Derby City Classic XVIII, Day Two

LIVE from the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Resort and Casino, Elizabeth, IN

Bank Pool Championships: From the 475 who entered the Banks division, less than half remain. It’s been a rough road to hoe as Alex Pagulayan, last year’s All Around Champion, is still alive as are fellow Filipinos Efren, Bustey, Biado, Corteza, Orcullo, Kiamco, Roberto Gomez. and Jeffrey Ignacio.

Carlo Biado was asked how his Bank game was progressing? “It’s a little better,” he murmured, shyly. He then broke and banked the rack.

At press time, past champions John Brumback, Jason Miller, and 2014 runner up Earl Strickland are all still in contention as are Van Boening, Bergman, DeChaine, Woodward, Deuel, Hall, Schmidt, Max Eberle, and Dan Louie.

Ko Pin–Yi’s younger brother or, “Baby” Ko as he is fast becoming known–was last seen in a duel with Deuel.

At 10 am, EDT, the Banks continue. Stay tuned for a more detailed report.

Diamond BIG Foot 10-Ball Challenge.

Shane, Jayson, and Francisco won their 10-ball matches with effortless ease as Feijen, Morra, and Ko Pin Yi, in that order, exited the Accu-Stats Arena. Both Shaw and Bustamante put 3 packs on their opponents with Bustey, so far, having the highest Accu-Stats TPA with, at one point, a .940.

At 53, Bustamante, the 2013 DCC Master of the Table, may be the man to beat.

The single elimination event’s evening festivities concluded with Skylar Woodward pitted against road partner and Mosconi Cup team member Justin Bergman. Sky drew first blood. Bergman soon countered–at least until he got to the 10. It jawed! Woodward was left with the cue ball sitting, splitting the corner pocket. The 10-ball, almost straight in, sat mid-table. You could hear the crack as the cue ball connected then, the smack of the 10 in the back of the pocket. Bergman never quite recovered.

The quarter-finals PPV is streamed LIVE, at around, 12:30 pm, EDT on Sunday. The schedule is Orcollo vs. Corteza, Shane vs Alex, Bustey vs, Efren, and Shaw vs. Woodward. The order may move around a little as the Bank pool match-ups take precedence.

The 10-ball semis and finals will conclude on Monday.

It’s all at accu-stats.com.

At 1pm, the One Pocket Championships will get underway. The big question is: can the Chinese contingent compete in One Pocket?

Thanks to the Fox International Channel’s(FIC) broadcast of the Derby and the Accu-Stats “Make It Happen” One-Pocket Invitationals to 19 countries in Asia, One-Pocket is certainly gaining popularity in the rooms there. When you think that a generation ago the primary Asian sport was “ping-pong” then, 15 years ago, Chao Fong-Pang winning the Challenge of Champions on ESPN changed everything. Now, in 8-Ball and rotation games, both men and women are regularly winning respected international titles culminating with Kevin Cheng capturing the 2015 US Open 9-Ball Championships. The world awaits; How will they fare in one hole? BTW: It didn’t take the Filipinos too long to dominate!

The George Fels Memorial Straight Pool Challenge: Dennis Walsh and Bill Maropulis are on hand to tabulate the 14.1/Straight Pool hi-runs. The top 8 will then compete in a single elimination event that commemorates the late Billiards Digest columnist George Fels.

View at tvmike.tv starting at10am.

Diamond thanks its sponsors: The Horseshoe Southern Indiana, Simonis Cloth, Cyclop Balls, and BadBoys Billiard Productions.

Accu-Stats thanks its Arena Sponsors: Simonis Cloth, Cyclop Balls, Cue and Case, MEZZ Cues, McDermott Cues, National Billiard Academy, OB Cues, Outsville.com, and Samsara Cues.