Darren Appleton
Darren Appleton won both events of the West Coast Challenge over the Fourth of July weekend, going undefeated in the One-Pocket event, and winning five on the loss side to meet and double dip Dennis Orcollo in the finals of the 10-Ball tournament. The $4,000-added One Pocket event drew 55 entrants, while the $10,000-added, 10-Ball tournament drew 64. Both were hosted by the California Billiard Club, in Mountain View, CA, which, one day after completion of the two tournaments, on Monday, July 8, closed its doors, in its current location, forever.
According to current owner, Chris Swart, the building which housed the 17-year-old establishment is scheduled for demolition and redevelopment, and the California Billiard Club will re-open in February, 2014, at a new location, 20 miles away, in Fremont, CA.
"It'll be a good thing," said Swart, during his last day at the Mountain View locale. "It's just across the bay, and pretty close to everything, so we're not going to be losing customers."
They will, he added, gain some room and 10 tables at the new location.
"Everything's going to be the same," he said of the full service menu and liquor licenses, "with some small improvements. The name - California Billiard Club - stays."
In its last weekend in Mountain View, the club played host to a variety of the best players in the game, including Appleton as the winner of both events, Orcullo, Mike Davis, Shane Van Boening, Francisco Bustamante, Thorsten Hohmann, Warren Kiamco, Brandon Shuff, Jesse Engel, and Rodney Morris, to name just a few. According to Daniel Busch, whose POVPool live-streamed selected matches throughout the Fourth of July weekend, attendance was both helped and hurt by the event's relative close proximity to Las Vegas and the events of the World Professional Billiard League's Bonus Ball matches being held there.
"Bonus Ball was responsible for a lot of these players being here," he said, mentioning players on WPBL teams, like Hohmann, Appleton, Morris, and Davis. "It also hurt us in some ways. We didn't get to see either of the Dominguez family members (Oscar and Ernesto), because they were playing in Bonus Ball matches over the weekend."
In the One Pocket event, Appleton made his way into the hot seat match, where he faced Carlo Biado, for the first of two against him. They battled to double hill in the hot seat match, with Appleton prevailing. Biado moved west for a semifinal match against Dennis Orcullo, who had just defeated Mike Davis. Biado won the semifinal match, double hill, over Orcullo and got his second chance against Appleton. To no avail, as it turned out. Appleton won the opening set 4-2, to complete his undefeated run.
In the 10-Ball tournament, Mike Davis sent Appleton to the loss side in a winners' side final eight battle. Davis went on to defeat Thorsten Hohmann in one of the winners' side semifinals. He would meet Orcullo, who'd defeated Jesse Engel in the other winners' side semifinal, in the battle for the hot seat. Davis and Orcullo fought to double hill before Davis was sent west for a fateful match against Appleton.
On the loss side, Appleton, in the meantime, downed Rodney Morris, Santos Sambajon, Jesse Engel, Thorsten Hohmann, and met up with Davis for a re-match in the semifinals. Appleton wreaked his vengeance against Davis, earning himself a shot at a second title on the weekend. Appleton and Orcullo played 29 games over the two-set, double elimination final, with an aggregate ending score of 16-11. Appleton won the first match 8-6, and then got out in front by three to take the second set 8-5.
"A lot of these players are going to be leap-frogging over to the $10,000-added, 4th Annual Hard Times 10-Ball Open next weekend," said Busch, of the planned event on July 12-14 at Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower, CA.
Thanks were extended to tour directors Janet Okamoto and Ken Shuman, as well as Chris Swart and his staff at The California Billiard Club. Thanks also went to Busch and his POVPool crew for their weekend-long live stream, as well as sponsors Kamui Tips, The World PPA, and GoPlayPool.com
