I just got back from the 2023 edition of the Derby City Classic. Here’s how it went.
Friday, 1/20, Derby City Day 1
Arrived at the hotel at about 2:30. In the Bigfoot, I missed SVB’s win over Eberle but was just on time to see Shaw’s win over Woodward. I also caught Gomez’ win over Pagulayan. Though encouraged by Jayson Shaw to check out Chohan vs Filler in the action room, I thought it wise to make an early night of it and retired to my room early.
Saturday, 1/21, Derby City Day 2
Rose on time for the 9:00 AM banks round. I chose to watch Filler’s match, but only saw the last part of it, with Josh winning comfortably. The best matchup of the round in Jayson Shaw vs Scott Frost. Frost grinded well for a 2-0 lead. Jayson fought back, and when things reached double hill, Frost took the lead in the case rack. Shaw fought back and completed the comeback.
My attentions then turned to the 10ball. I saw most of Fortunski’s impressive win over Immonen. Corteza crushed Garcia and Konrad J won a tight one over Morra.
Sunday, 1/22, Derby City Day 3
Caught some early banks matches but saw nothing special.
Then it was on to the Bigfoot, where Shane bested Shaw, taking an early lead and never giving it back. Next up was Gorst vs Gomez. Both were solid, but Fedor created practically nothing with his break, and Gomez prevailed. Fortunski vs Corteza was a good one that reached double hill, but Fortunski made an error two ball from the finish line and it cost him the match. His countryman Konrad J fared better, topping Filler in a tight contest. Like Gorst, Filler was creating next to nothing off his break and it surely cost him his chance. Nonetheless, all the credit to Konrad, who played great pool. Three of the top five players, based on Fargo, in the world were eliminated (Shaw, Gorst, Filler) in a tumultuous day of ten ball.
One pocket began, but I saw none of it.
Monday, 1/23, Derby City Day 4
On this day, I opted for the bank pool over the Bigfoot semis, giving my seats to friends. Shane beat Gomez and Konrad J beat Corteza in two blowouts. The only 10ball match I watched was the relatively poorly played final, won by Shane, who nabbed the first big payout at the 2023 Derby.
The banks offered many good matches. The best match I saw on this day was Gomez vs Daulton. Shannon led 2-1 but Gomez won a hard-fought rack to reach double hill. At double hill, Gomez ran the last four to reach the finish line. Shannon Murphy gave Shaw his first loss in a squeaker and Filler was handed his first loss by an impressive Scott Frost. Immonen suffered his first loss at the hands of Luis DeMarco. Some big names were eliminated in Round 9, as Roland Garcia gave Tony Chohan his second loss and Pagulayan took out Daulton. Reyes was also eliminated. Finally, props to Lukas Verner, a 21-year- old playing in his first ever Derby, who tying for 15th place after a Round 9 loss to Gomez. SVB was eliminated as Gorst beat him easily. Jayson Shaw survived, coming from 2-1 behind to beat Robert Frost.
Fourteen players were left. From my vantage point, Gorst looked he was the one to beat in the bank pool. His play had been almost superhuman to that point.
One pocket was still in Round 2 at day’s end and I didn’t watch any of it.
Tuesday, 1/24, Derby City Day 5
Tuesday at the Derby is always about the banks, and the day didn’t disappoint. For much of the day, the story was the unknown Raed Shabib, who had beaten Scott Frost on Monday night, continuing his stampede. He beat Billy Thorpe, Roland Garcia and after drawing the bye in Round 12, advanced to the TV round, assured of third place. Gerson Martinez and Josh Filler finished tied fourth.
In the TV round, Evan Lunda faced Raed Shabib for a chance to double dip the undefeated Fedor Gorst in the final. Lunda prevailed.
In the final, Lunda was brilliant in taking the first set but, after Gorst bought back, Lunda’s level dropped in the second set and Fedor played well to win the title, becoming the man to beat for Master of the Table.
I didn’t follow much of the one pocket but saw Roberto Gomez beating Gorst. Wednesday, I reckoned was the day when I’d focus on watching the one pocket event.
Something remarkable nearly happened in that Gomez had beaten Gorst in the Bigfoot and in one pocket before the two matched up in banks. Gomez led 2-1 and looked like he was going to beat Fedor in a third discipline. It didn’t happen, as Fedor rallied for victory.
Wednesday, 1/25, Derby City Day 6
Wednesday at the Derby is all about the one pocket
The first big match up was Gorst, who carried a loss, against Shaw. A win by Shaw would have given the few who had hopes of Master of the Table more hope, but Gorst won it. John Schmidt would be the one to give Gorst his second loss.
In Round 7, Efren gave Filler his first defeat. Other big names sitting pretty through Round 7 were Justin Hall, Tony Chohan, John Morra, Jon Pinegar, Sky Woodward, Anton Raga and Corey Deuel, all undefeated.
Round 1 began in 9ball but I didn’t see any of it.
Thursday, 1/26, Derby City Day 7
The one pocket delivered sensational pool. While it was Efren Reyes winning his first ten that turned the most heads, John Pinegar wasn’t far behind in his methodical victories. Chohan, to me, looked the man to beat, as he easily dismissed opponent after opponent.
At day’s end, Filler had just been eliminated, and will finish fifth or sixth in one pocket. Coupled with his fourth-place finish in banks, he was firmly in the hunt for Master of the Table, and it looked like it would come down to Josh and Fedor.
Entering Friday, the remaining five in one pocket were Pagualyan and Woodward, each with a loss, and Chohan, Pinegar and Reyes all undefeated.
9ball continued by was still in Round 2 at day’s end. I didn’t watch much of it.
Friday, 1/27, Derby City Day 8
Efren’s continuing run in the one pocket was the big story on this day. Strangely, the one pocket players, to a great extent, got the day off, with few matches played. Efren beat Woodward with relative ease and then squeaked by Pagulayan, who blew a 7-3 advantage in the case rack. Pinegar was superb in giving both Chohan and Efren their first losses.
The one pocket event had been backed up so far that the semis and finals were postponed until Saturday. Reyes would play Chohan in the semi and the winner would play Pinegar for the title.
Shannon Murphy was superb in winning the Bank Pool Ring Game, with Thorpe finishing second.
9 ball offered numerous good matches. A great match was Pagulayan’s double hill win over Scott Frost. Anton Raga took an early loss, compromising his chances. Brandon Shuff had a nice win over Fortunski, In Round 5, Shaw drew his old Joss Tour rival Dechaine and prevailed easily. The two primary candidates for Master of the Table, Filler and Gorst, remained undefeated at day’s end.
Things were way behind schedule in the 9-ball and the prospect of a final going deep into Sunday morning loomed large. Many players had played well past 2:00 AM were asked to report back for a 9:00 AM match. Really!
Saturday, 1/28, Derby City Day 9
I think that less is more as far as my comments concerning what was to prove the worst day in the history of the Derby. A day filled with promise fizzled and became a nightmare. 9ball players had to report at 9:00 AM and two of them, Gorst and SVB, would be there for 25 hours, as it took until about 10:00 AM to finish the event. I couldn’t last past 5:00 AM and missed three rounds. Only about a dozen fans remained when I turned in. It looked like some players might collapse. Chohan won a very competitive one pocket final over Pinegar. Gorst eventually topped SVB in the 9ball final, winning Master of the Table yet again and, at 22 years of age, becoming only the second player to win at all three disciplines at the Derby,
I’m choosing to pull my punches, but the level of incompetence in management of the schedule over the last three days of the Derby was hard to fathom, and it ruined this Derby City Classic.
The disservice to the players exceeded the disservice to the fans, and players were less than alert in the last rounds. Several players faced the possible decision of having to choose between continuing to play and miss their flight out of Louisville or just forfeiting. Several of them were heading for Poland to the World Pool Championships and were starting to get antsy about the delays.
The Hotel
At the Horseshoe, the rooms are OK, but everything else is second rate. As always, it’s the food situation that s worst. It’s the general absence of good food that’s hard to deal with. You can get a decent breakfast, but at an exorbitant price, you’d expect better than plastic utensils. Lunch and dinner in the food court were terrible and, whether you went to the homestyle stand or the grill, the choices were few and the quality second rate. The one good restaurant they have is the Gordon Ramsay steakhouse, but it’s booked solid all the way up to March. I got in once because somebody cancelled. As always, the air quality was poor.
Takeaways
Gorst appears to be the best all-around player in the world for sure, but Filler, who had three top fives in the three disciplines, will definitely win Master of the Table one day.
It was clear to me even before I arrived that those running the event had no sensible plan for this Derby and, despite some fine play on display, this should go down as the worst ever Derby.
Having missed the closing stages of the 9ball, just like virtually every American fan of the game, I left Louisville absolutely disgusted. My experience was so negative that I have to wonder whether I’ll ever go to the Derby again. This year, DCC stood for Derby City Catastrophe.
Friday, 1/20, Derby City Day 1
Arrived at the hotel at about 2:30. In the Bigfoot, I missed SVB’s win over Eberle but was just on time to see Shaw’s win over Woodward. I also caught Gomez’ win over Pagulayan. Though encouraged by Jayson Shaw to check out Chohan vs Filler in the action room, I thought it wise to make an early night of it and retired to my room early.
Saturday, 1/21, Derby City Day 2
Rose on time for the 9:00 AM banks round. I chose to watch Filler’s match, but only saw the last part of it, with Josh winning comfortably. The best matchup of the round in Jayson Shaw vs Scott Frost. Frost grinded well for a 2-0 lead. Jayson fought back, and when things reached double hill, Frost took the lead in the case rack. Shaw fought back and completed the comeback.
My attentions then turned to the 10ball. I saw most of Fortunski’s impressive win over Immonen. Corteza crushed Garcia and Konrad J won a tight one over Morra.
Sunday, 1/22, Derby City Day 3
Caught some early banks matches but saw nothing special.
Then it was on to the Bigfoot, where Shane bested Shaw, taking an early lead and never giving it back. Next up was Gorst vs Gomez. Both were solid, but Fedor created practically nothing with his break, and Gomez prevailed. Fortunski vs Corteza was a good one that reached double hill, but Fortunski made an error two ball from the finish line and it cost him the match. His countryman Konrad J fared better, topping Filler in a tight contest. Like Gorst, Filler was creating next to nothing off his break and it surely cost him his chance. Nonetheless, all the credit to Konrad, who played great pool. Three of the top five players, based on Fargo, in the world were eliminated (Shaw, Gorst, Filler) in a tumultuous day of ten ball.
One pocket began, but I saw none of it.
Monday, 1/23, Derby City Day 4
On this day, I opted for the bank pool over the Bigfoot semis, giving my seats to friends. Shane beat Gomez and Konrad J beat Corteza in two blowouts. The only 10ball match I watched was the relatively poorly played final, won by Shane, who nabbed the first big payout at the 2023 Derby.
The banks offered many good matches. The best match I saw on this day was Gomez vs Daulton. Shannon led 2-1 but Gomez won a hard-fought rack to reach double hill. At double hill, Gomez ran the last four to reach the finish line. Shannon Murphy gave Shaw his first loss in a squeaker and Filler was handed his first loss by an impressive Scott Frost. Immonen suffered his first loss at the hands of Luis DeMarco. Some big names were eliminated in Round 9, as Roland Garcia gave Tony Chohan his second loss and Pagulayan took out Daulton. Reyes was also eliminated. Finally, props to Lukas Verner, a 21-year- old playing in his first ever Derby, who tying for 15th place after a Round 9 loss to Gomez. SVB was eliminated as Gorst beat him easily. Jayson Shaw survived, coming from 2-1 behind to beat Robert Frost.
Fourteen players were left. From my vantage point, Gorst looked he was the one to beat in the bank pool. His play had been almost superhuman to that point.
One pocket was still in Round 2 at day’s end and I didn’t watch any of it.
Tuesday, 1/24, Derby City Day 5
Tuesday at the Derby is always about the banks, and the day didn’t disappoint. For much of the day, the story was the unknown Raed Shabib, who had beaten Scott Frost on Monday night, continuing his stampede. He beat Billy Thorpe, Roland Garcia and after drawing the bye in Round 12, advanced to the TV round, assured of third place. Gerson Martinez and Josh Filler finished tied fourth.
In the TV round, Evan Lunda faced Raed Shabib for a chance to double dip the undefeated Fedor Gorst in the final. Lunda prevailed.
In the final, Lunda was brilliant in taking the first set but, after Gorst bought back, Lunda’s level dropped in the second set and Fedor played well to win the title, becoming the man to beat for Master of the Table.
I didn’t follow much of the one pocket but saw Roberto Gomez beating Gorst. Wednesday, I reckoned was the day when I’d focus on watching the one pocket event.
Something remarkable nearly happened in that Gomez had beaten Gorst in the Bigfoot and in one pocket before the two matched up in banks. Gomez led 2-1 and looked like he was going to beat Fedor in a third discipline. It didn’t happen, as Fedor rallied for victory.
Wednesday, 1/25, Derby City Day 6
Wednesday at the Derby is all about the one pocket
The first big match up was Gorst, who carried a loss, against Shaw. A win by Shaw would have given the few who had hopes of Master of the Table more hope, but Gorst won it. John Schmidt would be the one to give Gorst his second loss.
In Round 7, Efren gave Filler his first defeat. Other big names sitting pretty through Round 7 were Justin Hall, Tony Chohan, John Morra, Jon Pinegar, Sky Woodward, Anton Raga and Corey Deuel, all undefeated.
Round 1 began in 9ball but I didn’t see any of it.
Thursday, 1/26, Derby City Day 7
The one pocket delivered sensational pool. While it was Efren Reyes winning his first ten that turned the most heads, John Pinegar wasn’t far behind in his methodical victories. Chohan, to me, looked the man to beat, as he easily dismissed opponent after opponent.
At day’s end, Filler had just been eliminated, and will finish fifth or sixth in one pocket. Coupled with his fourth-place finish in banks, he was firmly in the hunt for Master of the Table, and it looked like it would come down to Josh and Fedor.
Entering Friday, the remaining five in one pocket were Pagualyan and Woodward, each with a loss, and Chohan, Pinegar and Reyes all undefeated.
9ball continued by was still in Round 2 at day’s end. I didn’t watch much of it.
Friday, 1/27, Derby City Day 8
Efren’s continuing run in the one pocket was the big story on this day. Strangely, the one pocket players, to a great extent, got the day off, with few matches played. Efren beat Woodward with relative ease and then squeaked by Pagulayan, who blew a 7-3 advantage in the case rack. Pinegar was superb in giving both Chohan and Efren their first losses.
The one pocket event had been backed up so far that the semis and finals were postponed until Saturday. Reyes would play Chohan in the semi and the winner would play Pinegar for the title.
Shannon Murphy was superb in winning the Bank Pool Ring Game, with Thorpe finishing second.
9 ball offered numerous good matches. A great match was Pagulayan’s double hill win over Scott Frost. Anton Raga took an early loss, compromising his chances. Brandon Shuff had a nice win over Fortunski, In Round 5, Shaw drew his old Joss Tour rival Dechaine and prevailed easily. The two primary candidates for Master of the Table, Filler and Gorst, remained undefeated at day’s end.
Things were way behind schedule in the 9-ball and the prospect of a final going deep into Sunday morning loomed large. Many players had played well past 2:00 AM were asked to report back for a 9:00 AM match. Really!
Saturday, 1/28, Derby City Day 9
I think that less is more as far as my comments concerning what was to prove the worst day in the history of the Derby. A day filled with promise fizzled and became a nightmare. 9ball players had to report at 9:00 AM and two of them, Gorst and SVB, would be there for 25 hours, as it took until about 10:00 AM to finish the event. I couldn’t last past 5:00 AM and missed three rounds. Only about a dozen fans remained when I turned in. It looked like some players might collapse. Chohan won a very competitive one pocket final over Pinegar. Gorst eventually topped SVB in the 9ball final, winning Master of the Table yet again and, at 22 years of age, becoming only the second player to win at all three disciplines at the Derby,
I’m choosing to pull my punches, but the level of incompetence in management of the schedule over the last three days of the Derby was hard to fathom, and it ruined this Derby City Classic.
The disservice to the players exceeded the disservice to the fans, and players were less than alert in the last rounds. Several players faced the possible decision of having to choose between continuing to play and miss their flight out of Louisville or just forfeiting. Several of them were heading for Poland to the World Pool Championships and were starting to get antsy about the delays.
The Hotel
At the Horseshoe, the rooms are OK, but everything else is second rate. As always, it’s the food situation that s worst. It’s the general absence of good food that’s hard to deal with. You can get a decent breakfast, but at an exorbitant price, you’d expect better than plastic utensils. Lunch and dinner in the food court were terrible and, whether you went to the homestyle stand or the grill, the choices were few and the quality second rate. The one good restaurant they have is the Gordon Ramsay steakhouse, but it’s booked solid all the way up to March. I got in once because somebody cancelled. As always, the air quality was poor.
Takeaways
Gorst appears to be the best all-around player in the world for sure, but Filler, who had three top fives in the three disciplines, will definitely win Master of the Table one day.
It was clear to me even before I arrived that those running the event had no sensible plan for this Derby and, despite some fine play on display, this should go down as the worst ever Derby.
Having missed the closing stages of the 9ball, just like virtually every American fan of the game, I left Louisville absolutely disgusted. My experience was so negative that I have to wonder whether I’ll ever go to the Derby again. This year, DCC stood for Derby City Catastrophe.
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