The 12th Annual Derby City Classic continues Saturday with round two of the 9-Ball Banks division. Among the 353 hopefuls were 2008 Banks runner-up Sylver Ochoa of Texas who won his first match in under 20 minutes in a near flawless match. Many fans believe Ochoa could be a serious contender for the All Around Champion this year. Two-time Banks winner, Larry Price was not so lucky, suffering a first-round loss to Mike Medley of Ohio.
“The Black Widow” Jeanette Lee defeated Jason Kirkwood 3-1. Ohio's Dee Atkins shocked everyone when he arrived in a wheelchair with casts on both feet due to a recent injury. It didn't keep him from winning his first match.
No sign of former bank pool champs Nick Varner or Dave Matlock. Also missing in action are the top European players Ralf Souquet, Mika Immonen, Thorsten Hohmann, Niels Feijen, and Darren Appleton. They have opted to play in the WPA World Team Championship in Hannover, Germany. Corey Deuel, Johnny Archer, Shane Van Boening, and Oscar Dominguez will be forgoing the DCC 9-Ball event and joining them in Germany to represent the US.
The 9-Ball Bank mini will take place Saturday night while the One-Pocket Challenge organized by Jay Helfert will also kick off in the AZBilliards forum members' room.
“The tournament software is running absolutely flawlessly,” said tournament co-director Rick Doner. The live tournament schedule can be found scrolling on channel 15 in the hotel rooms. This reinstated feature, along with the live round reports found at DCCtickets.com, are just a couple of the improvements players can expect this year.
Tune in to Accu-stats.com and TheActionReport.com for your live streaming action all week.
Day One at the Derby
January 23, 2010