This year’s event began on Wednesday night with the One Ball One Pocket mini. Fourteen players posted a $200 entry fee to play in this single elimination tournament with races to four and alternate breaks.
Using a sixteen man bracket, Billy Thorpe and Derek Pogirski received the coveted first round byes. Also advancing out of the first round were current Buffalo’s Pro One Pocket champ Evan Lunda, Danny Smith, Marty Sawinski, Sergio Rivas, Sam Campbell and Jeremy Seaman. Jeremy survived a 4-3 squeaker over the always tough Redgie Cutler.
Second round action saw Campbell eliminate Pogirski and Thorpe beat Sawinski. Smith and Lunda duked it out – final score in both matches was 4-3 with Evan and Sergio taking the win.
Thorpe edged out Lunda and Rivas defeated Campbell in the third round. Billy and Sergio met in the finals with Thorpe taking it down with a 4-0 blowout.
The main event kicked off on Thursday evening as 31 players paid a $300 entry to compete in this double elimination event. Format was alternate break and races to three on both sides with one extended race to five in the finals.
Play began immediately following the players auction, players meeting and draw.
Aaron Toth drew the bye in the opening round and one notable match saw Rivas surviving 3-2 over Smith. All eyes in the second round were on the Tony Chohan-Evan Lunda match. Lunda took the win 3-1. Third round action saw identical 3-1 scores – Thorpe over Seaman, Issa Eadeh beat Marc Hosler, Lunda defeated Cutler and Rivas notched the win over Brian Butler.
Down to four on the winners side, Lunda skunked Rivas 3-0 and Thorpe edged out Eadeh 3-2. Lunda and Thorpe moved into the hot seat match with Lunda locking up his seat in the finals 3-1.
On the one loss side of the chart, Danny Smith went on a tear after losing a tough match in the first round. He eliminated Jason Minda 3-2, Toth 3-0 and Lawrence Everson, Cutler, Brian Butler and Eadeh – all with a 3-1 score.
On the lower portion of the bracket was Chohan who mowed through the field after losing his second round match. Down went Erik Beauchamp and Darin Ledbetter – both 3-1. Next to fall were Seaman and Mosler – both 3-0. Tony then faced Sergio and escaped with a 3-2 win.
No strangers to each other as both claim Buffalo’s in New Orleans as their home room, Chohan and Smith scratched and clawed their way through the next match. Chohan eliminated Smith with a score of 3-2 – Danny finished in fourth place.
Waiting for Chohan was Thorpe. They also duked it out and playing down to the last ball, Chohan knocked out Thorpe 3-2 and moved into the finals. Billy ended up in third place.
Red hot, Tony quickly won the first two games in the extended race to five. Evan won the next game to make it 2-1 but he always trailed – 3-2, 4-2 and 4-3 until Tony closed out the match 5-3 and took the title!
What an event! PoolActionTV.com would like to thank Issa Eadeh, his family and staff for rolling out the red carpet for both players and fans.
Thanks to Tournament Director Ray Hansen and his able assistant, Jason Hill, for an excellent job.
We’d also like to thank Larry Schwartz, Brian Butler, Frenchy Lunda and Ray Hansen for their topnotch commentary.
Special thanks to Joe Long who always contributes to one pocket prize funds all over the country! Much appreciated!
And, last but not least, thanks to all our fans and sponsors! Our sponsors include JB Cases, Hanshew Jump Cues, Lomax Custom Cues, Savage Billiards, Durbin Custom Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Bull Carbon, Aramith, Simonis, the Action Palace of Dayton, OH and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX.
Our next event is the Chohan vs Thorpe One Pocket Champions Challenge at Bayou Billiards in Baton Rouge, LA. Dates are April llth-13th – hope to see you there!
All year long, one pocket aficionados look forward to the biggest tournament of the year!
Held in Jefferson, LA, a suburb of New Orleans, players and fans streamed into James Leone’s Buffalo’s on Bloomfield for the Seventh Annual Buffalo’s Pro Classic. Local sponsors for this year’s event – Buffalo’s, PoolActionTV, Lomax Custom Cues, Joseph P. Long, Aramith, ART CO, Diamond Billiards and Fort Worth Billiards – added a total of $26,000! $20,000 was added to the Pro One Pocket, $5,000 to the Open Nine Ball and $1,000 to the One Ball One Pocket.
Some of the best one pocket players came to play including Buffalo’s house pro, defending champ and current US Open One Pocket and Midwest Open One Pocket champ Tony Chohan.He was joined by current Scotty Townsend Memorial One Pocket champ Alex Pagulayan, current Iron City One Pocket champ Josh Roberts, this year’s Derby City One Pocket and Master of the Table Fedor Gorst, last week’s Big Tyme Classic One Pocket Champ Robert Frost and last year’s One Ball One Pocket king John Morra.
Billy Thorpe and Robbie Langford
Wednesday night kicked off with the 32 player One Ball One Pocket tournament. Posting a $200 entry fee, the format was single elimination with races to four. Including the players auction, there was a total purse of $21,430!
Two-time Derby City Classic One Pocket champion, Billy Thorpe, plowed through the field on his way to the finals leaving Shane Winters, Hunter White, Josh Roberts and John Morra in his wake. The always tough Robbie Langford beat Kenny Nguyen, Mike DeLawder, Ike Runnels and Evan Lunda to get there. The final match was all Billy as he smoked Robbie 4-0 to claim the title. Congratulations, Billy! Good tournament, Robbie!
The following evening, the $2,000 entry fee double elimination one pocket event began with a rousing player auction and was followed by the players meeting and draw. Twenty eight players racing to five and competing for a record $228,600 total purse! WOW!!!
Play began with Corey Deuel edging out Justin Hall 5-4 while Fedor Gorst skunked Sky Woodward 5-0. Ike Runnels had Danny Smith down 4-0 but ended up losing the match 5-4! Josh Roberts outmoved Roberto Gomez 5-1 and Billy Thorpe escaped with a 5-4 win over Robert Frost as did Scott Frost over Alex Calderon by the same score. Chip Compton got off to a great start as he defeated Warren Kiamco 5-1.
Gorst won over Deuel 5-4, Evan Lunda spanked Earl Strickland 5-0 and Chohan beat Smith 5-3. Jeremy Seaman skunked Omar Al Shaheen 5-0 and Thorpe dusted Compton 5-2. Frost had Alex Pagulayan 3-0 and watched his opponent win five in a row to claim the match.
Fedor and Evan went down to the wire with Gorst claiming the win while Tony breezed past Jeremy 5-0. Billy started out strong against the Lion but he went down 5-2.
Down to four on the winners side, Chohan battled Gorst to a 5-3 win while Roberts kept Pagulayan off the board with a 5-0 score. Tony and Josh moved to the hot seat match where Chohan sent Roberts west to await an opponent – score 5-1.
After losing to Gorst in the third round, Lunda defeated Mike DeLawder 5-1 and Compton 5-3. Moving into his match with Pagulayan, he hung tough but Alex pulled out the win 5-4.
Calderon had a tougher road. After losing his first match, he beat Deuel 5-1, Strickland 5-2, Hunter White 5-4 and Thorpe 5-3. He went down to the case game with Gorst but was eliminated 5-4.
This set up the match between Fedor and Alex Pagulayan. A man on a mission, he defeated Gorst 5-1 and then Josh Roberts 5-2. And to the finals he went!!!
Since this was true double elimination, Alex would have to beat Tony Chohan both sets to claim the title. With tens of thousands of dollars on the line, both players put their heads down and played their hearts out.
Alex won the first two games and then Tony won three in a row. Tied again at 4-4, you could’ve heard a pin drop in the arena. Nerves got them both as they both missed makeable balls but this one is finally in the books! Tony Chohan successfully defended his title!
Alex Pagulayan and Tony Chohan
Congratulations, Tony! Great tournament, Alex!
While the Pro One Pocket was in progress, 115 players filled the house on Saturday night to play in the Open Nine Ball event. Familiar faces such as defending champ Warren Kiamco, Sky Woodward, Roberto Gomez, Corey Deuel, Omar Al Shaheen, Justin Hall, Chip Compton, Charlie Bryant, Chris Reinhold, James Baraks, Richie Richeson, Robb Saez, Shane Winters, Jeremy Seaman, Sergio Rivas, Mike DeLawder, Justin Espinosa, Joey Aguzin, Derek Fontenet, Robert Frost and Kristina Tkach joined the fray.
Played on seven foot Diamonds, players paid $100 to play in this double elimination portion of the event. The format was rack your own, alternate breaks with races to seven until down to the final sixteen players. At that point, it was single elimination – races to nine.
Omar Al Shaheen and Jeremy Seaman tied for third place. James Baraks moved into the finals to face Sky Woodward.
The finals were neck and neck until the very end! Sky won the match 9-8!!! Congratulations, Sky!! Good tournament, James!
It was a helluva week! Great pool everywhere you looked! Once again, PoolActionTV would like to thank James Leone and his staff for going the extra mile as they took care of all the players and fans.
We’d like to thank Tournament Director Jason Hill for doing a great job running the show – always with a smile on his face!
Last but not least, we’d like to thank our fans and sponsors. They include ART CO, JB Cases, CR’s Sports Bar, Hanshew Jump Cues, EnviroAssessments, Lomax Custom Cues, StraightPoolEye, Durbin Custom Cues, Aramith, Simonis, Diamond Billiard Products and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore.
Our next stop is Leisure Time Billiards & Sports Bar in East Moline, IL for the $16,000 added Bar Box Classic featuring three divisions – Ten Ball, Eight Ball and One Pocket. Dates are June 1st-5th – hope to see you there!
Skyler got off to a sketchy start against his new Mosconi Cup Vice-Captain Joey Gray. It was easy to see the comfort and camaraderie between the, supposed, opponents. But, that didn’t mean they weren’t out there to win.
Skyler did squeak by to take the first rack, it was while getting to 7 balls to 6 in the second, his cue ball, instead of kicking the dangling orb out of Joey’s pocket, forced him to give it to him.
He then left a loose safety on the deciding orb. Gray drowned it off the short rail. 1-1.
That woke Skyler up. No more mister nice guy. Sorry coach, it’s time to show you what I got! 3-1.
Jayson’s formidable run-out reputation preceded him. James Aranas was in total defense mode throughout their match. And, every time he could have played aggressively, and didn’t, it cost him. When he thought he’d left Shaw safe, Jayson always found something, either to lock Aranas up or, make a crowd pleaser and regain control of the table.
A 2-0, and 5 balls, Jayson got a cold roll. After driving home a very missable ball down the long rail, his cueball barely passed the cluster he was attempting to open, and scratched.
He dropped back to 4 balls. Aranas had whitey-in-hand in the kitchen.
He made 2 and got a little bit unlucky himself. While negotiating opening a cluster, he ended welded. James could have taken the aggressive route, but chose to nudge into the balls where, normally, they would be considered safe. Not with Shaw.
Jayson, masterfully, banked in a ball from nowhere, created the required shape and closed out the match 3-0.
Bustamante and Morra were next in the pit.
Django doesn’t jangle. He’s as solid as rock when under the lights of the Accu-Stats Arena.
A scratch cost Morra the 2nd game. Bustey, confident in his long banks off the short rail, had to throw it slightly to ensure not selling out if he missed. His finesse helped the ball, silently, drop into the hole.
He couldn’t quite get them all.
Aggressive as always, John got creative and banked a combo into his pocket while securing his cueball in the stack. He had an insurance ball on the rail near his pocket. As he was jacked-up in the stack he couldn’t do much.
Morra erred again and, in one shot, reversed the position of power.
Bustey did what he does. He ran the required balls to move on to his next opponent. 3-1.
Chris, admittedly, can’t “move.” But, like Shaw, he sure can nick into the rack setting up a few balls at a time to create opportunity for a run out. Like the “old school” straight pool players, he’ll chip away until he gets insurance balls where he wants them, then caramba, 8 and out!
Alex, unexpectedly, had missed a few balls that allowed Melling to apply the chipping principle and tie the match at 2.
Chris, confident now, closed in on the last rack with such a sublime example of cueball control and finesse that he had Alex perplexed. How could this happen? Oh, he knows, They are both fine snooker players, in fact, Chris had a snooker tour card.
it seems that great pool is evolving to combine disciplines. That’s why, now, there is Chinese 8-Ball: Pool, with Cyclop Balls, played on a 9 foot snooker table…with the biggest prize money in our sport.
Efren, possibly tired too, ran into nemeses Danny Smith and Justin Bergman. Brutal! Reyes had moments but the momentum was with his very worthy opponents. Alas, no 7th title, at least not this year.
Filler sent Jeffrey De Luna home, Omar Al Shaheen, still on a roll, took care of Corey, Skyler gave Alex his first loss, Jayson continued and removed Tom DeRuyter, Roberto Gomez broke Gary Abood to face a man he’s never beaten – at One Pocket anyway – Dennis Orcollo.
Still brandishing the intimidating Superman logo on his chest, Roberto turned out to be Dennis’ kryptonite.
Two and a half hours into the match, in the final game, intentional fouls, et al, had the score bounce from Dennis with 5 balls to 3, then to 4 games to 1. Then, 5-3, again.
With 4 fouled spheres stacked on top of each other on the spot, Dennis, while making the bottom ball on the tower, then scratched, 2 rails in the corner.
Now there were 6 balls on the spot with a loose one not too far from Superman’s hole.
Roberto stepped into the kitchen…and nailed it to the back of the pocket. Plus, he stroked it so accurately, he had shape on the lowest ball in the skyscraper. In that went, with a little inside english to tickle the stacked balls into playable position.
No mercy: Gomez wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip by. 3-2.
Filler and Oklahoma sharpshooter Chip Compton closed out the evening.
Joshua, relied on his Straight Pool pattern play, bank power, and shotmaking to move 2-1 ahead.
Chip knows the game and knows Joshua. So, he wasn’t shocked to have fallen a game behind 1-2.
In game 4, Filler took on a loose position play and left Compton an easy starter. Chip could see at least 3 but, how to get 8? That’s the goal, 8.
Brilliantly, that’s how. He maneuvered the Cyclop around the Diamond, breaking clusters and sniping stragglers like a marksman on steroids. 2-2!
In the decider, within minutes Filler had the momentum. A nice bank got him started. A few more left a courageous cut. As the cueball kissed off the rack, two more were into his pocket. A slow, cross-corner crept in, while leaving whitey at the top rail.
There was one lonely ball sat near the stack. He let his cueball loose to stop dead, defensively, behind the remaining 7 ball cluster. 3 rails later the projectile dropped into his pocket.
Goodnight.
More great One-Pocket at NOON, and 6pm, Thursday.
DIAMOND 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP
They’re off but not much to report yet.
We’ll have plenty tomorrow.
FRIDAY NIGHT BANKS RING GAME
Derby’s most casual assembly of the no safeties allowed, murderer’s row bankers clash in the winner-take-all bloodfest.
Alex Pagulayan (Photo courtesy of David Thomson – Mediumpool.com)
Derby City Classic XXI, January 25 – February 2nd, 2019
LIVE from the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Casino, Elizabeth IN.
DIAMOND DCC ONE POCKET CHAMPIONSHIP
410 entrants are now culled to 7.
Alex Pagulayan is one of them. As the 2016 One-Pocket winner, Alex is ready to reinstate his status as the best one-hole strategist around. Being, singularly, undefeated adds to his odds.
He closed out the night of the Accu-Stats TV coverage with a convincing win over Florida’s Anthony Meglino. 3-1.
Meglino, a tall, streak of a man, had just upset the flow chart by freezing Scott Frost.
Alex, in the previous round, ousted Justin Bergman who had been given his first loss by last year’s Master of the Table, Francisco Bustamante.
Banks runner-up Omar Al Shaheen, still on a roll, chilled Tony Chohan. Later, Omar was cornered by Corey Deuel, in round 10, his run was ended by Van Boening who continued to round 11.
At around midnight, Alex showed Shane the buyback booth.
After his loss to Omar, Chohan drove Hohmann to buy back, then, ended Woodward’s aspirations.
Tony’s confrontation with Corey, the DCC two time Banks Champion, didn’t end well. Neither did Orcollo’s, who had just enabled Kevin Cheng to concentrate on his game of choice, 9-Ball.
Danny Smith, who finished 5th in Banks, had an incredible early morning meeting with John Schmidt. His power banking ability totally reversed positions that John had considered safe.
Danny was handed his first loss by Corey, and as the day continued, beat Bustey. Then, maybe the upset of the day, he faced Fedor Gorst.
Gorst has to be considered in the most improved category. His actions exited the well respected Evan Lunda, the aforementioned Smith, and lastly, grazed the other very much improved one-holer, Roberto Gomez.
Bustamante, in round 11, moved Hohmann homeward
So, we are at 7: Pagulayan with two lives, Van Boening, Bustamante, Deuel, Gomez, Gorst, and Orcullo in the win or walk division.
One Pocket matches, concluding with the Finals, will air at accu-stats.com
DIAMOND DCC 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP
407 entrants; Another attendance record broken!
140 are left with 47 of them having buy-backs.
Race to 9. 3 balls, minus those pocketed, must make the kitchen on the break.
Johnny continued his assault after bludgeoning Morra by bouncing Brumback to the booth. Mika Immonen mandated that Bustey buy back, then ran into Albanian bulldozer Eklent Kaci. Mika had to pay a visit to the buy-back booth.
James Aranas snuck up on Jayson Shaw, John Schmidt won the Deuel duel, Filler applied his killer on Ralf, while Sky Woodward changed Chinakhov’s chances.
The All-Around points are mounting. Thorpe, Al Shaheen, and Bustamante leading the hunt with Deuel, Orcollo, and Woodward hot on the trail.
Much more to come.
View the remaining matches at accu-stats.com
THE DCC Friday Night BANKS RING GAME
Hosted by the inimitable Truman Hogue, the most boisterous Bank Pool Party on earth will challenge the world’s best to a winner-take-all funfest.
Warming up at 50 bucks a ball, you can be assured that by night’s end, in search of a winner, the all-in finalists will play for, at least, $500 a ball.
Format: Race to 11, single elimination, alternate break, all balls count, 10-ball on the break is spotted.
Taiwan’s Jung-Lin Chang Captures the Diamond BIG Foot Challenge
In true Derby City spirit, the race was on. Joshua Filler, the younger steed broke loose to streak ahead 4-0. Jung-Lin Chang, the senior, more experienced work horse, paced himself. In the second stretch he charged ahead to 7-5.
As they jockeyed back and forth, it was neck-and-neck as they neared the finish line. At 9-9, opportunity appeared and the well-seasoned veteran, calm and composed, closed out the set. At 11 games to 9, he had secured the prestigious Diamond BIG Foot title.
Jung-Lin Chang’s exemplary accomplishment established his reputation as one of the most formidable pro players competing today. OK, the Diamond BIG Foot Challenge takes only four matches to win but look at his Accu-stats’ Total Performance Averages (TPA): .922 in the final with Filler, his gutsy .930 gouged Gorst in the semi’s, a brutal .933 battered Van Boening, and a mere .883 in his opening encounter with the irrepressible Albanian Eklent Kaci. And, let’s not forget, this was Chang’s first sniff at Big Foot.
And what about Filler? He slipped to .888 in the finals after an unprecedented .956 that demonstrated a truly lionhearted assault on the dangerous Dennis Orcullo. He dipped to .850 with Bustey and began his crash course with a crushing .919 against Corteza. Three legendary Filipinos and Filler manifested not a sliver of fear, just sheer dominance compounded by inner belief.
Chang’s semifinal encounter with last year’s finalist Fedor Gorst was easier than he expected. He strode to the hill at 10-5. The young, resilient Russian managed a couple more before being eliminated at 11-7. Gorst was the first to admit that he had struggled, today. His, normally, fierce determination had eluded him.
Filler’s command of Orcollo, which opened today’s proceedings, was the finest demonstration of pool prowess in recent years. His aforementioned .956 TPA was garnered by eight break-and-runs, plus, when Dennis broke dry, Joshua ran two more: 10 of his 11 games were run-outs.
His pace around the table was also unprecedented. It was like he hadn’t planned to be in the finals and had a plane to catch to the next event. Then, in contrast, if his cueball fell just slightly out of perfect line on the nine to ease closing position on the 10, he would pause, reflect for a minute, consciously refocus, then calmly pocket the virtually unmissable balls. Maybe he had realized, Oh yeah, I’m at the Derby. The next tournament is here.
Jung-Lin, on the other hand, has a pace so concentrated that he almost always chooses the correct strategy and pattern of play.
Their match had begun where Filler left off with Orcollo, he broke and ran the first rack and was soon ahead 4-0 with a 1.000 TPA. As was translated in Jung-Lin’s post-match interview, ”I knew to be patient. Not to rush.” Perhaps, he was also aware of the mesmerizing trap of copying your opponent’s pace.
Speaking of traps, in one instance, he actually snared Joshua. Chang had made 4 balls on the break. Being frozen against a ball, he was snookered. He pushed out to offer Joshua a make-able long shot. Perhaps, by observing his young opponent’s predilection to be at the table at all costs, he sensed that Joshua couldn’t resist the temptation to shoot. And shoot he did. The trap was that simple shape was impossible. Joshua made the difficult ball but now had an even more demanding shot than the previous one. Filler missed. That move contributed to Chang’s string of 6 games to move from down 1-5 to 7-5 ahead.
Filler, unfazed, found the inner strength to capture the next 3, and he’s 8-7. Then, 8-8, 9-8, 9-9 and, with Joshua breaking, the well was dry.
Emotionless, Chang’s deliberate pause after every shot delivered one of the most nail-biting two-rack finishes ever recorded. He pocketed balls that would have brought out the dog in most. Instead, he mustered the stud.
In his closing comments, Jung-Lin added that he wanted to thank Adrian of Cyclop Balls for sponsoring his trip and the opportunity to experience the Derby, the biggest and most challenging Pro Pool tournament in the world. He has 5 more grueling, dawn-to-dawn days. Stay tuned, we’ll keep you posted on his progress.
BANK POOL CHAMPIONSHIP
Race to 3, 9-Ball–Short Rack, $10,000 first place prize:
From a record-setting 505 entrants, we are now down to four.
The day began with 17.
Round 10 was a bloodfest that gutted some of the most killer Bank Pool players in the world.
Round 11 had Al Shaheen shutout Shaw, Thorpe throttled Aranas, Sky Woodward wounded Chinakhov (he still has a buy-back), Roberts melted Melling, and Smith ousted Orcullo.
Round 12. Roberts bettered Smith, Thorpe thumped Woodward.
Round 13. Billy Thorpe played some of the most devastating Banks Skyler has experienced as a pro. “I missed two balls and lost 3-0. Billy ran 5-and-out on me…twice! And now I have to play him again?” Not only that, Billy has a buy-back.
Round 14: Woodward vs, Thorpe. Josh Roberts will play Omar (who is this Guy?) Al Shaheen. Actually, we know Omar as a previous 9-Ball competitor. He teaches Bank Pool in Kuwait but has no competition there. He sure has it here.
The Semi’s and Finals will air on accu-stats.com at 7pm. EDT.
ONE POCKET CHAMPIONSHIP
410 entrants are underway. Not too much big-name encounters other than, Billy Thorpe has given Justin Hall his first loss. Ditto, as Kaci defeated Immonen.
One Pocket matches will air on accu-stats.com at NOON. EDT.
THE GEORGE FELS MEMORIAL STRAIGHT POOL CHALLENGE is streaming at billiardnet.tv, today!
The high-run contest is underway manned by 14.1 aficionados Dennis Walsh and Bill Maropulis. Bob Jewett, the event creator, has generously supplied healthy refreshments. Pool players sometimes forget to eat.
The 8 highest runs will compete in a single elimination play-off to determine the champion.
Josh Roberts (Photo courtesy of Chris Lue, Next Action Media)
James Davis, Jr., “Junior”, of Austin, Texas, went undefeated in a 128-player field, to win the Space City Open VII, open 9-ball title, becoming the second player to win it twice. Josh “The Beast” Roberts not only defended his one pocket title, but finished second in banks, and thirty-third in the 9-ball, earning himself the “All-Around” title, and a hefty $1,500 bonus. First-time competitor, Evan Lunda of Detroit, Michigan, cleaned up in the 32-player, 9-ball banks division, going hill-hill with only a single opponent. In the 32-player, ladies 9-ball, Ming “The Empress” Ng redeemed herself in the second set of the true, double elimination final, securing her second title, and becoming the first, two-time winner in this division. Nine junior players, including eight young men, and one young lady, traveled from across Texas to compete in their very own division. Lazaro “Little Laz” Martinez, III, of San Antonio, Texas, went undefeated in this category, earning the first win in this division debut.
This year’s $7,500 added, Space City Open VII, was held December 6th-9th, 2018, and implemented a number of positive changes, including a $1,500 All-Around bonus, and a seventeen-and-under, juniors 9-ball division. In its seventh year, the “derby-like” event, now hosting five divisions over four days, was also held at a brand new venue. Big Tyme Billiards in Spring, Texas, stepped up to host, generously adding $4,000 to the purse, providing twenty Diamond bar tables and six nine foot tables, on which to compete. Twenty-six, brand new, Cyclop “Zeus” ball sets, and Accu-Racks by Outsville, were provided by Space City. The bar tables were a popular change from the eight foot tables used in previous years (for the open 9-ball division), and the format changes for one pocket and banks were also a huge hit. These divisions were still held on nine foot tables, but in a single elimination format as opposed to double, and the consensus was clear. Players loved the expediency, along with the added pressure and intensity of the “one-and-done” arrangement. For the first time, all divisions filled, with players on stand-by.
The open 9-ball division presented a monstrous, challenging field, played on the great equalizer; the bar table. On the road to victory, James Davis, Jr. defeated Matt Williams, Charlie Bryant, 9-8, Evan Lunda, 9-8, and Shelby Green, 9-5, to reach the winners’ side final eight. Espinosa logged wins over Angelina Dean, 9-1, Marshal Ward, 9-2, Eric Aicinena, 9-4, and Victor Rojas, 9-7, while Danny Smith defeated Mike Landry, 9-2, Colton Berzins, 9-1, John Morra, 9-5, and Mike Alonzo, 9-8. Jamie Baraks made quick work of Beto Cavazos, 9-3, Rick Moreno, 9-3, David Thomas, 9-7, and Shane McMinn, 9-4. Houston’s Andy Jethwa passed Grady Cooper, 9-1, Mark Galicia, 9-5, Sylver Ochoa, 9-8, and Corey Flud, 9-6. Richie Richeson ousted Alan Myers, Jerry Miller, 9-8, David Chow, and Billy “Big Tyme” Sharp, 9-4, while Alex Calderone overcame Chase Wheeler, 9-2, Ricki Casper, 9-6, Aaron Springs, 9-7, and Germany’s Can Salim, 9-8. On the one loss side and in the money, Kenneth Price upset Chris Robinson, 7-5, and bested Flud, 7-7, while Morra topped Curt Sheldon, 7-3, and Shelby Green, 7-2. Bryant subdued Angel Mentzel, but fell to Sharp by the same score, 7-2. Galicia upended Aicinena, 7-4, but fell to Salim, 7-2, while Moreno won an impressive five matches, ousting Springs, 7-3, and Rojas, 7-4. Following a second round loss to Morra, Ernesto Bayaua made a phenomenal comeback, securing five matches, including wins over Derek Fontenot, 7-3, and Poon, 7-0. Jesus Atencio, on a similar mission, marked up five on the one loss side, among the ruins, Reginal Samples, 7-1, and Alonzo, 7-5. Jimmy Krone racked up five victories on the one loss side, but was stopped by Ochoa, 7-4. Ochoa was taken out by McMinn, 7-6, wrapping up top sixteen action. Back on the east side, Espinosa throttled Perez, 9-1, Baraks triumphed over Smith, 9-7, while Davis, Jr. snuck by Jethwa, 9-7, and Calderone inched by Richeson, 9-8. Espinosa squeaked by Baraks, 9-8, and Davis Jr. served it up cold to Calderone, 9-4. The hot seat match-up marked an Austin-area shoot-out, and a short-lived set for Espinosa, who sustained his first blow from Davis, Jr., 9-5. On the west side, Morra took a stand, ending Price, 7-3, and Perez, 7-2, while Salim took out heavy hitters Sharp, 7-3, and Smith, 7-2. Bayaua recorded his seventh win on the one loss side, ending Moreno, 7-1, and Jethwa, 7-3. Ochoa finished off Atencio, 7-3, but fell to Richeson, 7-5. Salim went on to defeat Morra, 7-5, and Calderone, 7-3, while Bayaua buried Richeson and Baraks, 7-3. Bayaua registered his ninth win, but no more. Winning the case game against Bayaua, Salim secured his sixth win, and slid into third place. Espinosa was ready for Salim, but got off to a slow start. At a 6-3 deficit, Espinosa came back to win, 7-6, earning himself a second shot at Junior, and the title. Once again, Espinosa found himself in troubled waters, as Davis was in perfect rhythm with the table, and couldn’t be denied. Davis Jr. surged to a 9-3 win, and his second 9-ball title since the inception of Space City.
In the one pocket division, Josh Roberts took no prisoners, eliminating Charlie Bryant, Jamie Baraks, and Chris Robinson, 4-3, while Alex Calderone defeated Greg Trent, Jim McCary, and Sylver Ochoa, 4-2. Local favorite, Richie Richeson, defeated Marc Garza and Manny Perez, by the same score, 4-1, and John Morra, 4-1. Ernesto Bayaua rounded out the final four, booking wins over Bobby Roland, Aaron Springs, 4-3, and Evan Lunda. In the final four round, Roberts shut-out Calderone, 4-0, and Richeson slid past Bayaua, 4-3. For the first time, Richeson found himself at the end of the board, facing the defending champion. The pressure was on, as both players were in close running for the All-Around bonus. In the final, numerous games came down to the case ball. The fans were treated to an offensive juggernaut; a display of maneuvers and banks, not soon forgotten, but even the creativity of the venerable Richeson, was not enough. With an accounting of two, eight-and-out runs, Roberts was up 3-2, with one ball remaining in game six. Following an unforced error by Richeson, Roberts took it home, along with his second, Space City Open one pocket title.
Evan Lunda was in charge of the banks. The Detroit product eliminated Jim Walker, 4-0, Danny Smith, 4-3, and Jose Barbosa, 4-1. His upcoming challenger, Shane McMinn, took out Mike Alonzo, Gail Eaton and James Davis, Jr. by the same score, 4-2. Josh Roberts overwhelmed Marc Garza, 4-1, Kent Berthelot, 4-0, and John Morra, 4-1, while Richie Richeson completed the final four, with wins over Bret Harlan, 4-0, Jamie Baraks, 4-2, and Justin Hall, 4-3. Lunda ended McMinn, 4-2, and Roberts robbed Richeson, 4-1. Lunda and Roberts found themselves in their first, banks final, vying for new milestones; Lunda, aiming for his first title, and Roberts, going for first-time champion of two different divisions. Lunda’s casual style showcased epic moves, and wowed spectators as he banked his way to victory. He shut out Roberts in the final of the single elimination schedule, 4-0, to win his first Space City Open title.
On Sunday morning, thirty-two women started battling it out in the ladies 9-ball division. The 2013 ladies 9-ball division champion, Ming “The Empress” Ng, began her trek with wins over Terri Resendez, 7-2, two-time ladies 9-ball champion, Gail “Virginia Slim” Eaton, 7-6, and Kim “Texas Heat” Pierce, 7-1, as Robyn Petrosino plowed through Ruth Paine, 7-0, Brittany Kromer, 7-3, and Teresa “Princess of Pool” Garland, 7-1. Yvonne “Casher” Asher made her way to the cash, defeating Karen Reilly, Tam “MZ Tam” Trinh, 7-3, and Jillian Nickerson, 7-6, while Ricky “The Ghost” Casper, drifted past Matty Sword, 7-1, Sara Bork, 7-3, and Hopey “Hurricane” Lawrence, 7-2. Ng went on to shut out Petrosino, 7-0, and Casper stopped Asher, 7-4. In the hot seat match, Ng emerged victorious over Casper, 7-4. On the one loss side and in the final eight, Pierce and Eaton shut out Garland and Nickerson, respectively, 5-0. Pierce derailed Asher, and Eaton eliminated Petrosino, moving into the final four. Eaton went on to eliminate Pierce, 5-0, and Casper, 5-4, to meet Ng in the finals. Ng, going for her second title, and Eaton, searching for her third, battled to the bitter end. In the first set, Ng simply couldn’t get it together, and Eaton was on fire, taking the first set, 7-1. Following a five minute break, the second set got underway. This time, Ng took her turn, beating Eaton 5-3, to win her second, Space City Open title.
Nine players, seventeen and under, competed in the inaugural, juniors 9-ball division. Lazaro Martinez, III, aka “Little Laz”, outplayed April Gonzales, 5-2, and Alex Fonseca bested Jonathan Cortez, 5-1. Jacob Gonzales beat John Benavides, but fell to Kyle Yi, while Gabriel Martinez passed Nathan Garay, 5-1. Martinez, III logged a third win against Fonseca, 5-2, and G. Martinez ousted Yi, for a brother versus brother, hot seat match-up. G. Martinez denied his brother, and awaited his final opponent. On the one loss side, and in the final six, Fonseca eliminated Garay, and Yi overcame Benavides. Yi eliminated Fonseca, but fell to Martinez, III. Once again, “Little Laz” faced off with brother, Gabriel, in the final. The final told a different story, as Little Laz overwhelmed Gabriel, 5-2, 5-3, to win his first Space City Open title.
Space City Open VII goes down in the record books as the most successful one to date. “I have no words for the outpouring of support from the Texas pool community. Even with the last minute venue and format changes, the event over-filled. Billy Sharp and Deborah Sharp of Big Tyme Billiards came through for all of us” commented Kim Newsome, Space City Open Founder and Director. Space City Open extends a heartfelt “thank you” to everyone involved in the production of this event; John Newsome and Johnny Gonzales of Eagle Plumbing who sponsored the $1,500, All-Around bonus; staff members Kim Newsome, John Newsome, Erica Hanlon, and Chuck Adams who managed every facet of the event; Ceferina Ramirez and Ruth Paine for their contributions; Mike Fabacher with Southern Streaming who provided a free, four-day live stream; Chris Lue of Next Action Media, whose photographs captured the essence of the event; sponsors Roger Schuett with the APA of North Harris County, Mike McDonald of VaporKnightsUSA.com, Poison by Predator Cues, Cyclop Pool Balls, Chris Renfro with Outsville Billiards, Charlie and Heather Bryant of Brutal Game Gear, and David Taylor and Teresa Garland with Houston Best of Billiards; vendors Jerry Olivier Cue Repair, Joe Salazar Connoisseur of Custom Cues, Arthur Politte with Qxtender.com, Darrold Stiehl with Champions Cues, and Brutal Game Gear.
Finally, Space City would like to extend its deepest gratitude to the players who support this event, year in and year out. Without the players, none of this would be possible.
Space City Open is one of the biggest billiard events in Texas, and is held annually, the first week in December. For more information, visit www.SpaceCityOpen.com.
In the $8,000-added 10-Ball event of the 5th Annual Sparkle City Shootout, Alex Pagulayan went undefeated through a field of 96, including final back-to-back victories over Warren Kiamco, Dennis Orcollo and Carlos Biado to claim the title. In the $2,000-added, single elimination One Pocket event with 12 players, he downed Jonathan (Hennessee from Tennessee) Pinegar, Francisco Bustamante and Danny Smith to claim that event title. Held on the very long weekend of Oct. 30-Nov. 4, both events were hosted by Steakhorse Restaurant & Billiards in Spartanburg, SC.
The strength of the pool-star-studded 10-ball field of 96 could be found in a couple of the players who were eliminated in the first money round (13th-16th); Tony Chohan and JT Ringgold. In the following round (9th-12th), Loree Jon Hasson, Zoren James Aranas, Skyler Woodward and a local player Chase Smith were eliminated.
Meanwhile, Pagulayan had worked his way through the field to a winners’ side semifinal match against Kiamco, while Orcollo squared off against Biado. Pagulayan advanced to the hot seat match and downed Orcollo to claim it.
On the loss side, Kiamco drew Francisco Bustamante, who’d eliminated Woodward and “The Scorpion” Johnny Archer to reach him. Biado picked up Mark Bosch, who’d eliminated Hasson and defeated Robb Saez.
Biado and Bustamante advanced to the quarterfinals, where Biado prevailed. He went on to down Orcollo in the semifinals, but couldn’t unseat Pagulayan from the hot seat.
Pagulayan wins first of two with three-win march in One Pocket event
Once Kiamco, John Morra, Can Salim and J Bird were eliminated from the opening round of One Pocket play (Danny Smith, Josh Roberts, Pagulayan and Tony Chohan were awarded byes), the event moved immediately into its quarterfinal matches.
Orcollo and Smith matched up, as did Roberts and Brandon Shuff. Pinegar and Pagulayan squared off, with Bustamante and Chohan rounding out the field of quarterfinalists. Moving into the semifinals, Smith defeated Orcollo, Roberts eliminated Shuff, Pagulayan downed Pinegar and Bustamante knocked out Chohan.
Smith moved into the finals with a victory over Roberts. Pagulayan joined him after eliminating Bustamante. Pagulayan claimed the first of his two weekend undefeated titles with a victory over Smith in the finals.
The “Big Dog” Weekend Extravaganza III kicked off on Friday September 21st at The League Room in Parkersburg, WV with 50 players competing in a 9-ball chip tournament that was won by New Yorker Ron Kingsley. While that was going on, Dennis Hatch and Alex Olinger were splitting a 10 player mini tournament on the big tables.
The main event on Saturday drew a field of 90 players with representatives from West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana and Kentucky in the field. At the end of the weekend, tournament host Dennis Hatch ended splitting first and second place with Danny Smith with each player winning over $5000 in total prize money (including calcutta). Third place went to Dylan Lipatapanlop and local player Jerold Hesson turned in a strong 4th place finish.
Matches were streamed all weekend by Billiardnet.tv and fans who missed the stream can find those matches archived online at www.billiardnet.tv.
Tournament staff thanked the events sponsors: Jacoby Custom Cues, Predator, Championship Cloth and TvMike's Billiardnet.tv.
Jason Evans and Tommy Tokoph (Photo courtesy of Poolaction.tv)
Tournament action in the southeast this weekend was in Lafayette, LA – Chris Miller’s 9 Ball Extravaganza – held at White Diamond Billiards.
The action kicked off with on Friday night with a 9 ball mini – $20 entry, race to 3. Fifty seven players threw in their double sawbucks and several hours later it was down to the final four. Bubba Brock was fourth, Billy Pinion got third while finalists Josh Roberts & Danny Smith battled it out for top honors. Josh prevailed with Danny settling for second spot.
Showing up bright and early Saturday morning, 103 players paid a $40 entry for the race to seven, alternate break, double elimination bar box event. After the draw, a players meeting was held. Always a well-attended feature of this event, The Chris Miller Show, saw Danny Smith emerge as blind bid in the Calcutta.
First round action saw Saez send Morra west for the long trek back to the winner’s circle. Second round saw Chris Miller do the same to Roberts and little by little, the field narrowed.
Hot seat action saw Chohan duke it out with Tokoph. Tommy’s been playing very steady the last few events and this time it finally paid off as he sent Tony to wait for an opponent on the one loss side.
Jason Evans defeated Jason LaFleur leaving him in fourth place while Chohan had to settle for third place as Jason Evans moved on to face Tommy in the finals.
The final match was close but when the smoke cleared, it was Tokoph in the winners circle. Congratulations, Tommy!!! Great event, Jason!!!
Many thanks to owner Chris Miller and his staff for pulling out all the stops to make everyone feel at home while Tournament Director Ashley Klein kept things running smoothly. Tournament sponsors included Gem Cues, Enviroassessments.com and Richard (“Pelican”) Lowell of Rick’s Gun & Pawn of Foley and Loxley, AL. Thank you to all for another great event.
PoolActionTV.com would like to thank our sponsors and fans for another fantastic event! Our sponsors include Lomax Custom Cues, Kamui, John Barton of JB Cases, GoPlayPool.com, Durbin Custom Cues, Aramith, Hanshew Custom Cues, Simonis and Club Billiards of Wichita, KS. Thanks for your support!
Our next stop is Arena Billiards in West Monroe, LA for the Scotty Townsend Memorial Tournament. The event is this coming up soon – March16th-23rd. Hope to see you there!!!
Fedor Gorst – Photo courtesy of Dave Thomson (Mediumpool.com)
Derby City Classic XX, January 19-27, 2018
LIVE from the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Casino, Elizabeth, IN
Diamond BIG Foot Challenge
Format: Race to 11, single elimination, alternate break, all balls count.
Day 3: Our opening encounter was the talk of the casino. How would 20 year old Austrian “wunderkind” Joshua “Killer” Filler’s firepower compare to the guts and glory of Filipino Roberto Gomez?
Well, it didn’t. The fast and loose shooting style caught up with him quickly today as his early carelessness gave Gomez the opportunity to leap into an insurmountable lead.
Filler’s TPA dipped into the 700s. That is low for a pro. Gomez showing no mercy, and kept twisting the knife as he shot Joshua into submission.
This, welcome to the real world Mr. Filler, will surely be a wake-up call and allow him to realize that occasional conservative play wins matches, too.
Mika and Shane then entered the Accu-Stats Arena.
It was a true battle of two of the best shot makers in the game.
In the beginning it was all Immonen–until, by missing shape on an 8, he also missed the opportunity to take a 5-1 lead. He blinked and Shane had shaved the short-lived, Immonen advantage to tie the match at 4.
The $4000 encounter continued as they went back and forth defending their break until Mika erred by, mistakingly, picking up the 9 thinking that it was the cue ball. Luckily, for him, Van Boening over-cut an easy 8 and instead of moving 2 games ahead, they were tied at 7.
Van Boening seems to be in bit of a rut. His proverbial cue ball-on-a-string has abandoned him. He’s been struggling and his frustration is visible. He sighs a lot as he’s forced to exit his innings early.
Now, at 10-8, Immonen’s only 2 game lead since early in their encounter, he overconfidently, one-stroked the 5 and his first opportunity to win was gone. 10-9.
He got a second one and, this time, overcut a difficult 2 to leave it in the jaws. 10-10…we thought! Shane overshot the 8 to scratch in the corner opposite the hanging 9. Shape on the 10, sitting near the spot, was impossible to miss.
“Come on!” Mika yelled as the final orb dropped into the pocket. His exclamation manifested his joy of overcoming a demon; It has been a while since he’d beaten Van Boening.
An interesting stat: Shane’s TPA was 36 points higher than Mika’s…and he lost! A more impressive one: Mika: break and runouts – 5, Shane, 2.
Our after dinner encounter was similar to the afternoon one of young, conservative fire power facing Filipino gung-ho gusto: The cobra versus the bull.
Jeffrey ‘The Bull” DeLuna has one of the most powerful, effortless strokes out there. BIG Foot does not intimidate him. He plays like he’s on a Diamond bar box.
The 17 year old Russian also wields great power. Compound that with the most enviable attribute, patience. Add one more important ingredient to the proven recipe for success, a superior mental game. Now, you have an invincible combination…when applied.
So far, Fedor had brought all of the above to the table.
Jeffrey’s performance, so far, has been impressive, too. Once the Bull gets stomping’ around the arena, when the dust settles, the score shows who’s been doing the skewering.
Gorst had the first opportunity to manifest his ability. A few faltering steps from Jeffrey and Fedor was quickly ahead 7-3. And once ahead, there was no way he was giving up that lead.
Maybe the Bull had too much stroke as he overran position on elementary outs. Had he gotten hypnotized by the cobra’s slow, deliberate movements? He’s still feeling the sting.
Regardless, he was allowed one more game before Gorst closed it out at 11-4.
Now, to the last event in the quarters: Morra and Chinakhov.
Chinakhov won the first game. Morra rallied with 5!
When down 7-2 and fighting back ’til 8-9, it looked like Ruslan was going to repeat last night’s performance when he overturned a huge deficit and stole the match from Corey Deuel.
His confidence now rising as, for he first time in the match, his TPA inched ahead of Morra’s to .866.
Just as swiftly as his comeback, the same shot missed twice, cost Ruslan the match. It also allowed us to see Morra’s unshakeable composure as, on the hill, and left with a long, blind back-cut into the corner, he smoothly stroked it in to leave perfect position and secure his berth in the semi’s.
471 players vie for $10,000. Race to 3, 9-Ball–Short Rack
Now 22 left going into Round 9:
The undefeated are Justin Bergman, John Brumback, Shane Van Boening, Corey Deuel, Skyler Woodward and, from the United Arab Emirates, Jalal Yousif. All still have a buy-back.
Main names still in contention are: Shaw, given his one loss by Louis Demarco; Bustey, bounced to the booth by Frost; Daulton by Woodward, and Nevel is never out of it, too.
There has been a collision of casualties as Gorst, then Morra. put Pagulayan to rest; Billy Thorpe was vanquished by Lee Vann Corteza and Bergman; Brumback froze out Frost; Jalal ejected Danny Smith, and Tony Chohan felt the challenge from Filipinos Alcano and Bustamante.
Bank of the day: When Frost and Bustey were tied 2-2 and 4 balls apiece, one thing was inevitable, one of them was going bye, bye to the booth.
Needless to say, exceptional safety play was the order of the day. And, they were both masterfully leaving the ball in seemingly impossible bankable positions…until Frost, fearless, stepped to the table and announced,”Four (rails) in the corner.”
The spinning orb sped around the angles. All the body english that Scott could employ didn’t make the ball nudge the inch it needed to find the hole.
Bustey, back at the table, made a valiant effort at a two railer, again, with the emphasis on safety. Didn’t he see how close Scott had just gotten? That’s not “safe.”
Again Scott declared, ”Four in the corner.” He fired it off the first rail. The sweaters twitching now. Bingo; No body english required. Buy, buy Bustey.
The George Fels Memorial Straight Pool Challenge is streaming at billiardnet.tv, today!
29 Straight Pool posted there C note for 12 attempts at a century ball run or more.
That score will surely double as the 8 highest runs will face off in single elimination. If scheduling permits, Accu-Stats will stream, at least, the finals.
Don’t miss a stroke at accu-stats.com
Accu-Stats thanks its Arena Sponsors: Diamond Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Cyclop Balls, Lucasi Custom, MEZZ Cues, McDermott Cues, National Billiard Academy, and Samsara Cues.
