If you're not in the mood for a long post, proceed no further.
Just got back from nine days at the Derby City Classic and I'm exhausted. Here's how it all went down from my vantage point.
Friday 1/24
Arrived in the mid-afternoon. Jayson Shaw had already beaten Robb Saez in the 10-ball, and I caught the last couple of racks of Shane's win over Dennis Orcullo. John Morra was superb in beating Lee Vann Corteza, and the 11-10 score misrepresented the fact that Morra was by far the better player in that one. I saw Mark Wilson in the evening and was happy to congratulate him on his appointment as American Mosconi Cup captain. All in all, I didn't catch that much pool on my first day at the Derby, but I knew that would change on Saturday.
Saturday 1/25
Watched Souquet's brilliant comeback from 5-1 down to Biado in the ten ball. Ralf got into the zone to turn the tables and take a 10-7 lead and won a fairly sloppy final rack for a very impressive win. Checked out some of the action in the American Rotation event, and must admit that I like the game. Joe Tucker may be onto something here! Watched a few bank pool matches, and Glen "Piggy Banks" Rogers' win over John Brumback brought the house down. I also saw Bustamante's win over Darren Appleton in the ten ball. The standard was pretty high for both players, but Darren created nearly nothing off his break and had to work much harder for his racks than Francisco, with the result being a solid win for Francisco.
Sunday 1/26
In the ten ball, Souquet steamrolled Shaw 11-3 and Niels beat Reyes in a close one to set up an all-Europe semifinal. Shane had a narrow escape against a very game John Morra, and Francisco beat Earl. The banks got down to just a handful, and Orcullo was a remarkable 10-0 and and the lone undefeated player remaining. Match of the day was Wang Can's upset of Justin Bergman. Wang Can, if memory serves, ended up finishing a rock-solid seventh.
Monday 1/27
Niels was amazing in crushing Souquet in first ten ball semi and Shane bested an off-form Bustamante in the other semi. In the final, Shane played well to take an 8-3 lead, but Feijen fought back furiously, until his comeback bid was derailed by an unlucky scratch on a very good shot on the two ball, leaving Shane the 11-7 winner and deserving champion. Banks got down to the last few, with Shannon Murphy, Francisco Bustamante, Dennis Orcullo, Earl Strickland and Dave Grossman offering a very strong last five. Grossman and Murphy fell in the last round of the evening, leaving three to compete for the title on Tuesday night. Finally, the 1-pocket event got underway.
Tuesday 1/28
I spent the early part of my day alternating between watching 1-pocket and the 14.1 challenge. I was present for Orcullo's run of 141 but that was the only big run I saw. Caught a few one pocket matches, including Scot Frost's impressive win over Darren Appleton. The evening, of course, was all about the banks event. Bustamante beat Orcullo, giving Dennis his first loss. Dennis then drew the bye into the final, and Bustamante beat Strickland to eliminate him. Bustamante, the defending champion of the event, appeared to be in great form entering the final, but Dennis' performance was breathtaking, and the final rack of the match was the best and most exciting rack of bank pool I've ever seen. Dennis' jubilation when he won was memorable, as were his respectful comments about his friend and countryman when he addressed the crowd in victory.
Wednesday 1/29
Though nine ball got underway, my focus was on 1-pocket event. It now seemed to me that Bustamante and Orcullo would battle it out for Master of the Table, so I paid a lot of attention to their one-pocket matches. In the evening, both drew tough, but Orcullo, after besting the always tough Sylver Ochoa, played well to beat Larry Nevel. Bustamante simultaneously eliminated Shane and Justin Hall put on a nice show handing Scott Frost his first loss. It was down to a fine last seven, with Efren Reyes and Shannon Daulton undefeated, and Justin Hall, Francisco Bustamante, Dennis Orcullo, Scott Frost and Josh Roberts still in with one loss. In the redraw, Justin Hall drew Scott Frost yet again and I was very curious whether Justin could make it two in a row over Scott Thursday morning.
Thursday 1/30
I knew this would be a very big day with respect to the Master of the Table bonus, with Orcullo and Bustamante among the last seven in 1-pocket. If Orcullo extended his lead over Bustamante, he would have been hard to catch given how well he plays nine ball. On the other hand, Bustamante had a big opportunity to make this very tight going into the nine ball and Saturday night might be electrifying if Master of the Table were still undecided going into the final rounds of the nine ball event. As it turned out, Bustamante lost to Frost and Orcullo lost a double hill thriller to Efren when Efren kicked in a two ball and made the shape onto the next shot, so they ended up tying for fourth. Hence, Orcullo defended the Master of the Table lead he'd gained when he beat Bustamante in the banks final. The evening brought a breathtaking performance from Shannon Daulton, which he won over Scott Frost due to exceptional table length banking more than anything else. Daulton needed to beat Reyes twice to snap off the event, but Efren won the first set to finish the one pocket event undefeated. Well played, Efren. In the 14.1 challenge, where Hohmann, Schmidt and Vandenberg all narrowly missed reaching the single elimination stage, form didn't hold. The #8 seed, Huidji See, beat #1 seed Souquet, #7 seed Alex Lely beat #2 Feijen, so the semifinalists were See, Lely, Stepanov and Orcullo. Nine ball got to Round 3, so it was still in the early stages.
Friday 1/31
After sleeping late, I didn't catch that much nine ball, but the evening would deliver some of the most electrifying moments of this or any Derby City Classic. The first rack of the ten-ball-banks-ring-game set the tone as Daulton made four and youngster Skyler Woodward ran six. The ring game eventually developed into a two horse race with Skyler and Francisco the last two remaining. By the evening's end, Skyler had run an almost unfathomable three sixes and walked away with $6,000. Freddie the Beard said he'd never witnessed better banking! Needless to say, me neither. Nine ball was down to about thirty players by the end of the day, and most of those still left could be counted among the truly elite. Saturday would surely deliver some serious drama.
Saturday 2/1
Before you knew it, just nine players remained in the nine ball and Efren drew Dennis. Bustamante was out, so Efren, winner of the one pocket was now the only one who could catch Dennis for Master of the Table. It was not to be, however, as Dennis beat him to eliminate Efren from both the 9-ball and the Master of the Table. Shane Van Boening, who had lost to eventual 6th place finisher Mike Dechaine in Round 4, just kept on winning, and won seven matches in a row to reach the last 3 with Morra and Klatt. Shane drew the bye into the final and Morra's double hill win over Klatt set up the final. At double hill, Morra got one of the worst rolls I've ever witnessed, as the object ball went into the side pocket on a perfect kick safe at double hill, so it was Shane who'd snap off the 9-ball. In the eyes of this fan, Morra deserved to win. Shane had beat Morra 11-10 in the 10-ball quarterfinals, too, so John's week might have been quite a bit more special if not for Shane. Finally, I just couldn't bring myself to stay up for the straight pool final, in which Dennis Orcullo, to whom the week already belonged, won easily over Konstantin Stepanov.
Sunday 2/2
Took a taxi to the airport. Flew home.
AZBers I Got to See
Was pleased to see Big Truck, Cornerman, "T", Joe Tucker, MainPlayer, Kollege Dave, One Pocket Ghost, DMG Walsh, Marop, John Schmidt , Jay Helfert, Williebetmore, Elvicash, JB Cases, Bernie Pettipiece, Lou Figueroa, Freddie the Beard, and others.
Other Friends I Caught Up With
I caught up with Niels Feijen, Nick Vandenberg, Huidji See, Alex Lely, Ken Shuman, Greg Sullivan, Mark Wilson, Jerry Briesath, George Breedlove, Darren Appleton, Jayson Shaw, Robb Saez, Thorsten Hohmann, Hunter Lombardo, Ralf Souquet, Johnny Archer, Jeremy Jones, Jeremy Sossei, Jose Parica, Pat Fleming, Billy Incardona, Dan DiLiberto, Jeanette Lee, Brittany Bryant, Nicole Keeney, Karen Corr, and Julie Kelly. Safe bet I left someone out.
Last but Not Least
My good friend Todd Nevins joined me at the Horseshoe for the last few days of the Derby, and I also got to know his friends Joey Dupuis and Steve Goulding, both out of the truly great pool hall Snookers in Providence, Rhode Island. Joey and Steve are both great guys whom I'd met before but only briefly.
In Conclusion
Another Derby City Classic is behind me, and the lingering memories are as follows:
1) Orcullo 1st in banks, 4th in 1-pocket, 4th in 9-ball, Master of the Table, 1st in 14.1. Are you kidding?
2) Van Boening winning both the nine ball and the Bigfoot ten ball events.
3) Efren's magical ride to go undefeated in the one pocket event.
4) Skyler Woodward's genius in the bank ring game.
5) Bustamante's usual all-around brilliance.
I think the most memorable rack of the Derby, though, was the last rack of the banks final between Orcullo and Bustamante. I won't ruin it for you, but this rack absolutely brought the house down. Both players played with brilliance that almost defies description. Buy the DVD if you can.
So that's my story. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to Greg Sullivan and all who brought us the Derby City Classic.
Just got back from nine days at the Derby City Classic and I'm exhausted. Here's how it all went down from my vantage point.
Friday 1/24
Arrived in the mid-afternoon. Jayson Shaw had already beaten Robb Saez in the 10-ball, and I caught the last couple of racks of Shane's win over Dennis Orcullo. John Morra was superb in beating Lee Vann Corteza, and the 11-10 score misrepresented the fact that Morra was by far the better player in that one. I saw Mark Wilson in the evening and was happy to congratulate him on his appointment as American Mosconi Cup captain. All in all, I didn't catch that much pool on my first day at the Derby, but I knew that would change on Saturday.
Saturday 1/25
Watched Souquet's brilliant comeback from 5-1 down to Biado in the ten ball. Ralf got into the zone to turn the tables and take a 10-7 lead and won a fairly sloppy final rack for a very impressive win. Checked out some of the action in the American Rotation event, and must admit that I like the game. Joe Tucker may be onto something here! Watched a few bank pool matches, and Glen "Piggy Banks" Rogers' win over John Brumback brought the house down. I also saw Bustamante's win over Darren Appleton in the ten ball. The standard was pretty high for both players, but Darren created nearly nothing off his break and had to work much harder for his racks than Francisco, with the result being a solid win for Francisco.
Sunday 1/26
In the ten ball, Souquet steamrolled Shaw 11-3 and Niels beat Reyes in a close one to set up an all-Europe semifinal. Shane had a narrow escape against a very game John Morra, and Francisco beat Earl. The banks got down to just a handful, and Orcullo was a remarkable 10-0 and and the lone undefeated player remaining. Match of the day was Wang Can's upset of Justin Bergman. Wang Can, if memory serves, ended up finishing a rock-solid seventh.
Monday 1/27
Niels was amazing in crushing Souquet in first ten ball semi and Shane bested an off-form Bustamante in the other semi. In the final, Shane played well to take an 8-3 lead, but Feijen fought back furiously, until his comeback bid was derailed by an unlucky scratch on a very good shot on the two ball, leaving Shane the 11-7 winner and deserving champion. Banks got down to the last few, with Shannon Murphy, Francisco Bustamante, Dennis Orcullo, Earl Strickland and Dave Grossman offering a very strong last five. Grossman and Murphy fell in the last round of the evening, leaving three to compete for the title on Tuesday night. Finally, the 1-pocket event got underway.
Tuesday 1/28
I spent the early part of my day alternating between watching 1-pocket and the 14.1 challenge. I was present for Orcullo's run of 141 but that was the only big run I saw. Caught a few one pocket matches, including Scot Frost's impressive win over Darren Appleton. The evening, of course, was all about the banks event. Bustamante beat Orcullo, giving Dennis his first loss. Dennis then drew the bye into the final, and Bustamante beat Strickland to eliminate him. Bustamante, the defending champion of the event, appeared to be in great form entering the final, but Dennis' performance was breathtaking, and the final rack of the match was the best and most exciting rack of bank pool I've ever seen. Dennis' jubilation when he won was memorable, as were his respectful comments about his friend and countryman when he addressed the crowd in victory.
Wednesday 1/29
Though nine ball got underway, my focus was on 1-pocket event. It now seemed to me that Bustamante and Orcullo would battle it out for Master of the Table, so I paid a lot of attention to their one-pocket matches. In the evening, both drew tough, but Orcullo, after besting the always tough Sylver Ochoa, played well to beat Larry Nevel. Bustamante simultaneously eliminated Shane and Justin Hall put on a nice show handing Scott Frost his first loss. It was down to a fine last seven, with Efren Reyes and Shannon Daulton undefeated, and Justin Hall, Francisco Bustamante, Dennis Orcullo, Scott Frost and Josh Roberts still in with one loss. In the redraw, Justin Hall drew Scott Frost yet again and I was very curious whether Justin could make it two in a row over Scott Thursday morning.
Thursday 1/30
I knew this would be a very big day with respect to the Master of the Table bonus, with Orcullo and Bustamante among the last seven in 1-pocket. If Orcullo extended his lead over Bustamante, he would have been hard to catch given how well he plays nine ball. On the other hand, Bustamante had a big opportunity to make this very tight going into the nine ball and Saturday night might be electrifying if Master of the Table were still undecided going into the final rounds of the nine ball event. As it turned out, Bustamante lost to Frost and Orcullo lost a double hill thriller to Efren when Efren kicked in a two ball and made the shape onto the next shot, so they ended up tying for fourth. Hence, Orcullo defended the Master of the Table lead he'd gained when he beat Bustamante in the banks final. The evening brought a breathtaking performance from Shannon Daulton, which he won over Scott Frost due to exceptional table length banking more than anything else. Daulton needed to beat Reyes twice to snap off the event, but Efren won the first set to finish the one pocket event undefeated. Well played, Efren. In the 14.1 challenge, where Hohmann, Schmidt and Vandenberg all narrowly missed reaching the single elimination stage, form didn't hold. The #8 seed, Huidji See, beat #1 seed Souquet, #7 seed Alex Lely beat #2 Feijen, so the semifinalists were See, Lely, Stepanov and Orcullo. Nine ball got to Round 3, so it was still in the early stages.
Friday 1/31
After sleeping late, I didn't catch that much nine ball, but the evening would deliver some of the most electrifying moments of this or any Derby City Classic. The first rack of the ten-ball-banks-ring-game set the tone as Daulton made four and youngster Skyler Woodward ran six. The ring game eventually developed into a two horse race with Skyler and Francisco the last two remaining. By the evening's end, Skyler had run an almost unfathomable three sixes and walked away with $6,000. Freddie the Beard said he'd never witnessed better banking! Needless to say, me neither. Nine ball was down to about thirty players by the end of the day, and most of those still left could be counted among the truly elite. Saturday would surely deliver some serious drama.
Saturday 2/1
Before you knew it, just nine players remained in the nine ball and Efren drew Dennis. Bustamante was out, so Efren, winner of the one pocket was now the only one who could catch Dennis for Master of the Table. It was not to be, however, as Dennis beat him to eliminate Efren from both the 9-ball and the Master of the Table. Shane Van Boening, who had lost to eventual 6th place finisher Mike Dechaine in Round 4, just kept on winning, and won seven matches in a row to reach the last 3 with Morra and Klatt. Shane drew the bye into the final and Morra's double hill win over Klatt set up the final. At double hill, Morra got one of the worst rolls I've ever witnessed, as the object ball went into the side pocket on a perfect kick safe at double hill, so it was Shane who'd snap off the 9-ball. In the eyes of this fan, Morra deserved to win. Shane had beat Morra 11-10 in the 10-ball quarterfinals, too, so John's week might have been quite a bit more special if not for Shane. Finally, I just couldn't bring myself to stay up for the straight pool final, in which Dennis Orcullo, to whom the week already belonged, won easily over Konstantin Stepanov.
Sunday 2/2
Took a taxi to the airport. Flew home.
AZBers I Got to See
Was pleased to see Big Truck, Cornerman, "T", Joe Tucker, MainPlayer, Kollege Dave, One Pocket Ghost, DMG Walsh, Marop, John Schmidt , Jay Helfert, Williebetmore, Elvicash, JB Cases, Bernie Pettipiece, Lou Figueroa, Freddie the Beard, and others.
Other Friends I Caught Up With
I caught up with Niels Feijen, Nick Vandenberg, Huidji See, Alex Lely, Ken Shuman, Greg Sullivan, Mark Wilson, Jerry Briesath, George Breedlove, Darren Appleton, Jayson Shaw, Robb Saez, Thorsten Hohmann, Hunter Lombardo, Ralf Souquet, Johnny Archer, Jeremy Jones, Jeremy Sossei, Jose Parica, Pat Fleming, Billy Incardona, Dan DiLiberto, Jeanette Lee, Brittany Bryant, Nicole Keeney, Karen Corr, and Julie Kelly. Safe bet I left someone out.
Last but Not Least
My good friend Todd Nevins joined me at the Horseshoe for the last few days of the Derby, and I also got to know his friends Joey Dupuis and Steve Goulding, both out of the truly great pool hall Snookers in Providence, Rhode Island. Joey and Steve are both great guys whom I'd met before but only briefly.
In Conclusion
Another Derby City Classic is behind me, and the lingering memories are as follows:
1) Orcullo 1st in banks, 4th in 1-pocket, 4th in 9-ball, Master of the Table, 1st in 14.1. Are you kidding?
2) Van Boening winning both the nine ball and the Bigfoot ten ball events.
3) Efren's magical ride to go undefeated in the one pocket event.
4) Skyler Woodward's genius in the bank ring game.
5) Bustamante's usual all-around brilliance.
I think the most memorable rack of the Derby, though, was the last rack of the banks final between Orcullo and Bustamante. I won't ruin it for you, but this rack absolutely brought the house down. Both players played with brilliance that almost defies description. Buy the DVD if you can.
So that's my story. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to Greg Sullivan and all who brought us the Derby City Classic.
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