Jason 'Killer' Miller from Dayton Ohio put on a bank-shot exhibition to win this year's Derby City Classic Bank Pool Division.
Miller came in to the final four as a relative unknown and had the intimidating task of playing Glen 'Piggy Banks' Rogers, one of the top bank pool players in the game today. Miller was enough of an unknown that Accu-Stats and Billiard Club decided to show the John Brumback/Danny Harriman match on the TV table.
Brumback remained undefeated with a win over Harriman in that match, while Miller handed Rogers his first loss. After the redraw, Brumback got the bye and Miller would face Rogers again.
Miller really came to life in his rematch with Rogers on the TV Table. Rogers came up empty on his opening break and forced to watch Miller run five balls and out for the first rack. Miller then made a ball on the break and ran another 5 and out to take a 2-0 lead. A ball on the break in rack three allowed Miller's run to continue, but he was unable to complete the '15 & out' run that the crowd was hoping for. From that point, a couple questionable shot selections from Rogers and another 5-ball run from Miller spelled the end of Rogers event.
This left Miller and Brumback still alive in the tournament and Miller would have to defeat Brumback twice to earn the title. A hill-hill win in match one and a 3-1 win in match two gave Miller the win and the title of 2004 Derby City Classic Bank Pool Champion. It also earned him an $8000 payday, with Brumback settling for $4000.
The one-pocket division is winding down on Monday and will continue all day Tuesday. Select matches will be available online as part of the Billiard Club Network Online PPV. Check out billiardclub.net for a schedule of matches.
Photo courtesy of Mark Whiteside
