If you’re not in the mood for a really long post, turn back now. I’ve just returned from a fantastic trip to the DCC, nine days of pool unlike any other in our sport. Here’s how it went.
DCC Day One, Friday, 1/21
Got in at 7:00 PM, so I missed most of day one’s play. For me, the story of the day was unexpected meetings with some Europeans I’d never seen at the Derby before, five in particular, each of whom I had a chance to chat with --- Albin Ouschan, Max Lechner, Mario He, David Alcaide, and Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz. Even in the absence of Orcullo, the 9-ball field looked like it was going to be a killer, as all of them have a Fargo of 798+. Omar Al Shaheen suggested to me that their presence was likely due to the fact that the DCC 9-ball was now a Matchroom rankings event.
As I’d been to all nine days of eleven different Derbys before, this was my 100th day at the Derby, a milestone of sorts.
I watched some bank pool, and the most noteworthy result was Chohan topping Woodward. I went to bed early.
DCC Day 2, Saturday, 1/22
As a fan, this was the day that I got in stroke.
It’s rare I get up for the 10:00 AM round on day two of the banks event, but I wanted to catch Neal Jacobs vs. John Brumback, an improbable heavyweight matchup for banks round 2. First came breakfast in which I had the good company of Alex Lely, who joined me and my friend Mark.
John Brumback vs Neal Jacobs didn’t disappoint. Jacobs came out like a house afire, cruising to an easy win in rack 1, and Brumback answered methodically in Rack 2. Racks three and four were split with each struggling a bit, but the double hill rack was a dandy. With the ball count at 2-2, Brumback made a difficult diagonal bank to take the lead in the case rack, and a Jacobs scratch then gave John a 3-1 lead which he would ride to victory.
Caught up with Jayson Shaw and had an opportunity to congratulate him on his 714-ball run.
The afternoon was a busy one in the Bigfoot. Morra vs Gomez was sloppy early but Gomez found form and jumped out to a 7-5 lead. Morra made a few errors in offensive execution down the stretch, so Gomez moved on. Kazakis certainly put Filler to the test in the next one, but Josh was brilliant and advanced.
My energy dropped a bit during the evening Bigfoot session. I caught the second half of Immonen vs Eberle, and Max appeared to be on the verge of reaching double hill when he scratched on the 9-ball, so Mika advanced.
After a break, I saw the second half of Pagulayan vs Alcaide, which stood at 6-5 favor of Alex when I arrived. Alex appeared to be running out for an 8-5 lead when he had a bad miss on a seven ball, and Alcaide rallied to tie it. Alex’ dry break at 9-9 proved to be his undoing as Alcaide ran out the last two racks for the win. David played magnificent pool at the Mosconi Cup and, for the most past, he picked up where he left off.
The Bigfoot quarterfinals were set. Appleton vs Gorst, Shaw vs SVB, Filler vs Gomez and Alcaide vs Immonen.
DCC Day 3, Sunday, 1/23
As far as making real money, this was the first day of the Derby, as the Bigfoot quarterfinal winners would be guaranteed a payout of $4,000 or more, There was a buzz surrounding the scheduled quarterfinal matchup between SVB and Shaw.
Bank pool began the day in Round 5 and among the undefeated players who often contend were Biado, Chohan, Corteza, Morra, Murphy, Pagulayan, Thorpe, and SVB.
In the Bigfoot, up first were Gorst and Appleton, and Gorst’s level was super-human, as he shot 1.000 in building up a 6-1 lead. He looked like the man to beat for the title. Darren wasn’t at his best in this one, but Gorst really gave him no room for error in his 11-4 blowout win.
Shaw vs SVB was a strange one. Shaw came out of the gate slow, and SVB looked about to go up 4-0 when he hung a six ball. Shane looked about to go up 5-1 when he hung an eight ball. Shaw took complete control, winning eight consecutive racks, which is rare in alternate break format, earning a 9-4 lead. The SVB comeback fell short, and Shaw advanced, winning 11-8. Both shot about .880, and neither produced the level of which they were capable, so this one was a letdown.
The Filler vs Gomez Bigfoot match was next, and it was a dud. Filler played well and he also had some very good rolls that added up to a blowout win. I invited Pia Filler to be my guest for the match and was pleased when she accepted. I promised her that if Josh reached the final, I’d invite her again (a promise I’d ultimately keep).
Alcaide vs Immonen was a match that, in terms of offensive execution, wasn’t played well, and Immonen definitely had the better of the rolls. That said, I felt the difference in the match was that Immonen’s safety play was exceptional and Alcaide’s was shaky. Mika won 11-7.
The Bigfoot semis were set: Shaw vs Gorst and Filler vs Immonen.
Billy Thorpe, who had entered the day’s play carrying a loss, stole the show in the bank pool, dismissing two former champions back-to-back in Pagulayan and Brumback. Josh Roberts had a nice win in Round 8 to eliminate SVB. Shaw narrowly escaped elimination in Round 8 when he came back from 2-0 behind against Kazakis.
Undefeated players into banks Round 9 were Fortunski, Labutis, DeRuyter and Gorst. Players into Round 9 with one loss were Meglino, Corteza, Murphy, Thorpe, Robert Frost, Corteza, Woodward, Slye, Ouschan, Morra, Shaw, Roberts, Lunda, Pagulayan Filler and Morra.
One pocket began and was in Round 1 at the end of the day.
DCC Day 4, Monday, 1/24
The Bigfoot semis began with Gorst vs Shaw. Gorst was coming off a big win in Arizona, but Shaw had beaten Gorst in the final at Turning Stone in early January and he ran 714 balls a few days after that, so this match between the two hottest players in the game wasn’t easy to pick. Gorst prevailed in a fairly well played match.
The second semifinal had Filler against Immonen, a hotly contested match in which Mika tested Filler. A match that reached 10-8 favor of Filler might have been 9-9 if not for a shocking miss on an easy ten ball by Immonen along the way. Filler advanced 11-8.
It was moving day for the bank pool players. There were some great matches. Shaw and Biado went double hill in Round 9 and Shaw played a brilliant rack to advance. Thorpe threw a masterpiece at Corteza, and Meglino beat Shannon Murphy. Round 10 saw the exit of two of the favorites, as Woodward fell to Gorst and Thorpe fell to Shaw. Lunda was too much for Filler, eliminating him. Finally, Morra handed Fortunski his first loss.
Fedor Gorst remained undefeated, and still in with one loss were Evan Lunda, Tony Chohan, Mieszko Fortunski, Pijus Labutis, John Morra, and Jayson Shaw.
One pocket remained in the early stages, and I didn’t watch much of it, but the surprise of the day was Gorst’s win over Deuel. Gorst’s play to that point of the Derby was fifteen wins and no losses, as he was 10-0 in banks, 3-0 in ten ball and 2-0 in one pocket. Would he make it sixteen match wins in a row by winning the Bigfoot? It was time to find out.
The Bigfoot final between Gorst and Filler was a nailbiter It got to 3-3, 6-6, and 9-9, but Filler managed to eke out the victory 11-9. Filler was very humble in victory, suggesting in the post-match interview that Fedor had been the better player in the final, and Fedor probably did outplay Josh in both offense and defense, but a few errors on the break by Fedor, especially his scratch at 9-9, gave Josh just enough air to pull it out. Filler also won the Bigfoot ten ball at the International in October, too, so this completed a most impressive double.
DCC Day 5, Tuesday, 1/25
Tuesday delivered the business end of bank pool, and the early play brought the field down to four. The morning round produced a great one in Gorst vs Fortunski, which came down to the last ball of the last rack. Fortunski had the first chance at the winning bank, but his cross-corner bank double kissed, which led to a sell out, so Fedor won his eleventh straight banks match, Morra topped Labutis and Chohan was too much for Evan Lunda.
Next came Round 12, and Shaw played well to beat Morra, who finished fourth. Chohan vs Gorst was a dandy, Gorst led by 2-1, but Tony ran five and out in each of the last two racks to avoid elimination. Gorst, now carrying a loss, drew the bye into the final. The semifinal between Shaw and Chohan was electrifying, as both played really well. Shaw’s play in the double hill rack was magnificent and enabled him to advance to the final, with Chohan settling for third place. Gorst was superb in the final and Jayson had little opportunity to win, so Gorst won the bank pool title.
One pocket was starting to gain some momentum, but I didn’t see much of it. I did, however, see Woodward’s solid win over John Morra,
DCC Day 6, Wednesday, 1/26
In one pocket, round 6 ran to form, bringing just two surprises in Immonen’s win and elimination of Efren Reyes and Mario He’s win over Corey Deuel. In Round 7, John Pinegar topped Carlo Biado in a match lasting four hours. Grabe beat Corteza. The shock was when John Gabriel beat and eliminated Pagulayan. In Round 8, Roland Garcia gave Filler his first loss. SVB beat Thorpe to eliminate him. The noteworthy match, however, was Gorst’s 3-0 blowout of Chohan.
Through six days of the Derby, Gorst had a record of 23-2 (12-1 in banks, 3-1 in ten ball and 8-0 in one pocket). Through Round 8 of one pocket, the undefeated players were Fedor Gorst, Darren Appleton and Josh Roberts. The twelve still lurking with one loss were Evan Lunda, Josh Filler, Tony Chohan, Roland Garcia, Roberto Gomez, Dennis Grabe, Justin Hall, Mario He. Brandon Shuff, Jayson Shaw, John Pinegar, and SVB.
The nine-ball event began, but I didn’t watch a single match.
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DCC Day One, Friday, 1/21
Got in at 7:00 PM, so I missed most of day one’s play. For me, the story of the day was unexpected meetings with some Europeans I’d never seen at the Derby before, five in particular, each of whom I had a chance to chat with --- Albin Ouschan, Max Lechner, Mario He, David Alcaide, and Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz. Even in the absence of Orcullo, the 9-ball field looked like it was going to be a killer, as all of them have a Fargo of 798+. Omar Al Shaheen suggested to me that their presence was likely due to the fact that the DCC 9-ball was now a Matchroom rankings event.
As I’d been to all nine days of eleven different Derbys before, this was my 100th day at the Derby, a milestone of sorts.
I watched some bank pool, and the most noteworthy result was Chohan topping Woodward. I went to bed early.
DCC Day 2, Saturday, 1/22
As a fan, this was the day that I got in stroke.
It’s rare I get up for the 10:00 AM round on day two of the banks event, but I wanted to catch Neal Jacobs vs. John Brumback, an improbable heavyweight matchup for banks round 2. First came breakfast in which I had the good company of Alex Lely, who joined me and my friend Mark.
John Brumback vs Neal Jacobs didn’t disappoint. Jacobs came out like a house afire, cruising to an easy win in rack 1, and Brumback answered methodically in Rack 2. Racks three and four were split with each struggling a bit, but the double hill rack was a dandy. With the ball count at 2-2, Brumback made a difficult diagonal bank to take the lead in the case rack, and a Jacobs scratch then gave John a 3-1 lead which he would ride to victory.
Caught up with Jayson Shaw and had an opportunity to congratulate him on his 714-ball run.
The afternoon was a busy one in the Bigfoot. Morra vs Gomez was sloppy early but Gomez found form and jumped out to a 7-5 lead. Morra made a few errors in offensive execution down the stretch, so Gomez moved on. Kazakis certainly put Filler to the test in the next one, but Josh was brilliant and advanced.
My energy dropped a bit during the evening Bigfoot session. I caught the second half of Immonen vs Eberle, and Max appeared to be on the verge of reaching double hill when he scratched on the 9-ball, so Mika advanced.
After a break, I saw the second half of Pagulayan vs Alcaide, which stood at 6-5 favor of Alex when I arrived. Alex appeared to be running out for an 8-5 lead when he had a bad miss on a seven ball, and Alcaide rallied to tie it. Alex’ dry break at 9-9 proved to be his undoing as Alcaide ran out the last two racks for the win. David played magnificent pool at the Mosconi Cup and, for the most past, he picked up where he left off.
The Bigfoot quarterfinals were set. Appleton vs Gorst, Shaw vs SVB, Filler vs Gomez and Alcaide vs Immonen.
DCC Day 3, Sunday, 1/23
As far as making real money, this was the first day of the Derby, as the Bigfoot quarterfinal winners would be guaranteed a payout of $4,000 or more, There was a buzz surrounding the scheduled quarterfinal matchup between SVB and Shaw.
Bank pool began the day in Round 5 and among the undefeated players who often contend were Biado, Chohan, Corteza, Morra, Murphy, Pagulayan, Thorpe, and SVB.
In the Bigfoot, up first were Gorst and Appleton, and Gorst’s level was super-human, as he shot 1.000 in building up a 6-1 lead. He looked like the man to beat for the title. Darren wasn’t at his best in this one, but Gorst really gave him no room for error in his 11-4 blowout win.
Shaw vs SVB was a strange one. Shaw came out of the gate slow, and SVB looked about to go up 4-0 when he hung a six ball. Shane looked about to go up 5-1 when he hung an eight ball. Shaw took complete control, winning eight consecutive racks, which is rare in alternate break format, earning a 9-4 lead. The SVB comeback fell short, and Shaw advanced, winning 11-8. Both shot about .880, and neither produced the level of which they were capable, so this one was a letdown.
The Filler vs Gomez Bigfoot match was next, and it was a dud. Filler played well and he also had some very good rolls that added up to a blowout win. I invited Pia Filler to be my guest for the match and was pleased when she accepted. I promised her that if Josh reached the final, I’d invite her again (a promise I’d ultimately keep).
Alcaide vs Immonen was a match that, in terms of offensive execution, wasn’t played well, and Immonen definitely had the better of the rolls. That said, I felt the difference in the match was that Immonen’s safety play was exceptional and Alcaide’s was shaky. Mika won 11-7.
The Bigfoot semis were set: Shaw vs Gorst and Filler vs Immonen.
Billy Thorpe, who had entered the day’s play carrying a loss, stole the show in the bank pool, dismissing two former champions back-to-back in Pagulayan and Brumback. Josh Roberts had a nice win in Round 8 to eliminate SVB. Shaw narrowly escaped elimination in Round 8 when he came back from 2-0 behind against Kazakis.
Undefeated players into banks Round 9 were Fortunski, Labutis, DeRuyter and Gorst. Players into Round 9 with one loss were Meglino, Corteza, Murphy, Thorpe, Robert Frost, Corteza, Woodward, Slye, Ouschan, Morra, Shaw, Roberts, Lunda, Pagulayan Filler and Morra.
One pocket began and was in Round 1 at the end of the day.
DCC Day 4, Monday, 1/24
The Bigfoot semis began with Gorst vs Shaw. Gorst was coming off a big win in Arizona, but Shaw had beaten Gorst in the final at Turning Stone in early January and he ran 714 balls a few days after that, so this match between the two hottest players in the game wasn’t easy to pick. Gorst prevailed in a fairly well played match.
The second semifinal had Filler against Immonen, a hotly contested match in which Mika tested Filler. A match that reached 10-8 favor of Filler might have been 9-9 if not for a shocking miss on an easy ten ball by Immonen along the way. Filler advanced 11-8.
It was moving day for the bank pool players. There were some great matches. Shaw and Biado went double hill in Round 9 and Shaw played a brilliant rack to advance. Thorpe threw a masterpiece at Corteza, and Meglino beat Shannon Murphy. Round 10 saw the exit of two of the favorites, as Woodward fell to Gorst and Thorpe fell to Shaw. Lunda was too much for Filler, eliminating him. Finally, Morra handed Fortunski his first loss.
Fedor Gorst remained undefeated, and still in with one loss were Evan Lunda, Tony Chohan, Mieszko Fortunski, Pijus Labutis, John Morra, and Jayson Shaw.
One pocket remained in the early stages, and I didn’t watch much of it, but the surprise of the day was Gorst’s win over Deuel. Gorst’s play to that point of the Derby was fifteen wins and no losses, as he was 10-0 in banks, 3-0 in ten ball and 2-0 in one pocket. Would he make it sixteen match wins in a row by winning the Bigfoot? It was time to find out.
The Bigfoot final between Gorst and Filler was a nailbiter It got to 3-3, 6-6, and 9-9, but Filler managed to eke out the victory 11-9. Filler was very humble in victory, suggesting in the post-match interview that Fedor had been the better player in the final, and Fedor probably did outplay Josh in both offense and defense, but a few errors on the break by Fedor, especially his scratch at 9-9, gave Josh just enough air to pull it out. Filler also won the Bigfoot ten ball at the International in October, too, so this completed a most impressive double.
DCC Day 5, Tuesday, 1/25
Tuesday delivered the business end of bank pool, and the early play brought the field down to four. The morning round produced a great one in Gorst vs Fortunski, which came down to the last ball of the last rack. Fortunski had the first chance at the winning bank, but his cross-corner bank double kissed, which led to a sell out, so Fedor won his eleventh straight banks match, Morra topped Labutis and Chohan was too much for Evan Lunda.
Next came Round 12, and Shaw played well to beat Morra, who finished fourth. Chohan vs Gorst was a dandy, Gorst led by 2-1, but Tony ran five and out in each of the last two racks to avoid elimination. Gorst, now carrying a loss, drew the bye into the final. The semifinal between Shaw and Chohan was electrifying, as both played really well. Shaw’s play in the double hill rack was magnificent and enabled him to advance to the final, with Chohan settling for third place. Gorst was superb in the final and Jayson had little opportunity to win, so Gorst won the bank pool title.
One pocket was starting to gain some momentum, but I didn’t see much of it. I did, however, see Woodward’s solid win over John Morra,
DCC Day 6, Wednesday, 1/26
In one pocket, round 6 ran to form, bringing just two surprises in Immonen’s win and elimination of Efren Reyes and Mario He’s win over Corey Deuel. In Round 7, John Pinegar topped Carlo Biado in a match lasting four hours. Grabe beat Corteza. The shock was when John Gabriel beat and eliminated Pagulayan. In Round 8, Roland Garcia gave Filler his first loss. SVB beat Thorpe to eliminate him. The noteworthy match, however, was Gorst’s 3-0 blowout of Chohan.
Through six days of the Derby, Gorst had a record of 23-2 (12-1 in banks, 3-1 in ten ball and 8-0 in one pocket). Through Round 8 of one pocket, the undefeated players were Fedor Gorst, Darren Appleton and Josh Roberts. The twelve still lurking with one loss were Evan Lunda, Josh Filler, Tony Chohan, Roland Garcia, Roberto Gomez, Dennis Grabe, Justin Hall, Mario He. Brandon Shuff, Jayson Shaw, John Pinegar, and SVB.
The nine-ball event began, but I didn’t watch a single match.
,,,, continued in next post
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, and poor selection
