Just got back from the 2015 Derby, and I'm spent, but not so spent that I won't share my experiences with the forum.
Friday, 1/23
After my flight was delayed, I missed most of the play including the American Rotation finals won by Dechaine. I got to bed pretty early to ensure that I'd be in full sweat mode by Saturday. After all, the Derby is about pacing yourself.
Saturday 1/24
The early shocker came when SVB went two and out in the banks. Jayson Shaw also bowed out early. The thriller of the day was the John Morra comeback win from 6-1 behind over Bustamante in the Bigfoot, with John prevailing 11-10.
Sunday 1/25
Shaw ran a remarkable 227 in the 14.1 challenge, a run that would ultimately win him the high run prize of 1,000. Ignacio was brilliant in beating Orcullo quite handily in the Bigfoot. Immonen was the day's hard luck story. Lee Van Cortezza and Mika went double hill in the quarterfinals of the Bigfoot. The winner was assured of at least 4,000 and the loser would get nothing. It was Lee Van who blinked first, hooking himself in the double hill rack. He then kicked hard at the three ball which went two rails, hit another ball, caromed into the side, and gave Lee Van good shape on the four. Game, set, match. Mika probably deserved better, but pool can be a cruel game.
Monday, 1/26
Immonen missed at 224, barely failing to take the lead for the high run prize in the 14.1 challenge.
The main fare for the day was the Bigfoot. SVB put on a performance for the ages, beating Pagulayan 11-2 in the semis and duplicating the feat by beating Lee Van 11-2 in the final. Wow!
Frost scored an upset over Brumback in the bank pool event, and two of our Mosconi team faced off in a showdown with the winner one match away from the evening's final rounds. Hall was too much for Bergman, but Hall ended up settling for fourth. Veteran player Bobby Hunter made a big run and finished fourth after losing a hotly contested match with Reyes. Brumback, Daulton and Reyes, none having a buyback would be the last three standing.
Tuesday, 1/27
During the day, the one pocket event was starting to gain steam. Reyes took an early loss, but the shocker was when Stephan Cohen, known primarily for his 14.1 accomplishments, bested Scott Frost.
The evening brought the bank pool finals and with Reyes, Brumback and Daulton, the fans were in for a treat. Brumback got the bye into the finals. Reyes had a few chances to close out Daulton leading 2-1 and one ball away but let them slip away and Daulton made him pay with sparkling play to tie it up and more of the same in the double hill rack. Best friends and bank pool legends Brumback and Daulton played in the final. Daulton played well to earn a 2-0 lead but both struggled mightily from that point forward. In a match in which Brumback never really got started, Shannon snapped off the title.
Wednesday, 1/28
Wednesday was almost exclusively a one pocket day. Reyes fell behind 2-0 to SVB and suddenly faced elimination, but rallied for a memorable 3-2 win. The story of the day was surely Mike Dechaine, who reached the final undefeated, including a big win over Bustamante. After Pagulayan defeated third place finisher Justin Hall, he'd have to double dip Dechaine to win the title. Double dip him he did, and Alex walked away with the one pocket title.
The fact that Dechaine was otherwise occupied for the length of the day surely figured in the fact that Archer and Dechaine would not find the time to begin their highly anticipated match, which led to its postponement.
Thursday, 1/29
Alex Pagulayan, now the leader for Master of the Table, lost his opening 9-ball match to Immonen. Was his chance for the coveted all around title going up in smoke? It seemed so.
The 14.1 single elimination rounds began, and the quarterfinal winners were Shaw, Immonen, Kiamco and Chinakhov. The quarterfinal match I saw was Chinakhov vs. Orcullo and the Russian was sensational. After a two point foul on the opening break, Chinakhov managed 127 balls in his next two innings to whitewash last year's champion.
Friday, 1/30
In vastly different ways, two of the contenders for Master of the Table were eliminated. Justin Hall and Mike Dechaine, who both finished high in the 2014 US Open 9-ball, entered the day undefeated with four wins and no losses. A mistaken concession (which brought a one rack penalty) late in his match with Imran Majid was costly for Dechaine in his 9-8 loss, and he then lost to rising star Skyler Woodward, who was heading for a top ten finish. Hall's chances evaporated when he overslept both his morning match and his buyback opportunity. A win in the 9-ball event would have been worth 36,000 to Hall, as he'd been fourth in banks and third in one pocket. I'm still struggling to come to terms with this huge error. It's very hard to believe that it happened and it is safe to say that sharpshooting Hall still has a lot of growing up to do.
In New England, more often than not, Jeremy Sossei has not been able to best the two superstars of the Joss tour, Mike Dechaine and Jayson Shaw, but it would be different at the Derby. Sossei, a truly exceptional player and the Joss Tour's third best player, was the one who made the deep run, winning his first seven matches, while neither Mike nor Jayson advanced to Saturday's play.
In one of the Derby's most important matches, Alex Pagulayan, already with a loss, drew SVB. Surely, Alex had to block out the 11-2 loss to SVB in the Bigfoot, for another loss would all but end his Master of the Table chances. As fate would have it, it was Alex's turn to dominate and he won 9-1. SVB would be demolished later in the event by fourth place finisher Alex Lely. After the Bigfoot, SVB seemed headed for a big Derby City Classic, but his week on the nine foot tables was a really poor one. It was hard to figure after his great excellence on the ten footer.
The evening brought the Bank Pool Ring game. After a couple of hours, it was a three horse race between Hall, Daulton and Morra. Daulton went ice cold shortly after, leaving Hall and Morra to vie for the title. Truman Hogue announced that defense would now be allowed, and in my opinion, this caused the event, exciting to that point, to become just a bit laborious. Hall eventually outlasted Morra, but the last two hours of the ring game were not easy to watch.
Saturday 1/31
The 14.1 final featured Jayson Shaw and Ruslan Chinakhov. Chinakhov gave another great effort and won the title easily.
.... but Saturday was all about 9-ball and Master of the Table.
Once Shannon Daulton fell, Master of the Table came down to Brumback, Reyes and Pagulayan. Kiamco knocked out Reyes with a 9-2 masterpiece, leaving Brumback the last threat to Pagulayan, who just kept winning. Brumback kept winning, too, but in Round 9 he let Imran Majid off the hook, blowing a 7-4 lead in a double hill loss. Alex was the Master of the Table, but would he be so bold as to win the 9-ball event after a first round loss? As it turned out, he had his chance. The last three standing were Kiamco, Alex and Sossei. After Kiamco prevailed in a good one with Sossei, Alex would have to double dip the unbeaten Kiamco to win the event. He'd done it to Dechaine in one pocket, so perhaps he'd be up to it again. This time, he won just one set and Kiamco won the title.
Summary: Who Won What?
It's usually a blur at this point, but this is what I remember. I'll include the money amount where I know it, otherwise I'll leave it blank.
American Rotation: 1st Dechaine 3,200 2nd McLaughlin 2,300
Big Foot: 1st SVB 16,000 2nd Cortezza 8,000 3rd Pagulayan/Ignacio 4,000 each
9-Ball Banks: 1st Daulton 10,000 2nd Brumback 3rd Reyes
One Pocket: 1st Pagulayan 12,000 2nd Dechaine 3rd Hall
9-Ball: 1st Kiamco 16,000 2nd Pagulayan 3rd Sossei
George Fels 14.1: 1st Chinakhov 4,000 2nd Shaw 3,900 (includes 1,000 high run bonus for a 227)
Master of the Table: 1st Pagulayan 20,000 2nd Reyes 3rd Brumback
Banks Ring Game: 1st Hall 6,000 2nd Morra 3,000
Banks Mini: 1st Tony Moguey
One Pocket mini: 1st Rob Hart
Nine ball mini: 1st Marco Teutscher
Louie Roberts Award: Danny Smith
Socially
I caught up with far too many AZBers to list but if I saw you, it was a pleasure, and if you were there and I missed you, I regret it. I also caught up with dozens of pro players, too many to name, but the one I most enjoyed seeing was Nick Varner. Some of the prime movers in pool that I caught up with included Billy Incardona, Mark Wilson, Don Wardell, Dan DiLiberto, Ken Shuman, Jay Helfert, Jerry Forsyth, Greg Sullivan, Jerry Briesath, and last but not least, Mike Howerton.
My Guests
I was delighted to have Mike Dearing as my guest for the first few days of the Derby and Todd Nevins for the last few. They both seemed to understand what the Derby is all about and had a grand old time.
Finally
The officiating was superb for the length of the Derby. The event stayed on schedule, which speaks well of the staff. Truman Hogue ran the ring game with his usual mastery. AZB posters DMG Walsh, Elvicash, and Marop did a great job running the 14.1 challenge. Jay Helfert has the Bigfoot down to a science and delivered yet again. Thanks to Joe Tucker for the American Rotation event. Last but not least, thanks to Greg Sullivan and Diamond for another wonderful Derby City Classic.
Hope to do it again next January.
Could have been even better, had Stepanov won that last year :wink:
