Fedor Gorst (David Thomson – Medium Pool)
Diamond Derby City Classic XXIII, January 21-29, 2022
Caesars Southern Indiana, Elizabeth, IN
David Thomson
LIVE from the Accu-Stats TV Arena
Ladies and gentlemen, we have an undisputed 2022 Derby City Classic All-Around Champion.
21-year-old Muscovite Fedor Gorst just snatched the DCC One-Pocket Championship.
On Tuesday night, he apprehended the Banks title.
Gorst is now the youngest player in the 23-year history of the event to harness the opening two of the three competitions thereby ensuring the All-Around Championship.
He also pocketed an additional $20,000 in bonus prize money.
For you DCC trivia buffs, Efren won the One-Pocket and Banks in 2007…when he was about eighty.
Some might say that in many of his One-Pocket bouts Gorst was the underdog.
Certainly with Tony Chohan – whom he didn’t allow a game; 2017 DCC One Pocket Champ Billy Thorpe didn’t get a look at a shot; Darren Appleton did give Gorst his only loss tho,’ it was soon avenged in the semis.
The Finals sported a true One-Pocket specialist, Josh Roberts: potentially serious opposition.
Many would agree that Gorst has a much-improved understanding of the discipline’s defensive tactics.
His performance this week added one more plausible asset: He can get inside a player’s head:
There is a lot of heat on a straight-in shot when you know that the guy behind you can run 8-and-out from anywhere.
Yesterday, as Fedor Gorst had drawn the bye that resulted in Josh playing Darren, he knew he would have to compete in the next round of play: You cannot have back-to-back byes at the Derby.
So how do you redraw with 3 players, one of whom isn’t eligible to play? You simply redraw till Fedor isn’t the odd man out. The player who is the odd man out is automatically a finalist.
The draw welcomed Josh Roberts.
Fedor and Darren were in the semis again.
Darren had the best comeback of any game when down 6 balls to 1.
Appleton applied his never-say-die death grip by positioning balls up-table.
One ball at a time, his patience prevailed yet, securing that rack wasn’t enough.
Gorst, perhaps, inspired by his slip, permitted no further interruption while Darren earned a very respectable 3rd.
Roberts was resting in the wings.
Regarding last night’s “Mr. Under-the-Radar-No-More,” reference, we were just joshing with you:
A player is hardly under the radar when there are DVDs available of his superlative performance in the 2017 Accu-Stats “Make It Happen” One-Pocket Invitational.
There, Roberts beat Efren 4-1 and Shane 4-0, in that tournament alone.
Now to the Accu-Stats TV Arena:
Within minutes, Gorst was up two games.
The intimidation had begun.
Another Gorst asset, he now has the knowledge and ability to smother his opponents.
They can’t move the cueball. If they do, they have to take an intentional foul or risk selling out.
In the 3rd game, the only game he won, Josh dug deep and Fedor fell into a well-set, one-pocket trap.
As expected, Fedor erred which resulted in a lonely 1 near Roberts’ name on the scoreboard.
Josh, the consummate gentleman, was the first to acknowledge how well Fedor had competed.
“It was really impressive to see how quickly he had picked up the moving part of the game.”
The good news for Josh is that there is still plenty of 9-Ball.
Gorst’s requests for autographs, handshakes, high-fives, selfies, etal, allowed him to leave the arena beaming.
The look of fulfillment foretells that tonight will be a night he will treasure into eternity.
You can bet his first call will be to share his success with his sweetheart Kristina.
DIAMOND 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP
473 Battle on the Derby’s Most Brutal Battlefield.
As Matchroom has deemed the Derby’s 9-Ball Championship a Mosconi Cup point garnering tournament, 9-Ball has become this year’s most populated DCC event.
The ladies are well represented by Pia Filler, the 2021 American 14.1 finalist, and 2121 BEF Junior Champion April Larson.
Pia was going strong until she ran into Puerto Rican pro Alan Rolon.
Husband Joshua, always supportive, nodded, “Really good player: He once beat Earl 11-zero.”
In the first round, the aforementioned Joshua sent Appleton to buy-back.
Darren soon entered the Accu-Stats TV Arena for his next 9-Ball encounter with the 2013 DCC One-Pocket Champion, Corey Deuel.
Darren was soon ahead 5-1.
He blinked and was behind 7-6.
At hill-hill, Corey was breaking and skillfully completed the rack…and Darren’s visit to the Derby.
More irony: The “compliant-break” is enforced at the Derby: Three balls, minus any pocketed, must enter the kitchen.
Darren’s break was “non-compliant” resulting in Corey taking control of the table. This was costly for Appleton.
The irony is that Corey’s “soft break” was the reason for the compliant break’s initiation.
It was encouraging to see Appleton back in action. And playing so well.
He broke and ran 4 racks in that match. He was not intimidated by BIG Foot, and finished 3rd in One-Pocket.
That’s also the luck of the DCC occasionally cruel draw.
In Appleton’s first and second rounds of 9-Ball the algorithm spat out back-to-back Champions.
See you next year Darren.
Here’s a more striking encapsulation thru round 6: Mario He gave Gomez his first loss as did John Morra to Roland Garcia.
2021 World and International Open Champion Albin Ouschan branded Shuff.
Albin was soon forced to buy-back by Francisco Sanchez Ruiz then later truncated by Konrad Juszczyszyn.
One-Pocket maestros Chohan and Joyner showed Chohan a little stronger in the world’s most popular rotation game.
And lastly, an upset: Marc Vidal Claramunt sent Sky flying to the buy-back booth to be later flown home by Mieszko Fortunski.
NOTE: Jayson Shaw, as runner-up in Bank Pool, tied for 4th in One-Pocket, and still undefeated in 9-Ball, is in the running for 2nd place in the All-Around.
FRIDAY NIGHT BANKS RING GAME
The usual prospects, or should we say suspects; Al-Shaheen, Delawder, Hall, Shaw, Thorpe, and Woodward began the beguine at 50 bucks a ball.
The prize money is shared between first and second-place survivors.
The Arena was standing room only.
Matchroom’s Emily Frazer, sitting ringside, reputedly suggested that the Banks Ring Game was her favorite activity of the Derby.
Emily is not alone. 23,000 more enjoyed the FREE Accu-Stats’ stream on FaceBook: A special thanks to Upstate Al for his promo skills.
Delawder was the first to be slaughtered, quickly followed by Hall, then Al-Shaheen. With the ante rising quickly to $300 a ball, it takes a lot of bullets to stay alive.
Shaw soon fell leaving best buds Thorpe and Woodward to battle it out…again.
2022 was Billy’s year earning the top prize of $8000 to Woodward’s $4,000 for second.
Diamond Derby City Classic 9-BALL Championship: Wed. Jan 26 – Sat. 29.
Accu-Stats PPV OnDemand service
The cream of the 9-Ball division match-ups is presented via the Accu-Stats Pay-Per-View OnDemand, 4-camera HD production.
With PPV OnDemand, you choose when you view, no matter what you’re timezone.
