The thirty two man field drew twenty-seven players to take their shot at the Ten Ball division of the Third Annual Memphis Open at High Pockets, once home court for the legendary "St Louie" Louie Roberts.
After claiming a hill-hill victory over Mike Dechaine at the BCAPL 10 Ball Challenge in Las Vegas last week, young Manny Perez drew a first round bye. Others getting the coveted bye were Billy Thorpe, Mike Delawder, Jason Klatt and Corey Deuel.
2016 Memphis Open One Pocket champ Justin Hall, Johnathan Pinegar ("Hennessee"), defending champion Justin Bergman and High Pockets house pro Shane McMinn shot their way into the final four on the winner's side. After being down 9-4 Hall came back and beat Hennessee 13-10 to earn his spot in the hot seat match. Bergman defeated McMinn 13-5 for the other spot.
On the other side of the bracket, after losing his second round match to Hall, BCA Hall of Famer Johnny Archer put his head down & barrelled through Delawder, Deuel & McMinn until he reached Pinegar. A hard fought match put the veteran out of contention 9-6 & Hennessee waited for the loser of the Battle of the Justins.
Both hailing from St Louis, MO, longtime friends and competitors Hall and Bergman duked it out with Hall taking it down 13-6. After a few minutes break, Bergman dispatched Hennessee 9-5 and took his spot in the finals.
Since this event was true double elimination, Bergman would have to defeat Hall twice to take the title. A race to 13 ensued, with Bergman winning the first set 13-6. Since both players now had one loss, the final set would be a race to 9.
The second set was all Bergman as Hall just couldn't seem to do anything right. Even though he was struggling with his break, Bergman played nearly flawless pool and defeated his close friend 9-0 for his second consecutive Memphis Open 10 Ball title!
Congratulations to Justin Bergman for an unbelievable display of precision pool!!! Great tournament, Justin Hall! Not too shabby – first place in the One Pocket & second in the Ten Ball! Great shooting!
In addition to the One Pocket and Ten Ball divisions, there was also an Open 9 ball event played on the seven footers. Zack Sanderson defeated Robert Stewart to win the event while Ted Reeves finished third and Kenny Loftis finished in fourth place.
The Memphis Open is always a favorite for the players as High Pockets owner, Tracy Whitney, and staff pull out all the stops to make it a fabulous event. In addition to providing a topnotch venue, Tracy always makes sure the players are well-fed too. Included with their entry fee is all they can eat – from steaks to burgers! Wow! Thank you, Tracy!
And, of course, thanks to every one of our sponsors! They include Ramin Bahktiari and MaryAnn Starkey of GoPlayPool.com, Mike Durbin of Durbin Custom Cues, Carlos Sanchez of KamiMaze Tips, Ivan Lee of Simonis Cloth and Aramith Billiard Balls, Viking Cues and Tiny of Club Billiards in Wichita, KS, Steve Lomax of Lomax Custom Cues, James Hanshew of Hanshew Custom Cues and John Bertone of Kamui Tips USA for their continued support.
PoolActionTV.com would also like to thank all our viewers and fans! See you down the road at the Texas Open in Austin, TX – September 2-5th!!!
This has been an action match that has been brewing for some time. This is more than just a 2 man tournament, THIS is personal.
Richie Richeson is in non-stop action down in the Big Easy and won the Louie Roberts award this year at Derby City.
Scott Frost is the arguably the most feared gambler in One Pocket and his tournament resume reads like a major tournament directory.
Play begins at 5pm Wednesday October 8th.
First player to be 8 games ahead of the other gets the cash. The match is planned for a 3 day max as Scott Frost plans on attending the U.S.Open 9 ball in Chesapeake, Va. How the match will conclude will be announced as soon as possible on Facebook PoolActionTV page. You can find the Facebook feed on the home page of PoolActiontv.com hit the "like" button to view.
Match can viewed in person, for free, at Lacy's Cue 701 W Judge Perez Chalmette, La
There will also be VIP seats available for a small fee.
Online passes will go on sale by Wednesday morning!
I am very happy and proud to have won the great award known as the Louie Roberts Action & Entertainment Award for 2014 at the Derby City Classic.
I want to send a super special thanks to Greg Sullivan and Diamond Billiards for making this tournament happen every year. I have not missed one and don't plan to ever miss one. And I greatly appreciate the prize that comes along with this award, you have no idea.
I also would like to thank all the fans for supporting me in the action room and those who also voted for me to win the award. I could not have done it without you all. I hoped you guys enjoyed watching as much as I enjoyed playing in all the matches this year, it was a BLAST.
Also, there's a few players I need to thank for much help along the way. I want to thank Bobby Hunter he was an inspiration to me when I was real young. Also Cornbread Red he was a big influence on me at a young age, thank you. Jack Cooney taught me how to move and thanks to Cliff Joyner for gambling with me hundreds of times over the years, that made me very strong. Also my boy Benny Conway, he taught me how to be fast and loose, I appreciate it.
Again, Thanks to everyone that has ever helped and supported me thru this journey, I appreciate it more then you know.
Dennis and Francisco resigned themselves to the fact that, as fellow Filipinos, they were going into the foray, yet, again.
They also know that there is more at stake here than just the $10,000 for the Banks title. The points earned are the down payment on the $20,000 for the honorable Master of the Table award.
Francisco was especially aware; he'd won it last year, for the second time!
They entered the packed Accu-Stats Arena. Bustey, usually boisterous and jovial, was more serene. Dennis, who rarely smiled before, or during, a match, always maintained focus 'til the last ball dropped. Today was no different.
Dennis winning first match wasn't to be. Even running 9 balls in a row, before a kiss of death scratched him, couldn't stop Bustey's multiple ball pocketing onslaught. Fortunately, Dennis had the cushion of the buy-back booth.
The crowd loved it; they knew that, now, there were going to be 2 more matches. Accu-Stats was elated, too, as there would be more of their pro pool TV programming on FOX Sports Asia.
Enter Earl. Bustey had just eliminated him in the BIG Foot 10-ball Challenge and felt comfortable. Earl did, too. During practice, he was pocketing balls with ease but, was first to admit, "Doing it in a match is a different story,"
Very different, especially, if the other guy is firing in short rail bank after short rail bank. Side pockets are easier, we all know that but, when your opponent is consistently nailing them off the short rail, that's intimidating.
At 3-1 winners, Bustey was off to a good start. Earl, who always cashed Bank prize money, scored his highest finish ever, and $2,500.
Now, back to the arena. Knowledgable crowd members were heard murmuring, "Can anyone beat Dennis twice?" It was possible. Lee Vann Corteza did last year in the Southern Classic 9-Ball.
The onslaught ensued, At 1-0, Dennis destroyed another rack. At 2-0, he can taste it.
Bustey riveted a rack and it's 2-1. Dennis ran another 4 balls and barely missed the 5th. He pounded his cue off the floor on his way to his seat. Sitting down, he slapped the arm of his chair. The sound of his flesh hitting the polished wood ricocheted around the arena. He'd left a bank.
Bustey rose to the occasion and banged in 4 on him. These balls weren't being babied. They were smacked in the back of the pocket. Bustey needed only one more sphere and we were tied at two.
It wasn't to be. Dennis stabbed the remaining orb and bounded around the arena bouncing about 5 feet off the ground.
"I can't believe it," he exclaimed, "Even at 2 games to one, needing only one ball, I was really scared, I know what Django can do. I've seen him come back so many times."
But, not today, Today, the battle was over. Bustey had to settle for second and $5,000.
Stay tuned, pool fanatics, Dennis is undefeated in One-Pocket and has a 141 ball run in the 14.1.
The Derby City Classic One Pocket Championship.
John Brumback, 2009 DCC Banks Champion and 2010 DCC Master of the Table–he won the Banks then, too–doesn't get intimidated. He's on home turf, he knows Diamond equipment well, he can bank in balls that other wouldn't attempt because they're "impossible" so, why should he be intimidated?
Today, he didn't know what hit him.
Sure, he knows Lee Vann Corteza but not as one-pocket man. Lee Vann recently won the 2103 Southern Classic 9-Ball Championship, Yet again, he'd beaten, newly inducted One Pocket Hall of Famer Cliff Joyner at DCC last year.
In the first game, John's superior one-pocket knowledge soon had Corteza, seemingly, handcuffed. Little did he know that Lee Vann had improved his moving, found a loophole, and ran out the rack: 1-0.
While making a ball, John made a courageous crack at the rack and they spread like straight pool. Unfortunately, with uncomfortable cue ball position, whitey found a hole. "That scratch is gonna cost me the game," John grieved.
Corteza ran a few and left the sweetest looking safe with the cue ball snug up against the stack. He soon found out that nothing is safe with Brumback at the table.
He bent the new, lime-green Cyclop 6-ball off the short rail straight into his pocket leaving perfect position to run 7 and out.
Interestingly enough, the game that John thought he would lose is the only game he won. Corteza's pin-point cue ball position play was impenetrable. He negotiated 8 balls in every rack he attacked. "It's moving that's important. That's where I have so much to learn. Running the balls is easy," he laughed. At 3-1, he certainly made it look that way.
Watch Straight Pool LIVE all day: insidepoolmag.com
The One Pocket, and Bank Pool, Hall of Fame Banquet:
One Pocket Inductee: Cliff Joyner
Bank Pool; Tony "Banks" Coleman
What a blast! Kudo's to Steve Booth, of onepocket.org, for delivering DCC's most consistently entertaining evening of road stories, laughter, and roast: The One-Pocket, and Bank Pool, Hall of Fame Banquet.
This ain't your momma's BCA banquet, this is like spending a night with the rat pack. Freddy "The Beard" Bentivegna is a master, master of ceremonies and tells tales that will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you wonder, "And, we're honoring this guy?" But, that wasn't the case tonight:
Congratulations to Cliff Joyner for induction into the One-Pocket Hall of Fame and to Tony "Banks" Coleman for the Bank Pool Hall of Fame.
Both men were visibly moved. The honor evoked so much emotion that it truly caught them, and the room, off guard. All in all, a very touching ceremony indeed.
In recent years, both men have won the Derby City Classic Louie Roberts Action/Entertainment Award. What that really means is that they got into more "money games" than anyone during the 9 day long, let's-see-who-can-play-pool-the-longest-for-the-most-money fest.
Nick Varner told humorous tales of his encounters, and encouragement, from the infamous Hubert Cokes who was posthumously honored, along with Harold Worst, for One Pocket. Bob Bowles was entered, also posthumously, for Bank Pool.
Scott Frost took the podium and thanked Cliff for his contribution to his game by relating that, at 19, Cliff would play him 12-4. Bill Incardona, from the floor, heckled Scott that, "He still can:" Tough room.
The One-Pocket, and Bank Pool, Hall of Fame Banquet was hosted at The Horseshoe's Legends restaurant: The food's pretty good, too.
