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!
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-POCKETChampionship: 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 streamedfrom 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.
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!
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.
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.
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-POCKETChampionship: 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 8to 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, probablyconcluded 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.
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.
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.
Diamond Derby City Classic XXIV, January 20-28, 2023
Caesars Southern Indiana, Elizabeth, IN
By David Thomson
Diamond BIG Foot Challenge
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!
Shane’s and Roberto’s Accu-Stats TPAs of .930 & .895 say a lot. You would say that both players pocketed well and didn’t make too many errors.
Then, when you see the final score of 11-3, you’d realize that Shane was doing all the shooting. And , that Roberto wasn’t making any errors because…Shane was doing all the shooting!
The world-class .933 TPA says it all – even on a 9 foot. But this was BIG Foot…about 50 square feet of Simonis with 2 1/4” Aramith Balls squeezing into Diamond, dare we say, “superpro-cut” 4 1/8” pocket openings.
Roberto wasn’t shot into submission. If he didn’t get a shot after the break that meant that Shane was in control of the table. And, when Shane is in control of the table, you don’t get to shoot at much.
Konrad Juszczyszyn’s .943 says a lot more. It says that he shot lights out!
Now sadly, Lee Vann Corteza’s .698 says that he had opportunity and didn’t capitalize on it.
“I scratched two times on the break. With the balls wide open, it cost me 4 games right there.”
It’s true; With ball-in-hand, Konrad cleaned up Corteza’s open racks plus, his own break was working for him. With rolls like that, it’s easy to streak ahead.
Slumped a little in his seat, it was obvious that Lee Vann wasn’t feeling it today. He was playing from memory: not able to summon in the moment the passion required to truly get in stroke.
Compassion be-damned! Konrad was taking no prisoners. He was feeling it. And loving it!
Finals: Shane Vann Boening vs. Konrad Juszczyszyn: 11-7
It looked like he was off to a fearsome start when strategy won Shane the opening rack and followed that with a break-and-run.
The third rack should have been his too, only he took a straight-in 9 for granted that bobbled and was left sitting on the shallow shelf of the pocket.
That focused him. He knew that he had to take Konrad seriously: Look at the damage he’d wreaked on his road to the final: Morra, Filler, Corteza – three DCC champions swept aside with the stroke of his cue.
Juszczyszyn, the 2017 American Straight-Pool Champion, was hungry. And his appetite for victory was strong. He could taste it. He knew he should have been down 3-0. Revitalized, he took the 4th game and they were tied at 2.
He then committed the ultimate sin; He scratched on his break. Shane devoured that rack then broke-and-ran, again: 4-2.
In fact, Shane had averaged 4 break-and-runs in his last three matches.
The gap continued to widen: 6-2. It’s hard to make a 4-game comeback with an alternate break format, especially against the big break of SVB.
Konrad’s fate had turned…and he felt it. Shane was missing, too. When he did, he left nothing. When Konrad missed, he left the rack.
The articulate Grady Mathews used to say, “The balls know who’s winning.”
Konrad later confessed, “I played terrible. When I began to miss balls I was making earlier in the tournament, I lost confidence. Then, when I made that long combo on the 10, I got it back for a minute.”
But, it was only for a minute.
In the next rack, Van Boening, with one of those “anything-you-can-do” moments, slammed home a similar length-of-the-table, 10-ball combo.
He later stated that he hadn’t played so well either. Not only had he slept thru that aforementioned 9 in the 3rd game, he actually missed a 10-ball later in the match.
Their respective TPAs were .843 and .730: That said it all.
Now Shane has 3 BIG Foot titles; tied with Jayson.
Watch out for fireworks in 2024, not just with their rivalry, it’s DCC XXV.
Shane van Boening: $16,000
Konrad Juszczyszyn: $8,000
Roberto Gomez: $4,000
Lee Vann Cortez: $4,000
No Master of the Table points are accredited for the 10-Ball event.
Their accumulation is generated by the Banks, One Pocket, and 9-Ball divisions.
And Diamond generously delivers an additional $25,000 in prize money.
More on that later.
The Accu-Stats PPV OnDemand service has all of the above entertainment available for your viewing pleasure thru. Feb.28, 2023.
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Diamond BANK POOL CHAMPIONSHIP
Short Rack. Race to 3, Round 10
There were a record 497, now there are 14
Play begins at 11am.
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.
But the most exciting encounter for him was his first time playing America’s number 1 player, Shane van Boening.
A crowd had gathered around the table. The word was out that Shabib was on the hill and Shane needed 2.
Now he felt he’d made it as a contender.
Of course, Shane won the 4th rack and they were all tied up…until Raed had 4 balls in the decider and, Shane only 2.
Then Shane got another, then another, then, they were both fighting over the last ball.
It took 20 minutes of serious safety strategy until Shane figured out Raed’s weak spot: Leave him long on the short rail.
Now all Raed has to do is figure out Shane’s.
Interestingly, Raed is still in and Shane isn’t. He’d dodged another bullet.
Meanwhile, Fedor got Shane, De Marco crimped Corey, Shane shot Justin Hall, Evan Lunda laid Josh Roberts to rest, Roland Garcia showed Tony Chohan the door, Pagulayan pickled Shannon Daulton, Fortunski had the misfortune of encountering Jayson, and Billy Thorpe get’s the credit for eliminating Efren.
The event entries were increased to 429 entries. Stay tuned!
The action-packed week continues:
Diamond Derby City Classic BANK POOLChampionship: Semis and Finals in the Accu-Stats TV Arena: Tuesday evening, Jan 25.
Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKETChampionship: 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 POOLChampionship: Semis and Finals in the Accu-Stats TV Arena: Tuesday evening, Jan 25.
Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKETChampionship: 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.
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!
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.
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!
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 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.
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.
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 POOLChampionship: 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-POCKETChampionship: 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.
Diamond Derby City Classic XXIV, January 20-28, 2023
Caesars Southern Indiana, Elizabeth, IN
Are you ready? it looks like we’re in for a raucous week.
To Diamond’s delight, the Derby’s demand has surpassed recent records as 497 Bank Pool competitors have deposited their entry fees.
If that isn’t enough, Wednesday’s 9-Ball has a waiting list as the 500 maximum was met…by Friday!
Logistics personnel Bonnie and Julie are in search of a solution.
We can bet that former World Champion Dynamite Darren Appleton, a huge fan of DCC, would have attended.
Daz you are conspicuous by your absence. We all wish you the speediest of recoveries. See ya next year!
Speaking of surgery, America’s #1 Shane Van Boening’s Cuetec was swinging confidently after a troublesome lump was removed from his bicep without incident.
He and Max Eberle were the opening act of the 2023
Diamond BIG Foot Challenge
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 win.
Mosconi Cup captains Jeremy Jones and Mark Wilson are in the Accu-Stats’ commentary booth. Who better to impart the nuances of our sublime sport?
One more thing; BIGFoot’s tight, pro-cut pockets are now tighter – 4 1/8” tight! Do not try this at home!
OK, back to the opening round action.
Still swinging, Shane strode into a comfortable lead.
Max, soon swooning, struggled to get going. Sadly, he never quite caught the gear that led him toward the hill against Mika last year.
Until 6-6, Pagulayan was pulling his weight. But not the weight that had held every discipline at the Derby. Alex is the only player to have won every title
Gomez, also an entertainer, always likes to please the crowd with his power draws and superlative shotmaking.
The jaws of these diminishing pockets started spiting balls back onto the tabletop. When have you seen Alex’s TPA under 800? Gomez’s respectable .853 certainly won him the match.
One bonus was their multi-series exchange demonstrating their expertise of getting out of a snooker by laying a snooker – The Filipino kick-safe technique. Check it out.
Now to the last match for today.
The Billion-buck question on most minds was whether Fedor Gorst could replicate the 900+ TPA consistency that he dominated BigFoot with last year.
Alex DeLuna is no slouch. He’s also got a sledgehammer break.
The Break Demon speed tester software was capturing the action all day. FYI: No one got to 23 miles per hour.
Sure the break is important but not so much against Gorst. His cueball-on-a-string theory is truly mesmerizing. The beauty of his speed control as his orb spins 3 rails…to land perfectly on the necessary position to complete the rack.
De Luna couldn’t compete. Nor could his .694 with Gorst’s .939.
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.
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.
How about this for first-round Karma: Joshua Filler over John Morra, Gomez got Juszczyszyn: Welcome to the buy-back Booth.
Yes, EFREN REYES, The 5-time DCC All-Around Champion and 6-time One-Pocket Champion refuses to retire: He has one accomplishment missing from his DCC career resumé; The elusive Bank Pool title.
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 POOLChampionship: 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-POCKETChampionship: 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 is 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.
