The draw for the 30th Anniversary of World Pool Masters has been made with defending champion Ko Pin Yi set to meet David Alcaide in the opening match of the tournament from April 25-28 2024 at Halle39, in Hildesheim, Germany in partnership with local organiser Moltke Sports and host broadcaster Sky Sports.
World Pool Masters will maintain last year’s most challenging format, with 16 players competing to take home a $40,000 share from an enticing $125,000 prize pool. Opening round ties will be Race to 9 with the Matchroom break box, magic-racking, and winner breaks in action with the tournament stretching going to race to 10 for the quarter finals, 11 for the semi-finals, and 13 for the final.
The top 14 players from the World Nineball Tour Rankings following the FSR91 Open received invitations, plus two wildcard entries. The players ranked 1-8 were seeded and paired against the remaining players in the draw, which was conducted two weeks prior to the opening matches.
Defending champion Ko Pin Yi will meet ‘El Matador’ David Alcaide in the first round, while World Champion and WNT No.1 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz faces wild card James Aranas once again in the tournament after last year’s opening round encounter. Shane Van Boening, the only player to ever win the title back-to-back, seeks redemption as he faces Duong Quoc Hoang, who knocked out the ‘South Dakota Kid’ in last year’s World Champions. Whichever of the two secures the win will be expected to face the victor of Jayson ‘Eagle Eye’ Shaw vs Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp.
Adding to the excitement, Albin Ouschan will face former World Cup of Pool teammate Max Lechner in a battle of the Austrians. The winner of that tie will then have to take on either WNT No.2 Fedor Gorst or ‘The Panda’ Mario He. The winner between Joshua Filler and Eklent Kaçi, who will reunite following their clash in last year’s UK Open final, will either compete against Wiktor Zielinski or defending US Open champion Ko Ping Chung, to complete the opening round match-ups.
In partnership with local organiser Moltke Sports, the 2024 World Pool Masters is live globally wherever fans are in the world including Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Brazil, Spain and Italy as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Netherlands, Poland, and Matchroom.Live in selected territories.
Broadcaster List
AMC Network – Hungary
Dazn – USA, Brazil, Spain, Italy
Foxtel – Australia
Nova – Czech Republic & Slovakia
Sky Network – New Zealand
Sportklub – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia
Sportscast – Indonesia & Chinese Taipei
Supersport – South Africa & Africa
Tap – Philippines
Viaplay – Baltics, Scandinavia, Netherlands, Poland, and Iceland
Friday night’s match between Germany’s Joshua Filler and Filipino Jeffrey De Luna had a little bit of everything.
You had De Luna winning a game by forcing his opponent to commit three fouls in a single rack and you had Filler stealing a game back when the Filipino managed to jump over his object ball not once, but twice.
In the end, the undefeated Filler was able to capitalize on De Luna’s breaking struggles and pull out a three-set victory, advancing to the round-of-32 on the third day of play at the Alfa Las Vegas Open at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. The German will now face reigning World 10-Ball champion Wojciech Szewczyk Saturday morning for a chance to reach the final 16 of the 192-player event.
After Filler staked out an early 2-1 lead in the opening set, De Luna had a chance to tie the match but left the 5 ball in the corner pocket’s jaws. Now Trailing by two racks, the Filipino used a jump shot and two banks to pull to within a game and had a chance to tie but came up short trying to secure position on the 2 ball, then missed a kick shot that allowed Filler to take the opening frame, 4-2.
De Luna opened the second set by forcing that three-foul on Filler, snagged the third rack when his opponent failed to pocket a ball on the break then used a safety exchange to climb onto the hill. He finished off the set and tied the match when Filler missed a sharp cut on the 3 ball and left a wide-open table.
The former China Open champion used safeties to win the first three racks — including the one that forced that double missed jump shot by De Luna. The Filipino wasn’t finished, using a safety of his own and a positional error by his opponent to tack on two straight victories. He had a chance to tie the match and send it to a shootout but failed to pocket a ball on the break, handing Filler a spaced out table and the win.
On a nearby table, former World Pool champion Shane Van Boening was authoring an escape of his own, climbing back from a deficit in the third set to defeat fellow American Jeremy Seaman.
Van Boening was in total control of the first set as he blanked his opponent, 4-0, but lost momentum in the next frame, with Seaman jumping out to a commanding 3-0 advantage. The South Dakotan clawed his way back into the match, winning three straight racks to tie the set but scratched on the break in the deciding game, handing Seaman a 4-3 victory.
After splitting the first four games of the deciding match, Seaman took a 3-2 lead when his opponent missed a jump shot and left an open table. With a change to close out the match and clinch the upset, he misplayed his safety attempt into a scratch, slapping the table in disgust as he walked back to his seat. The three-time U.S. Open 10-Ball champion cleared the table to force a shootout, then pocketed four straight stop shots in the extra frame while Seaman missed his opening attempt to hand his opponent the victory.
As the men worked through the single-elimination portion of their event, the women’s division of the Alfa Las Vegas Open began play Friday afternoon in dramatic fashion, as Allison Fisher overcame some early struggles to defeat Vang Bui Xuan of Vietnam.
Fisher was plagued by errors throughout the first set, as Xuan sailed to a 4-1 win, then continued to struggle with the speed of the table, allowing her opponent to capitalize and build a 3-1 second set lead. The Women’s Professional Billiards Tour Hall of Famer took advantage of a couple of unforced errors by her opponent in the middle stages of the set to tie the match, then used a safety exchange and a one rail kick in of the 7 ball to win the frame, 4-3, and force a shootout.
Each player was perfect in the extra frame through the first three innings but missed in their fourth attempt, sending the set to sudden death and moving the cue ball back a diamond on the table. After Fisher and Xuan rattled home their first three shots, the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Famer secured the win when she landed one more while her opponent missed.
Saturday will be pivotal in the men’s division, as 32 players compete for four spots in Sunday’s semifinals. Competition is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. local time, with notable matches including Albin Ouschan taking on Jung-Lin Chang, Fedor Gorst facing Ko Pin-Yi and Wiktor Zielinski matching up against fellow countryman Mieszko Fortunski.
With his big break and smooth stroke, American Shane Van Boening is one of the most decorated players in the United States when it comes to 10-ball, having won the U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship three consecutive times as well as other titles in the discipline, such as the Derby City Classic Big Foot 10-Ball event and the Super Billiards Expo Players Championship.
Despite his experience and accolades, the South Dakotan struggled to find his footing during his second-round match on the winner’s side of last night’s the Alfa Las Vegas Open Thursday night, as Chinese Taipei’s Jung-Lin Chang won in straight sets at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. The American now moves to the one-loss side of the bracket where he will attempt a comeback against Jun Kwon Ho at 9 a.m. local time.
After the competitors split the first two games, Van Boening crawled out to a 2-1 lead and had the opportunity to increase his advantage in the fourth game but missed a makeable 9 ball in the corner pocket. Chang tied the match, took advantage of another missed shot by his opponent to climb onto the hill then used a victorious safety exchange to close out the set, 4-2.
Chang maintained control in the second frame, winning the first three games until he lost control of the table in a safety exchange after the break. Van Boening tacked on back-to-back racks to cut the deficit to 3-2 but failed to pocket a ball on the break in the sixth game, allowing Chang to tie the match and then close out the set with a break-and-run.
The evening concluded with a one-loss side match between Americans Tyler Styer and Shane Wolford, a match that could easily be considered pool’s current guard in the United States versus the country’s future. Styer has a Kremlin Cup championship and four trips to the Mosconi Cup on his resume while Wolford is considered one of the rising young stars in the game, having won a handful of regional events and placing 17th at last year’s Alfa Open.
After splitting the first two games, Styer took an early lead when his opponent misplayed a ball but quickly gave back the advantage when he misplayed the game-winning 10 ball. Despite the unforced error, Styer used a pair of safeties to close out the opening set, 4-2.Wolford drew first blood in the second frame, building an early 2-0 advantage but forfeited the table when he committed a foul in the third rack. Styer took advantage, clearing the table to get on the scoreboard then using a carom shot on the 10 ball to tie the score.
Wolford used a combination shot of his own to regain the lead in the fifth game and appeared to be in position to snag the second set but missed a bank shot on the 7 ball. Styer methodically cleared the table to tie the match then executed a picture-perfect break in the set-deciding game, easily clearing the table to close out the match in straight sets and eliminate his opponent, 4-2, 4-3.
In other matches of note, Greece’s Alex Kazakis defeated Duong Quoc Hoang in a shootout to remain undefeated while American Skyler Woodward suffered his second consecutive defeat, losing to Lian Han Toh in straight sets. Russia’s Fedor Gorst remained perfect with a straight sets win over American Chris Reinhold while Filipino Roland Garcia needed a shootout to defeat fellow countryman Lee Vann Corteza.
Friday’s is expected to be intense, with the remaining players on the one-loss side jockeying for the 32-spots available in the event’s final 64, which will begin Friday night and switch from a two-set format to three. Additionally, the women’s Alfa Las Vegas Open will commence with 32 matches throughout the day.
Matches can be watched on Billiard.TV and on World Billiard TV, the official YouTube channel of CueSports International. A schedule of televised matches will be posted daily on the Pro Billiard Series and CSI Facebook and Instagram pages.
Room owners Kim and Tracy Sanders welcomed pool aficionados to Round Rock, TX for their inaugural $14,000 added Skinny Bob’s Nine Ball Classic.
It was noted that in addition to the Americans, the field had players from all over the world representing Canada, Poland, Bulgaria, Mexico, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Venezuela, Switzerland, Japan, Indonesia, Iraq, the Philippines and Hong Kong.
Players and fans were treated to three main championships in addition to a banks ring game, a ladies ring nine ball game and an opening night nine ball mini. When the smoke cleared in the $500 added event, Fedor Gorst and Jeff de Luna chopped the cheese.
The event continued the following day with the $4,000 added One Pocket Tournament. Thirty seven players posted a $200 entry fee to compete – the format was double elimination with races to three.
Hot off claiming the Bayou State Classic One Pocket title, Roberto Gomez was still on fire. After receiving a first round bye and then dispatching Kristina Zlateva 3-0, Kash Keeton 3-0, Jerry (Alex) Calderon 3-2 and Roland Garcia 3-1, Roberto arrived at the hot seat match.
Meanwhile, Fedor Gorst was taking no prisoners as he tore through the bottom half of the chart. Mark Nanashee 3-0, Chip Compton 3-1, Billy Thorpe 3-0, Jeff de Luna 3-0 and Raed Shabib 3-0 were all sent west by the Russian.
The hot seat match was close but in the end, it was Gorst who edged out Gomez 3-2 to take his seat in the finals.
After being sent to the one loss side by Calderon 3-2, Roland Garcia eliminated de Luna 3-1 and Tommy Tokoph 3-2 to take on Roberto. Neck and neck, in the end it was Roland who won the match 3-2 and moved on to the finals.
Although he put up a good fight in the finals, Roland went down 3-0 and Fedor claimed another title!
Later that night, another $500 was added to the banks ring game and finalists Fedor Gorst and Blaine Barcus decided to split the cash.
The $300 added Ladies Ring Nine Ball game also began. Bulgaria’s Kristina Zlateva took top honors over Michelle Corteza with Jennifer Kraber and Kim Pierce taking third and fourth places.
The following day, the $7,000 added Open Nine Ball began. A full field of 128 players posted their $150 entry fee to play in this double elimination, winner breaks tournament – races were 7/7.
Although the field was packed with champions, it didn’t seem to matter to young Gabriel Martinez. He won his first match against Daniel Schneider 7-2 and barely survived against current Texas Open champ Vitaliy Patsura 7-6. Down went Steve Sheppard 7-5, Jon Demetand Joey Torres – both 7-2. Next was Blaine Barcus 7-4 – Gabe had arrived at the hot seat match.
However, in the other portion of the bracket, Fedor Gorst was on his way to the hot seat. He barely broke a sweat as he defeated Bart Czapla 7-4 and skunked Eric Aicinena and Roberto Gomez 7-0. Next was Naoyuki Oi who went down 7-2, Jesus Atencio 7-3 and Michael Schneider 7-1.
Gorst steamrolled Martinez 7-0, locked up his seat in the finals and sent Gabe west to await an opponent.
After being beaten by Gorst, Michael Schneider beatreigning Bayou State Classic 9 Ball champ, Roland Garcia and Blaine Barcus – both 7-4 – to face Martinez for the other slot in the finals.
Looking for a rematch with Fedor, Gabe eliminated Michael 7-3 and moved into the finals.
Since this was true double elimination, Gabe would have to win two matches to claim the title. Fedor was having none of that as he took the match & title 7-4.
Sakura Muramatsu
The final division of this event began on Saturday. A full field of thirty two players posted their $100 entry fees to play in the $2,500 added Ladies Nine Ball Championship. This was also double elimination with winner breaks and races to 7/5.
Known as “The Roadrunner,” young Savannah Easton shot out of the gate and without looking back, ended up in the hot seat match. On her way there, she defeated Crystal Jones 7-1, edged out Sakura Muramatsu 7-6, Kennedy Meyman 7-2 and Kim Sanders 7-4.
In the other portion of the bracket, Tara Williams survived two squeakers against Liz Galvan and Jennifer Kraber 7-6. She then spanked former Texas Open champ Ming Ng 7-2 and the always tough April Larson 7-4 on her way to the hot seat match.
The hot seat match was all Savannah as she cruised past Tara 7-3 and waited for a finals opponent.
Meanwhile, after losing her second match to Savannah, Sakura mowed down both Melissa Smith and Ada Lio 5-1, Ming 5-2, Angie Payne 5-1, Kim Sanders 5-0, Music City Open champ Tina Malm 5-3 and Tara 5-0 to reach the finals.
Since this was true double elimination, the current Texas Open 9 Ball champ would have to beat Savannah twice – and she did. Sakura won the first set 7-5 and the second one 5-1 to take the title!
And, as usual, thanks again to everyone at Skinny Bob’s for a first class event! Big thanks to the local sponsors – they included Austin Pro, Diamond Billiard Products, GAF, Hanshew Custom Cues, Sanders Roofing & Exteriors, ABC Supply Co, Inc., Simonis, Aramith, Savage Billiards and Mints Amusements.
Thanks to Tournament Director Jason Hill for doing an exemplary job juggling multiple events.
And, as always, we’d like to thank our fans and sponsors! They include JB Cases, Hanshew Jump Cues, Lomax Custom Cues, Aramith, Simonis, Diamond Billiard Products, Durbin Custom Cues, Savage Billiards, the Action Palace of Dayton, OH and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX.
Our next event is the $12,000 added Midwest Open Billiards Championship III to be held at Michael’s Billiards in Fairfield, OH. Featuring six events – one pocket, 9 ball banks, open nine ball, a bank ring game, ladies 8 ball, a pro ten ball invitational and mini tournaments galore – Michael’s will also crown an all around champ! Dates are March 20th-26th – hope to see you there!
Zheng Xiao Huai to become the first Chinese player at a Matchroom event since 2019
The prize fund for the World Pool Masters 2023 will increase to $125,000 with the winner now see to take home $40,000 as China return on the international stage in Nineball for the first time since 2019 from May 10-13 at the Brentwood Centre, Essex in England.
Already, the top 14 on the Nineball World Rankings after the World Pool Championship have qualified underlining the importance of the ranking system first introduced by Matchroom at the start of 2021 with Joshua Filler set to be seeded as number one after beating Lo Ho Sum in last year’s final 9-6:
China’s Zheng Xiao Huai becomes the first wild card with one more to be revealed in the coming weeks.
Tickets for pool’s most historic invitational start from only £10 with fans able to soak in all four days of action for just £60. Tickets will go on priority sale to Matchroom Pool Club members on Monday, 20 February with general sale to follow Tuesday, 21 February. Sign up for priority sale here.
Roland Garcia with Tommy Terrebonne and room owner Keith Hulin
It’s been several years since Keith Hulin hosted a major event at his room, Emerald Billiards, in New Iberia, LA. This year, he welcomed players back for the $16,000 added Bayou State Classic.
The star-studded field included two-time Derby City Classic Master of the Table Fedor Gorst, reigning Derby City Classic One Pocket champ Tony Chohan, 2020 Derby City Classic Nine Ball champ Lee Vann Corteza, current Music City Open champ Roberto Gomez, 2021 US Open One Pocket champ Justin Hall, BCA & One Pocket Hall of Famer Alex Pagulayan and the newly minted 2023 Cajun Coast Classic 9 Ball champ Roland Garcia. Others spotted around the room were two-time Derby City Classic One Pocket champ Billy Thorpe, current Space City Open X One Pocket champ John Gabriel, current US Open Bank Pool champ & One Pocket Hall of Famer Scott Frost, BCA Hall of Famer Rodney Morris, former ESPN World champ CJ Wiley, current Iron City Open One Pocket champ Josh Roberts and current Texas Open 9 Ball champ Vitaliy Patsura.
The event kicked off with the $1,000 added One Ball One Pocket Championship – $200 entry, single elimination and races to four. The eighteen player field was whittled down to two players. Fedor Gorst took it down 4-2 leavingRoberto Gomez in second place.
The main event – the $10,000 added One Pocket Championship – had 25 players who paid a $300 entry fee to compete in this double elimination, race to three alternate break format.
Notable first round matches saw Justin Hall defeat Jeff de Luna 3-1 and Roberto Gomez blitz Lee Vann Corteza 3-0 while John Gabriel edged out Mike DeLawder 3-2.
Next round had Alex Pagulayan squeak out a tough oneover Scott Frost as did John Gabriel against Hunter White – both matches 3-2 and in a repeat of the one ball one pocket finals, Gorst beat Gomez again 3-1.
In third round action, Gorst got past John Gabriel and Billy Thorpe succumbed to Justin Hall – both 3-1 while Tony Chohan went down to Roland Garcia in a close one 3-2.
Hall just got by Pagulayan 3-2 while the other winners side match saw Gorst smoke Garcia 3-0.
In dead punch, Gorst demolished Hall in hot seat action 3-0 and claimed a seat in the finals. Justin headed west only to be derailed by the Gomez freight train. After losing to Gorst, Roberto started mowing down his opponents – White 3-2 and then Drew Jordan, Thorpe, Garcia, Pagulayan and Hall – all 3-1.
Back in the finals again, the smoking hot Roberto got his revenge against Fedor and took the title down in an extended race to four – score 4-0.
The final event of this tournament was the $5,000 added Open 9 Ball Championship Playing on seven footers, a full field of 128 paid their $100 entries to compete in this double elimination, alternate break with races to 9/7.
Still red hot, Gomez plowed through Dallas Broussard 9-2, David Walker 9-3, Jeff de Luna 9-5, Derek Fontenet 9-6 and Scott Frost 9-7 to arrive as one of the final four on the winners side.
Making his way through the bracket, Roland had wins over Jeremy Howard and Rodney Morris – both 9-4, beat back a challenge from Jacob Pennison 9-8 and demolished Tookie Babineaux 9-0 and Hunter White 9-5. Finally arriving to play Gomez to get into the hot seat match, it was a hard fought battle but he survived 9-8 and Gomez headed west.
In the bottom half of the chart, Lee Vann Corteza was making his presence felt as his victims included Oscar Ruiz 9-3, Jason Procell 9-2, Chris Facundus 9-3, Fedor Gorst 9-7 and Sergio Rivas 9-4 making it to the final four on the winners side.
Meanwhile, Zach Marquardt was quietly working his way through the field as he notched victories over Brent Prade 9-5, Zack Louviere 9-4, Dillon Hayes 9-5, Steve Lenz 9-6 and Tony Chohan 9-1 to then face Lee Vann Corteza.
Lee Vann moved on to the hot seat match after handily defeating Zach 9-3. Hungry for a title, Roland dispatched Lee Vann 9-5 west and secured his berth in the finals.
Champions were falling right and left as they all battled for that other seat in the finals. When it was all over, Gomez had survived after eliminating Rivas 7-6, Gorst 7-5 and finally Corteza 7-6 to arrive at the finals battered and bruised.
As this was true double elimination, Roberto had to win two matches to claim the title. However, it was not to be! In a nailbiter of a match, Roland claimed the match and title 9-8 giving him back to back title wins!
Congratulations to the three Gs – Gomez, Garcia & Gorst – as the new Bayou State Classic champions!
Local sponsors for this event included APA Arcadiana, Oubre Memorial & Burial Vaults, LLC, Chops Meats, Arceneaux Ford, Global Vessel & Tank, FLOQUIP, Inc. and Emerald Billiards.
Sponsors for this event included Emerald Billiards and PoolActionTV.com as well as JB Cases, Durbin Custom Cues, Aramith and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX.
Thanks go out to Keith Hulin and his staff for rolling out the red carpet for all the players and fans as well as Tournament Director Jimmy Rogers for doing a great job.
PoolActionTV.com would like to thank Larry Schwartz, Josh Roberts, Scott Frost, Hunter White, Mike DeLawder and Ray Hansen for their topnotch commentary.
We’d also like to thank our fans and sponsors. Our sponsors include JB Cases, Hanshew Jump Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Lomax Custom Cues, Savage Billiards, Durbin Custom Cues, Simonis, Aramis, the Action Palace of Dayton, OH and the Fort Worth Billiards Superstore in Fort Worth, TX.
Our next event is the Inaugural $14,000 added Skinny Bob’s Nine Ball Classic in Round Rock, TX. Tournaments include a one pocket division, ladies nine ball and open nine ball. Dates are February 14th-20th – hope to see you there!
Choosing the winners of the AzBilliards “Player of the Year” is never an easy task. While the Women’s award is usually a pretty easy choice, the Men’s award is a lot more difficult.
The 2022 AzBilliards Women’s Player of the Year award goes to Kelly Fisher. Fisher appears to be back in the form that she showed in early 2010’s with a dominating year in 2022. Fisher has over $120,000 in winnings and seven major title wins in 2022. Most of her success came on the WPBA Tour, but she also had a win at the Predator Germany Women’s Open in June and possibly her biggest title of the year with her gold medal at the 2022 World Games in July. This is Fisher’s third AzBilliards Player of the Year award.
As usual, the Men’s Player of the Year was a much tougher decision. Joshua Filler had to be a part of any Player of the Year conversation, with major wins at the World Pool Masters, UK Open, Derby City, EuroTour and European Championships.
Filler looked to be in a Player of the Year race with Fedor Gorst for much of the year, with Fedor literally winning everywhere he was allowed to play. After his dominating performance at the Derby City Classic (wins in the Banks, One Pocket and Master of the Table) and defending his title at the Arizona Open, the WPA ban of Russian players went into affect and Gorst was forced to limit himself to competing in the US. Gorst made the most of those limitations and led the AzBilliards Money List for most of the year. Gorst has wins in nearly 20 US events (that we have record of) and over $250,000 in recorded prize money.
Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz
While Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz’s year started with a win in the 9-ball event at Derby City, it looked for a couple of months as if Sanchez-Ruiz might have peaked at Derby and he would be off of the Player of the Year radar after that. He continued to play strong throughout the year though with a runner-up finish at the UK Open and then a win at World Cup of Pool (along with teammate David Alcaide). Late in the year, the talented Spaniard really hit his stride with a win on home soil at the PRP Nineball Open and then a win at the prestigious US Open 9-Ball Championship in mid October. Those wins moved Sanchez-Ruiz back into the Player of the Year conversation and in our opinion, his win a month later at the World 8-Ball Championship was enough to tilt the scales in his direction for the final award. All told, at year’s end, Sanchez-Ruiz had over $260,000 in prize money and a World Championship to display in his trophy case. He will also have the 2022 Men’s Player of the Year trophy in that case.
Congratulations to both Sanchez-Ruiz and Fisher, and we wish them all of the best rolls in their 2023 quests to defend those titles.
Diamond thanks all the attendees for the unprecedented surge to 1469 entries.
Some say that there is no sportsperson better equipped to pull an all-nighter than the Pool Player.
Once in action, they can’t quit. They have to hang with it until their opposition collapses or is “broken” so to speak. That’s how they evolve to become Champions.
Muscovite, Fedor Gorst proved his commanding pro-pool omnipotence by retaining his Master of the Table title after competing, not just all day through the wee small hours but, past dawn until 10 o’clock in the morning.
The players were not alone in this adventure, the videos had to be captured not only for the Accu-Stats’ historic library but for posterity. Fans are going to reminisce about this one for decades. andwith Pat Fleming at the helm to keep an accurate score and press that all-important record button, it can be seen and believed.
Gorst, earlier in the week, repeated his 2022 Bank Pool title and this year’s 9-Ball Championship.
Asked at his acceptance speech how he was feeling, one word said it all, “Tired.” He was halfjoking. He had been awake for 28 hours.And, still had time for a smile.
Read on to the Final day’s activities in pool’s most punishing, and rewarding, arena.
Diamond Billiard Products would also like to honor the memory of Mark Griffin.
Mark was an important part of Diamond’s evolution. He was there from the beginning, developing with owner Greg Sullivan, the table that has made pocket billiard history.
Diamond Derby City Classic One-PocketChampionship
Semis 5:30 pm, Finals 8:30pm
The above times were when the 9-Ball Finals were planned…that was until the record number of entries threw the schedule into total chaos.
One-Pocket is a fickle game. It can take 5-minutes when a player runs all the balls into his pocket in one inning. Or, it can take hours when both players adopt safety strategy and start pushing balls up-table away from their pockets.
Regular readers may remember the recent comment: “Did someone say shot clock?”
As the Derby redraws after every round, if that round hasn’t been completed, the whole tournament stalls.
That’s the short version of how the One-Pocket event couldn’t be finished until Saturday evening – 2 days later than scheduled.
429 started, three remained: Efren Reyes, the 68-year-old living legend, 6-time DCC One-Pocket Champion, and 5-time Master of the Table.
Tony “T Rex” Chohan. Both respected and feared for his unbounded One-Pocket creativity, dominance, cool craftiness, and for often tossing caution to the wind when the win is big enough.
Fellow finalist, Johnathan “Hennessee” Pinegar. In 14 rounds of races to 3, he had lost only eight games. That tells how well he was competing. “I’ve been practicing a lot in the last months. I’ve been giving strong competition big handicaps, like 12-3, 12-4.”
The 44-year-old Tennesseean’s newfound enthusiasm has been rewarded.
He also got the luck of the latest draw by being unlucky earlier. He had never drawn the bye. As Tony, Johnathan, and Efren Reyes were the last three standing, the computer would, normally, randomly draw the “short straw,” who would go directly to roost in the hot seat.
The remaining two would compete in the semis for the right to fight for the trophy.
Tony and Efren had drawn byes in earlier rounds. DCC rules forbade the same player receiving a bye twice resulted in Johnathan automatically being in the finals.
The Semis #2: Reyes vs Chohan
The Accu-Stats Arena was crammed to the rafters. The crowd was intrigued to see if Tony, desperately seeking his first DCC title, could overcome pool’s most revered player in search of his 7th…at 68 years young!
The 41 year-old Chohan had garnered many accolades including two major One-Pocket wins: The US Open One Pocket Championship and The International Open One-Pocket division but the Derby, everyone agreed, was the toughest one to win.
He had gotten close in recent years. It had been 9 since Efren’s 6th.
Reyes quickly found his smooth, silky stroke, and aided by Tony’s missed opportunities, took the opening game.
Tony doesn’t miss for long, in the second rack Efren left a shot that was safe for aplayer. For Tony, the short rail bank was a hanger. 1-1
Game 3: Reyes, aggressive as ever, made one of his shots that earned him the moniker “Magician.”
The rack spread far and wide only, out of nowhere, the white was kicked into Tony’s hole: 2-1 Chohan…and breaking!
Within two innings, Efren had reversed the position and ran 5. Safety ensued. Reyes cue ball ran short leaving Tony an opening. He ran 3 only to miss a dogleg combo that left two, off-angle balls within inches of his hole.
Reyes, gotten by the 4 1/8” opening, as the ball wobbled and hung to ensure Tony’s ticket to the final.
On shaking hands, Tony respectfully raised Efren’s to the air in honor of his unparalleled performance.
Efren then left the Arena to a rousing standing ovation.
Tony Chohan (David Thomson – Medium Pool)
The Finals: Hennessee vs T Rex
Johnathan “Hennessee” Pinegar’s 15-round trip to the finals was the buzz of the arena. Such honor was the result of slaughtering many opponents at naught.
It took ’til round 12 before Tony “T Rex” Chohan sent the US Open All-Around Bar Box Champion to the buy-back booth, but how about out-shooting Shane Van Boening, Tyler Styer, Anton Raga, Billy Thorpe, just to mention a few? And let’s not forget, he gave Efren his first loss.
T Rex is another animal. At 3-1, he cold-bloodedly devoured crowd sentimental favorite Efren Reyes. He was so close to the title he could taste it.
Tony won the all-important lag. All important because, with alternate break a 2-2 tie means first crack at the last rack.
Expert commentary from US Mosconi Cup captain Jeremy Jones and 2010 DCC One-Pocket Champion Scott Frost.
Rack 1: Pinegar, back from overnight hibernation, attempted a touch shot: Tony ran 8-and-out: 1-0
Rack 2: Tony, attempted a touch shot: Johnathan, still cold, ran 8-and-out: 1-1.
Rack 3: An up-table battle, until Tony with 7 balls, on a makeable cross corner bank for the win, fouled. Pinegar pilfered the rack: 2-1.
Rack 4; Pinegar exercised discipline, determination, great defense, and the “Wedge.”
Tony grappled, one ball at a time until in need of one, undercut it. It hung in his hole as the cue ball bounced two rails to land diagonally near the side pocket. Luckily there were two balls blinding Pinegar from following it in and fouling.
He raised the butt of his cue to about 45 degrees, jumped over them, and bounced the dangling orb and the cue ball off the table. “FOUL,” cried emcee/referee Ed Liddawi.
Great shot in the poolroom where that would result in both balls being respotted.
The clearly written DCC rules dictated that the game be awarded to the non-offending player: 2-2.
Time-out. Time to reset. And for Pinegar to recover from the blunder.
The Decider: Chohan in control, He had won the lag, remember?
After Chohan snuck 3 ahead, the strategy quickly developed into another quasi-wedge affair.
Oh, no, thought the tournament registration crew, not another wedge; Chohan was an integral part of the 9-Ball event and his match was holding up the draw.
Tony had another agenda. He had Pool’s most important One-Pocket title in his grasp. And, as he had come from 1-2 behind, he knew he had the momentum!
Pinegar, disciplined dedicated, continued to contribute orbs to the wedge.
Like a sniper, Tony picked off the unsuspecting marks. Within minutes, one by one they.dropped until one remained.
Pinegar didn’t linger. He attacked the table, pocketed two, and jawed a third.
It offered Chohan the shot that had cost him the 3rd game.
Not this time. Calmly, he approached the ball and spun it across the table into the opposite pocket.
He followed that with something you don’t usually get from the normally stoic Chohan, he yelled with delight!
“How does that feel? he was asked
With a deep sigh of relief, he responded, “The monkey has dropped from my shoulders.”
Time for a very quick $16,000 check presentation, fist pumps with fans around the arena, and…
Now, who’s next in 9-Ball?
Tony “TREX” Chohan: $16,000 Johnathan “Hennessee” Pinegar: $8.200 Efren “The Magician” Reyes: $6,300
Diamond Derby City Classic 9-BALL Championship:
Race to 9, 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 DCC’s most populated event.
527 entries crushed the previous attendance statistic!
That number above, compounded by the 423 in One Pocket and 529 in Banks, made for the strangest Finals in DCC history.
Add a 3-hour One-Pocket final that helped stall the draw, and we have experienced the Derby Syndrome in spades.
THE DERBY SYNDROME
2023 took our sport’s nine most grueling days–and nights–of limited sleep; catching naps while standing; snacking on nutrition-less junk, and jousting non-stop from one discipline to the next to a whole new level, it’s a wonder some of these guys are alive.
Combating 15 rounds with these heavyweights can seriously damage your health, especially when there are 527 of them and “on call” as they had limited idea of when they were going to play.
Tony Chohan, down 4-8 against Mika Immonen must have been truly motivated by his stellar performance before in his One Pocket semis with Efren. Then, after the 3-hour Finals, Roland Garcia, understandably, ended him.
Fedor Gorst, at around 9 am on Sunday, having been up competing, and waiting, competing and waiting, on-and-off for 28 hours, at 9-2, ended Shane.
Both Cuetec-sponsored players were visibly physically spent. It seemed that both had made more accumulated errors than they had in the entire tournament; When have you seen SVB miss two simple shots…in the same rack!
FYI: Fedor’s route had doused Alex, twice; Skyler Woodward and Roland Garcia both were allowed one game each. (Accu-Stats TPA statistician was sleeping soundly to prepare for the early morning finals but, guesstimates suggest that Gorst shot near, if not, a back-to-back 1.000 TPA’s)
Earlier,Chohan, Tyler Styer, and John Morra were also left in Fedor’s wake–pun intended.
Shane was undefeated all the way to the 13th round when Alex sent him to buy-back. (Alex had just eliminated Joshua Filler in the 12th).
In the 11th, Shane had Skyler Woodward back at the buy-Back booth
Shane, in the 10th, had Hong Kong’s Robbie Capito capitulate. Beware: The 21-year-old Robbie won his first men’s national event when he was 12!
All in all, an incredible journey through the night and well past dawn.
As the cameras didn’t pause much, most of the above action is available as part of the Accu-Stats PPV+ until February 28th.
See it to believe it.
Fedor Gorst: $16,000 Shane Van Boening: $7,500 Alex Pagulayan: $5,500
ENDGAME.
DCC 2024 dates: Jan 19-27, 2024: Book your entries/seats now! You know that they’re going quickly.
Accu-Stats thanks its Arena Sponsors: Diamond Billiard Products, Simonis Cloth, Aramith Belgian Billiard Balls, Cuetec Cues, Lucasi Cues, Master Chalk, MEZZ Cues, McDermott Cues, National Billiard Academy, and Outsville Accu-Rack.
The 4-camera HD match-ups are available at accu-stats.com via Accu-Stats Pay-Per-View OnDemand;Approximately, 60 action-packed hours of pro-pool are projected, PLUS reruns.
With PPV OnDemand, , you choose when you watch, no matter what you’re timezone, until February 28, 2023.
accu-stats.com will have matches available on Vimeo On Demand, Subscription Service and, of course, HD DVDs of all the TV table productions.
Thanks to all who contributed to the daily DCC reports. You know who you are: The sultry voice of the event, Bonnie Jones, hubby Ric, Koby Pilgrim, Delana, and Diamond Paul.
badboysbp.com will have alternate Diamond Arena matches available in the coming weeks.
The draw for the 30th Anniversary of World Pool Masters has been made with defending champion Ko Pin Yi set to meet David Alcaide in the opening match of the tournament from April 25-28 2024 at Halle39, in Hildesheim, Germany in partnership with local organiser Moltke Sports and host broadcaster Sky Sports.
