Danny Smith (Photo courtesy of Johnny Sturgis)
MATCH #5 – Danny Smith 3, Scott Frost 2
GAME 1 – Frost 8, Smith 1 (Innings: 3)
On his second turn Smith played what looked like a respectable soft kick shot. But Frost decided to gamble with a back cut bank while bridging off the rail and he powered it in, but was left with another bank. He pocketed it as well and went on to run 8 and out, taking a 1-0 lead.
GAME 2 – Smith 8, Frost 0 (Innings: 15)
After lots of mostly routine safeties Frost clung to a 1-0 lead after 11 innings. Then things got very interesting. In the twelfth inning Smith left Frost with a shot, which he made. In the next inning Frost made a bank to lead, 3-0, but then scratched. Smith took ball in hand and ran three before leaving a ball near his pocket. Frost attempted to remove the ball, but scratched and Smith ran 5 and out – a run that included a couple of spectacular shots, including a thin his cross-over bank on his game ball.
GAME 3 – Smith 8, Frost -1 (Innings: 4)
The game was in the early stages around the rack when Frost played a follow safety, trying to send the cue ball behind a ball near Smith’s pocket. But, as the replays clearly showed, the cue ball crawled up the object ball, resulting in a follow skid. The cue ball stopped short of the safety zone, leaving Smith with an easy shot. He broke open a cluster on his second shot and picked apart the rack, completing a run of 8 and out.
GAME 4 – Frost 8, Smith 7 (Innings: 29)
The players threw everything at each other in this 29 inning classic duel. After Smith broke well, Frost kicked in a ball and made one more before betting stuck. Then, in the seventh inning he made a carom/bank and one more ball to lead, 4-0. After Frost missed Smith made two balls and closed the margin to 3-4. More safes followed but Frost slowly built his lead until his lead grew to 7-3 after 19 innings. But Smith fought back, making a thin cut bank and he pulled to within one at 6-7. More safeties followed until the 27th inning when Frost left Smith with a super tough long rail bank, which he made to tie the score at 7-7! The, in the 29th inning Smith left Frost with a long cross table cut with the cue ball just off the end rail. Frost fired it in to tie the score at 2-2. Double hill!
GAME 5 – Smith 8, Frost -2 (Innings: 8)
Frost broke, Smith fouled, and the Frost sold out. The result was a five ball run and a quick 4-0 lead. In the sixth inning Frost scratched and Smith removed three balls on Frost’s side and left him in a nearly impossible position. So he took an intentional foul, then Smith played one. Frost left a shot and Smith ran 5 and out to win the match, 3-2.
MATCH #6 – Efren Reyes 3, Justin Hall 0
GAME 1 – Reyes 8, Hall 2 (Innings: 3)
Reyes left Hall with an easy shot, but Hall could only run 2 balls before missing. On his second turn Hall missed a bank and Reyes opened his turn with a cross-over short rail bank, and three more, made a combo, and then ran three more balls to complete a classic Reyes run of 8 and out.
GAME 2 – Reyes 8, Hall 3 (Innings: 13)
On his seventh turn Reyes played a four rail kick, talking a foul but hiding the cue ball. At this point the score was -1 to -1. One inning later Reyes was rewarded with an open table, but he only ran four before missing shape, and then his shot. But Hall, who had been left with an easy an easy shot, could only run two before he missed positon. After several safeties the score was still 3-1 in Reyes’ favor. Then, in inning 13, Hall missed a bank and the Magician ran 5 and out to take a 2-0 lead.
GAME 3 – Reyes 8, Hall 0 (Innings: 5)
Reyes hung a ball in his pocket on his break, putting Hall in a bind right from the start. Hall pocketed the ball, so Reyes took an early 1-0 lead. After Reyes played a brutal kick safety Hall attempted to remove a ball but left Reyes with a shot, and the aging but still dangerous master ran 7 and out to win his second match lead in the tournament. His record is now 2-0 while Hall’s fell to 1-1.
MATCH #7 – Shane Van Boening 3, Scott Frost 1
GAME 1 – Frost 8, Van Boening 1 (Innings: 2)
Van Boening scored the first ball, but then left Frost a thin backcut, which he slammed into his pocket. Frost got out of line but recovered by making a long shot, then ran four more to complete a run of 8 and out.
GAME 2 – Van Boening 8, Frost 5 (Innings: 23)
In the third inning Van Boening made a tough cut – and a ball for Frost. Then in the next inning Van Boening made a long shot for Frost, and now trailed 1-2. After Frost missed a long rail bank, Van Boening ran four, but then kick and scratched, leaving the table with a 4-2 lead. In the ninth inning Frost was forced to make a ball in Van Boening’s pocket – and Van Boening now lead, 7-3. Frost lost a ball when he had to follow a ball into Van Boening’s pocket in the 13th inning. A long series of safeties and missed banks ended in the 20th inning when Frost made a bank and another ball to close the gap at 7-4. After Van Boening laid down a trap, leaving a ball near his pocket, Frost bravely cut a long shot with an unusual angle across the table – but the cue ball crossed the table and back, knocking Van Boening’s game ball into the pocket! This 23 inning mini-marathon had not so mercifully come to an end. The score: 1 to 1.
GAME 3 – Van Boening 8, Frost 2 (Innings: 4)
In the second inning Van Boening played a soft kick safety with great speed, leaving Frost in a jam. He scratched on his safety attempt and Van Boening began his run with an easy shot, then ran five more before leaving a ball in his pocket to take the lead, 6 to -1. He had left Frost with a thin cut, which Frost made along with another ball on the same shot. He then added tone more. But he failed to make Van Boening’s hanger and Van Boening ran the two balls he needed to win the game, 8-2. He now led the match, 2-1.
GAME 4 – Van Boening 8, Frost -2 (Innings: 15)
Frost took an intentional foul in the fourth inning, then scratched in the next. Van Boening took ball-in-hand and ran 6 balls before missing position, which forced him to play safe. He left the table leading 6 to -2. Frost left Van Boening a shot in the eighth inning, and he made a ball, then missed a bank. After trading safeties for the next several turns Van Boening left a ball in the jaws, forcing Frost to shoot – and then make – his opponent’s last shot. Van Boening’s record is now 2-1 while Frost, at 0-3, now has no change of winning the event.
MATCH #8 – Danny Smith 3, Alex Pagulayan 2
GAME 1 – Smith 8, Pagulayan 6 (Innings: 6)
Pagulayan scored first but got a bad roll on his opening shot and had to play safe. Smith, however, sold out again and Pagulayan ran four, made a bank, and then another ball before having to give back the table. He now led, 6-0. After Pagulayan played safe in the fifth inning Smith answered with a difficult bank, but missed another bank attempt and now trailed, 6-1. Pagulayan played what looked like a smart shot, lagging a long rail bank near his pocket. But Smith answered with a super tough long distance cut shot, ran five more, then fired in a bank to complete his run of 7 and out and score a dramatic comeback victory in the opening game.
GAME 2 – Pagulayan 8, Smith -1 (Innings 2)
Smith fanned in a super thin cut down the rail, but got an unlucky kiss and scratched in the opposite far corner pocket. Pagulayan took ball-in-hand and ran four, then made two balls on one shot, then a combo, and pocketed the final ball to complete a run of 8 and out. The score: 1-1.
GAME 3 – Smith 8, Pagulayan 0 (Innings: 4)
Pagulayan left Smith with a thin cut off of his break and Smith sliced it in, but appeared to have no shot. But he played a bank into a carom and the ball somehow found the pocket! He pocketed a thin cut with the balls almost touching, made one more, then missed and left a shot. Smith now led, 4-0. Pagulayan made one, then missed an easy shot using the bridge. Smith made two more balls, and now led, 6-1. Pagulayan left Smith with a shot on his next turn and he made one ball and hung a bank, which Pagulayan was forced to follow into the pocket. The score now at 7-0 in Smith’s favor and he took ball-in-hand and made a long thin cut to win the game and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
GAME 4 – Pagulayan 8, Smith 1 (Innings: 8)
After three innings of jockeying for an edge, Pagulayan deposited a bank, played safe, and the defensive struggle continued. In the seventh inning, Smith made a ball, then sold out after missing a thin cut. Pagulayan strode up to the table and showed his best move – running balls – as he ran 7 and out to knot the score at 2-2, double hill!
GAME 5 – Smith 8, Pagulayan 6 (Innings: 20)
The finale was a 20 inning bloodbath with a script that was straight from Hollywood. Smith took an intentional foul in the third inning and Pagulayan followed in the sixth with one of his own, tying the score at a negative one! He had, however, left Smith with a long thin cut, which Smith made – but he got a bad roll and was forced to play safe. The score: Smith 0, Pagulayan -1 after six full innings. Pagulayan then miss a long range combo and Smith ran six to take a commanding lead of 6 to -1. He scored again on a relatively easy kick shot and now led 7 to -1 after 10 innings of action.
A huge momentum shift took place in the twelfth inning when Smith went for a long rail bank – a shot that Bill Incardona and Scott Frost rightfully questioned. He missed and left Pagulayan with a shot, and he run four balls to cut into Smith’s lead. The score: 7-3. In the seventeenth inning Smith missed a very makeable cut down the rail and Pagulayan responded with a long shot and a bank before missing. Now Smith’s lead was down to two, 7-5. In the twentieth and final inning Pagulayan made a tough cross table bank, and then played a safety. The cue ball came to rest near the far corner on Smith’s side of the table, and the ball he was about to play was on the spot. He rolled in this monster back cut to win the game, 8-6, and the match, running his record to 3-0.
Pagulayan meanwhile feel to 0-3. He and Frost, who is also at 0-3, have not won a match, giving more weight to the argument that they wore each other out in a just concluded week of One-Pocket in Las Vegas.
2015 Accu-Stats Make It Happen One-Pocket Invitational
REVIEW / PREVIEW for Saturday
Scores
DAY 1
#1 – Justin Hall 3, Alex Pagulayan 1
#2 – Danny Smith 3, Shane Van Boening 2
#3 – Efren Reyes 3, Scott Frost 2
#4 – Shane Van Boening 3, Alex Pagulayan 0
DAY 2
#5 – Danny Smith 3, Scott Frost 2
#6 – Efren Reyes 3, Justin Hall 0
#7 – Shane Van Boening 3, Scott Frost 1
#8 – Danny Smith 3, Alex Pagulayan 2
Standings after Day 2
Danny Smith 3-0 – 9/6
Efren Reyes 2-0 – 6/2 (plays twice today)
Shane Van Boening 2-1 – 8/4
Justin Hall 1-1 – 3/4 (plays twice today)
Scott Frost 0-3 – 5/9
Alex Pagulayan 0-3 – 3/9
Day 3 – Saturday’s SCHEDULE – (All times are ET)
AFTERNOON SESSION
12:00pm: Scott Frost vs. Justin Hall
2:30pm: Alex Pagulayan vs. Efren Reyes
EVENING SESSION
7:00pm: Justin Hall vs. Shane Van Boening
9:30pm: Efren Reyes vs. Danny Smith
SUNDAY’S MATCHES
Scott Frost vs. Alex Pagulayan
Justin Hall vs. Danny Smith
Efren Reyes vs. Shane Van Boening
