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2023 Derby City Classic Banks Ring Game – Murphy / Woodward / Thorpe / Hall / Demet / Wolford

Reyes and Murphy Highlight Derby City Classic Days 7 & 8

Efren Reyes

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-POCKET Championship: 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 streamed from 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.

Alex calmly ran his last 4 balls.

Woodward vs Filler

Surely, the comeback of the One-Pocket Championship was when Skyler Woodward, who just joined Shane Van Boening and Fedor Gorst at team Cuetec, faced Joshua Filler.

Woodward fell afoul of his super aggressive play which left Filler opportunities to pull ahead.

Sure, had Skyler made the ball, chances are he was out. When the ball didn’t fall, Filler filled in the gaps.

So, now, they were tied at 2. With only one life left each: Someone’s gotta go.

Joshua, energized, jumped to a 5-2 lead.

Sky, disciplined now, had safety in mind. No more firing at fantasies. No silly sell-outs.

All the balls were soon driven upstream, not quite “the wedge” as they weren’t confined to a corner. 

But, for sure, there was no way to win in one inning. 

Either player must earn it – with pure banking skills. One rail, two railers at a time is how Sky reversed the seemingly insurmountable lead.

You have to see for yourself. The match is available OnDemand at Accu-Stats.com.

It’s must see TV!

Friday, JAN 27

Johnathon Pinegar vs Tony Chohan

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!

Efren Reyes suffered a first round loss to Robbie Capito and Roland Garcia got Dan Louie. 

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.

Undefeated are Mosconi Cup team player Oscar Dominguez, Fedor Gorst, Johnathon Pinegar, Skyler Woodward, Josh Roberts, Jesus Atencio, Jayson Shaw, SVB, Tony Chohan, Billy Thorpe, Ike Runnels, Joshua Filler, Mike Dechaine, Marc Vidal, John Morra, Margarita Fervilova, Tyler Styer, Konrad Juszczyszyn, Scott Frost, Donny Mills, Max Eberle, Brandon Shuff plus, the Filipino contingent; Alex, Gomez, Corteza, DeLuna, Garcia, and Raga,

DCC’s Friday Night Ring Game:

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.

Don’t miss a stroke: Visit accu-stats.com. Enjoy.

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Gomez & Malm Take Music City

Jeffrey De Luna and Roberto Gomez

The legendary JOB Billiards Club in Madison, TN – a suburb of Nashville – presented the $7,000 added 35th Annual Music City Open this past week. Featuring multiple minis as well as the Open and Ladies Nine Ball events, there was action galore!

Joining JOB’s owner Ricky Gamble in special sponsorship was PoolActionTV.com as well as Aramith, Simonis and Diamond Billiard Products.

Looking to shake off the rust was BCA Hall of Famer Kim Davenport and Shane Wolford looking to defend his title. Notables spotted around the room were Jesus Atencio, Josh Roberts, Robb Saez, Shannon Murphy, Johnathan (“Hennessee”) Pinegar, Chuck Raulston, Jason Foutch, April Larson, Tina Malm, Liz Lovely, Kelly Isaac, Tam Trinh, Janeen Lee and WPBA veteran Suzie Quall. Filipinos Jeffrey de Luna and Bogies (Houston, TX) House Pro Roberto Gomez as well as Denmark’s Mickey Krause and Indonesia’s Alvin Angito also joined the fray.

All events were played on seven foot Diamonds and play kicked off with on Wednesday evening with a single elimination race to seven nine ball mini tournament. The field was whittled down to Jesus Atencio & Mickey Krause – they split the pot. There was another mini tournament on Saturday night – these two split the pot again!

Players were back on Thursday night for the players auction, meeting & draw. A full field of 128 players entered this race to eleven winner breaks tournament. 

Roberto Gomez began his march to the hot seat match after defeating Matt Moore (11-4), Jaime Mitchell (11-3), Rich McDonald (11-1), Johnathan (“Hennessee”) Pinegar (11-9), Jeffrey de Luna (11-9) and Billy Young (11-10).

Mason Koch also advanced to the hot seat match after wins over Ryan Williams (11-4), TJ Hammond (11-1), Jason Bacon (11-5), Jerry Clayman (11-10), Mickey Krause (11-9) and Trey Frank (11-5).

The hot seat match was close but it was Gomez who locked up his seat in the finals 11-7. Mason would have to await an opponent on the one loss side.

Jeffrey de Luna edged out Mickey Krause (11-10) and then faced Koch to see who would advance to the finals. Jeff defeated Mason 11-4 and moved on to the finals. Mason finished in third place.

Since this was true double elimination, de Luna would have to defeat Gomez twice to win the tournament. However, it was not to be as Roberto won 11-9 to add the Music City Open title to his resume! Congratulations, Roberto! Good event, Jeff!

April Larson and Tina Malm

The Ladies Nine Ball division began on Friday night with 49 players playing in this race to seven winner breaks tournament. 

Tina Malm advanced to the hot seat with wins over Casey Baldridge (7-4), Elizabeth Shilliam (7-2), Amanda Wilder (7-0), the always tough April Larson (7-5) and Janeen Lee (7-1).

Joining Tina in the hot seat match was Liz Lovely. She defeated Allison Hardwick (7-1), Chelsea Hoyt (7-2), Beverly Cook 7-1, Melissa Young (7-4) and Heather Middleton (7-3).

The hot seat match was close but Malm closed it out with a 7-5 victory over Lovely. Liz headed west to await an opponent.

After losing a nailbiter to Heather Middleton in the fourth round 7-6, Kelly Isaac then edged out Amy Theriault (7-6) and beat Melissa Young (7-2) and Janeen Lee (7-0) until she was eliminated by April Larson (7-2). Kelly finished in fourth place.

Larson then defeated Lovely (7-4) to move into the finals. Liz finished in third place.

Again, since this was true double elimination, April had to defeat Tina twice to take the title. April won the first set 7-4 but Tina took the decider and the title with a 7- 4 win! Congratulations, Tina! Great effort, April!

PoolActionTV.com would like to thank Ricky Gamble and his staff for their exemplary efforts in taking care of all the players and fans.  

We’d also like to thank Tournament Director Jason Hill for doing an excellent job in running all the different events.

In addition, kudos to Larry Schwartz, Mary Kenniston, Josh Roberts and Ray Hansen for their excellent commentary.

PoolActionTV.com would also like to thank our sponsors and fans. Our sponsors include JB Cases, Hanshew Jump Cues, Simonis, Aramith, Lomax Custom Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Durbin Custom Cues, Savage Billiards, the Action Palace of Dayton, OH and the Fort Worth Superstore of Fort Worth, TX. 

And on to the Derby City Classic! Be sure to stop by our Aramith Action Room! The dates are January 20th-28th! Hope to see you there!

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24th Derby City Classic Coming Up

The 24th Derby City Classic is right around the corner, and once again, Pat Fleming and Accu-Stats Video Productions will be providing fans with online video coverage of the best players in the sport today. 

The coverage kicks off on January 20th, with the Diamond Big Foot 10-Ball Challenge, where sixteen top players will compete on the 5’ by 10’ Diamond Big Foot table for $32,000 in prize money. Joshua Filler will be attempting to defend his title from last year, but he will have his hands full with a field of top challengers. The field of players signed up this year is:

Joshua Filler
Fedor Gorst
Jayson Shaw
Shane Van Boening
Skyler Woodward
Roberto Gomez
Alex Pagulayan
Mika Immonen
Lee Vann Corteza
Roland Garcia
John Morra
Jeffrey De Luna
Omar Al-Shaheen (Replaced by Mieszko Fortunski)
Konrad Juszczyszyn
Jesus Atencio
Max Eberle

After three days of 10-Ball on the 10’ table, play on January 23rd will see the conclusion of the 10-ball event, as well as action from the 9-ball banks event. 

The 9-ball banks event will conclude on January 24th and the coverage will then move to the one pocket division, with one pocket action on 24th – 26th. 

The one pocket event is scheduled to finish on January 26th, leave the open 9-ball event and the fight for the Master of the Table title as the event finishes on January 27th and 28th. 

While the video coverage will focus on the 9-ball in the last days, the crowd favorite Banks Ring Game is scheduled for the evening of January 27th. This event will see a field of six players playing for $8000 in prize money. The tentative field for this years Banks Ring Game is Justin Hall, Billy Thorpe, Skyler Woodward, Shane Wolford, Shannon Murphy and Jonathan Demet. 

Fans can watch all of the PPV coverage with either daily passes or an event pass. Daily passes are available for $12.95 a day, or an entire event pass is available for $59.95 if paid for before the event kicks off on the 20th. The cost for the event pass will go up to $79.95 after January 20th. Purchase of the event pass also gives fans the ability to watch any matches from the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Derby City events. 

Fans can sign up for passes at www.accu-stats.com/watch

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Hennessee is Big Man at Big Boi Classic

Jonathan Pinegar

Bobby Jack Conner welcomed players and fans to his room, Peyton’s Place in Knoxville, TN, for the 4th Annual Big Boi Classic.

The $7,500 added event was nine ball played on seven foot Diamonds. Seventy three players put up their $125 entry fees to compete in this double elimination event. The format was alternate breaks with races to 9/7.

Presented by Peyton’s Place and PoolActionTV.com, additional sponsors were Outsville and Rosner Cue Repair as well as special sponsor Formby Painting and Wallcovering.

The event kicked off on Friday night with the players auction, players meeting and draw.

With most players drawing first round byes, Jon (“Hennessee”) Pinegar and Robbie Langford weren’t so lucky – Hennessee pounded Robbie 9-3. His next match was a little tougher but after a battle, David Givens went down 9-7. He blew through his next three opponents – Ricky Chitwood, Chris Gentile and Ryan Williams – all 9-2.

Young gun, Eric Roberts, had also marched through the bracket. After drawing a first round bye, he defeated Arron Kinnunen 9-3 and notched a forfeit over Kenneth Stewart. Next match proved to be tougher but he prevailed over Germany’s Can Salim 9-4. Eric followed this with a victory over Michael Rudd 9-3. Next match was Hennessee – it was a close match but Eric lost 9-7 and headed over to the one loss side while Pinegar moved on to the hot seat match.

The bottom portion of the bracket was filled with killers – Josh Roberts, Shane McMinn, Shannon Murphy, BJ Ussery, Shane Little and another young gun, Kashton Keaton.

BJ started his tear through the bracket with a win over Jason Floore 9-2 and then defeated Shane McMinn, Daniel Autrey, Kelly Green and Adam Pendley – all 9-5.

Josh Roberts was on a similar path – he also drew a first round bye and then spanked Carey Stringfield 9-1. His next victims were Mike Patton 9-5 and Marcus Pendley 9-3 – Kash Keaton went down 9-5.

Josh and BJ then vied for a berth in the hot seat match – BJ took the match 9-7 and Josh headed west.

Meanwhile, after losing his second match to Ussery, McMinn put his head down and barreled through David Head 7-5, Ricky Chitwood 7-6, Robert Wilkerson 7-5, Matt Shaw 7-4, Shannon Murphy 7-5, Michael Rudd 7-0, Ryan Williams 7-0, Josh Roberts 7-4 and Can Salim 7-4. Shane then cooled his heels and awaited the results of the hot seat match.

The hot seat match was a good one but it was Hennessee who took the win 9-5. Ussery then played McMinn to see who would face Jon in the finals. Shane was finally defeated 7-4 and finished with a well-earned third place.

Since this was true double elimination, BJ would have to defeat Hennessee twice to win the tournament but it was not to be. Hennessee won the match 9-5 to claim the title!

PoolActionTV.com would like to thank Bobby Jack Conner and his staff for laying out the red carpet for all the players and fans. Tournament Director Jason Hill had a team of volunteers helping him out – they included Steve McDonald, Ricky Chitwood and Aaron Kinnunen.

We’d also like to thank Larry Schwartz, Ray Hansen and Mary Kenniston for their excellent commentary.

In addition, PoolActionTV.com would like to thank our fans and sponsors. Our sponsors include JB Cases, Hanshew Jump Cues, Durbin Custom Cues, Simonis, Aramith, Lomax Custom Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Formby Painting and Wallcovering, Savage Billiard Apparel, the Action Palace of Dayton, OH and Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX.

Our next event is the $8,000 added Space City Open X at Big Tyme Billiards in Spring, TX! Featuring 9 Ball Banks, One Pocket, Open 9 Ball, Ladies 9 Ball, Junior 9 Ball as well as an All Around Bonus, the place will be hopping! Hope to see you there!

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Midwest Open II In The Books

Fedor Gorst (Pool Action TV)

Some of the best players in the world were at Michael’s Billiards in Fairfield, OH this past week for the Midwest Open Billiard Championship II. 

Everywhere you looked there were recognizable faces! Milling around the spacious room was recent Scotty Townsend Memorial champ Alex Pagulayan, Music City Open champ Shane Wolford, Iron City Open 9 Ball Champ Tony Chohan, Derby City Open Ring Game champ Billy Thorpe as well as this year’s Derby City Open One Pocket Champ & Master of the Table Fedor Gorst! And then there was Roberto Gomez, John Morra, Omar Al shaheen, Sanjin Pehlivanovic, Louis Demarco, Jesus Atencio, Shane Winters, Mike DeLawder, Dee Adkins, Robert Frost, Shannon Murphy, Jason Miller and Manny Chau in addition to ladies stars Kristina Tkach and April Larson – way too many to mention! This year’s pool extravaganza was modeled after the legendary Derby City Classic and featured 9 Ball Banks, One Pocket & Ten Ball divisions with an All Around Champion Award. A Bank Ring Game, Ladies 8 Ball Tournament and a Pro Ten Ball Invitational were held as well. There was something for everyone! 

Sponsors for this $19,000 added event included Joseph Long Attorney At Law, Greg Sullivan, Aramith, Simonis, Meyer Custom Cues, Ryan Meyer Cues, Seyberts.com, Diamond Billiard Products, Fort Worth Billiards Superstore, PoolActionTV.com and Michael’s Billiards. 

Things kicked off on Tuesday evening with a 66 player field for the $3,000 added Bank Pool event. The format was double elimination, race to three with alternate breaks. 

Tuesday evening also featured a Banks Ring Game. The two finalists were Billy Thorpe and Mike DeLawder – Billy took top honors! Now back to the banks event! 

After many rounds of play, the field was pared down on the winner’s side to Tony Chohan and Louis Demarco. The hot seat match was all Tony as he sent Louis west with a 3-1 score. 

After being defeated in the fourth round by young gun Jesus Atencio 3-1, Fedor Gorst had methodically picked his way through the field to face John Morra on the one loss side – John had been upset by Chicago’s Michael Eck 3-2. 

After he got past John, Fedor then defeated Louis Demarco 3-1 leaving him in third place. Fedor then moved into the finals but with his eyes firmly affixed on the prize, the match was again all Tony as he blitzed Fedor 3-0 to claim the first event! 

Wednesday was a busy day at the Midwest Open! It was the start of the One Pocket, the Pro Ten Ball Invitational as well as the Ladies 8 Ball events! 

Tony Chohan (Pool Action TV)

The $10,000 added One Pocket event had 47 players vying for the title. As in the Banks event, the format was double elimination with a race to three and alternate breaks. Red hot Tony Chohan tore through the field leaving Jesus Atencio, Jeff Lawrence, Cody Myers, Dee Adkins and Jason Shearer in his wake. 

On the bottom half of the chart, Alex Pagulayan opened with a bye and then defeated Leo Kincannon, Jeremiah Stanfield and Can Salim before edging out the always tough Fedor Gorst to reach the hot seat match. 

And again, Tony was a man on a mission as he spanked Alex 3-1 to claim his spot in the finals. Alex headed west to await an opponent. 

In a battle of the young guns, Shane Wolford took down Gorst 3-1 to face Alex for a spot in the finals. Alex, however, was having none of it as he put Shane on ice and won the match 3-0! Fedor finished in fourth place while Shane finished third. 

The finals began between the two giants of the one pocket world. Alex won the first set 3-1 forcing a second for the title. The final set saw both players grinding it out to a 2-2 tie. However, it was again Chohan as he claimed his second title at the Midwest Open! 

April Larson (Pool Action TV)

The $500 added Ladies 8 Ball Championship had 29 players – double elimination format with races to 4/3 and alternate breaks. Angela Mears swept through the field undefeated to face April Larson in the finals. April prevailed leaving Angela with a runner-up finish and Danielle Lunsford in third place. 

The $1,000 added 10 Ball Invitational had ten players – the format was single elimination with races to thirteen and alternate breaks. Fedor Gorst and Jesus Atencio advanced to the finals. It was a close match all the way but Fedor closed it out to claim the title with a 15-12 score. Tony Chohan and Kashton Keeton tied for third place. 

And finally, Event #3 – the $3,000 Ten Ball! Featuring 106 players and played on seven foot Diamonds, the format was double elimination, races to 9/7 with alternate breaks. 

In contention with Tony Chohan for the Master of the Table crown, a determined Fedor Gorst plowed through the field and notched out wins over Todd Michael, Steve Anderson, edged out Shane Wolford, then Willie Butler, Mike DeLawder & finally Billy Thorpe to arrive at the hot seat match. 

Meanwhile, in the lower portion of the bracket, Sanjin Pehlivanovic also made his mark as he defeated Clay Carman, Tommy Stephenson, Koka Davladze, reigning Midwest Billiards bar box champ Kristina Tkach, Dee Adkins and Louis Demarco. 

Fedor and Sanjin battled it out in the hot seat match but it was Gorst who locked up his seat in the finals 9-6. 

After losing her match to Sanjin in the third round, Kristina Tkach survived her matches with Jerry Arvalaez, Can Salim, Matthew Carman, Mike DeLawder and Louis Demarco before she finally succumbed to Alex Pagulayan 7-6! Don’t think this lady can’t play! She finished in a hard earned fourth place. 

Alex and Sanjin then battled to the end before the Lion was slayed 7-6. He finished in third place as Pehlivanovic moved on to the finals. 

Always in the lead, Fedor went on to take Sanjin down 9-4 and claimed not only the Ten Ball title but also Master of the Table! 

Congratulations to this year’s champs – Fedor Gorst, Tony Chohan, Billy Thorpe and April Larson!!! And again, congratulations to Fedor for taking his second Master of the Table crown of the year! 

Thanks go out to owner Michael Medley and his staff for going the extra mile to make both players and fans welcome. We’d also like to thank Tournament Director Jason Hill and his assistants Robert Frost and Cody Myers for ably running the many events. 

PoolActionTV.com would like to thank Jeremy Jones, Larry Schwartz, Mary Kenniston, Alex Pagulayan, Dee Adkins and Ray Hansen for their excellent commentary. 

We’d also like to thank our fans and sponsors for another fantastic event. Our sponsors include JB Cases, Hanshew Jump Cues, Simonis, Aramith, Lomax Custom Cues, StraightPoolEye, Durbin Custom Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, the Action Palace of Dayton, OH and Fort Worth Billiards Superstore of Fort Worth, TX. 

Our next stop is Griff’s in Las Vegas, NV for the US Open 10 Ball, US Open 8 Ball, US Open One Pocket and the US Open Bank Pool Championships! Dates are April 3rd-14th! Sure hope to see you there!!!

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Gorst Barges Into Bigfoot Quarterfinals at Derby Day Three

Fedor Gorst (David Thomson – Medium Pool)

Diamond Derby City Classic XXIII, January 21-29, 2022

Caesars Southern Indiana, Elizabeth, IN

David Thomson

The 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 caroms and combos win. Mosconi Cup captains Jeremy Jones and Mark Wilson are in the Accu-Stats’ commentary booth: Enjoy and learn.

The action began with Cuetec sponsored Fedor Gorst pitted against the resurgent Darren Appleton.

Fedor’s stellar Accu-Stats .949 TPA performance in round one certainly made him the odds on favorite to take this year’s title.

Darren had a hard road to hoe. Could he summon his meteoric, masterly skillset that had eliminated Roland Garcia?

Fedor’s strategy against any opponent is simple: Don’t miss.

As you can tell by his TPA that peaked at .951, at that point, he had only one error.

Who can compete with that? Darren fought hard but soon found that, even with alternate break, momentary lapses of seasoning led to disaster.

At 11-3, and a final TPA of .945, Gorst strode into the semis.

The match with Jayson Shaw and his nemesis, Shane Van Boening, seemed like the finals.

Expectations, perhaps, had the pair err more than usual. They each missed around 3 shots, most resulting with Shaw having the more favorable leave.

In one instance, a favorable roll left Shane so snookered, they both had to laugh. Their sportsmanship was never in doubt. Jayson closed it out at 11-8.

Filler against Gomez held no surprises. The young German, fluid and fearless, manifested no weakness. Gomez struggled. Superman had found his kryptonite.

The 11-3 result revealed all.

The Immonen and Alcaide debacle reversed course when, ahead 3-1, Mika missed an elementary eight.

Alcaide capitalized, caught up, and mutual errors had the lead bounce back and forth.

Then, fortune reared its ugly head. Mika would be the first to admit that lady luck favored him.

A frustrated David soon realized it was not going to be his day. In the latter games his cue ball continued to run awry

Mika punished and pounced to close it out 11-7.

A Champion will be crowned tonight.

Semis and Finals continue with Shaw, looking for his 4th, against Gorst. Then, Filler and Immonen. the latter three searching for their first.

See for yourself: The Accu-Stats PPV OnDemand service. You can watch all of the above no matter what your timezone.

Diamond BANK POOL CHAMPIONSHIP

Short Rack. Race to 3.

From 457 now 50 remain in round 7 at press time on Sunday.

Fedor Gorst, Mieszko Fortinski and Pijus Labutis still have the luxury of buy-backs.

Past champions Sky Woodward, Alex Pagulayan, and Billy Thorpe who bested John Brumback, are still in the running.

The ironic Bank story of the event has to go to Brumback. 

John was given his first loss by Reggie Cutler.

John recognized the name, not because of Reggie’s reputation, but because he had recently requested John’s DVD instructional.Bank Pool Secrets of a World Champion” 

John had shipped the DVD to Reggie at a campsite.

As John reported, “You can’t make this stuff up.”

it’s also the best endorsement you can get.

Albin Ouschan, John Morra, Jayson Shaw, Josh Roberts, Shannon Murphy, Tim DeRuyter, Alex Pagulayan, Shane Van, Lee Vann, Evan Lunda, Troy Jones, David Alcaide, just to name a few, are still alive and well.

The Semis and Finals will be live-streamed via Accu-Stats PPV OnDemand on Tuesday evening.

DIAMOND ONE-POCKET CHAMPIONSHIP

RACE to 3.

370 competitors who specialize in pool’s most cerebral discipline: Chess with balls.

No upsets to report… as yet.

DIAMOND BIG FOOT 10-BALL CHALLENGE: FINAL DAY

Diamond Derby City Classic BANK POOL Championship: Fri. Jan. 21 – Sun. Jan. 23. 2022. Semis and Finals in the Accu-Stats TV Arena: Tuesday evening, Jan 25.

Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKET Championship: Sun Jan. 23 -Wed. Jan. 26. Semis and Finals  in the Accu-Stats TV Arena, Thursday evening, Jan 27.

Diamond Derby City Classic 9-BALL Championship: Wed. Jan 26 – Sat. 29.

Accu-Stats PPV OnDemand service

And the cream of the match-ups available via the Accu-Stats Pay-Per-View OnDemand, 4-camera HD production. Approximately, 60 action-packed hours of pro-pool is projected, PLUS reruns. After each match concludes, it is uploaded and available to you. With PPV OnDemand, you choose when you view, no matter what you’re timezone.

Don’t miss a stroke: Visit accu-stats.com. Enjoy.

DCC BIG Foot summary:

Fedor Gorst vs Darren Appleton 11-4
Jayson Shaw vs Shane Van Boening 11-8
Joshua Filler vs  Roberto Gomez 11-3
Mika Immonen vs  David Alcaide 11-7

Gomez, Filler, Immonen and Alcaide Bigfoot Wins Spotlight Derby Day Two

David Alcaide (David Thomson – Medium Pool)

Diamond Derby City Classic XXIII, January 21-29, 2022

Caesars Southern Indiana, Elizabeth, IN

David Thomson

The 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 caroms and combos win. Mosconi Cup captains Jeremy Jones and Mark Wilson are in the Accu-Stats’ commentary booth: Enjoy and learn.

Accu-Stats is happy to report that re consummate commentator Danny DiLiberto’s recent health issues, he is well on the way to full loquacity.

Saturday’s action commenced with 2012 DCC Bank Pool master John Morra and 2018 BIG Foot maestro Roberto Gomez.

Morra couldn’t quite find his Mr. Smooth stroke while Gomez caught a gear that led to a convincing 11-7 win.

Joshua Filler, always in “Killer” stroke, made it near impossible for Alex Kazakis to find his. 11-6 tells all.

Mezz Cues sponsored, former World 9-Ball and back-to-back US Open Champion Mika Immonen in a heated contest with 2-time World 14.1 semi-finalist Max Eberle.

Eberle had the better of the opening racks and was truly living up to the title of his respected instructional, “Playing in the Zone.”

His Accu-Stats’ TPA was 1.000 until Mika finally was allowed to the table. Then, the battle began. Back-and-forth they traded racks until Mika was first to the hill at 10-9.

Max was well on his way to tying it up until leaving precariouss position on the 9-Ball. Safety not being an option required cutting the dodgy 9 then, spinning the cue-ball 4 to 5 rails round the horn to arrive near the 10 lying a few inches from the bottom cushion.

Max stroked firmly thru the cue ball and the yellow stripe powered crisply into the corner.

What lies 3.5 rails ahead? The corner pocket. The new Diamond spotted orb kept rolling, and rolling, and rolling until, around its final rotation, it dropped into the bucket.

See the brutal conclusion for yourself: The Accu-Stats PPV OnDemand service.

Multiple DCC titlist and newly bespectacled Alex Pagulayan went toe-to-toe with 2-time World Pool Master and regular Mosconi Cup member David Alcaide.

Alex knows better than to take the Spaniard lightly though his entertaining spirit could not be suppressed.

While Alex was down on a shot, a spectator’s cell phone blared. Without missing a beat, he declared, “I told you to call when he shooting: Wrong game plan.”

Soon they were 9-9. Then, with Alcaide running out on the hill, and Alex a little slumped in his seat, it looked like it was over.

Wait; daylight. Alcaide missed a combo that left the 7 buried deep in the Diamond pro-cut pocket..

Pagulayan sprang from his chair. He now had a seemingly, simple combo on the buried orb. He rolled the connecting ball so slowly that it didn’t have enough power to drop the 7.

Alas, that’s all she rolled.

Their very respectable, Accu-Stats TPAs tell all: .924 and .891 respectively.

David moves on to meet Mika in the Semis.

Diamond BANK POOL CHAMPIONSHIP

Short Rack. Race to 3.

From 457 now 50 remain in round 7 at press time on Sunday.

EFREN REYES will have to return next year to resume his DCC Bank Pool Champion aspirations, In round 6, he was ousted by a very pleased Kevin Ping.

A revived John Morra is still undefeated as are Tony Chohan, Fedor Gorst, Mieszko Fortinski, Shannon Murphy, Manny Chau, Tim DeRuyter,  Pijus Labutis, Alex Pagulayan, Shane Van, Lee Vann, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and, MC Cup US team member Chris Reinhold.

The Semis and Finals will be live-streamed via Accu-Stats PPV OnDemand on Tuesday evening.

DIAMOND BIG FOOT 10-BALL CHALLENGE: Fri. Jan. 21 – Sun. Jan 23. 2022.

Diamond Derby City Classic BANK POOL Championship: Fri. Jan. 21 – Sun. Jan. 23. 2022. Semis and Finals in the Accu-Stats TV Arena: Tuesday evening, Jan 25.

Diamond Derby City Classic ONE-POCKET Championship: Sun Jan. 23 -Wed. Jan. 26. Semis and Finals  in the Accu-Stats TV Arena, Thursday evening, Jan 27.

Diamond Derby City Classic 9-BALL Championship: Wed. Jan 26 – Sat. 29.

And the cream of the mafch-ups available via the Accu-Stats Pay-Per-View OnDemand, 4-camera HD production. Approximately, 60 action-packed hours of pro-pool is projected, PLUS reruns. After each match concludes, it is uploaded and available to you. With PPV OnDemand, you choose when you view, no matter what you’re timezone.

Don’t miss a stroke: Visit accu-stats.com. Enjoy.

Fedor Gorst vs Francisco Sanchez Ruiz: 11-6
Darren Appleton vs Roland Garcia: 11-7
Jayson Shaw vs Omar Al Shaheen; 11-4
Shane Van Boening vs Lee Van Corteza; 11-5
John Morra vs Roberto Gomez 7-11
Alex Kazakis vs Joshua Filler 6-11
Max Eberle vs Mika Immonen 9-11
Alex Pagulayan vs David Alcaide 9-11

McMinn goes undefeated through 128-entrant field to win 38th Midwest Bar Table Classic

(l to r): Chuck Thomas (owner, John Wayne’s Pub) & Shane McMinn

Ten years ago, when Shane McMinn was in the midst of what was his best (recorded) earnings year at the tables, he won three events; two stops on the Midwest 9-Ball Tour, including the 5th Annual Bobby Wells Memorial and the Oklahoma State 8-Ball Championships. He finished among the top four in 11 of the 13 tournaments in which he cashed that year. The bulk of his recorded earnings that year came from a runner-up finish in a Midwest 9-Ball Tour Ring Game.
 
Throughout most of his career, which began (according to records here at AZ) in 1999, the bulk of his winnings came as a member of the Midwest 9-Ball Tour, in which, since that time, he has cashed in over 35 events. Since 2015, though, he’s only cashed in one stop on the Midwest 9-Ball Tour (July, 2016; he finished in the tie for 5th), as his ‘reach’ has extended to events like (among others) the Texas Open 10-Ball Championship (runner-up in February last year), the Derby City and Music City Classics, the Space City Open, and the US Bar Box 9-Ball Championships in August, 2016, when he was runner-up to Justin Bergman.
 
McMinn and Bergman met up again this past weekend (March 31-April 1) in another final; this time, at the 38th Annual Midwest Bar Table Classic, where, in the end, McMinn survived to go undefeated and capture the event title. The $5,000-added event drew a full field of 128 entrants to John Wayne’s Pub in Indianapolis, IN.
 
McMinn and Bergman played twice in this one. They first met in a winners’ side semifinal, while Shane Winters and Louis Demarco met up in the other one. McMinn downed Bergman 9-7 and in the hot seat match, met up with Winters, who’d sent DeMarco to the loss side 9-5. McMinn grabbed the hot seat 9-6 over Winters, and waited for Bergman to complete his three-match, loss-side trek back to the finals.
 
On the loss side, a lot of familiar Midwest (and elsewhere) faces lurked for a shot at this title, including, but not restricted to competitors like Alex Olinger, Ike Runnels, Dave Grau, and Molly Bontrager. While each of those four cashed in the event, none of them made it past the four-way tie for 13th. Among the event’s final 12, however, were (among others) Dennis Hatch, Shannon Murphy, and Jason Klatt. Bergman came over from the winners’ side final four, and drew Hatch, who’d eliminated Murphy 7-4 and Klatt, double hill, to reach him. DeMarco picked up Josh Franklin, who’d just finished winning two straight double hill matches against Taylor Anderson and DaWayne Pearson.
 
By identical 7-5 scores, Bergman and DeMarco advanced to the quarterfinals over Hatch and Franklin. Bergman earned himself a second shot at McMinn with two more 7-5 victories; over DeMarco in the quarterfinals, and Winters, in the semifinals. McMinn, though, was not to be denied. He took the opening (and only) set of a true double elimination final to claim the event title. 
Tour director John Klotz thanked John Wayne’s Pub’s owner, Chuck Thomas and his staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Bob Meucci and Chris Lawson of Muecci Cues, Accu-Rack, Simonis Cloth, Diamond Tables, and CueStix.com.

Derby City Classic Rolls Through Day Three

Carlo Biado

BIGFOOT Challenge Updates:

Skyler Woodward vs. Lee Vann Corteza kicked off the opening racks around 1pm. As every cue swinger of this calibre knows, that’s way too early for men of action. 1pm is about the appropriate time for a leisurely breakfast, followed by a nap: Pool players need their rest.

Sure enough, it took about 8 racks before the cobwebs were shaken off their strokes. Although Sky had his chances, by mid-match Lee Vann’s lead was comfortable enough to keep him from gaining any momentum. Woodward was held at 7.

Orcollo vs, Shaw. The railbirds had figured that the winner of this match was the favorite to win the tournament, although the upcoming contenders would have something to say about that! It took experimentation for Shaw’s signature playing-shape-on-the-one in the upper corner pocket to come into focus. Dennis was determined to show Shaw that his prior performance was yesterday, this was today. They battled back and forth until the business end of the set when Orcollo inexplicably hooked himself. Was it pressure, an aging lapse in concentration? Either way, a huge error. Instead of tying the match at 8, it was 9-7 Shaw.…and, breaking. His one ball, now tamed, was responding. He had total control of the table and Dennis’ future in the tournament. 11-7, Shaw!

BIG foot maybe a beast but Shaw is a monster. He’s fearless; brimming with confidence. His swagger around the table show’s that he feels invincible. No player, or shot, intimidates him. We’ll see how “Eagle Eye” holds up as he closes in on the $16K first prize.

Hohmann vs. Kazakis. Neither player (remember Alex had beaten Thorsten to take the Kremlin Cup) delivered the same fire power of their previous matches. Kazakis, still slow and deliberate, used more extension on the 40 second Accu-Stats’ shot clock than any other player in history. “I am not going to rush,” he explained. “If I have the time, I will use it. I want to know that I am going to make the shot before I shoot.” The quick fired, calorie burning Toasty wasn’t buying in to any “psychology” move from Kazakis, yet managed only 7 games. He later criticized, “I played like a donkey.”

Gorst vs. Biado: It looked like the young Russian gun was going to be held at around 4 when Biado, at 8, missed a makeable 9-Ball. That slip cost Carlo 4 racks as Fedor broke and ran the next rack and won their safety exchanges until they were tied at 8. It was then the fight for the finish caused the visible nervousness of both players to err. Biado reflected, “Playing on a 9 foot, I can think, I’ll make this ball 100% of the time. Playing on BIG Foot, maybe, it’s 50-60% of the time.” He did get to the hill first but Fedor wasn’t done yet. Showing a heart of cold emotionless, he summoned the courage to clamber back and they were soon tied at 10. Coincidently, so were their Accu-Stats’ TPAs; .821!

A safety battle ensued. With Biado getting the better of it, the usually fast paced competitor consciously slowed down his stroke and his breathing. Who knows what his  his heartbeat was doing. Facing a very missable, long, down the length of the rail 10-Ball, he deliberately walked to his chair to take a deep drag on his water bottle. Cooled, calm, and very collected, he casually strolled back to the table and delivered the case 10-Ball snugly into the tight, pro-cut pocket. Jubilant, he jumped in the air, like he’d won the tournament. Relieved, He later related, “That ball earned me 4 thousand dollars. If I missed it, it cost me a thousand!” Onward to the semi’s. Money is a great motivator. Maybe, he’ll make more.

Play continues LIVE from the Accu-Stats Arena:

1:30pm: Lee Vann Corteza vs. Jayson Shaw
4pm: Alex Kazakis vs Carlo Biado
9-PM: The Finals

Don’t miss a stroke at accu-stats.com.

The DCC Bank Pool Championships

With 22 players in heated rivalry, Dennis Hatch, Warren Kiamko, Chris Melling, Larry Nevel, “Piggy banks” Rogers, Ike Runnels, and Billy Thorpe are still undefeated. Tony Chohan eliminated Scott Frost, Shannon Murphy sent Shannon Daulton to concentrate on 1-Pocket and, as did Ike Runnels with Danny Smith.

Bank Pool continues at 5:30 pm

Don’t forget there’s more disciplines to come:

The DCC One Pocket Championships is underway with 347 players.

The George Fels Memorial Straight Pool Challenge is streaming at billiardnet.tv

Dennis Orcollo got the annual event off to a rocketing start with the high-run of the day of 198. Shaw is fast on his heels with a 168, Taiwan’s Li Wen Lo: 138, Johann Chua: 115; Thorsten Hohmann, 112; Lee Vann Corteza, 105; John Schmidt, 98; Alex Pagulayan, 91. The 14.1 event runs thru the week as the 8 with the highest runs face off in single elimination. If scheduling permits, Accu-Stats will stream, at least, the finals.

The DCC 9-Ball Championships commences Wednesday.

BANKS RING GAME, on the Accu-Stats screen on Friday the 27th, will have the winner-take-all battle for the cash as, typically, the last 2 are usually banking for near a thousand a ball.

Don’t miss a stroke at accu-stats.com

Accu-Stats thanks its Arena Sponsors: Diamond Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Cyclop Balls, Cue and Case, MEZZ Cues, McDermott Cues, National Billiard Academy, OB Cues, and Samsara Cues.

 

Photography Courtesy of David Thomson, MediumPool.com