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.
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 BANK POOL CHAMPIONSHIP
Short Rack. Race to 3.
There were a record 497, now there is one!
Fedor Gorst and Evan Lunda owned the Accu-Stats Arena. Actually, Fedor owned 2/3s of it: Being unbeaten, he had the luxury of a buyback.
And he was going to need it.
It didn’t look that way when he and Evan were taking turns in the pre-match warming up. Fed couldn’t miss. What about these Diamond Superpro cut, 4 1/4” pockets? He was banking into basketball hoops.
The “book” would suggest that, as he had been-here-done-that and, as he had 2 bullets to Lunda’s one, the money was on him.
Lunda had the advantage of today’s TV Arena experience in the first semifinal with Raed Shabib. The 40-years-young Middle Easterner, now residing in Texas, had creamed thru the crop of DCC’s finest: Roland Garcia, Billy Thorpe, Scott Frost, just to name a few.
Shabib was brimming with confidence. Evan won the all-important lag only to break dry. Shabib ran 4. Evan, feeling out the rails, missed a few. Raed soon rolled into a one-nil lead.
Then, skillset seemed to have abandoned him; the transition to the subtleties of the arena’s atmosphere eluded him. “This table plays so different from out there. I should have practiced more on it.”
From there, it was all Lunda. Shabib was allowed only 2 more balls. Yet, he was inspired and hungry for more of the Derby adventure. “I’m going to win this,” were his parting words as he floated from the arena.
Lunda, relieved, was as ready as he’ll ever be. He felt that he’d found his footing under the lights, cameras, and action of the Accu-Stats Arena experience. He’d better be.
Gorst, the 2022 DCC Bank Pool Champion had just plowed through a field including Gerson Martinez, Roberto Gomez, and Alex Pagulayan. He was ready to repeat.
Striding along the wall of pool’s prestigious sponsors’ ad panels, you could see Fedor felt that he owned this arena. Or, as mentioned, at least 2/3s of it.
He was full of friendly fun as he joked with Evan about his draw having been,” Cupcake.”
That camaraderie was swiftly about to switch to killer mode.
Lunda won the lag and, after a nervous start from both players, brilliantly closed the first game, 5-1. Winner breaks, and another one for Lunda at 5-1. In the 3rd game, he nailed the first set with 5-zero! What? Gorst only 2 balls…in 3 games?
Time out!
And, of course, back to the buy-back booth.
Gorst’s transition was astonishing. It was as if the first set was completely wiped clean from his memory.
Closing with three identical scores of 5-2 culminated in a 3-zero win and most importantly, a repeating his title of Derby City Bank Pool Champion.
“Winning the lag is so important in this game. In the first set, when Evan got off to such a good start and I was missing, my confidence left me,” he confessed.
“I have been in that position many times. And experience has remind me that I have to let that go.”
Maybe, that’s the ultimate ability of a true champion, to be able to let the losses go – get back to a blank slate.
Fedor continued, “I have to run. I have a One Pocket match.”
Derby’s brutal schedule shows no mercy.
Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKET
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.
Round 4
429 one-hole aficionados formed another attendance record.
Appropriately, the opening match was last year’s runner-up, Josh Roberts, pitted against last night’s 10-Ball runner-up Konrad Juszczyszyn.
Arguably Josh is supposed to win. Juszczyszyn applied patience rather than aggression. His 14.1 Championship expertise kept pace with his One-Pocket expert opponent.
Roberts got the opportunity to close it out only to let a 6-ball slip past the net.
Konrad applied his 14.1 patterns and ran out the deciding rack.
Tyler Styer then entered the arena with the maturing David Matlock who, in his prime, dominated.
Today’s One-Pocket is a different ball game. It has evolved to a much more aggressive and less “moving” discipline.
Styer’s totally confident, committed shot-making and superb position play sealed the deal.
Now to the undefeated household names with 2 lives:
Oh, Oh! Gorst has a new row to hoe; Roberto Gomez delivered him to the buy-back booth.
Meanwhile, Mika Immonen was eliminated by Jason “Jay Bird” Brown, as was Raed Shabib by Alex.
Visit results.derbycityclassic.com for more updates.
The action-packed week continues:
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: Begins TODAY 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
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.
.
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.
With Jimmy Mataya in the broadcast booth alongside POVPool’s Daniel Busch during the double elimination finals of the 30th Annual Andy Mercer Memorial, held over this past weekend (Feb. 21-23), viewers and listeners were rewarded with a combination of table savvy and street humor that made the broadcast almost as entertaining as the matches themselves. Sounding like a cross between the late Howard Cosell and Paul Harvey, while bearing a bit of ‘don’t mess with me’ edge to his commentary, Mataya would likely tell you how it all went down this way.
“Let me tell you something right now,” he might say. “These two kids knew what they were doin’ out there and put on one hell of a show, OK?”
The ‘kids’ to whom he hypothetically referred were the winner, Hungary’s Vilmos Foldes, the event’s defending champion, who won nine on the loss side to meet and defeat USA’s Chad Vilmont, who finished as runner-up, after he’d defeated six opponents, including two former champions of this event, to claim the hot seat. The $3,700-added event drew 64 entrants to Rum Runners in Las Vegas, NV.
Five of the event’s 17 former champions competed, and three of them finished among the top four – Foldes, Orcollo (2016), who finished third, and Warren Kiamco, who won it twice, in 1995 and 23 years later in 2018, and finished 4th this year. Also competing were Brian Parks, who won it in 2008 and finished in the tie for 7th, and Ernesto Dominguez, who won it in 2010 and finished this year in the tie for 33rd. Shane Van Boening, who’s won it five times, including four in a row from 2011-2014, did not compete.
Foldes got one match under his belt, a 6-0 shutout over Tres Kane, before running into a double hill fight versus Orcollo, that he lost. Orcollo advanced to defeat Jack Rippel and Brian Parks to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Chris Robinson. Vilmont, in the meantime, had opened his trek to the hot seat with three straight shutouts, over James Harling, Randy Kukla, and Joseph Crugnale, before he gave up three racks to Warren Kiamco in a winners’ side quarterfinal win. He faced Edgie Geronimo in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Orcollo sent Chris Robinson to the loss side 6-3, as Vilmont was busy surviving a double hill fight versus Geronimo. Vilmont claimed the hot seat 6-2 and sent Orcollo to a fateful semifinal against Foldes.
Vilmont, who’s been at the tables for “around 30 years,” was a little surprised and at the same time, not all that surprised to be in the hot seat in this particular field of players. He was asked, right after defeating Orcollo, if he had any particular mental preparation he employed for matches against some of this field’s tougher opponents.
“I just play my game. It doesn’t matter who I’m playing,” he said. “These guys have a lot of tools, but it comes down to me.”
“I’m getting old,” he added with a laugh. “I’m just happy to make the balls.”
On the loss side, Foldes had picked up, more or less, where he’d left off. He followed his defeat at the hands of Orcollo with his second 6-0 shutout, this one over Joey Chin. Foldes went on to defeat Trick Sixty, Joseph Crugnale and Lance Salazar, before eliminating Mark Jarvis 6-3 and Brian Parks 6-1 to draw Geronimo, coming over from the winners’ side semifinal. Chris Robinson picked up Kiamco, who, after his defeat at the hands of Vilmont, had survived a double hill fight against Mitch Ellerman and defeated Tommy Baker 6-4.
Foldes defeated Geronimo 6-3. He was joined in the quarterfinals by Kiamco, who in a ‘wily veteran’ vs. ‘young gun’ matchup against Chris Robinson had sent the youngster home with a shutout to remember him by. Foldes went on to eliminated Kiamco 6-3 in those quarterfinals, for a second shot at Orcollo in the semifinals.
They locked up in their second double hill fight in those semifinals. This time, though, Foldes moved on and Orcollo did not, ending his brief four-event-in-a-row winning streak that had begun with his victory at a Midnight Madness event of the Music City Classic, followed with his 9-Ball Banks and Master of the Table win at Derby City and most recently, concluded with his victory at the Texas 10-Ball Open (at which he defeated Warren Kiamco in the finals).
Foldes had that intangible ‘momentum’ working for him as he stepped into the true double elimination final against Vilmont and opened up a quick 4-1 lead in the opening set. Vilmont sandwiched a rack right in the middle of Foldes’ four. Vilmont, though, let everyone who was there know that it wasn’t over yet. He ran a three-pack to tie things at 4. They traded racks to the double hill 5-5 tie, before Foldes sealed the deal to force a second set.
Though Foldes would win the opening rack of the second set, Vilmont would record another three pack, before Foldes won two to tie; to include a 5-9 combination in the tying game. They traded racks to a 4-4 tie, before Vilmont reached the hill first, after Foldes scratched in the 9th rack. Vilmos came back to tie it to force a second double hill finish. Foldes finished it early with a 2-9 combination to successfully defend the Andy Mercer Memorial title.
Rum Runner owner Gino Hill and his brother, Gordie, along with their assistant, Mike Ganz thanked their staff and official event referee Jim Blakeman for their work, as well as Daniel Busch and his POVPool staff for their streaming of select matches throughout the weekend. Busch added thanks for POVPool sponsors JB Cases, Tiger Products, Luxe Electric Car and West State Billiards.
Max Eberle, Ben Sutherland, Tom Kovacs and Chris Robinson
The first evidence AZBilliards documented about Max Eberle was his 9th-place finish in the ESPN Ultimate Challenge (Men’s Division) in February, 1999. The single-elimination event was won by Efren Reyes, with Dennis Hatch as the runner-up. Eberle shared his 9th place finish with Allen Hopkins, Alex Pagulayan, and Johnny Archer, among others. Moving into his 21st year as a cash-earning entrant in the AZBilliards database, Max Eberle began 2020 with a bit of a bang, working his way through to a winners’ side semifinal and then, three matches on the loss side to meet and defeat ‘young gun’ Chris Robinson-Reinhold in the finals of the 24th Annual Jay Swanson “Swanee” Memorial on the weekend of January 18-19. The $3,000-added event drew 64 entrants to Griff’s in Las Vegas, NV.
The field included the event’s current champion, Vilmos Foldes, but did not include last year’s runner-up, Oscar Dominguez. Alex Pagulayan, two-time winner of the event in ’11 and ’12 was registered, but forfeited his first two matches. The ‘old school’ versus ’new school’ meeting in the finals had its origins in the event’s winners’ side semifinals, when Eberle, after victories over Avelino Arciaga (8-1), Mike Hutcheson (8-5), Chris McDaniel (Forfeit) and Mitch Ellerman (8-6), faced Alfonso Moreno, Jr. (it was Ellerman who’d sent Foldes to the loss side). Robinson-Reinhold, in the meantime, got by Victor Cucuzza (8-4), Ronnie Wiseman (8-3), Ian Costello (8-6) and Anthony Ortega (8-6) to face Tuan Tran in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Eberle and Moreno, Jr. locked up in a double hill fight that eventually sent Moreno to the hot seat match and Eberle off on his three-match, loss-side trip back. Robinson-Reinhold and Tran came within a game of having their match go to double hill, as well, but Robinson-Reinhold pulled ahead near the end and won it 8-6 to join Moreno, Jr. in the battle for the hot seat. Robinson-Reinhold won that fight, decisively, 8-2 and waited in the hot seat for the return of Eberle.
On the loss side, as the event moved into its first money rounds (13-16), Foldes, having won his first loss-side match 7-1 to KC Massey, continued to lurk. He’d win two more; to Chris McDaniel 7-5 and Tom Smith 7-3 before falling to Brian Begay 7-5. Begay would move on to face Eberle, coming over from his winners’ side semifinal fight. Tuan Tran picked up Ellerman, who, after his winners’ side quarterfinal defeat at the hands of Eberle had eliminated James Cabal 7-2 and Ian Costello 7-3.
Ellerman advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-4 win over Tran. Eberle earned the rematch with a 7-2 victory over Begay. Eberle downed Ellerman a second time, 7-5, in those quarterfinals and then, downed Moreno, Jr. 7-3 in the semifinals.
Eberle chalked up his first (recorded) major victory since he won the Derby City’s 14:1 Challenge in 2013. ‘Old School’ downed ‘New School’ (in the person of Chris Robinson-Reinhold) with a 10-6 victory in the finals.
CueSports International (CSI) is pleased to announce that recorded matches from the 2019 US Open Bank Pool Championship have been released on the CSI YouTube Channel. Thirteen (13) matches featuring some of the world's best bank pool players such as Shane Van Boening, John Morra, Billy Thorpe, Warren Kiamco and more can be viewed in their entirety – absolutely free!
The event was held May 24-26 at Griff's Billiards in Las Vegas. The format was double elimination with each match being a race to four (4) except the final match which was a race to five (5).
RECORDED MATCHES
Match 1: John Morra (Canada) vs John Philips (USA)
Match 6: John Morra (Canada) vs Warren Kiamco (Philippines)
Match 7: Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Billy Thorpe (USA)
Match 8: Mitch Ellerman (USA) vs John Philips (USA)
Match 9: Marc Vidal Claramunt (USA) vs Gary Lutman (USA)
Match 10 HOT SEAT: Billy Thorpe (USA) vs John Morra (Canada)
Match 11: Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Warren Kiamco (Philippines)
Match 12 SEMI-FINAL: Shane Van Boening (USA) vs John Morra (Canada)
Match 13 FINAL: Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Billy Thorpe (USA)
Please SUBSCRIBE to the CSI YouTube Channel to be notified whenever we upload new content.
CueSports International (CSI) is an international pool league and event leader and is currently comprised of three divisions: CSI leagues, CSI events and CSI media. CSI leagues manages the BCA Pool League and USA Pool League, CSI events produces numerous amateur and professional events around the globe and CSI media creates live streaming and digital content. Through its vision and strategic alliances, CSI is “shaping the future of pool.” For more information about CSI or any of its divisions, visit www.playcsipool.com or find CueSports International on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.
Four players from four countries bested the field in Qualifier 3 of the WPA Players Championship. Omar Al-Shaheen (Kuwait), Mitch Ellerman (USA), Jeffrey Ignacio (Philippines) and Nick Malaj (Greece) finished as the top four of the 50-player field to advance to the $50,000 added Stage 2 Main Event which begins Tuesday, April 16.
The WPA Players Championship is being staged at Griff’s Billiards in Las Vegas, April 12-19. The main event, with $50,000 added prize money, is limited to 64 players. 48 players where chosen by the WPA rankings and member federations to begin in the Stage 2 Main Event. The remaining 16 spots are being filled by four Stage 1 qualifier tournaments, one per day, held at Griff’s Billiards April 12-15. The top four finishers from each qualifier receive a paid spot in the Stage 2 Main Event which begins April 16.
The fourth and final Qualifier will be held Monday, April 15 where at least four additional players will advance to Stage 2.
The entire event is being streamed live by CSI media, a division of CueSports International (CSI). The production, complete with full-time commentary led by former World 8-Ball Champion, Karl Boyes, begins each day at noon pacific time. To watch live, visit www.playcsipool.com/watch-live.
The World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) is the international governing body for pocket billiards and is comprised of six member federations representing North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. The WPA is the world-recognized body for sanctioning World Championship events. It is also one of the three member organizations of the World Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS), representing the billiard disciplines of pool, snooker and carom. For more information about the WPA, visit www.wpapool.com.
CueSports International (CSI) is an international pool league and event leader and is currently comprised of three divisions: CSI leagues, CSI events and CSI media. CSI leagues manages the BCA Pool Leagueand USA Pool League, CSI events produces numerous amateur and professional events around the globe and CSI media creates live streaming and digital content. Through its vision and strategic alliances, CSI is “shaping the future of pool.” For more information about CSI or any of its divisions, visit www.playcsipool.com or find CueSports International on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.
The WPA Players Championship is made possible by the following sponsors:
The draw for the 43rd US Open 9-Ball Championship has been made, with Jayson Shaw to begin his defense against Marcus Weston at Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas on Sunday, April 21.
The draw was seeded with a golf-style category system adopted, which took in rankings from across the pool world including WPA World Ranking, BCA Standings and Fargo Rating. As defending champion Shaw was seeded No.1, while five-time US Open champion Shane Van Boening is seeded second as the highest ranked American player.
Broadcast details for the 2019 US Open 9-Ball Championship will be announced shortly. Live rack-by-rack scoring will be available throughout the event at www.matchroompool.com thanks to Matchroom Multi Sport’s partnership with CueScore.
Note: Should any players featured in the draw not participate in the event, they will be replaced directly by the first player on the event waiting list to accept a spot in the tournament, irrespective of where the new player would have featured in any seeding category.
All matches at the US Open 9-Ball Championship takes place April 21-26 at Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas. Matches are race to 11, winner breaks, except the final which is race to 13. The draw and match schedule for the first stage of the tournament is available now at www.matchroompool.com.
Tickets for the 43rd US Open 9-Ball Championship are still available at www.matchroompool.com from as little as $10 with VIP packages also available for the final three days of the tournament.
The tournament will be split into two stages with the full field playing double elimination down to the final 16 from Sunday April 21st until Tuesday April 23rd across multiple tables. From Wednesday April 24th until Friday April 26th the final 16 players will play straight knockout in the TV Arena in front of a global television audience.