Derby City Straight Pool Challenge 2012

I spoke with Ralf and he told me that he and Alex decided to share first place and split first and second prize money. Made some sense, as Alex was not available to play the match during the day due to his deep run in the nine ball event, in which he ultimately finished tied for fourth. Another contributing factor was Stevie Moore's run all the way to the final of the nine ball event, which caused the Fatboy Challenge 10-ball final (Stevie vs Francisco) to be delayed until 10:30 PM. The TV table would probably not have been avaliable for the 14.1 challenge final until about 1:00 AM.
 
Last edited:
REally sad :(

They have to change somethin next year. DCC should care a bit more about the relationship with a *streaming company* and the fans worldwide!
 
Very disappointing

Cancel the final match!?!?!?
I not sure which hat to wear when taking a slap in the face like this.... a fan of straight pool , a fan of pool, or as a sports fan. Very disappointing.

Maybe the Patriots and the Giants could work out the same sort of deal with the NFL.... allow us time for more worthwhile pursuits next weekend.
 
Last edited:
I am also very disapointed that they didn't play the final match. After all, neither Ralf nor Alex were involved in the 9-ball final or the 10-ball final and both were available to play. Although it would have been nice to have the match available on Accu-Stats, the match should have been played on another table rather than not at all. Moving it to the IP stream table would have been a perfect solution. God knows there wasn't anything else happening on that table last night.

I'm sure nobody suggested that SVB and Stevie Moore split the 9-ball prize money rather than play.
 
I understand that folks are disappointed about this, but to me, the tourney directors have a responsibility to put their primary tournament before any peripheral events. Fatboy 10 ball challenge and 14.1 challenge, as excellent as these events are, are not the primary focus of the Derby City Classic. I appreciate everyone's efforts who helped to plan these fine events, but I think it's really just a case of trying to cram too much pool into too small of a space with too little time and too few resources. I just prefer to cut some folks some slack.

Thanks Dennis, et al for your efforts!!!
 
I spoke with Ralf and he told me that he and Alex decided to share first place and split first and second prize money. Made some sense, as Alex was not available to play the match during the day due to his deep run in the nine ball event, in which he ultimately finished tied for fourth. Another contributing factor was Stevie Moore's run all the way to the final of the nine ball event, which caused the Fatboy Challenge 10-ball final (Stevie vs Francisco) to be delayed until 10:30 PM. The TV table would probably not have been available for the 14.1 challenge final until about 1:00 AM.

I'm disappointed that the match didn't take place, but I understand the decision by Alex and Ralf. I think the 14.1 final match needs to be scheduled for Friday. Whether it happens on the Accu-Stats table or elsewhere is secondary, I think, especially with streaming available now.
 
... and they didn't play the finals

Is it a game or a sport?
Here's pool struggling for and audience and credibility, to some extent.
The promoter or governing body decides not to play the finals!
I'm sure there are back stories and reasons.... but, after all is said...
the finals were not played in a division of one of the few national venues for the sport. I guess you could argue that it's not sanctioned or it's unofficial.
OK, it's about making some money and the finals were inconvenient and expensive.... never mind.
 
I think some of these posts are a little off base.

The free stream provided by JR Calvert for the length of the tourney was not set up for the straight pool challenge but to follow the action matches. JR was incredibly generous in offering to stream some of the 14.1 matches, but anyone who saw any of the straight pool challenge on the free stream got much more than they had any right to expect, and should not begrudge the fact that the Inside Pool stream did not go deep into Saturday night. Next time any serious fan of straight pool who wasn't at the Derby sees JR Calvert, I hope they'll thank him.

Every effort was made to get the final of the straight pool challenge on the Accu-stats table, but Ralf and Alex had long days on Saturday, with Ralf finishing sixth and Alex fourth in the nine ball, and it wasn't until the evening before they were both out of the event.

Personally, given the way the schedule played out, I think the decision made not to play the final was a perfectly reasonable one.

A huge amount of great straight pool was on display in this year's challenge, with participation considerably greater than ever before. As one of the sponsors of the event, I didn't feel shortchanged in any way by the decision of two great champions, each of whom had played at least seven hours of pool aleady on Saturday, to forego the final.

There's so much to celebrate here. Let's not be bitter. Thanks to DMGWalsh, Elvicash, and Marop for running the show with their usual efficiency and enthusiasm.
 
I think some of these posts are a little off base.

The free stream provided by JR Calvert for the length of the tourney was not set up for the straight pool challenge but to follow the action matches. JR was incredibly generous in offering to stream some of the 14.1 matches, but anyone who saw any of the straight pool challenge on the free stream got much more than they had any right to expect, and should not begrudge the fact that the Inside Pool stream did not go deep into Saturday night. Next time any serious fan of straight pool who wasn't at the Derby sees JR Calvert, I hope they'll thank him.

Every effort was made to get the final of the straight pool challenge on the Accu-stats table, but Ralf and Alex had long days on Saturday, with Ralf finishing sixth and Alex fourth in the nine ball, and it wasn't until the evening before they were both out of the event.

Personally, given the way the schedule played out, I think the decision made not to play the final was a perfectly reasonable one.

A huge amount of great straight pool was on display in this year's challenge, with participation considerably greater than ever before. As one of the sponsors of the event, I didn't feel shortchanged in any way by the decision of two great champions, each of whom had played at least seven hours of pool aleady on Saturday, to forego the final.

There's so much to celebrate here. Let's not be bitter. Thanks to DMGWalsh, Elvicash, and Marop for running the show with their usual efficiency and enthusiasm.


Much Agreed Stu.....The 14.1 we all got to see was all a bonus !!!

Thanks to you all for all that you do !!

-Steve
 
I think some of these posts are a little off base.

The free stream provided by JR Calvert for the length of the tourney was not set up for the straight pool challenge but to follow the action matches. JR was incredibly generous in offering to stream some of the 14.1 matches, but anyone who saw any of the straight pool challenge on the free stream got much more than they had any right to expect, and should not begrudge the fact that the Inside Pool stream did not go deep into Saturday night. Next time any serious fan of straight pool who wasn't at the Derby sees JR Calvert, I hope they'll thank him.

Every effort was made to get the final of the straight pool challenge on the Accu-stats table, but Ralf and Alex had long days on Saturday, with Ralf finishing sixth and Alex fourth in the nine ball, and it wasn't until the evening before they were both out of the event.

Personally, given the way the schedule played out, I think the decision made not to play the final was a perfectly reasonable one.

A huge amount of great straight pool was on display in this year's challenge, with participation considerably greater than ever before. As one of the sponsors of the event, I didn't feel shortchanged in any way by the decision of two great champions, each of whom had played at least seven hours of pool aleady on Saturday, to forego the final.

There's so much to celebrate here. Let's not be bitter. Thanks to DMGWalsh, Elvicash, and Marop for running the show with their usual efficiency and enthusiasm.

I couldn't agree more.

Ray Robles
 
I understand that folks are disappointed about this, but to me, the tourney directors have a responsibility to put their primary tournament before any peripheral events. Fatboy 10 ball challenge and 14.1 challenge, as excellent as these events are, are not the primary focus of the Derby City Classic. I appreciate everyone's efforts who helped to plan these fine events, but I think it's really just a case of trying to cram too much pool into too small of a space with too little time and too few resources. I just prefer to cut some folks some slack.

Thanks Dennis, et al for your efforts!!!


I think you've touched on a core issue here: too much pool in too small a space. This happens when the tournament front door is left wide open for an unlimited number of entries, starting with the Bank pool, regardless of the fact that there are only X number of tables. Instead of saying we can only accommodate Y number of players and will cut off entries at Z, the sky is the limit. Inevitably things get massively gummed up as the week goes on. I once asked Greg about this and he responded that he didn't want to disappoint anyone who showed up at the last moment and wanted to get in.

Lou Figueroa
 
I don't dispute that this was a great event and the organizers did a fantastic job. I also won't dispute that we got to see some good straight pool on the stream.

My big gripe is that no winner was determined. It wouldn't bother me if the tournament was completed and I didn't get to see it. I just hate splits. After all, isn't the point of having an event to determine a winner? The point is definitely not to determine what two guys could have won if they played.

And for those that say the players had already played a lot that day and were tired, all I have to say is that the players were the ones to make the commitment to play. I would be the first one to recognize that it is a grind to play all three of the major tournaments at DCC, let alone the side events. I know I don't have the physical ability to play to the end of tournaments, therefore I don't enter. If they thought they would be too tired to play, maybe they shouldn't have entered the 14.1 tournament.

Another overlooked part of this entire situation are the spectators. What about the straight pool fans who may have stayed an extra day or two just to see the straight pool final? They certainly got the short end of the stick on this one.

It's apparent that most people here don't agree with me so I'm done. Hopefully, at the next big tournament, the final four will play and not spit the prize money.
 
Last edited:
tennis anyone?

Well, I'm too tuckered out to argue my point, having watched the five set six hour concluding match of the Australian Open. Call me jaded, but not bitter! Please! This match was amazing. Two players, who had worked there way through the brackets, raising their game to play all out in a match that may be the best final match ever played in the sport. The victor's path was remarkable, having won a five hour semifinal match less than a day earlier.

I hang my hat with the level headed Mr Logan and say perhaps the DCC over reaches.

absit invidia
 
Back
Top