As the smoke settles on another year of pro pool, I like to consider the matter of what the best match of 2014 was. Predictably, I can only select from matches I saw and invite others to chime in with their match of the year candidates.
1. January 2014: Dechaine beats Van Boening at the Derby City 9-ball
Nobody expected it when Dechaine beat Shane 9-2 in the Derby City 9-ball in 2013, and some figured that Shane would surely get revenge when he drew Dechaine again in the 2014 Derby City 9-ball. Most, however, figured it would be quite a match, and indeed it was. Very well played by both, it went back and forth, with America's two biggest breakers and two best players dominating with their breaks. Mike ultimately beat Shane double hill in a thriller. It may have been just what Shane needed, however, as Shane won, I believe, his next eight or nine matches to win the event.
2. January: Shannon Daulton beats Scott Frost at the Derby City One Pocket
Efren Reyes already owned the hot seat and Scott Frost and Shannon Daulton played each other for the other spot in the final. I'm sure I wasn't alone in predicting that Frost would win and give the fans an almost unimprovable matchup in the final. Apparently, nobody advised Shannon Daulton of the script. Shannon, with an almost unfathomable display of long banking, was up to the task and beat Frost in a truly memorable match.
3. January: Derby City Bank Pool Ring Game
If you were there or even if you watched it on stream, you'll never forget it. Sky Woodward put on a show for the ages and eventually found himself eye-to-eye with Bustamante as they fought for the $6,000 first prize. Bustamante was great, Woodward was even better. When the smoke had cleared, Woodward, who ran three different sixes along the way, had bested Bustamante. Freddie the Beard called it the best banking he'd seen in his life, a life which very sadly expired about four months later, robbing us all of the face of bank pool.
4. July: JL Chang beats Dennis Orcullo 21-18 at the CSI 9-ball Exhibition
CSI put this match together as an exhibition during the BCAPL National Championships and, as usual, CSI came up big. JL Chang dominated this match early but Orcullo made a furious comeback to tie it at 13. Orcullo kept the heat on and charged to a lead of 18-15, but a misplayed safety on the one ball brought JL Chang back to the table. Chang then ran six racks and out to win it 21-18. Wow!
5. August: Darren Appleton beats Van Boening to win the Dragon 14.1 Event
The emergence of Shane as a real force in 14.1 was undeniable after he had eliminated Johnny Archer by 200-10 by running 74 and then 126. Darren, who had run 200 and out in the semifinals of the 2013 event before falling to Hohmann, surely knew he'd have to be on his game to beat the red hot Shane, who was as much the story of the event as Darren himself. As he did a year ago, Darren produced a Sunday gem, running 69 and then 131 to win 200-28. This is surely a case of a match that was great only in the sense of how memorable it was.
6. September: Team England beats Team Netherlands to win the World Cup of Pool Final
Certainly not the best played matched of the year, but possibly the most exciting. Team Netherlands (Feijen and Vandenberg) controlled things for most of the match but England (Appleton and Boyes) stayed close and fought hard to get to double hill. It looked like Appleton's scratch on the break at double hill would prove fatal, but Team Netherlands failed to run out, with Feijen missing the eight. Boyes missed, too, but got away with it and England prevailed. A case can be made that neither team deserved to win, but the drama was simply incredible for anyone lucky enough to be watching at the time.
7. October: Dechaine beats Bustamante to reach the final four of the US Open
Mike came out on fire, but once Bustamante got his openings, his play was outstanding and he raced out to an 8-6 lead. Mike, it turned out had something left in the tank and played superbly to win the double hill contest. Still, as I've asked before, if a match finishes at 2:30 AM, did it really happen?
8. October: Van Boening beats Orcullo to win the US Open final
Orcullo shoots a 1.000 accu-stats for the first nine racks to gain a 6-3 lead, but when Shane's chances came, he went into overdrive and played some of the best pool I've ever seen. Dennis was brilliant in this one, but not nearly as brilliant as Van Boening, the deserving 13-10 winner.
What was best? For me, it's match #8, followed by Match #3 and then Match #4. What was your favorite?
1. January 2014: Dechaine beats Van Boening at the Derby City 9-ball
Nobody expected it when Dechaine beat Shane 9-2 in the Derby City 9-ball in 2013, and some figured that Shane would surely get revenge when he drew Dechaine again in the 2014 Derby City 9-ball. Most, however, figured it would be quite a match, and indeed it was. Very well played by both, it went back and forth, with America's two biggest breakers and two best players dominating with their breaks. Mike ultimately beat Shane double hill in a thriller. It may have been just what Shane needed, however, as Shane won, I believe, his next eight or nine matches to win the event.
2. January: Shannon Daulton beats Scott Frost at the Derby City One Pocket
Efren Reyes already owned the hot seat and Scott Frost and Shannon Daulton played each other for the other spot in the final. I'm sure I wasn't alone in predicting that Frost would win and give the fans an almost unimprovable matchup in the final. Apparently, nobody advised Shannon Daulton of the script. Shannon, with an almost unfathomable display of long banking, was up to the task and beat Frost in a truly memorable match.
3. January: Derby City Bank Pool Ring Game
If you were there or even if you watched it on stream, you'll never forget it. Sky Woodward put on a show for the ages and eventually found himself eye-to-eye with Bustamante as they fought for the $6,000 first prize. Bustamante was great, Woodward was even better. When the smoke had cleared, Woodward, who ran three different sixes along the way, had bested Bustamante. Freddie the Beard called it the best banking he'd seen in his life, a life which very sadly expired about four months later, robbing us all of the face of bank pool.
4. July: JL Chang beats Dennis Orcullo 21-18 at the CSI 9-ball Exhibition
CSI put this match together as an exhibition during the BCAPL National Championships and, as usual, CSI came up big. JL Chang dominated this match early but Orcullo made a furious comeback to tie it at 13. Orcullo kept the heat on and charged to a lead of 18-15, but a misplayed safety on the one ball brought JL Chang back to the table. Chang then ran six racks and out to win it 21-18. Wow!
5. August: Darren Appleton beats Van Boening to win the Dragon 14.1 Event
The emergence of Shane as a real force in 14.1 was undeniable after he had eliminated Johnny Archer by 200-10 by running 74 and then 126. Darren, who had run 200 and out in the semifinals of the 2013 event before falling to Hohmann, surely knew he'd have to be on his game to beat the red hot Shane, who was as much the story of the event as Darren himself. As he did a year ago, Darren produced a Sunday gem, running 69 and then 131 to win 200-28. This is surely a case of a match that was great only in the sense of how memorable it was.
6. September: Team England beats Team Netherlands to win the World Cup of Pool Final
Certainly not the best played matched of the year, but possibly the most exciting. Team Netherlands (Feijen and Vandenberg) controlled things for most of the match but England (Appleton and Boyes) stayed close and fought hard to get to double hill. It looked like Appleton's scratch on the break at double hill would prove fatal, but Team Netherlands failed to run out, with Feijen missing the eight. Boyes missed, too, but got away with it and England prevailed. A case can be made that neither team deserved to win, but the drama was simply incredible for anyone lucky enough to be watching at the time.
7. October: Dechaine beats Bustamante to reach the final four of the US Open
Mike came out on fire, but once Bustamante got his openings, his play was outstanding and he raced out to an 8-6 lead. Mike, it turned out had something left in the tank and played superbly to win the double hill contest. Still, as I've asked before, if a match finishes at 2:30 AM, did it really happen?
8. October: Van Boening beats Orcullo to win the US Open final
Orcullo shoots a 1.000 accu-stats for the first nine racks to gain a 6-3 lead, but when Shane's chances came, he went into overdrive and played some of the best pool I've ever seen. Dennis was brilliant in this one, but not nearly as brilliant as Van Boening, the deserving 13-10 winner.
What was best? For me, it's match #8, followed by Match #3 and then Match #4. What was your favorite?
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