Robbie Capito has won the BetVictor 2024 UK Open Pool Championship, beating Mieszko Fortunski 13-10 in a gripping finale at the at the Telford International Centre live on broadcasters worldwide, including DAZN, Viaplay, and Sky Sports in the UK.
RESULT Robbie Capito 13 – 10 Mieszko Fortunski
Capito seized an early advantage, showcasing his skill by effortlessly claiming the first rack after winning the lag. However, Fortunski swiftly retaliated, capitalising on Capito’s missed shot of the 1-ball in the following rack to initiate a three-rack winning streak.
Undeterred, Capito mounted an impressive comeback, going on a seven-rack charge fuelled by Fortunski’s errors to pot the 2-ball in rack 5 and 7. With each player exchanging blows, the tension heightened in rack 11 as Capito demonstrated his strategic prowess with a flawless safety shot, forcing Fortunski into a critical scratch.
As the match unfolded, both players encountered moments of uncertainty. Capito’s nerves led to a foul in rack 12, while Fortunski’s committed a second scratch, missing a chance to take the lead and allowing Capito to retain his advantage at 8-5. In a seesaw battle, Capito never found himself comfortable, especially when Fortunski capitalised on Capito’s missed shot of the 5-ball, closing the gap in rack 15.
As the match neared its conclusion, the pressure intensified in rack 21 when Capito’s second missed shot opened the door for Fortunski to narrow the score to 11-10. However, just as the possibility of a level playing field emerged between the two cueists, Fortunski’s failure to hook the 7-ball provided Capito with the opportunity he required to clear the table and reach the hill.
In a fitting end to an intense battle, Capito reclaimed his early composure, calmly clearing the table in the final rack to clinch the UK Open Pool Championship title with a score of 13-10. Today, Robbie Capito transitions from being a rising star to a true champion in the world of professional pool.
The newly crowned UK Open Pool Champion, Robbie Capitio said: “I’ve been working so hard for his moment. I made it clear at the start of the week that I wasn’t just here to participate, I was here to win my first Matchroom Major. And today, I have achieved just that.”
NEXT WORLD NINEBALL TOUR EVENT
Rally in Shenandoah Valley will take place at the On Cue Sports Bar & Grill, Front Royal, Virginia, from May 17-19, with a field size of 64 players and prize fund of $29,200.
NEXT MATCHROOM EVENT
The next signature Matchroom multi-table open event will be the crown jewel of the World Nineball Tour; The 2024 World Pool Championship in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The prestigious tournament takes place from June 3-8 in Green Halls, Jeddah, with a record-breaking $1,000,000 prize pool on offer.
Mieszko Fortunski and Robbie Capito will contest the BetVictor 2024 UK Open Pool Championship final at the Telford International Centre live on broadcasters worldwide, including DAZN, Viaplay, and Sky Sports in the UK.
Despite winning the lag, Petri Makkonen’s scratch from break and failure to pot the 8-ball in the first rack foreshadowed the misfortune he would face against Mieszko Fortunski.
Capitalising on the Finnish player’s mistake in rack 1, Fortunski gained momentum, executing a perfect 2-9 combo in the fourth rack to eventually reach 6-0. However, Makkonen finally claimed his first two racks after overcoming a safety shot in rack 7, followed by a golden break to make it 6-2. Fortunski swiftly snatched back two racks to make it 8-2, leading the pair to engage in an exchange of safety shots in rack 11. Makkonen redeemed himself this time, setting up a trap that forced Fortunski to scratch, allowing him to sweep and make it 8-3.
Repeating history, Makkonen’s dry break in rack 12 handed back the opportunity to Fortunski, who reignited his momentum once more to reach the hill. The butcher showcased his skill set in the final rack with a jump shot to pot the 3-ball, followed by a 4-6 combo, eventually sweeping the table to secure his spot as a finalist.
To conclude the semi-finals, Robbie Captino and Pijus Labutis entered into a tense and strategic battle. Labutis claimed the first three racks, delivering safety shots that Capito was initially unable to counter. It wasn’t until the fourth rack where Capito found his redemption, executing a kick shot on the 7-ball to sweep and claim his first rack.
Maintaining composure, Capito proceeded to clear the table in a 6-rack win streak, claiming the lead at 6-3. The streak came to a halt in rack 10 following a foul shot on the 8-ball, allowing Labutis to steal the rack. Capito fired back, escaping another safety with an incredible long bank shot of the 1-ball to sweep up and make it 7-4.
The pressure weighed heavily on both players, evident in their struggles in the subsequent racks. Rack 13 saw them both make back-to-back scratches, granting Labutis a brief catch-up to bring the score to 8-7. In a desperate attempt to equalise, Labutis tried to clear the table in rack 16, only to leave the 5-ball on the edge for Capito to seize.
Despite Capito reaching the hill at rack 18, Labutis persisted in setting traps to mount a comeback, reminiscent of the first round. However, his failure to pot the 2-ball in rack 20 sealed his fate, allowing Capito to sweep the table once more and secure victory in this epic battle.
Final – Race to 13
Mieszko Fortunski (POL) vs Robbie Capito (HKG)
Watch
The UK Open Pool Championship final will be broadcasted live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland with fans in the USA and Brazil able to watch on DAZN whilst those in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Poland, Netherlands, and Iceland can watch live on Viaplay.
Eklent Kaçi’s title defence comes to a shocking end at the BetVictor 2024 UK Open Pool Championship at the Telford International Centre. Unlike Capito, Fortunski, Makkonen, and Labutis who advance into tomorrow’s semi-finals live on broadcasters worldwide, including DAZN, Viaplay, and Sky Sports in the UK.
Defending champion Eklent Kaçi began the day with an impressive battle against American hall of famer Shane Van Boening, securing a decisive 10-5 victory. Kaçi then went on to encounter Spanish Open semi-finalist Pijus Labutis, who had previously stopped Mickey Krause with a 10-6 win in the Last 16 stage.
Unfortunately for Kaçi, his title defence came to a devastating halt against Labutis, who prevented the Albanian from gaining any momentum during the racks. A golden break comfortably propelled Labutis to the hill, where he swept the table to reach 10-5, bringing an end to Kaçi’s reign.
Filler’s masterclass persisted as he continued his rack win streak from the previous night, dominating Wiktor Zielinski with a commanding 6-0 lead. Filler’s execution of safety shots left Zielinski with little opportunity to gain ground, concluding the match 10-3.
In the subsequent round, Filler faced off against the emerging talent Robbie Capito, who had defeated Fedor Gorst in a dramatic 10-8 showdown the round before. Despite Filler’s strong performance earlier, he encountered challenges against Capito, who began with an impressive 6-0 advantage. Filler regained momentum, seizing opportunities presented by his opponent’s mistakes and bringing the match to a hill-hill climax. Unfortunately, a crucial error in potting the 4-ball in the final rack proved costly for Filler, allowing Capito to secure the victory and advance to the semi-finals.
The Last 16 saw a double KO, with both Ko Pin Yi and Ko Ping Chung getting knocked out of the tournament by Tobias Bongers and Mieszko Fortunski, respectively. Bongers and Fortunski then faced off in the following round, but it was Fortunski who emerged victorious with a convincing 10-4 win over Bongers.
Mosconi Cup Team USA captain Skyler Woodward also met his match in the Last 16, as Petri Makkonen defeated the last remaining American 10-7. The Finnish competitor then went head-to-head with the two-time World Pool Champion, Albin Ouschan, establishing an early lead in the match.
However, Makkonen’s missed shot on the 9-ball in rack 12, followed by a scratch on the break in rack 17, allowed Ouschan to mount a comeback and bring the match to a thrilling hill-hill scenario. Unfortunately for Ouschan, a dry break dashed his hopes, enabling Makkonen to clear the table and secure his place in the semi-finals tomorrow.
The JS Junior Open finished today, showcasing a thrilling final match between Sonny Haegmans and Maks Benko. In a showdown filled with tension, defending champion Benko emerged victorious with a 9-4 triumph. His win secured the top prize of $2,500, amidst the buzz of excitement at the Telford International Centre.
Juniors aged 17 and under all came to Telford hoping to make a name for themselves as an up-and-coming superstar. With host Shaw watching on and welcoming, action was fast-paced as they competed for their part of the $10,000 prize fund.
Watch
The last day will be broadcasted live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland with fans in the USA and Brazil able to watch on DAZN whilst those in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Poland, Netherlands, and Iceland can watch live on Viaplay.
World Champion Francisco Sanchez Ruiz suffered an unexpected exit from the BetVictor 2024 UK Open Pool Championship, at the Telford International Centre, whereas defending champion Eklent Kaçi advances into tomorrow’s Last 16 live on broadcasters worldwide, including DAZN, Viaplay, and Sky Sports in the UK.
Despite making it to the Last 32, Ruiz fell short against former World Cup of Pool champion Petri Makkonen, losing 10-6. Upsets continued as home favourite Jayson Shaw and Vietnamese star Duong Quoc Hoang both failed to progress from the Last 64 stage, each losing 10-7.
Kaçi’s title defence remained strong, staging a crucial comeback against Mario He, overturning a 1-5 deficit to ultimately secure a 10-7 victory. The defending champion went into the Last 32, where he defeated the Singaporean Toh Lian Han with a decisive 10-5. However, his younger brother, Kledio Kaçi, struggled to advance past the Last 64, falling 10-7 to Makkonen.
The only Austrian to make it to the quarterfinals, Albin Ouschan, secured a hard-fought victory over snooker champion Gary Wilson in a nail-biting 10-9 battle. Ouschan clawed back from a three-rack deficit, earning his place for tomorrow’s matchup.
The Ko brothers effortlessly advanced into the quarterfinals with slid back-to-back victories in their matches, alongside last year’s Mosconi Cup Team USA contenders, Fedor Gorst, Shane Van Boening, and this year’s captain, Skyler Woodward.
To wrap up the day, Joshua ‘The Killer’ Filler claimed his revenge against old foe Anton Raga with a commanding a 10-0 masterclass, marking a stark contrast to Raga’s victory over Filler in the 2023 European Open.
The JS Junior Open returns alongside the main action in the Telford International Centre. Juniors aged 17 and under all came to Telford hoping to make a name for themselves as an up-and-coming superstar. With host Shaw watching on and welcoming, action was fast-paced as they compete for their part of the $10,000 prize fund. All players were provided with a free jersey from partners Onboard Sportswear as well as welcome pack that included tips and chalk from KAMUI. The final of the JS Junior Open will be live-streamed live on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel thanks to the partners mentioned above and Cuetec, Diamond Billiards, Iwan Simonis, and Aramith Balls.
Live rack-by-rack scoring will be available throughout the event at www.wntlivescores.com.
Wherever you are in the world, you will be able to catch the action with broadcasters globally and live on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube channels in selected territories and on Matchroom.Live. UK-based fans can see the final two days on Sky Sports with the opening four on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom YouTube. Fans in the USA and Brazil will be able to watch all six days live on DAZN whilst those in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Poland, Netherlands, and Iceland can watch live on Viaplay.
Spectators will be able to catch the action live from the Telford International Centre throughout the week, with day tickets available from £22 and weekend passes for fans to take in the final two days for just £50.
Secure your ticket here
Joshua Filler survived being knocked to the loser’s side by Alex Pagulayan on day two of the World Pool Championship 2023 in Kielce, Poland as only 64 remain after two days of action live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and TV networks worldwide.
Filler faced Pagulayan early on for a spot in the Last 64 to avoid an extra match in Losers’ Qualification round this evening. The Killer fell to a 9-7 defeat, his second defeat to the Canadian in a matter of days after a loss at the Derby City Classic. It left Filler having to beat Daniele Corrieri to ensure his hunt for a second world title would continue and he did so in emphatic fashion in a 9-1 dismantling. Crucially, defeat to Pagulayan meant Filler lost his seeded position in the bracket ahead of the Last 64 redraw.
Last year’s semi-finalist Abdullah Alyousef suffered a 9-3 defeat to USA hotshot Shane Wolford to be sent home at the first major hurdle whilst Oliver Szolnoki suffered the same fate in a hill-hill finish against Ajdin Piknjac. 2021 runner-up Omar Al-Shaheen struggled for his groove against Denis Grabe as the Estonian came good to knock the 2021 runner-up out the competition. There was frustration for 1996 champion Ralf Souquet also, the Kaiser well beaten by Pole Daniel Maciol in Winners’ Qualification before defeat at the hands of Dimitri Jungo. Home favourite Mieszko Fortunski was also knocked out with the World Pool Masters semi-finalist knocked out by Lars Kuckherm.
The 32 players who qualified through Winners’ Qualification were seeded in the Last 64 redraw against an unseeded player who came through the Losers Qualification matches with Karl Boyes completing the draw with Rachel Casey on the Matchroom Pool YouTube page. Pagulayan and Filler will have to dance again after being drawn against each other whilst defending champion Van Boening will come up against Uski.
Action returns from midday local time tomorrow on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, the Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA and Italy as well as on Matchroom.Live and broadcasters worldwide. Table 2 and Table 3 are on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube Channels respectively and Viaplay in above listed territories. See where to watch here.
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 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.
Shane Van Boening (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)
Shane Van Boening will begin the defense of his World Pool Championship title against Japan’s Masato Yoshioka in Kielce, Poland from February 1-5 live on Sky Sports in the UK, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia and the Baltics, DAZN in the USA as well as Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide.
The American will look to become only the second player in history to defend the title following in the footsteps of Earl Strickland in a packed arena at Targi Kielce. 46 countries will be represented in the 128-player field as it is whittled down to the Last 64 over the first two days of action before it’s straight knockout to the end where one will claim the $60,000 first-place prize and the world crown.
The draw was completed with the top 64 players from the Nineball World Rankings against an unseeded player from the other 64 in the hat. Standout first-round ties include 2015 world champion Ko Pin Yi facing James Aranas of the Philippines whilst 2022 semi-finalist Abdullah Alyousef faces the tricky prospect of Johann Chua. 2004 world champion Alex Pagulayan was unseeded and will meet Michael Schneider.
World Cup of Pool winner David Alcaide takes on Billy Thorpe and Shane Wolford‘s mission for a spot on Team USA at the 2023 Mosconi Cup takes on Pia Filler. Francisco Sanchez Ruiz had a year to remember last year and will begin his Nineball campaign against So Shaw of Iran.
Double elimination matches are all race to 9, with all matches from the Last 64 a race to 11 except the final, which is a race to 13.
Table 1 will be live on broadcasters worldwide including Sky Sports in the UK, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA, Canada, and Italy, as well as on Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide. See where to watch here.
Table 2 will be live on Viaplay in selected territories as well as on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel.
Table 3 will be live on Viaplay in selected territories as well as on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom Multi Sport YouTube channel.
Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz continued a remarkable year by winning the Predator World 8-Ball Championship, defeating Wiktor Zielinski 10-6 in the final at the Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan.
A packed crowd saw the Spaniard, who has earned an army of new fans this week, add a first World Championship to the Derby City Classic, three EuroTours, World Cup and US Open he has won this year. He ascended to the top of the World rankings this year too, a position further cemented after this event.
The 30-year-old has enjoyed a year which, with the addition of a World title to his résumé, must be considered as one of the greatest of any player in the sport’s history.
“It has been an amazing year for me, especially this tournament, because I never won a World Championship,” said Sanchez-Ruiz, whose trophy and gold medal comes with a $60,000 winners’ prize.
“I have won a Junior World championship but not this kind of event. Last year I won my biggest title and now I became World Champion, I cannot believe it. My goal is to keep working and be better and better every day but to win a World Championship is a dream for everyone.
“I want to continue playing like this. I could feel in every single moment here that all the Puerto Rican’s were supporting me and I think that is why I came back. In the beginning I didn’t play super good but I made a couple of good racks which gave me extra confidence.
“After I won the Derby, everything changed in my mind, that was very important for me this year. It has been amazing, but now I am looking for the Mosconi Cup. I won a lot of tournaments but the most important thing was the first big one.”
The Spaniard got off to a perfect start in the final when Zielinski’s dry break left a nice layout for Sanchez-Ruiz, who took a 1-0 lead. The Pole leveled with Sanchez-Ruiz wasn’t able to execute a difficult bank for the 7, and he didn’t give up control of the table as he quickly reached 3-1. A dry break brought ‘FSR’ back to the table to make it 3-2. Zielinski wasn’t in his chair for long, however, and less than 40 minutes into the final was already halfway to the title at 5-2.
Sanchez-Ruiz was just as quick to join Zielinski on 5, taking advantage when his opponent missed the 11 to take out three racks and level the match. The Spaniard was in stroke and confident, and had the crowd behind him. He took the lead at 6-5 and didn’t look likely to surrender the table any time soon.
The event had been well supported all week, and for the final even standing room was at a premium. Those in attendance were being treated to a world-class display from Sanchez-Ruiz, who had won six in a row to lead 8-5 before two kicks on the cue ball meant he scratched on the break. Zielinski cleared for 8-6 but a scratch in the side pocket allowed Sanchez-Ruiz to the hill.
Zielinski had a final chance at 9-6 down but a missed bank brought the World No.1 to the table and it wasn’t long until the 8 was down and Sanchez-Ruiz was standing to hear his national anthem beamed across the arena.
The medal ceremony awarded bronze to Jayson Shaw, beaten 10-7 by Zielinski in the semi-finals, and Mario He, who also lost 10-7. The Austrian was defeated by Sanchez-Ruiz, who had also ended the hopes of Konrad Juszczyszyn, Robbie Capito and Fedor Gorst in the knockout stages.
The Predator Pro Billiard Series will return in 2023, starting with the Kamui World Women’s 9-Ball Championship in Atlantic City, NJ from January 19-22.
The Brass Tap & Billiards of Raleigh, NC has a long history of hosting tournaments and this year was no exception. After a layoff since 2019 due to the pandemic, owner Richard Kuntz welcomed players and fans back to the $15,000 added Beasley Open.
Presented by Doug Beasley of Beasley Custom Cues and special sponsors PoolActionTV.com and Brass Tap & Billiards, this year’s tournament had two events – One Pocket and Open 9 Ball.
Posting their $200 entry fees, the $5,000 added double elimination One Pocket division drew 48 players. Played on Diamond tables and racing to three, the finals would be one extended race to four. After the players auction and draw, the matches began.
With twelve players receiving a first round bye, Josh Roberts and Can Salim were not so fortunate. Josh survived that match 3-1 and went on to defeat Asad Khan 3-0, Justin Hall 3-1 and Brandon Shuff 3-2. On a similar path, John Morra had wins over Francesco Candela 3-1, Larry Pierce 3-2, Hunter White 3-1 and Corey Sykes 3-0. Then, in a hard fought match to reach the hot seat, Morra prevailed over Roberts 3-2.
Meanwhile, in the other portion of the bracket, Alex Pagulayan and Tony Chohan were on the march to the hot seat. After drawing a first round bye, Alex defeated Carlo Biado 3-2, Tony Pete 3-0 and Shane Wolford 3-1. Tony was the victor over Jesse Gilbert 3-2 and then skunked Robbie House 3-0, Brady Norris 3-0 and Omar Al Shaheen 3-0. He then received his own 3-0 thumping by Alex!
The hot seat match was all Pagulayan as he beat back Morra – also 3-0. John headed west and Alex moved to the finals.
Morra watched as Chohan edged out Biado 3-2 only to be relegated to third place 3-0. Looking for revenge, Tony went to the finals.
Still on a tear, Tony sliced through Alex in under an hour winning four gamesstraight to claim the title. Congratulations, Tony! Good tournament, Alex!
Johann Chua and Bader Al Awadhi
The $10,000 added Nine Ball Open began on Friday night following the players auction and draw. Ninety six players posted their $150 entry fees to play. The format was alternate breaks, rack your own with the nine on the spot and the two in the back, no soft breaks and races to 9/7.
Racing across the top half of the bracket was Johann Chua and Chia-Chen Hsieh. Playing to get to the hot seat match, Chua spanked Hsieh 9-1. The bottom portion of the bracket saw Bader Alawadhi win over John Morra 9-5.
Hot seat action again was all Chua as he locked up his seat in the finals 9-1. Bader went to the one loss side to await an opponent. Morra defeated Roberts 7-5 and then was eliminated by the same score leaving John with another third place finish.
The finals were one extended race to thirteen. Chua rocketed out to a 7-1 lead until Alawadhi caught a gear and tied the match at eight games each! Johann finally won the next two games to reach 10-8. Bader fought back to win a couple more until his opponent pulled away to win the match 13-10. Congratulations, Johann! Good shooting, Bader!
PoolActionTV.com would like to thank Richard Kuntz and his staff for another fantastic event.
In addition, we’d like to thank our fans and sponsors. Our sponsors include JB Cases, Hanshew Jump Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Lomax Custom Cues, Simonis, Aramith, Durbin Custom Cues, Savage Billiard Apparel, Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX and the Action Palace of Dayton, OH.
Our next event is the 4th Annual $7,500 added Big Boi Classic at Peyton’s Place in Knoxville, TN. The dates are November 18th-20th – hope to see you there!
