Derby City Classic XVIII, Day Three

LIVE from the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Resort and Casino, Elizabeth, IN

Diamond BIG Foot 10-Ball Challenge.

The single elimination event continued Sunday with Sky Woodward not quite finding the firepower to overcome Jayson Shaw’s. Orcullo then toppled Corteza who looked, for a minute, that he might make a comeback. Unfortunately, Bustey had lost a little something from yesterday’s burly .920 performance as Efren, at 11, allowed him only 7.

The Van Boening/Pagulayan encounter (somehow, with these two, it always seems like a revenge match) had Alex struggling to catch Shane’s 4-0 early lead. Errors ensued and Pagulayan was punished at every opportunity as the unrelenting Van Boening, briskly, delivered an indomitable .930.

See the Semis LIVE, via PPV at 12:30 pm, EDT on Monday: Shane vs. Dennis then, Jayson vs. Efren. The Finals will conclude after the dinner break.

View at accu-stats.com.

DCC Bank Pool Championships: At 10 am, EDT, the Banks resumed. From the stunning number of 475 competitors who entered, 27 remain. 10 have a buy-back, in other words, they are unbeaten: Darren Appleton, Jessie Bowman, John Brumback, Jeremy Jones, John Morra, Dennis Orcullo, Jayson Shaw, Efren Reyes, Billy Thorpe and, Earl Strickland.

But, let’s not count out past titlists Shannon Daulton, Justin Hall, Alex Pagulayan, Bustamante, Shane, Corey Deuel or, serious contenders Shannon Murphy, Warren Kiamco, Carlo Biado, Mike Davis, Joshua O’neal, Louis De Marco, Alex Olinger, Omar Al Shaheen, Vincent Vaughn, Michael Wong and, last year’s Louis Roberts Action Award winner, Danny Smith.

Danny had the heartbreak roll of the event. Hill-Hill with Orcullo–and down to the last ball–Danny, fearlessly, swung his bright, candy-striped Samsara at a 4 railer. The ball wobbled in the jaws and dribbled out, just enough, to allow Dennis a cut, cross-corner!

BTW: China’s Pin-Yi Ko survived until a respectable 7th round where he was eliminated by Jayson Shaw. Pin-Chung “Baby” Ko fared not quite so well as Appleton and Deuel delivered their fatal blows by the 4th.

The world awaits their, and US Open 9-Ball Champion Kevin Cheng’s, debut in One Pocket.

At 1pm, the One Pocket Championships got underway with 397 “movers” and shakers from across the globe. Another record? Last year had a measly 352. Just like the Banks, that’s another 15% increase! The Derby is now a “Brand” unto itself. With the 9-ball,10-Ball, and Straight Pool events, there will probably be near 1300 entries. That makes the Derby the world’s undisputed king of pro tournaments. Kudos to Greg and Chad! Are you listening Sponsors?

Anyway, it’s early yet with not too much to report. Contenders Lee Vann Cortaza drew Ike Runnels while Dee Adkins drew Chris Gentile in the first round. Tony Chohan has been garnering favorable reviews as dangerously good but, that was from Danny Smith who went on, humbly, to beat him in last weekend’s New Orleans event. John Schmidt won his first match while past titlists Scott Frost and Cliff Joyner await theirs.

The George Fels Memorial Straight Pool Challenge:  26 avid 14.1 contenders coughed up a hundred dollar bill for 12 attempts at a high run. Dennis Walsh, the 14.1 tournament director commented, “26 entrants is very promising. That’s more than we’ve ever had on the first day.”

At the weekend, the top 8 will play single elimination.

Currently, Mike Davis leads with 141 consecutive balls with Carlo Biado one behind at 140.

For continuous LIVE coverage, on 2 tables, visit tvmike.tv at 10am.

Joe Tucker’s American Rotation concluded with a hearty congratulations to Mike Davis. Kevin West finished second with Johnny Archer and Jody McLaughlin tied at 3rd.

Diamond thanks its sponsors: The Horseshoe Southern Indiana, Simonis Cloth, Cyclop Balls, and BadBoys Billiard Productions.

Accu-Stats thanks its Arena Sponsors: Simonis Cloth, Cyclop Balls, Cue and Case, MEZZ Cues, McDermott Cues, National Billiard Academy, OB Cues, Outsville.com, and Samsara Cues.