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Reyes and Murphy Highlight Derby City Classic Days 7 & 8

Efren Reyes

Diamond Derby City Classic XXIV, January 20-28, 2023

Caesars Southern Indiana, Elizabeth, IN

Master of the Table points are accredited to the Banks, One Pocket, and 9-Ball divisions.

The player who accrues the most points from their highest finishes in the 3 disciplines is deemed All-Around-Champion.

Diamond generously delivers an additional $20,000 for first, plus, $3,000 and $2,000 respectively for 2nd and 3rd.

More on that later after the One Pocket final.

The Accu-Stats PPV OnDemand service has all of the above entertainment available for your viewing pleasure until Feb.28, 2023.

Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKET Championship: Semis and Finals

Due to Diamond’s dedication to accommodating the incredible surge in entries –1569 in all – the ONE POCKET Semis and Finals will be completed, and streamed from the Accu-Stats TV Arena,

TODAY Saturday, Jan 28.

Let’s catch up: Highlights from Thursday

Pagulayan vs Schmidt

Alex ran 8-and-out to open his encounter with John Schmidt. It was do-or-die as each contender was down to one bullet.

After the second rack Alex was leading 2-0. Schmidt mustered his gumption to take it to 2-1

Alex, after leaving his 5th ball hanging near his pocket, allowed John an opening.

John, masterfully, manufactured a six ball run until the nudge to open a three ball cluster didn’t cooperate.

He made his 7th ball anyway knowing full well that shape on his game-ball wasn’t very possible.

Needing only one ball to tie the match, necessitated that John went full blooded, He sliced the paint off of it. And, lost the cue ball.

Alex calmly ran his last 4 balls.

Woodward vs Filler

Surely, the comeback of the One-Pocket Championship was when Skyler Woodward, who just joined Shane Van Boening and Fedor Gorst at team Cuetec, faced Joshua Filler.

Woodward fell afoul of his super aggressive play which left Filler opportunities to pull ahead.

Sure, had Skyler made the ball, chances are he was out. When the ball didn’t fall, Filler filled in the gaps.

So, now, they were tied at 2. With only one life left each: Someone’s gotta go.

Joshua, energized, jumped to a 5-2 lead.

Sky, disciplined now, had safety in mind. No more firing at fantasies. No silly sell-outs.

All the balls were soon driven upstream, not quite “the wedge” as they weren’t confined to a corner. 

But, for sure, there was no way to win in one inning. 

Either player must earn it – with pure banking skills. One rail, two railers at a time is how Sky reversed the seemingly insurmountable lead.

You have to see for yourself. The match is available OnDemand at Accu-Stats.com.

It’s must see TV!

Friday, JAN 27

Johnathon Pinegar vs Tony Chohan

Johnathon Pinegar is no stranger to Derby City, yet it might be this year’s superb performance by administering losses to Shane Van Boening, Tyler Styer, Anton Raga, Billy Thorpe, and the first loss to Tony Chohan that will be remembered best.

Thanks to the luck of the algorithm, Johnathon and Tony were chosen to meet again immediately, only this time, in the Accu-Stats Arena.

Here, Tony had home court advantage: He had a few matches “in the can.” He had experienced that the table played slower and banked a little shorter. Plus, he was familiar with the intensity of the 60-second shot clock.

Johnathon found this out the hard way; Mainly as his cue ball didn’t travel as far and interrupted the kind of run-outs he had completed earlier in the outer Diamond Arena.

Tony retuned the compliment and, in under hour, FedExed Pinegar to the buy-back booth.

Pinegar vs Reyes

No rest for Pinegar: He was immediately redrawn to face Efren…in the Accu-Stats arena.

The good news is that as we’re down to four players, he had opportunity to become acclimatized to it. It’s Semis and Finals time: There is nowhere to play but the Accu-Stats TV table.

After Efren defeated Alex, Skyler finished off Filler only to lose to Reyes who’s relentless will to win is truly inspiring.

He still has two lives and he’s been competing for six hours in Pool’s most cerebral discipline. Where is this stamina, both mental and physical, coming from?

Pinegar, too. He’d just succumbed to Chohan, the 2022 One-Pocket runner-up. Now he has to face the man the with more DCC wins than anyone.

And, his confidence is lagging as is the speed of his cue ball. It’s time to adjust.

His relaxed, yet focused, demeanor and superb defensive skills didn’t allow Reyes much of a look at anything, makeable, anyway.

Efren was definitely tiring. Then, he erred. John stole a ball. A few innings later Efren erred again. John ran 7-and-out.

At 1-0, it’s Reyes’ ball that isn’t reaching the pocket. John in two innings, by running four balls in each, surged ahead, 2-0.

Not to worry. How many times, this week, has Efren been down 0-2 and won the match?

In game 3, Pinegar erred. Reyes ran five, didn’t get the desired spread from the stack and, frustrated now, attempted a very low percentage combo. 

Luckily, he left little.

Yet, it was enough. Pinegar fired in a short rail bank and drew his cue ball to land perfectly on the next indicated sphere. He then ran out the necessary 8-balls to ensure his seat at tomorrow’s table. 

Efren visited the buy-back booth.

And then there were three: Chohan, Pinegar and Reyes – who was soon snoring like a baby.

At around noon on Saturday, he’ll be fresh as a daisy, ready for the redraw.

Someone is going to get a bye – straight into the hot seat.

Would you want it to be you, or would you prefer to win the opening match and be all warmed up for the finals?

Diamond Derby City Classic 9-BALL Championship: LAST DAY – Sat. 28.

Accu-Rack, 9 on the spot, winner breaks.

Since Matchroom deemed the Derby’s 9-Ball Championship a Mosconi Cup point garnering tournament, 9-Ball has become most populated DCC event.

527 entries smashed the previous attendance statistic!

Another record broken is the number of ladies competing this year: Margarita Fefilova, Sakura Muramatsu, Melissa “Sure Shot” Smith sponsored by Brutal Gear, Emily Sumrall, the up-and-coming Catherine Cool, and the ubiquitous Angela Mears, just to name a few of the approximately 20. Diamond thanks you all!

Efren Reyes suffered a first round loss to Robbie Capito and Roland Garcia got Dan Louie. 

Mezz-sponsored Mika Immonen opened the proceedings in the Accu-Stats Arena first thing Friday facing Derby City Classic stalwart Dee Adkins.

Mika was on fire. His early .980+ TPA seemed to intimidate Adkins who wasn’t getting out when he had the opportunity. The more he faltered, the more Mika gained confidence, and the more Dee’s TPA dropped. 

The Mezz player-rep of 21 years closed it out 9-0 with a stellar .958.

Thanks to fan demand, Pat Fleming was asked to explain how the Accu-Stats’ Total Performance Average(TPA) is calculated. During the Mieszko Fortunski vs. Brendan Shuff match, he tells all.

Undefeated are Mosconi Cup team player Oscar Dominguez, Fedor Gorst, Johnathon Pinegar, Skyler Woodward, Josh Roberts, Jesus Atencio, Jayson Shaw, SVB, Tony Chohan, Billy Thorpe, Ike Runnels, Joshua Filler, Mike Dechaine, Marc Vidal, John Morra, Margarita Fervilova, Tyler Styer, Konrad Juszczyszyn, Scott Frost, Donny Mills, Max Eberle, Brandon Shuff plus, the Filipino contingent; Alex, Gomez, Corteza, DeLuna, Garcia, and Raga,

DCC’s Friday Night Ring Game:

Culminating at $1,200 a ball, Shannon Murphy robbed them all banking $5,000. Billy fought gallantly to secure 2nd and $3000. Skyler Woodward claimed a distant 3rd. Shane Wolford began well. Justin Hall fell fast as did Jonathan Demet.

The captured match-ups are available via the Accu-Stats Pay-Per-View OnDemand, 4-camera HD production. Approximately, 60 action-packed hours of pro-pool are projected, PLUS reruns. After each match concludes, it is uploaded and available for your viewing pleasure. With PPV OnDemand, you choose when you watch, no matter what you’re timezone, until February 28, 2023.

Don’t miss a stroke: Visit accu-stats.com. Enjoy.

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Reyes Still Going Strong at Derby City Classic Day Six

Efren Reyes (David Thomson – Medium Pool)

Diamond Derby City Classic XXIV, January 20-28, 2023

Caesars Southern Indiana, Elizabeth, IN

Master of the Table points are accredited to the Banks, One Pocket, and 9-Ball divisions.

The player who accrues the most points from their highest finishes in the 3 disciplines is Master of the Table or, as it is also known, All-Around-Champion.

Diamond generously delivers an additional $20,000 for first, plus, $3,000 and $2,000 respectively for 2nd and 3rd.

More on that later after the One Pocket final.

The Accu-Stats PPV OnDemand service has all of the above entertainment available for your viewing pleasure until Feb.28, 2023.

Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKET Championship: Sun Jan. 22 -Wed. Jan. 25.

Semis and Finals are rescheduled in the Accu-Stats TV Arena before the Friday Night Ring Game, Jan 27.

In the Accu-Stats Arena, Efren was pitted against sharpshooting Lithuanian Pijus Labutis.

Reyes realized he had to change strategy when Pijus, comfortable with his latest Mezz cue, had streaked to a 2-1 lead. It was then his masterful “moving” game began. 

Labutis, now dumbfounded, spent the remainder of the match, immobilized…and in awe.

Soon, tied at 2-2, Efren showed his ability to run 8  to find himself stuck on the remaining cluster. He still need one ball as he was  -1 when he begun the run.

While Efren was considering his next move, the referee approached the table and told him he had won.

Efren, confused, questioned, “But I need one more ball?”

The ref had forgotten that Efren owed one.

Pijus, respectfully, in a kind of, “Oh, whatever,” moment, honored the ref’s decision and offered Efren his hand.

Pijus, showing true sportsmanship, had observed the current pattern of Efren’s of play, probably  concluded that there was no way he was getting a look at another ball.

Meanwhile, in the outer arena, Fedor, fired up from his Bank Pool accomplishment, had his 2022 One-Pocket title to defend against 2009 DCC One-Pocket winner John Schmidt.

Fedor, a few rounds back, collided with the skillset of 2022 Texas Open One-Pocket runner-up Yerry Calderon and was, unceremoniously, sent to the buy-back booth.

Now he faced John, a household name as the first player to out-run Willie Mosconi’s 526 14.1 record – coincidently, by the number on every serious straight-pool player’s bucket list, 100!

Knowledge of pattern-play in 14.1 is a renowned asset in One-Pocket.

More drama; John had already gone to the buy-back booth because of his prior encounter with the robust Roberto Gomez.

In the opening game, Schmidt rallied from a minus two ball deficit to 7-7 only to have Fedor, unflinchingly, deliver the 8th to his hole. 1-0.

Fast-forward to tied at 2 games: John, 5 balls ahead, adopted the strategy of forming the “wedge.” The method here is to move all the balls up-table into a corner making it near impossible to for Gorst to run the remaining balls.

The strategy worked: John soon had his remaining 3 balls.

Fedor is now in left to his fate in the 9-Ball division.

The outer-arena crowd gathered as Filler faced Efren. Both being undefeated, one was heading to the buy-back hell.

Efren removed Naojuki Oi. Filler, ditto with Robert Frost.

Filler will be the first to admit that his strength in one-hole is applying the aforementioned Straight-Pool methodology and just running-out. In fact, he’s quite brilliant at it.

Forget all this “moving” altho, as you can imagine, his safety-play is formidable, too.

Efren, struggling a little, yet always respectful, awarded Joshua game-ball to go ahead 2-1.

Now, down 1-2, we know never to count Reyes out.

He put the tiller to Filler to hoe two superlative 8-and-outs. Josh was left no alternative but to humbly buy-back.

We also know never to count Joshua out: Heaven help his next opponent.

At day’s end Wednesday, Efren Reyes, Tony Chohan, Corey Deuel, John Morra, Sky Woodward, Johnathon Pinegar, and Peruvian Gerson Martinez were all undefeated.

Johnathon Pinegar is no stranger to Derby City, yet it might be this year’s performance by administering losses to Shane Van Boening and Tyler Styer that will be remembered best.

Justin Hall froze out both Scott Frost and Jerry Matchin. He also allowed Billy Thorpe the buy-back experience.

Lunda, while his very proud father Elliot sat ringside, moved out David Matlock.

Roland Garcia over eliminated Lee Vann Corteza who had, unfortunately, run into Mieszko Fortunski,

Shane and Gerson Martinez.

Styer had eliminated Jeffrey DeLuna, Roland Garcia handed Shane Wolford his visit the booth.

The night closed as Tony Chohan expelled Ellerman.

Diamond Derby City Classic 9-BALL Championship: continues TODAY thru Sat. 28.

Mosconi Cup teammate Oscar Dominguez, Max Eberle, Hunter Lombardo, and Brandon Shuff are still undefeated

The action-packed week continues with a little levity and a lot of moolah:

DCC’s Friday Night Ring Game: Jan 27

The captured match-ups are available via the Accu-Stats Pay-Per-View OnDemand, 4-camera HD production. Approximately, 60 action-packed hours of pro-pool are projected, PLUS reruns. After each match concludes, it is uploaded and available for your viewing pleasure. With PPV OnDemand, you choose when you watch, no matter what you’re timezone.

Don’t miss a stroke: Visit accu-stats.com. Enjoy.

Go to discussion...

Lee Vann Corteza Into Big Foot Semifinals at Derby City Day Three

Lee Vann Corteza (David Thomson – Medium Pool)

Diamond Derby City Classic XXIV, January 20-28, 2023

Caesars Southern Indiana, Elizabeth, IN

There are 29 more competitors than was considered feasible to complete the One Pocket division; 429 – A new DCC record!

Wait-listed 9-Ball players are hoping for a similar increase. They’ll know by Wednesday.

Diamond BIG Foot Challenge

$32k prize fund. 1st: $16,000. 2nd; $8k, 3rd/4th; $4k each

LIVE from the Accu-Stats TV Arena.

Format: Race to 11, single elimination, alternate break, foul on all balls, no jump cues. 10-Ball does not win on the break tho’ beware, caroms and combos do.

Mosconi Cup captains Jeremy Jones and Mark Wilson are mostly in the Accu-Stats’ commentary booth. Occasionally they have guests. 

Reminder: when you see the balls bobbling or bursting out of the jaws, remember that BIG Foot’s biting, pro-cut pockets are now tighter – 4 1/8” tight!

Quarter Finals

4 past BIG Foot winners, all shooting well, began Sunday’s action. Now there are two. Read on for more details.

Jayson Shaw vs. Shane Van Boening

Even Eagle Eye had trouble with BIG Foot’s brutal pocket dimension. The damage it did to his TPA was unprecedented. When have you ever seen his average nosedive from near .900 to .770…within 2 racks!

Shane wasn’t happy either. Altho,’ the match commenced with his break-and-run to a 3-0 lead. Jayson quickly tied it up. Then, he couldn’t get much action on the break.

Shane sped ahead again and, to cut to the chase, had Jayson 10-6 when Van Boening’s cue ball wasn’t on a string, it was haywire: 10-7. 

Jayson’s dry break plague continued.

Shane, again, lost the cue ball and had to resort to a safety that froze the cue ball to the top rail.

Far, far away, about a foot off the bottom rail, lay the 8. Whammo! Shaw drove it home. Sadly, his cue ball rested straight in on the 9…which was nowhere near the 10.

Then came his most miraculous shot of the tournament.

There was only one solution. He had to cheat the 4 1/8” pocket and draw whitey about 8 feet to the bottom rail then another four feet to the long rail where the 10-ball inconveniently lay.

Whammo! Part 2! His cue-ball screams back to land about 4” away tho,’ it’s an awkward angle demanding running back and forth to swap out which cue extension would work best.

The shot clock was about to explode. “Extension!”

So was his heart, pumping like an oil rig:

He pounded it into the back of the pocket: 10-8.

It was SVB’s turn at bat. It looked dry…until the last ball rolling trickled in. And snookered!

Now it was Shane’s shot of the tournament.

He had a kick-shot off the top rail on the dangling one ball with the trickiest 3-rail shape: long rail, short rail, long rail, through a minefield to the two.

Perfect! And he finished the match as he began it – break-and-run.

Shaw, gracious as always, approached Shane and commenced a post-mortem to dissect the action.

Roberto Gomez vs. Fedor Gorst

Fedor was not off to his ferocious formula of forging ahead to leave his opponents in his wake. In fact, it was nip-and-tuck until, at 4-3, Gomez reversed the score with back-to-back wins.

Gorst’s struggle continued as Gomez at 7-4 with every opportunity for a 4-game lead, fumbled and allowed Fedor to gain one back to 7-5.

Gorst, usually, when sensing weakness, his killer instinct would come alive: Not today. 

Down 9-10, his break got him again.

There is a reason they call Roberto Superman. The out wasn’t a walk in the park. He made shots that would have been kryptonite to normal men.

He didn’t rush. He knew his cue ball had to be finite.

He also knew the punishment that Fedor was capable of administering.

Not today. The robot was in need of a reboot. Gorst’s loss, a replay of their 2018 BIG Foot final, is probably the motivation Fedor needs to keep moving forward.

He still has 2 lives in the Banks.

Gomez now faces the other surviving BIG Foot Champ, SVB.

Mieszko Fortunski vs. Lee Vann Corteza

10 years ago, Lee Vann Corteza, by defeating Orcollo, won the DCC 9-Ball Championship.

In 2017, he had a higher TPA than Jayson yet, dangled a 7-Ball that would have surely changed BIG Foot history.

Mieszko Fortunski suffered at the safety play of Joshua Filler one memorable year.

They keep coming back. The Derby’s bewitching charm is like no other event, anywhere.

Today, they faced each other. Fortunski has improved greatly since then yet, the edge was given  to Corteza.

Off to 4-2 lead, and moving to 5-2, Corteza erred and lo-and-behold they were soon tied at 4. 

There wasn’t much movement either way until 10-9 Fortunski. Lee Vann, showing true heart, and awesome shot-making, ball by ball, crawled to the hill.

Fortunski had the rack in his grasp tho.’ the last two balls were tricky. He attempted an acute cut to the opposite corner pocket. It ran awry.

Corteza, pressure building now, you could see him exhale and let his shoulders drop.

He had a blind, dog-leg, back-cut into the corner…from 6 feet away.  The awkward orb was then 2 feet from the intimidating 4 1/8” pocket!

And the cue ball had to be set loose to find the 10.

Perfection; And straight in in the 10!

The crowd erupted, He was in semis!

Joshua Filler vs. Konrad Juszczyszyn

Behind 4-6, Konrad began to miss makeable balls. A lucky kiss coming out of a snooker kicked in the 10. 

He then put his mettle to the pedal and, with 5 in a row, got to 9-6 ahead. With Joshua’s break-and-run, he retrieved one and it’s 9-7.

At 9-8, it’s snooker time. Josh, after a multi-shot kick-safe exchange, rattled the 3 to leave it deep in the jaws.

Konrad, more focused than ever, is on the hill…and breaking!

His one hung in the hole, and it’s 10-9.

Joshua’s break is a carbon copy of Konrad’s; it’s dry, with his one-ball resting on the lip of the pocket!

More good news, nothing is tied up. All that is needed is some sweet negotiation to keep on the correct side of the object balls.

Cool, calm, and deliberate he plotted his way through the rack: Flawless execution…of Filler.

This surely is one of the most memorable matches in Konrad’s career. He raised ho cue in jubilation like he’d just won the tournament. Perhaps he will.

He’s in the semis facing Corteza.

Jayson Shaw vs, Shane Van Boening, 8-11

Roberto Gomez vs. Fedor Gorst, 11-9

Mieszko Fortunski vs. Lee Vann Corteza, 10-11

Konrad Juszczyszyn vs. Joshua Filler, 11-9

BIG Foot Schedule for Monday, Jan 23: Semis, 2.00 & 4:30 PM.  Finals, 9:00 PM

Shane Van Boening vs. Roberto Gomez.

Lee Vann Cortez vs. Konrad Juszczyszyn

The Accu-Stats PPV OnDemand service has all of the above entertainment available for your viewing pleasure. 

Diamond BANK POOL CHAMPIONSHIP

Short Rack. Race to 3, Round 6.

497 entrants stormed the Derby City battlements. In this territory, Bank Pool’s popularity knows no bounds.

With the DCC one-time Buy-Back formula, after every round, entrant’s names are reshuffled then redrawn. As DCC events are not seeded means that you could run into anyone.

Since Saturday, Jesus Atencio is on the one loss side as are Mike DeLauwder, Scott Frost, Mieszko Fortunski, and David Matlock.

Skyler Woodward was sent homeward by an unbeaten Mickey Krause who then sent Lee Vann Corteza to buy-back.

Billy Thorpe, still unbeaten, dispatched Shane Wolford to hone up on his One-Pocket as did Ike Runnels to John Gabriel.

Jayson Shaw, Shane Van Boening, Mitch Ellerman, Brandon Shuff, Joshua Filler, Roland Garcia, Glenn “Piggy Bank” Rogers, Richie Richeson, Anthony Meglino, Tony Chohan, Alex Pagulayan, Billy Thorpe, Shannon Daulton, Justin Hall, Mika Immonen are still undefeated.

Visit results.derbycityclassic.com for more updates.

Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKET 

The event entries were increased to 429 entries. Stay tuned!

The action-packed week continues:

DIAMOND BIG FOOT 10-BALL CHALLENGE: Semis and FINALS on MONDAY the 24th at 2 pm.

Diamond Derby City Classic BANK POOL Championship: Semis and Finals in the Accu-Stats TV Arena: Tuesday evening, Jan 25.

Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKET Championship: Sun Jan. 22 -Wed. Jan. 25. Semis and Finals in the Accu-Stats TV Arena, Thursday evening, Jan 26.

Diamond Derby City Classic 9-BALL Championship: Wed. Jan 25 – Sat. 28.

Friday Night Ring Game: Jan 27.

The captured match-ups are available via the Accu-Stats Pay-Per-View OnDemand, 4-camera HD production. Approximately, 60 action-packed hours of pro-pool are projected, PLUS reruns. After each match concludes, it is uploaded and available for your viewing pleasure. With PPV OnDemand, you choose when you watch, no matter what you’re timezone.

Don’t miss a stroke: Visit accu-stats.com. Enjoy.

Go to discussion...

Juszczyszyn Leads the Way on Big Foot Challenge Day Two

Konrad Juszczyszyn (David Thomson – Medium Pool)

Diamond Derby City Classic XXIV, January 20-28, 2023

Caesars Southern Indiana, Elizabeth, IN

It’s official, DCC’s registration has broken all past records: 497 in Banks, 500 in 9-Ball, and 400 in One-Pocket. Did someone say shot-clock?

A plethora of wait listed players is begging to compete. The logistics of increasing the entries are a nightmare. Ask “Bad girl” tourney coordinator Bonnie Jones. When Diamonds’ Julie Creamer (you know, the curly blonde at the registration desk) called her to see if it was feasible, Bonnie responded, “Maybe, if you bring a gun to the tournament room, point it my head, and threaten to shoot me!”

You know what, when the impossible needs to get done, you want these ladies on the team.

Diamond BIG Foot Challenge

$32k prize fund. 1st: $16,000. 2nd $8k, 3rd/4th; $4k each

LIVE from the Accu-Stats TV Arena.

Format: Race to 11, single elimination, alternate break, foul on all balls, no jump cues. 10-Ball does not win on the break tho’ beware, caroms and combos do.

Mosconi Cup captains Jeremy Jones and Mark Wilson are mostly in the Accu-Stats’ commentary booth. Occasionally they have guests. Shannon Daulton has shared his expertise and a some favorite road stores.

Reminder: when you see the balls bobbling or bursting out of the jaws, remember that BIG Foot’s biting, pro-cut pockets are now tighter – 4 1/8” tight!

Day 2. 1st round cont’d

Mika Immonen vs. Mieszko Fortunski

The match was progressing favorably for both players until Mika missed a simple 6-ball. Then things sped sideways for him. Now down 6-9, Mika found his feisty side and seized the next 2 games. He really looked like he’d overcome his earlier misstep.

Unfortunately, we’ll never know as Fortunski, constructing a fearless .883 TPA, respectably advanced to the semi’s.

Roland Garcia vs. Lee Vann Corteza.

As fellow Filipinos, these guys have grown up conferring, competing, even practicing together. Pool is in their DNA. The challenge now is to forget all that camaraderie stuff and deliver the death blow. There are 16 thousand on the line. Plus, bragging rights.

I guess Garcia didn’t get the memo. Lee Vann did: He was off and running…out! His TPA approached 900. Roland’s – in the low 7s.

Their friendship was more than apparent when, after delivering the death blow, Roland hit the floor and bowed at Corteza’s feet. Now that’s bragging rights!

John Morra vs. Konrad Juszczyszyn

Konrad and John have been BIG Foot contenders for around 5 years now. Their tenacity keeps them coming back. There is also nowhere on the planet to experience the BIG Foot “Challenge.” 

John wasn’t on form today. His challenge was to find that Mr. Smooth moniker he had so righteously earned. And Konrad more confident than ever, capitalized on most slips presented to him.

Previously, John had the better performance average of the two.

Today, their roles were reversed. Konrad was the smooth one and needed two games. John’s “heart” has never been in question. His come-from-behind record compares with the best.

Summoning his firepower, he drove a distant long shot into BIG Foot’s jaws, then drew the cue ball back to leave perfect position on the far, far away short rail:  Mr. Smooth was back. They were soon tied at 9 and looking for 2.

Konrad was not impressed. He was first on the hill. When John had the opportunity to join him, he uncharacteristically fumbled shape.

The Pole’s .851 had overpowered John’s .828.

Elated, Konrad finally had a toehold in BIG Foot.

Joshua Filler vs. Jesus Atencio

The 24-year-old Venezuelan was not at ease. The tight pro-cut pockets were not accepting his forced stroke-shots when he applied extra power to achieve prime position. The result was Jesus Atencio was leaving German Joshua Filler easy finishes.

The result, Joshua soon had an insurmountable lead. The cause, Jesus wasn’t getting out when he should have.

Joshua’s comfort zone on BIG Foot certainly can be intimidating: His poise, his superb ball-pocketing prowess, his mature shot choices. No more firing at fantasies. Patience was now part of his arsenal.

At one point a safety battle ensued. And Atencio was on the wrong end of it.

Yet, under fire, he could make some courageous decisions.

He summoned the gusto to just go for it. The object ball found its pocket. Buoyed, for an instant, he soon ran into trouble on the run-out.

Jesus later confessed that, in his eight years as a professional, he had never felt such fear; His hands were shaking and so wet with sweat that his cue actually fell from his slippery grip.

Joshua, to his credit, felt no sympathy. He wasn’t pussyfooting around, he wanted BIG Foot on his cv.

Mika Immonen vs Mieszko Fortunski; 11-8

Roland Garcia vs Lee Van Corteza; 11-2

John Morra vs  Konrad Juszcyszyn; 9-11

Joshua Filler vs Jesus Atencio; 11-5

BIG Foot Schedule for Sunday, Jan 22: 1, 3:30, 7, and 9:30PM

Jayson Shaw vs. Shane Van Boening

Roberto Gomez vs. Fedor Gorst

Mieszko Fortunski vs. Lee Vann Corteza

Konrad Juszcyszyn vs. Joshua Filler

The Accu-Stats PPV OnDemand service has all of the above entertainment available for your viewing pleasure. 

Diamond BANK POOL CHAMPIONSHIP

Short Rack. Race to 3, Round 4.

497 entrants stormed the Derby City battlements. In this territory, Bank Pool’s popularity knows no bounds.

With the DCC one-time Buy-Back formula, after every round, entrant’s names are reshuffled then redrawn. As DCC events are not seeded means that you could run into anyone.

Konrad Juszczyszyn was served his second defeat by Mosconi Cup star Tyler Styer who since has lost a life.

Roland Garcia put Efren’s Bank title in jeopardy, 2022 titlist Fedor Gorst handed Dee Adkins his first loss. Corey Deuel, Ike Runnels, Tyler Styer, also have been sent to the buy-back booth. 

Jesus Atencio, Mitch Ellerman, Brandon Shuff, Joshua Filler, Mieszko Fortunski, Roland Garcia, Glenn “Piggy Bank” Rogers, Lee Vann Corteza, Richie Richeson, Anthony Meglino, Tony Chohan, Alex Pagulayan, Tyler Styer, Shane Wolford, Billy Thorpe, Shannon Daulton, Justin Hall, Mika Immonen, Muqaddim Abdulhaqq, and Skyler Woodward are still undefeated.

Visit results.derbycityclassic.com for more updates.

Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKET 

The event, being capped at 400 entries, gets underway today!

Here’s how the action-packed week will continue.

DIAMOND BIG FOOT 10-BALL CHALLENGE: Fri. Jan. 20 – Sun. Jan 22. 2023.

Diamond Derby City Classic BANK POOL Championship: Fri. Jan. 20 – Sun. Jan. 22. 2023. Semis and Finals in the Accu-Stats TV Arena: Tuesday evening, Jan 25.

Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKET Championship: Sun Jan. 22 -Wed. Jan. 25. Semis and Finals in the Accu-Stats TV Arena, Thursday evening, Jan 26.

Diamond Derby City Classic 9-BALL Championship: Wed. Jan 25 – Sat. 28.

Friday Night Ring Game: Jan 27.

The captured match-ups are available via the Accu-Stats Pay-Per-View OnDemand, 4-camera HD production. Approximately, 60 action-packed hours of pro-pool are projected, PLUS reruns. After each match concludes, it is uploaded and available for your viewing pleasure. With PPV OnDemand, you choose when you watch, no matter what you’re timezone.

Don’t miss a stroke: Visit accu-stats.com. Enjoy.

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Turning Stone Classic XXXVI Day One Complete

Vitaliy Patsura

Day one is complete at the Joss NE 9-Ball’s Turning Stone Classic XXXVI, and day one didn’t have much as far as major upsets. What it did have though, was a day of top 9-ball talent. 

One match that saw a fan favorite sent to the one loss side was the 9-5 loss that Brandon Shuff suffered at the hands of Vitaliy Patsura, from the Ukraine. Shuff is back at it early on Friday with his one-loss side match against Randy Laborite. Patsura will face Ray McNamara in the noon round of play. 

Other top players who advanced from day one undefeated were defending champion Jayson Shaw, Fedor Gorst, Skyler Woodward, Mika Immonen, Billy Thorpe, Bucky Souvanthong, Johnny Archer, Miesko Fortunski, Shane Wolford, John Morra, Thorsten Hohmann, Oscar Dominguez, Naoyuki Oi and Kristina Tkach. 

Oi and Tkach will face off on the main streaming table at noon EST, which is being streamed for free on Upstate Al’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/UpStateAL. Fans can follow all of the action online with our online brackets and real time scoring pages. 

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Mike Davis, Jr. comes from the loss side to capture $3.7K-added, MD State Bar Box 10-Ball title

Mike Davis

It’s been a good year for Mike Davis, Jr., who’d already chalked up his best (recorded) earnings year since 2016, when he travelled to Maryland this past Thanksgiving Day weekend (Nov. 26-27) and competed in the MD State Bar Box 10-Ball Championships. He got sent to the loss side by his eventual opponent in the double elimination final, Tom Zippler, and defeated him twice in the double elimination final to claim the title. The $3,750-added event drew 86 entrants to Brews & Cues on the Boulevard in Glen Burnie, MD.

The battle for this title was, by close-match standards, fierce; 38% of the tournament’s last 18 matches (7) went double hill, including the hot seat match, semifinal and first set of the true double elimination final. Mike Davis’ campaign opened up with a double hill battle that he won over Scott Haas. Davis followed up with wins over Clint Clayton (4), Mike Saleh (4) and Steve Fleming (5), to arrive at his first match against Zippler, in one of the a winners’ side semifinals. Zippler’s path started out easy enough, with a shutout over Matt Broz, but grew increasingly competitive as he got by Tony Manning (2), Michael Miller (3), Roger Haldar (4) and then, had to battle Brett Stottlemeyer to double hill in a winners’ side quarterfinal that did send him (Zippler) to that first battle with Davis. In the meantime, Kevin West, working at the other end of the bracket, sent Garrett Vaughan (1), Steve Johnson (2), Bobby Pacheco (double hill) and Grayson Vaughan (4) to the loss side and drew Brandon Shuff in the other winners’ side semifinal.

West and Shuff locked up in a double hill battle that eventually did advance West to the hot seat match. He was joined by Zippler, who’d won his first (and, as it turned out, last) match against Davis 7-3. Zippler and West fought to double hill in that hot seat match, with Zippler prevailing and waiting in the hot seat for Davis’ return.

On the loss side, Davis would play three matches against three of the mid-Atlantic region’s (country’s) toughest competitors; in order, Shaun Wilkie, BJ Ussery, Jr. and then, Kevin West. Upon arrival, Davis faced Wilkie, who’d lost a winners’ side quarterfinal to Brandon Shuff and then defeated Matt Krah 7-5 and Jeff Abernathy, double hill. Shuff drew BJ Ussery, who didn’t give up a rack through his first two winners’ side matches and then, was defeated by Thomas Haas 7-5. Ussery went on a six-match, loss-side winning streak to get to Shuff, which included the most recent eliminations of Steve Fleming, by shutout, and, junior competitor Nathan Childress, double hill.

Davis defeated Wilkie 7-4 and in the quarterfinals, faced Ussery, who’d given up just a single rack to Shuff. Davis ended Ussery’s loss-side streak at seven, downing him 7-2 in the quarterfinals before he and West locked up in the second-to-last double hill battle of the tournament, struggling for a seat in the finals.

Davis prevailed and walked right into the last double hill battle of the weekend in the opening set of the true double elimination final against Zippler. He won it and then, came within a game of a second double hill match, before getting out ahead and finishing it 7-5. 

It should be noted that the event was attended by a number of female competitors, veterans of the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour, most of them, including its tour director, Linda Shea, who went 2-2, finishing in the tie for 25th. The two highest female finishers were Tina Malm, who won three on the loss side before encountering Brett Stottlemeyer in the winners’ side fourth round, battling him to double hill before being sent to the loss side and finishing in the tie for 17th with a 3-2 record. And Bethany Sykes, who finished in the same position; sent to the loss side in the second round and winning two there, before being eliminated. Eugenia Gyftopoulos and Stefanie Manning also competed.

The event also featured a few junior competitors, among them Nathan Childress, who finished in the tie for 7th/8th, Brent Worth (25th) and Garrett Vaughan (33rd). 

Tour director Loye Bolyard thanked the ownership and staff at Brews & Cues for their hospitality, as well as sponsors AlleyKat Cue Sports, Bull Carbon, AZBilliards, Aramith Balls, Simonis Cloth, TAP Chesapeake Bay Region, Safe Harbor Retirement Planners and Whyte Carbon Fiber Cue Shafts. 

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Chohan & Chua Take Raleigh

Tony Chohan and Alex Pagulayan

The Brass Tap & Billiards of Raleigh, NC has a long history of hosting tournaments and this year was no exception. After a layoff since 2019 due to the pandemic, owner Richard Kuntz welcomed players and fans back to the $15,000 added Beasley Open.

Presented by Doug Beasley of Beasley Custom Cues and special sponsors PoolActionTV.com and Brass Tap & Billiards, this year’s tournament had two events – One Pocket and Open 9 Ball. 

Everywhere you looked, there were recognizable faces. Led by BCA Hall of Famer Alex Pagulayan, Tony Chohan, John Morra, Josh Roberts, Mike Davis Jr, Justin Hall, Brandon Shuff, Jason Brown and home town favorite Shane Wolford joined the fray. Can Salim, Omar Al Shaheen, Johann Chua, Carlo Biado, Robbie Capito, Kun-Lin Wu, Chia-Chen Hsieh and WPBA star Chia Hua (Amber) Chen added an international flavor to this year’s event.

Posting their $200 entry fees, the $5,000 added double elimination One Pocket division drew 48 players. Played on Diamond tables and racing to three, the finals would be one extended race to four. After the players auction and draw, the matches began.

With twelve players receiving a first round bye, Josh Roberts and Can Salim were not so fortunate. Josh survived that match 3-1 and went on to defeat Asad Khan 3-0, Justin Hall 3-1 and Brandon Shuff 3-2. On a similar path, John Morra had wins over Francesco Candela 3-1, Larry Pierce 3-2, Hunter White 3-1 and Corey Sykes 3-0. Then, in a hard fought match to reach the hot seat, Morra prevailed over Roberts 3-2.

Meanwhile, in the other portion of the bracket, Alex Pagulayan and Tony Chohan were on the march to the hot seat. After drawing a first round bye, Alex defeated Carlo Biado 3-2, Tony Pete 3-0 and Shane Wolford 3-1. Tony was the victor over Jesse Gilbert 3-2 and then skunked Robbie House 3-0, Brady Norris 3-0 and Omar Al Shaheen 3-0. He then received his own 3-0 thumping by Alex! 

The hot seat match was all Pagulayan as he beat back Morra – also 3-0. John headed west and Alex moved to the finals.

Morra watched as Chohan edged out Biado 3-2 only to be relegated to third place 3-0. Looking for revenge, Tony went to the finals.

Still on a tear, Tony sliced through Alex in under an hour winning four games  straight to claim the title. Congratulations, Tony! Good tournament, Alex!

Johann Chua and Bader Al Awadhi

The $10,000 added Nine Ball Open began on Friday night following the players auction and draw. Ninety six players posted their $150 entry fees to play. The format was alternate breaks, rack your own with the nine on the spot and the two in the back, no soft breaks and races to 9/7. 

Racing across the top half of the bracket was Johann Chua and Chia-Chen Hsieh. Playing to get to the hot seat match, Chua spanked Hsieh 9-1. The bottom portion of the bracket saw Bader Alawadhi win over John Morra 9-5. 

Hot seat action again was all Chua as he locked up his seat in the finals 9-1. Bader went to the one loss side to await an opponent. Morra defeated Roberts 7-5 and then was eliminated by the same score leaving John with another third place finish.

The finals were one extended race to thirteen. Chua rocketed out to a 7-1 lead until Alawadhi caught a gear and tied the match at eight games each! Johann finally won the next two games to reach 10-8. Bader fought back to win a couple more until his opponent pulled away to win the match 13-10. Congratulations, Johann! Good shooting, Bader!

PoolActionTV.com would like to thank Richard Kuntz and his staff for another fantastic event.

We’d also like to thank Tournament Director Jason Hill and our commentators Larry Schwartz, Jeremy Jones, Alex Pagulayan, Josh Roberts, Mary Kenniston and Ray Hansen for an excellent job.

In addition, we’d like to thank our fans and sponsors. Our sponsors include JB Cases, Hanshew Jump Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Lomax Custom Cues, Simonis, Aramith, Durbin Custom Cues, Savage Billiard Apparel, Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX and the Action Palace of Dayton, OH.

Our next event is the 4th Annual $7,500 added Big Boi Classic at Peyton’s Place in Knoxville, TN. The dates are November 18th-20th – hope to see you there!

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Round One of Pat Fleming’s International Open 9-Ball Tournament in the books

Some expected and not-so expected advances highlight Day One of the 128-entrant 9-ball event  

Surprises?

At the level of talent on display at this week’s (Oct. 28-Nov. 5) International Open in Norfolk, VA, it’s hard to single out any one match in the event’s opening round of play and call the result a surprise. One’s reaction to a given result will depend largely on an individual’s perception of the players involved and their own sense of how a match between them would play out. This, in turn, might reveal more about the person being surprised (or not) than it might about the match result.

As a random example from the International Open’s first event of the week, the $10,000-added One Pocket tournament won by T-Rex (Tony Chohan; see story elsewhere in our News). If you haven’t already seen the results, imagine the semifinal match between Sky Woodward and Fedor Gorst, won by Woodward. Surprised? 

Round one of the Open’s $50,000-added, 128-entrant 9-Ball tournament is over. We offer a short and not comprehensive list of matches from the round, and without looking it up through our links to the bracket, pick a winner, find the result and then determine whether it’s a surprise to you. An indication (J) identifies the player as a junior competitor. Results at the end of the report.

Tapei’s Hsieh Chia-Chen vs. Switzerland’s Dimitri Jungo (winner of last week’s American Straight Pool Championships in Virginia Beach)? Jesus Atencio vs. (J) Kashton Keeton? Earl Strickland vs. Taipei’s Hsuan Wei Kuo? Brandon Shuff vs. Russia’s Kristina Tkach, crowned as the Women’s 2022 Straight Pool Champion last week in Virginia Beach? Hunter Lombardo vs. Shane Wolford? BJ Ussery, Jr. vs. Chris Rienhold? Corey Deuel vs. Sharik Sayed? Poland’s Mieszko Fortunski (semifinalist at the Straight Pool Championships) vs. Matt Krah? Vietnam’s Brian Vu vs. (J) Payne McBride? Justin Martin vs. Lukas Fracasso-Verner (former J)? 

Among those whose victories in the opening round were not likely have been a surprise to anybody were: Jayson Shaw’s win over John Francisco, Spain’s David Alcaide (the last piece added to Europe’s Mosconi Cup team puzzle), who defeated USA’s Sullivan Clark 10-6, Sky Woodward’s victory (albeit, double-hill victory) over Italy’s Francesco Candela, Fedor Gorst’s win over Curucao’s Bryan Farah 10-7 and Joshua Filler’s shutout victory over USA’s Christopher Pyle. There are, of course, others who have advanced on the winners’ side, which, for purposes of brevity, we’ll restrict to those not listed above who are among the top 10 in our Money Leaderboard: Spain’s Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, Greece’s Alex Kazakis, Austria’s Albin Ouschan and the Philippines’ Roberto Gomez.

Among the key matchups highlighting Round Two today (Tuesday, Nov. 1) will be 6 p.m. battles between Alex Kazakis and veteran US competitor Raymond Linares, junior competitor Joey Tate’s matchup against Kuwait’s Abdullah Alyousef, Sanchez-Ruiz versus Justin Martin,  Roberto Gomez against Alex Pagulayan and junior competitor Payne McBride taking on Straight Pool Championship runner-up, Mieszko Fortunski. At 8 p.m., Albin Oushcan will take on Thorsten Hohmann, David Alcaide faces Josh Roberts, Hungary’s Vilmos Foldes will go up against Taipei’s Ko Pin Yi, and the winner of the Strickland/Hsuan Wei Kuo match (revealed below) versus Taipei’s Hsieh Chia-Chen (all 8 p.m.). At 10 p.m., Round Two’s winners’ bracket will continue with Tony Chohan against last week’s Straight Pool Championship runner-up Wiktor Zielinski, Jayson Shaw will meet the winner of the Shuff/Tkach match (revealed below), Ralf Souquet will go up against BJ Ussery, Alex Pagulayan will take on Roberto Gomez and Sanchez-Ruiz will battle Justin Martin. 

(‘Surprise?’ results from above: Junior competitor Kashton Keeton defeated Jesus Atencio 10-6,  Strickland got by Wei Kuo 10-5, Taipei’s Chia-Chen sent Dimitri Jungo to the loss side 10-7, Shuff beat Tkach 10-8, Lombardo over Wolford 10-6. Ussery over Reinhold 10-9, Sayed downs Deuel 10-6, Fortunski gets by Krah 10-7, Junior competitor Payne McBride defeats Brian Vu 10-2 and Justin Martin moves on with a double hill win over Lukas Fracasso-Verner.) 

Fans can watch not only the featured table with full commentary, but also any other table at the event with the Accu-Stats PPV coverage. They can also follow all of the action online with real-time scoring and online brackets all week long.

PPV Coverage
One Pocket Stage One Online Brackets
One Pocket Stage Two Online Brackets
Big Foot 10-Ball Brackets
9-Ball Brackets
Real Time Scoring

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Wolford Upsets Gomez at International Open One Pocket Event

Shane Wolford

Day one is complete at the International Open’s One Pocket Division at the Sheraton Waterside in Norfolk, Virginia, and returning champion Roberto Gomez is going to have his hands full as he tries to defend his One Pocket title from last year from the one loss side. Gomez ran into young gun Shane Wolford in both of their first matches for the day on Friday and Wolford showed why he is in just about every Mosconi Cup prognosticator’s mind. 

Wolford took a 2-0 lead with steady intelligent One Pocket play, and Gomez found himself on his heels looking for a new approach. Possibly thinking he had a bigger advantage in a tactical moving game, Gomez slowed things down and dared the youngster from nearby Roanoke to take on shots. Gomez won rack three but was not able to control a late game wedge up-table and Wolford won game four to send last year’s winner to the left side of the board. 

Wolford will take on Gomez’s countryman Carlo Biado Saturday at 2pm, while Gomez will start his day with German youngster Moritz Neuhausen at noon. 

Other top seeds who emerged from Friday undefeated include such notables as Alex Pagulayan, Tony Chohan, Josh Roberts, Sky Woodward, Omar Al-Shaheen, Fedor Gorst, Lee Van Corteza, Corey Deuel and Roland Garcia. Notables on the one loss side include Dee Adkins, Brandon Shuff, Lukas Fracasso-Verner, Anthony Meglino and  fan favorite Mike Sigel. 

Fans can watch not only the featured table with full commentary, but also any other table at the event with the Accu-Stats PPV coverage. They can also follow all of the action online with real-time scoring and online brackets all week long. 

PPV Coverage
Online Brackets
Real Time Scoring

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Carlo Biado Starts US Open Defense In Style

Carlo Biado (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)

Carlo Biado got the defense of his US Open Pool Championship title off to the best of starts as he won two from two on the opening day of play at Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City to reach Winners’ Qualification.

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The Filipino cueist followed in the footsteps of the great Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes to clinch last year’s title against Aloysius Yapp and a routine 9-1 over Dalibor Nikolin of Serbia meant he avoided an early banana skin before overcoming the returning Kristina Tkach by the same scoreline to be only one match away from the single elimination stage when he faces Joven Bustamante in Winners’ Qualification on Wednesday.

Pool’s most historic major returned for a second year to New Jersey as fans poured in to see the world’s best in the 256-player field competing for a slice of the $300,000 prize fund and they were not disappointed as number eight seed Alexander Kazakis got pushed to the Losers’ side at the hands of Jesus Atencio

Two-time Matchroom event winner this season Joshua Filler booked his place in Winners’ Qualification after wins over Jeffrey Kennedy and Sharik Sayed whilst Fedor Gorst‘s return to the Nineball Arena was convincing with victories against Coen Bell and Aleksa Pecelj with the latter making him sweat 9-7.

Elsewhere, former champion Jayson Shaw made lightwork of Vincent Beaurivage and Joshua Roberts to be one away from the Last 64 whilst it was a similar story for fellow Brit Chris Melling who overcame Samuel Disse running five racks along the way 9-1, and Billy Thorpe 9-3.

Subscribers on Matchroom Pool socials got to see one of the rounds of the first round so far to end the day as Skyler Woodward and Jeff De Luna were at loggerheads for the distance as the former ran out on top in the final rack with a 4-9 combo to seal a passage to Winners Qualification.

Badar Alawadhi, Imran Majid, and Dimitri Jungo are among some of the names who will have to fight through the losers bracket to make their way into the Last 64 after defeats on day one whilst 38 players went home after back-to-back defeats.

Acton returns from 10 am ET tomorrow morning with Eklent Kaçi and Long Nguyen before World Champion Shane Van Boening gets his campaign underway to secure a sixth US Open crown underway against Joey Tate live on the Matchroom Pool Facebook Page at 11:30 am ET. Table 2 begins with Johann Chua against Brandon Shuff before Wiktor Zielinski takes on Tyrel Blowers.

From Monday, 10 October to Thursday, 13 October fans will be able to enjoy the action globally on the Matchroom Pool Facebook and YouTube pages as well as Matchroom.Live with two tables streamed. Fans in China can enjoy all the action on our Weibo page.

The final two days will be live on Sky Sports in the UK, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Spain, and Italy as well as Viaplay in Scandinavia, the Baltics and Poland, and other broadcasters worldwide which can be found here including on Matchroom.Live in countries without a broadcaster.

A range of ticket packages are available including an event pass giving you access to all six days of action for only $155, a saving of up to $55. A premium event pass gives you reserved front two seats for the single-elimination stage at $205. Limited seats are available for the final day.

Ticket Types – BUY TICKETS HERE

Fans can also take advantage of our exclusive room rate. Stay side-by-side with the stars of pool at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City.

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All tickets are subject to booking and processing fees.

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