The Clubhouse Bar & Billiards in Lynchburg, VA was the site for the Virginia State 9 Ball Bar Table Championships – presented by Liquid Lightning Energy Drinks held April 14th.

Tournament Director Joshua Dickerson drew up a bracket filled with thirty five of the best bar table players in the state for a chance at the first prize of $1600 thanks to the generous sponsorship of Majestic Auto, The Heart of VA – APA pool league and the Great Southern Billiards Tour.  Utilizing a tight schedule that his events are known for, he was able to complete the event in only one day.  “I’m pleased with the turnout.” he stated, “We have players from as far away as Northern Virginia, and Richmond!  You can’t blame them, though.  The Clubhouse is a great venue.”

Danny Mastermaker made his way undefeated through the winner’s side, never dropping more than six games, in the races to nine, to any opponent in the five that he faced.  In the match for the hot seat, Danny faced fellow Richmonder Chris Bruner, leaving him in the dust 9-2.

Bruner, for his part, only lost a total of fourteen games to get to the hot seat match where he ran into the red-hot Mastermaker and received his first loss.  He then waited for an opponent on the left side of the bracket for a shot at redemption.

His opponent there was Alvis Fitch, a man who had fought his way through some tough action on the winner’s side, only to run into Mastermaker in the semi-finals and went down 9-6.  Fitch stormed back with a 7-2 wins over Corey Skyes and Trevor Stanley to make his way back to a chance in the finals.  It wasn’t to be as he ran into a very determined Chris Bruner who prevailed in a very close set, winning 7-5.

Back for a second helping, the two combatants began the finals just after midnight, both determined to take the title.  Mastermaker proved himself up for the challenge by staking to an early 3-0 lead which never relinquished finally cruising to a 9-4 victory and the title.

The final day of the 14th Annual Derby City Classic got underway with twenty one players still alive in the 9-ball division and a real scheduling nightmare.

The 14.1 Challenge finals between Darren Appleton and Ralf Souquet are still to be played, and the Fatboy 10-Ball Finals between Francisco Bustamante and Stevie Moore are also to be played. Unfortunately for tournament staff, all four of these players are still playing in the 9-ball division. WIth this dilemma, we don’t know when the finals of the two events will take place.

So far, with round 9 underway, only one player has been eliminated (Dennis Orcollo defeated Alvis Fitch). Other matches in round nine include Shane Van Boening vs Shawn Putnam, Darren Appleton vs Johnny Archer, Francisco Bustamante vs Niels Feijen, Lee Van Corteza vs Mike Dechaine and Stevie Moore vs Mika Immonen.