Dennis Orcollo
Derby City Classic Bank Pool Championship: Semis' and Finals
Horseshoe Southern Indiana
Elizabeth, Indiana.
Sponsored by Diamond SMART TABLE, True Blue Simonis 860 Cloth, and Cyclop Pool Balls.
Dennis Orcollo hadn't visited the Banks Division buy-back booth but, he was about to.
With 3 players left from 361, Francisco Bustamante and Dennis Orcollo prepared for battle. Earl Strickland won the toss and got the Bye.
Dennis and Francisco resigned themselves to the fact that, as fellow Filipinos, they were going into the foray, yet, again.
They also know that there is more at stake here than just the $10,000 for the Banks title. The points earned are the down payment on the $20,000 for the honorable Master of the Table award.
Francisco was especially aware; he'd won it last year, for the second time!
They entered the packed Accu-Stats Arena. Bustey, usually boisterous and jovial, was more serene. Dennis, who rarely smiled before, or during, a match, always maintained focus 'til the last ball dropped. Today was no different.
Dennis winning first match wasn't to be. Even running 9 balls in a row, before a kiss of death scratched him, couldn't stop Bustey's multiple ball pocketing onslaught. Fortunately, Dennis had the cushion of the buy-back booth.
The crowd loved it; they knew that, now, there were going to be 2 more matches. Accu-Stats was elated, too, as there would be more of their pro pool TV programming on FOX Sports Asia.
Enter Earl. Bustey had just eliminated him in the BIG Foot 10-ball Challenge and felt comfortable. Earl did, too. During practice, he was pocketing balls with ease but, was first to admit, "Doing it in a match is a different story,"
Very different, especially, if the other guy is firing in short rail bank after short rail bank. Side pockets are easier, we all know that but, when your opponent is consistently nailing them off the short rail, that's intimidating.
At 3-1 winners, Bustey was off to a good start. Earl, who always cashed Bank prize money, scored his highest finish ever, and $2,500.
Now, back to the arena. Knowledgable crowd members were heard murmuring, "Can anyone beat Dennis twice?" It was possible. Lee Vann Corteza did last year in the Southern Classic 9-Ball.
The onslaught ensued, At 1-0, Dennis destroyed another rack. At 2-0, he can taste it.
Bustey riveted a rack and it's 2-1. Dennis ran another 4 balls and barely missed the 5th. He pounded his cue off the floor on his way to his seat. Sitting down, he slapped the arm of his chair. The sound of his flesh hitting the polished wood ricocheted around the arena. He'd left a bank.
Bustey rose to the occasion and banged in 4 on him. These balls weren't being babied. They were smacked in the back of the pocket. Bustey needed only one more sphere and we were tied at two.
It wasn't to be. Dennis stabbed the remaining orb and bounded around the arena bouncing about 5 feet off the ground.
"I can't believe it," he exclaimed, "Even at 2 games to one, needing only one ball, I was really scared, I know what Django can do. I've seen him come back so many times."
But, not today, Today, the battle was over. Bustey had to settle for second and $5,000.
Stay tuned, pool fanatics, Dennis is undefeated in One-Pocket and has a 141 ball run in the 14.1.
The Derby City Classic One Pocket Championship.
John Brumback, 2009 DCC Banks Champion and 2010 DCC Master of the Table–he won the Banks then, too--doesn't get intimidated. He's on home turf, he knows Diamond equipment well, he can bank in balls that other wouldn't attempt because they're "impossible" so, why should he be intimidated?
Today, he didn't know what hit him.
Sure, he knows Lee Vann Corteza but not as one-pocket man. Lee Vann recently won the 2103 Southern Classic 9-Ball Championship, Yet again, he'd beaten, newly inducted One Pocket Hall of Famer Cliff Joyner at DCC last year.
In the first game, John's superior one-pocket knowledge soon had Corteza, seemingly, handcuffed. Little did he know that Lee Vann had improved his moving, found a loophole, and ran out the rack: 1-0.
While making a ball, John made a courageous crack at the rack and they spread like straight pool. Unfortunately, with uncomfortable cue ball position, whitey found a hole. "That scratch is gonna cost me the game," John grieved.
Corteza ran a few and left the sweetest looking safe with the cue ball snug up against the stack. He soon found out that nothing is safe with Brumback at the table.
He bent the new, lime-green Cyclop 6-ball off the short rail straight into his pocket leaving perfect position to run 7 and out.
Interestingly enough, the game that John thought he would lose is the only game he won. Corteza's pin-point cue ball position play was impenetrable. He negotiated 8 balls in every rack he attacked. "It's moving that's important. That's where I have so much to learn. Running the balls is easy," he laughed. At 3-1, he certainly made it look that way.
The One Pocket continues in the Accu-Stats TV Arena: Still undefeated are: Dee Atkins, Shannon Daulton, Michael Delawder, Corey Deuel, Scott Frost–who next faces John Schmidt, Jeremy Jones, Dennis Orcollo, Evgeny Stalev, and 2013 Southern Classic Banks finalist, Skyler Woodward.
Visit accu-stats.com for Wednesday's upcoming matches.
2104 George Fels Memorial Straight Pool Challenge: High runs, Tuesday, 28th.
Ralf Souquet: 178
Dennis Orcollo; 141
Kristian Stepanov; 140
Darren Appleton: 122
Jayson Shaw: 112
John Schmidt: 103
Nick van der Berg: 100
Watch Straight Pool LIVE all day: insidepoolmag.com
The One Pocket, and Bank Pool, Hall of Fame Banquet:
One Pocket Inductee: Cliff Joyner
Bank Pool; Tony "Banks" Coleman
What a blast! Kudo's to Steve Booth, of onepocket.org, for delivering DCC's most consistently entertaining evening of road stories, laughter, and roast: The One-Pocket, and Bank Pool, Hall of Fame Banquet.
This ain't your momma's BCA banquet, this is like spending a night with the rat pack. Freddy "The Beard" Bentivegna is a master, master of ceremonies and tells tales that will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you wonder, "And, we're honoring this guy?" But, that wasn't the case tonight:
Congratulations to Cliff Joyner for induction into the One-Pocket Hall of Fame and to Tony "Banks" Coleman for the Bank Pool Hall of Fame.
Both men were visibly moved. The honor evoked so much emotion that it truly caught them, and the room, off guard. All in all, a very touching ceremony indeed.
In recent years, both men have won the Derby City Classic Louie Roberts Action/Entertainment Award. What that really means is that they got into more "money games" than anyone during the 9 day long, let's-see-who-can-play-pool-the-longest-for-the-most-money fest.
Nick Varner told humorous tales of his encounters, and encouragement, from the infamous Hubert Cokes who was posthumously honored, along with Harold Worst, for One Pocket. Bob Bowles was entered, also posthumously, for Bank Pool.
Scott Frost took the podium and thanked Cliff for his contribution to his game by relating that, at 19, Cliff would play him 12-4. Bill Incardona, from the floor, heckled Scott that, "He still can:" Tough room.
The One-Pocket, and Bank Pool, Hall of Fame Banquet was hosted at The Horseshoe's Legends restaurant: The food's pretty good, too.
