Shane Van Boening (Photo courtesy of Johnny Sturgis)
MATCH #9 – Scott Frost 3, Justin Hall 1
GAME 1 – Hall 8, Frost -1 (Innings: 29)
This was a Tale of 2 Games In One. In Part 1 the two traded safeties through the first 15 innings while the balls remained at the foot end of the table. The key moment came in inning 13 when Frost removed a pack of balls from in front of Hall’s pocket. After a few more safeties Hall missed a bank, and Frost then scratched on a long distance safety. Hall took ball-in-hand and ran five balls, the final one a very thin cut. He played a combo and hung a ball in his pocket, and left the table leading 5 to -1. Frost made the ball for Hall and then Part 2 of the game began as the players began to play an uptable game. Finally, in the 23rd inning, Hall made a nice cut, missed a bank, and Frost pocketed a bank. The score now read 7 to 0 in Hall’s favor. They began trading safeties until Frost scratched in the 28th inning and Hall drilled home a spot shot to end this 35 minute safety filled contest.
GAME 2 – Frost 8, Hall 0 (Innings: 7)
The two players resumed their safety wars in game 2 – the score was tied at 0-0 after 6 innings. But Hall had left a long combo after missing a bank and Frost fired it, then went to work on layout that was far from a sure runout. He played a superb pattern while clearing off the open balls. Then, on the sixth shot of his run, he sent the cue ball off the side rail and into a couple of balls with great precision, got position, and completed his run of 8 and out. Score tied, 1-1.
GAME 3 – Frost 8, Hall -1 (Innings: 8)
Hall put a ball in the jaws and Frost pocketed it, the Frost sank a bank shot to tie the score at 1-1 after the opening three innings. Hall played an intentional foul. Then my screen froze momentarily, and when it came back up, the score was -1 to -1! Frost opened his seventh inning with a 2-rail bank and ran six more before heading for his seat with a 6 to -1 advantage. Hall promptly sold out and Frost made two simple shots and grabbed a 2-1 lead in the match.
GAME 4 – Frost 8, Hall 1 (Innings: 4)
After Frost broke the balls well, Hall kick/banked in a ball. Frost answered with a bank and made two more to take a 3-1 lead after the first two innings. Hall missed a bank and Frost kicked in a ball and then played safe. Hall played a respectable safety, but Frost went for a double table length bank, made it, and made two more balls before playing a dead carom out of the pack to win the game, 8-1, and the match. Frost is now 1-3 while Hall fell to 1-2.
MATCH #10 – Efren Reyes 3, Alex Pagulayan 0
GAME 1 – Reyes 8, Pagulayan 0 (Innings: 3)
On his second trip to the table Pagulayan played a safe, but left Reyes with a shot, and The Magician was off and running. He opened with a bank, pocketed two balls left handed, and that left him with the perfect angle for another bank. After making it, he had a cut shot that enabled him to break a cluster in the triangle. Another lefthanded shot and two more balls later and he completed his run of 8 and out.
GAME 2 – Reyes, Pagulayan 1 ( (Innings: 6)
After some early game safety play Reyes made a bank using inside english, and he faced an open table and a simple shot. But he overspun the shot and missed, leaving for his seat with a 1-0 lead rather than the runout he almost surely expected to complete. Pagulayan had a golden opportunity to run out, but missed a shot using inside english (which is the most common miss among pros) and Reyes went back to work. Seven shots late he completed his run and took a commanding lead of 2-0 in this race to three.
GAME 3 – Reyes, Pagulayan -1 (Innings: 9)
Reyes left Pagulayan with a thin cut on his break, but Alex passed and played a fine safety. The two Filipino gladiators traded safeties, including a foul by Pagulayan. So, after six innings, Reyes led, 0 to -1. After Reyes played a poor safety in the seventh inning Pagulayan made an easy kick/combo, but failed to get rewarded with a shot, and committed another foul. Two safes later and the score was till Reyes 0, Pagulayan -1 after eight full innings of play. On his last turn, however, Pagulayan had left Reyes with a short rail bank, and he made it, but the cue ball went far down the table. Reyes rose to the occasion and made it, and then pocketed a thin cut and one more ball, setting up a cluster break. He separated the balls nicely and ran three more to complete his second 8 and out of the match. Reyes is now 3-0 while Pagulayan, the consensus choice to win, fell to 0-4!
MATCH #11 – Shane Van Boening 3, Justin Hall 1
GAME 1 – Hall 8, Van Boening 5 (Innings: 41)
Fans of defensive One-Pocket got their money’s worth and then some with this classic 41 inning duel.
Van Boening played a safe in the second inning, but left a shot and Hall ran two, then failed to open the balls on a cluster break and took his seat with a 3-0 lead. In his fourth turn Van Boening left Hall with a bank, which he made, and then banked in another and made one more before missing a combo. The score was now 6-0 for Hall. In the eighth inning Van Boening got on the board with a cross table cut, then made one more ball to close the gap to 6-2. The safety battle then ensued, and it wasn’t until the nineteenth inning that Van Boening made a super long rail bank. Two innings later he made another long railer and slow rolled in a table length shot to pull with one at 6-5. A couple of turns later a four ball wedge formed on the head rail and safety followed safety until the 29th inning when Hall made a bank to reach the “hill ball” as Incardona called it with a 7-5 lead. The safeties continued until his 40th turn when Van Boeing missed a bank and left Hall with a long shot, which he pocketed for the hard fought “W.”
GAME 2 – Van Boening 8, Hall 0 (Innings: 2)
Van Boening broke well and Hall left him a shot. Van Boeing made two balls, then executed a precise cluster break. On the fourth ball he had to bridge over a ball, which he managed with consummate skill. On the sixth shot of his run he went into the balls again and then finished off his run of 8 and out. The score was now tied at 1-1.
GAME 3 – Van Boening 8, Hall 7 (Innings: 30)
Hall left Van Boeing with a thin cut on his break, but Shane missed and Hall did as well, at which point Game 3 turned into the second marathon of the match. Van Boening scored a ball in his fourth turn, and ran five more in his next try after Hall left him with a shot. Van Boening opened with a crossover bank and ran four more to take a 6-0 lead. In the eighth inning Van Boening missed a slow rolled cut and Hall fired in a bank, then another bank, and ran four more to tie the score at 6-6. A safety battle then broke out. Van Boening finally reached the hill ball in the seventeenth inning with a combo after Hall played a poor bank shot. Two innings later Hall tied the score at 7-7 after Van Boening’s take out attempt left Hall with a shot. Eleven more innings of safety play tool place until Hall’s kick shot left Van Boening with a long cross corner bank off the side rail, which he slammed home for the win. He now led the match, 2-1.
GAME 4 – Van Boening 8, Hall -1 (Innings: 4)
Van Boening executed a superb break and Hall promptly left a shot. Van Boeing made a long rail bank into a carom (there was a ball near his pocket), then pocketed a super long shot. His next trick was to cut in a ball using two bridges to shoot over an obstructer. He then played safe, leading 3 to 0. Both players took intentional fouls at the top of the rack, but Van Boening left Hall with a jacked up cut. Halls shot came up short and he scratched. Van Boening made two, then played a precise draw shot for positon and closed out his run of 6 and out. With this win Van Boening improved his record to 3-1 while Hall fell out of contention for the title at 1-3.
MATCH #12 – Danny Smith 3, Efren Reyes 2
After the fourth game of this five game match had been played Billy Incardona called it “the best One-Pocket match that I have ever watched.” And that was before the super dramatic double hill game had even been played! You are about to find out why. I might add that in all of my years of listening to the Voice of Accu-Stats, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Billy be more on his announcing game than he’s been during this event!
GAME 1 – Smith 8, Reyes 1 (Innings: 5)
Smith entered this contest with a record of 3-0, just like Reyes. Still, some must have wondered if he belonged with such elite company, and he had yet to pass the Reyes Test, one that so many have failed.
Smith won the lag and broke well. Reyes responded with a good move, but Smith then laid down a super safety and Reyes, after much deliberation, left a shot. Game on. Smith opened with a tricky shot with the bridge, made a ball, and then one for himself and Reyes. He followed this with a bank, a thin cut, and two more balls before being forced to play safe, leading 7-1. After a couple more safeties Reyes missed a bank and left Smith with a long shot, which he confidently pocketed to take the first game of this epic set.
GAME 2 – Reyes 8, Smith -2 (Innings: 20)
Game 2 was the first of three lengthy battles in the match. They each took intentional fouls in the fourth inning. Reyes sank a ball and played safe, so he led, 0 to -1. In the sixth inning Reyes sold out, but Smith missing hung an easy shot in the jaws and Reyes made it, tying the score at 0-0. An exchange of safeties took place, which included fouls by Smith in the ninth and sixteenth innings (this one being a precise long distance kick), at which point Reyes led, 0 to -2. On his seventeenth turn Smith left Reyes with a long combo and he fired it in, then made a combo and another ball on top of it, added two more balls, and headed for his chair leading 5 to –2. In his nineteenth trip to the table Smith missed a bank, sold out, and Reyes ran out to win the game and tie the score at 1-1.
GAME 3 – Reyes 8, Smith 6 (Innings: 17)
This one game is reason enough to buy this set of DVDs! In the fourth inning Reyes left Smith with a bank, which he made. He then hung another ball and Reyes softly kicked it in, so after four innings Smith led, 2-0. In inning number eight Reyes left another bank, which Smith deposited in his pocket along with two more balls before playing a safety. Reyes fouled in two of his next three turns and so, after 11 innings, Smith led, 5 to -2. In the thirteenth inning Reyes played a carom, missed, and left a shot. Smith made it and played safe, extending his lead to eight balls at 6 to -2. Surely he would win this game. But on his next turn Smith missed a difficult shot and Reyes made a combo and three more balls before missing a bank. He now trailed, 6 to 2, but had turned the tide. After a couple of safeties Smith overcut a shot, but left the ball just above his pocket and an inch or so off the rail. Then the fireworks exploded! Reyes made a difficult bank and sent the cue ball four rails around the table and to the foot rail for position on the ball Smith had missed!! This was easily the Shot of the Tournament. The Magician opened a cluster, made two more balls, and then finished a run of 6 and out with a cross table cut. He now led in the match, 2-1.
GAME 4 – Smith 8, Reyes 4 (Innings: 2)
Reyes followed his spectacular win with a super break. Smith attempted to take a ball out of Reyes’ pocket on his first inning, but left Reyes with a shot. Reyes ran four balls and played a safety, but left Smith with a shot. Smith opened his Big Explosion with a bank and a super carom shot! He ran to the game ball and played superb positon on a ball near the side rail on the other side of the table, then sank the gamewinner to tie the score at 2-2.
GAME 5 – Smith 8, Reyes 5 (Innings: 24)
The grand finale lasted for 40 minutes and 24 innings. Smith broke well, and then laid down a strong move in his second inning, forcing Reyes to take an intentional foul. Smith kicked, fouled, and left Reyes with a shot, which he made before hanging his next shot in the jaws, leaving Smith with an offensive opportunity. Smith ran four and went into a cluster but came up with nothing, pocketed Reyes’ hanger, and took a 3-1 lead. In his fourth inning Reyes rolled a ball in front of his pocket, trapping Smith. When his take out failed, Reyes made the hanger and three more before missing a bank. He now led, 5-3. A long series of safeties followed, so when Reyes took an intentional foul in the thirteenth inning, his lead was now 4-3. In the fifteenth inning Smith executed a super bank take out move. Reyes sold out on a kick shot and Smith ran three to take a 6-4 lead.
In the nineteenth inning Smith went for a bank, missed, and Reyes made a cross over bank to close to within a ball at 6-5. But he left Smith with a long rail bank and Danny rifled it home, then hung the match winning ball in the jaws. Reyes played a take out for the ages, banking off the end rail into the ball, removing it, and sending the cue ball around the table and back to the foot rail, leaving Smith without a shot! The end was fast approaching, and the suspense was electric. After two safety exchanges Smith hung a bank, Reyes missed a long shot, and Smith was given the hanger, ending this titanic struggle between the Old Master (Reyes at 60) and the Rising Star (Smith, 28). With his win, Smith earned a place in Sunday night’s finals. He will play the winner of Sunday’s match between Reyes and Shane Van Boening.
Sunday Preview
Danny Smith has clinched a spot in the finals with his four victories. Efren Reyes and Shane Van Boening each have three wins, but they play each other, so only one of them will reach four wins. The loser is guaranteed third place.
The other three players will be competing for a $1,000, which goes to the winner of each match. The loser gets a handshake. They will also be playing for pride. Smith beats Hall and Pagulayan wins his match with Frost, the bottom three would all have records of 1-4!
Scores
DAY 1
#1 – Justin Hall 3, Alex Pagulayan 1
#2 – Danny Smith 3, Shane Van Boening 2
#3 – Efren Reyes 3, Scott Frost 2
#4 – Shane Van Boening 3, Alex Pagulayan 0
DAY 2
#5 – Danny Smith 3, Scott Frost 2
#6 – Efren Reyes 3, Justin Hall 0
#7 – Shane Van Boening 3, Scott Frost 1
#8 – Danny Smith 3, Alex Pagulayan 2
DAY 3
#9 – Scott Frost 3, Justin Hall 1
#10 – Efren Reyes 3, Alex Pagulayan 0
#11 – Shane Van Boening 3, Justin Hall 1
#12 – Danny Smith 3, Efren Reyes 2
Standings
W-L – Gm. W/L - Today’s opponent
Danny Smith 4-0 – 12/8 Hall
Efren Reyes 3-1 – 11/5 Van Boening
Shane Van Boening 3-1 – 11/5 Reyes
Justin Hall 1-3 – 5/10 Smith
Scott Frost 1-3 – 8/10 Pagulayan
Alex Pagulayan 0-4 – 3/12 Frost
Today’s Schedule
AFTERNOON SESSION
12:00pm: Scott Frost vs. Alex Pagulayan
2:30pm: Justin Hall vs. Danny Smith
EVENING SESSION
7:00pm: Efren Reyes vs. Shane Van Boening
9:30pm: The Finals - Smith vs. Reyes or Van Boening
