Louie Demarco, Dennis Orcollo and Justin Hall
It’s been an action packed week at Griff’s pool hall in Las Vegas. The $10,000 added US Open One Pocket Championship wrapped with 41 players June 4th-6th where Justin Hall from Florida earned the title. The 2021 $5,000 US Open Bank Pool Championship June 8th and 9th took place at Griff’s Pool Hall in Las Vegas. Mark Griffin, Gary Lutman, Griff’s Staff & Tournament Director Jack Murray rolled out the red carpet for the players and fans. The game of Banks combines shotmaking and skill with strategy and creativity.
Bank pool is a popular game in some parts of the country and 27 creative bank pool players from far and wide came out to take a shot at the title. While the event featured big names in the game it was a veteran grinder from Kentucky who dug deep and had the event of his life. Races were to 5 on the winners side, 4 on the One loss side and 6 in finals.
Big names in the game included Tony Chohan, Justin Hall, Warren Kiamco, James Aranas, John Morra and local fan favorite Ronnie Wiseman. While there were many big names that came out to play, up and coming players such as Evan Lunda, Sergio Rivas and Mike Delawder had stand out performances
This discipline is a unique art form which sometimes looks like it’s challenging physics with how some of these masters at the table can seemingly bend angles.
Mike Delawder has a passion for banks and has been working on his game for years and proved he has what it takes to play with the best in the game. With several stand out wins and playing on the TV table 4 times. Michael defeated Brandon Heldenbrand 5-1, Neal Jacobs 5-1, John Demet 5-3, John Morra, 5-4, before losing 5-2 to Louis DeMarco and 4-0 to Dennis Orcullo.
Ultimately the story would be about the Dark Horse from Kentucky, Louis Demarcco. Louis came into this event having a dream of winning the event. While Louis’s favorite game is banks and it’s clear that he has a stand out natural talent, it would take world class play to be able to go through this field. One by one, Louis stacked up gritty wins that showcased huge heart, skill and knowledge of the game.
Louis’s road to the finals was not an easy one. He defeated Tony Chohan, Bobby Emmons, Dennis Orcullo, Michael Delawder and Dennis again in the finals to win undefeated. The finals was a very exciting match with it going hill-hill and Dennis being ups 4 balls to 0. Louis made a fiery unlikely comeback to win 5-4 in front of a passionate and engaged crowd.
Huge Congratulations goes out to Louis on becoming the 2021 US Open Bank Pool Champion and winning $5,600 1st prize, as well as Dennis Orcullo for finishing 2nd place in both the US Open One Pocket as well as the US Open Bank Pool championship.
The equipment at Griff’s is world class featuring all Diamond tables, Simonis cloth and Amamith balls.
Online Brackets were provided by Digital Pool and can seen here: https://digitalpool.com/
Special thanks to all sponsors and supporters of the event including Simonis, Aramith, & OB Cues.
Special Thanks to Ben Sutherland and BBTV for producing a quality live stream with commentary for the fans.
The US Open 10 Ball starts on Sept 12, through the 15th. The 8-Ball will immediately follow the 8-ball.
The US Open Banks Championship immediately follows the One pocket and starts June 8th and 9th. It’s free for spectators to watch and fans can find the Live Stream and follow the event by visiting Griff’s Facebook page for the info.
