Accu-Stats hit another home run with the second in a series of “Make It Happen” events on April 11th - 14th. Having had such a success with their first “Make It Happen” 8-Ball Invitational, Accu-Stats decided this time to ask their “One-Pocket Supporters” to select the six players they would like to see battling it out in the round-robin series of matches.
The supporters who invested in the creation of this event certainly got their wish, as the six players with the most votes all accepted their invitation.
The six players were as follows:
The event was played at Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ, in the Simonis Arena, on April 11 - 14, 2013. The matches were played on the Diamond 10 ft. table with Simonis Cloth, and Aramith Balls.
The “Make It Happen” One-Pocket Invitational used a round-robin format, with races to three, and a 60 second shot clock (one extension of 60 seconds allowed per rack). All of the matches were streamed live as pay-per-view on the Internet worldwide and will be memorialized on DVD’s for posterity.
Paul Bastable, one of the “Make It Happen” supporters, won $1,000 in the Knock-Out-Challenge for selecting the most consecutive match winners.
THURSDAY
The first match at 12 noon had the in-house and PPV customers chomping at the bit, as they eagerly awaited the stars of the proceedings, the legendary Efren Reyes battling it out with One-Pocket Hall of Famer Shannon Daulton.
This match was not disappointing as both players played well, with Efren getting the 3-1 win by virtue of bringing his best game all the way from the Philippines. Efren, who by his own admission does not play as much as he used to in his heyday, clearly proved to himself and his fans, that he still has what it takes to win.
In the 2:30 pm match we saw Corey Deuel up against one of the most recognized one- pocket players in the world, “The Freezer” Scott Frost. It was soon apparent however, that Corey’s win in the One-Pocket division at the 2013 Derby City Classic, was no fluke as his creativity in this match secured him the 3-2 win.
Next up in the 7:00 pm evening match we saw the ever improving Shane Van Boening in a difficult to predict shoot out with the likeable Alex Pagulayan.
When I say much improved I am of course referring to Shane’s skills in the One-Pocket discipline. There was a time when aficionados of this great discipline did not think that Shane had the necessary moves to be thought of as a great one pocket player. “He wins by shooting his way out of trouble”, was the old cry.
Those days are gone and Mr. Van Boening has all the moves, plus all his pocketing skills that make him a real threat.
The outcome of this match was 3-2 to Van Boening, showing he was the man to beat.
In the 9:30 pm time slot we saw Shannon Daulton get the better of Corey Deuel, in a match that allowed us to witness Shannon showing some fabulous maneuvers winning 3-1.
FRIDAY
The 12 noon match saw Shane Van Boening up against Scott Frost in a race that had Mr. Frost venting some frustration as he missed shots on the 10 ft. table. It was these misses that cost him the match, as Shane got the win at 3-2. (This was not the time to ask “The Freezer” for his autograph.)
The 2:30 pm match was the much awaited pairing of Efren Reyes and Alex Pagulayan. Sadly, this Filipino duel never really got going, as we saw Alex playing at his best, which unfortunately stiffled Efren’s game. This was reflected in the score line of 3-0 to Mr. Pagulayan.
Next up at 7:00 pm was the pairing of Corey Deuel and Shane Van Boening, in a match that would be hard to predict. Corey soon found himself on the wrong side of a 2-0 score, and looked as though he was in deep trouble. However, Corey dug deep and fought his way back with some fantastic shooting to get the win at 3-2.
The 9:30 pm match between Shannon Daulton and Scott Frost turned into a lopsided affair, as we saw Shannon steamroll right over Scott and get the win at 3-0.
SATURDAY
The 12 noon match would see Scott Frost (probably still smarting from his loss to Shannon Daulton the night before) up against Alex Pagulayan who was still on a high after beating up on Efren in his Friday evening match.
Surprisingly, we witnessed a complete turnaround in form, and saw Scott show everybody what he can do, as he took the match down 3-2. Unfortunately this would be the only match that Scott would win.
The 2:30 pm match turned into a humdinger for the fans as they saw Efren Reyes take down Corey Deuel 3-0. Efren just never took his foot from Corey’s neck as he controlled the match from start to finish. Once again Efren showed the world that he is still a force to be reckoned with.
The 7:00 pm match was a close affair between Alex Pagulayan and Shannon Daulton. Even though the race was close, it took a great finish from Alex to get the win 3-2.
In the last match of the night at 9:30 pm, we saw the emerging favorite Shane Van Boening up against a legend in all disciplines, Efren Reyes. This match really established Shane as the front runner in this event as he only allowed Efren to win one game, and took the match down 3-1.
SUNDAY
The 12 noon match saw Alex Pagulayan drill Corey Deuel 3-0, in what would become known as the “day of the shutouts.”
Next up in the 2:30 pm match we saw yet another shutout as Efren Reyes froze out “The Freezer” and did not allow Scott Frost to score as he ran an 8, 8, and a 7 before Frost could make a ball. (Like I said Mr. Reyes still has the goods!) Final score 3-0 to Efren.
The 7:00 pm match saw Shane Van Boening only needing to win his last match against Shannon Daulton to win the event outright. Should Shannon win then there would have to be a playoff, with several players in the mix depending on how many games Shane made.
It would all become a moot point as Shane put the pedal down and never let off, beating Shannon 3-0. In fact, Shannon threw in the towel with a couple of balls still left to be made, after Shane made a fantastic shot in his pocket, and ran uptown to go three rails to land perfectly on the only available ball in the stack.
Shane Van Boening once again took another event by the scruff of the neck and went away with the top prize. What a talent this young man and future Hall of Famer possesses in all disciplines.
Congratulations to Accu-Stats Video Productions on yet another successful “MAKE IT HAPPEN” event. We have seen 8-Ball and One-Pocket and a little birdie told me that the next event will be “MAKE IT HAPPEN” Straight Pool.
A big thank-you to everyone that “Made It Happen” from the Accu-Stats supporters, to the Accu-Stats Video crew, all of the players, and to Ed Liddawi and his staff at Sandcastle Billiards.
Finally, congratulations to Shane Van Boening on coming out on top of this great event.
Final Won-Loss Standings and Prize Money:
Shane Van Boening 4-1 $4,000
Efren Reyes 3-2 $3,000
Alex Pagulayan 3-2 $3,000
Shannon Daulton 2-3 $2,000
Corey Deuel 2-3 $2,000
Scott Frost 1-4 $1,000
