Jayson Shaw, Alex Pagulayan and Chris Swart (California Billiards owner)
With a field of 16, West State Billiards and POVPool accomplished the second leg of their two-week-long West Coast Swing in a day, albeit a 14-or-so-hour day that started on Independence Day and ended in the early hours of July 5. The Swing moved south from San Francisco where the 5th Annual Cole Dickson Memorial Tournament (won by Dennis Orcollo) got things underway, to California Billiards in Fremont, CA, where Jayson Shaw went undefeated to claim the $2,500-added 10-Ball Pro Challenge.
With Orcollo in the line-up, defending this title, as well, a lot of eyes were more or less on him. He was defeated, though, in the opening round 7-5 by Santos Sambajon, and after a single, 7-4 loss-side win over the man he defeated in the finals of the Dickson Memorial (Mika Immonen), he was defeated, double hill by Chip Compton. With him out of the way, it was anyone's guess as to who would rise to the challenge that Jayson Shaw's very presence created. That challenge came eventually from the stick of 'The Lion,' Alex Pagulayan, who, after being defeated in a winners' side semifinal, mounted a three-match, loss-side streak that set him up versus Shaw in the finals.
It was Amar Kang who sent Pagulayan to the loss side 7-4 in one of the winners' side semifinals, while Shaw was busy downing Gus Briseño 7-3 in the other one. Shaw claimed the hot seat in an entertaining match that was tied at 5-5, before Shaw pulled ahead to win it by two.
Pagulayan opened his loss-side trek against Rodney Morris, who had survived a double hill fight against Angelo Inness, and then, 7-4, eliminated Compton, who'd just eliminated Orcollo. Briseño picked up Tony Chohan, who'd eliminated Sambajon 7-5 and rather handily brushed Francisco Bustamante aside 7-1.
The Lion downed Morris in a double hill nail-biter, and in the quarterfinals, faced Briseño, who'd rather surprisingly ended Chohan's bid 7-4. That quarterfinal match coincided with the hot seat match between Shaw and Kang, on tables that were side-by-side. The hot seat match was over before the quarterfinal match had reached a 2-2 tie. Briseño put up a fight, and as happened in the hot seat match 'next door,' reached a 5-5 tie, before Pagulayan pulled out in front to win it 7-5.
Hot seat opponents Shaw and Kang both spent a good deal of time watching that quarterfinal match, and when it was over, Kang stepped up for his re-match against Pagulayan in the semifinals. Though hard to quantify, the wait for Kang appeared to take its toll, because Pagulayan gave up only two racks to earn a shot at Shaw in the hot seat.
The long wait had its effect on the finals, as well. Pagulayan jumped out to an early lead and was ahead by four, at 6-2, racing to 13. Shaw, though, to no one's surprise, came back, and in the early hours of July 5, completed a double hill win that earned him the Pro 10-Ball Challenge title.
The next stop on the West State Billiards/POVPool West Coast Swing, a $5,000-added One Pocket tournament with the Swing remaining at California Billiards in Fremont, CA, is already underway (July 5) and being streamed live by POVPool, accessible by visiting their Web site (www.povpool.com). It will be followed by the $10,000-added 9-Ball Challenge, scheduled to overlap the One Pocket event, beginning on July 7.
