of 16; a “who’s who?” in the game of One Pocket. On the weekend of May 21-24, they played twice at the end, and Pagulayan won them both. The $4,000-added Professional One Pocket event was hosted by Buffalo Billiards, in Metarie, Louisiana and live-streamed by PoolActionTV.

It was a six-match march to the championship, through a veritable minefield of top-notch, One- Pocket talent. Pagalayun opened up with wins over Joey Gray and Jason Brown to draw Justin Bergman in a winners’ side semifinal. Frost, in the meantime, got by Chip Compton and Mika Immonen to pick up Jeremy Jones. Pagulayan and Frost sent Bergman and Jones to the loss side and squared off to battle for the hot seat. Pagulayan prevailed and Frost moved into the semifinals.

Bergman and Jones moved to the loss side and picked up Tony Chohan and Justin Hall. Chohan was in the midst of a four-match winning streak that had eliminated Gray, Danny Smith and Cliff Joyner, and now, added Bergman. Hall got to Jones through Corey Deuel  and Josh Roberts, before Jones defeated him to join Chohan in the quarterfinals.

Jones took the quarterfinal over Chohan, but had his three-match jaunt on the loss side stopped by Frost in an epic eight hour match. Pagulayan dominated the final, double elimination match against Frost in a single set to claim the title 5-1.