Derby City Banks Tournament Thinning

As the last bank was pocketed Sunday night at the Horseshoe Casino, the players looked to the Monday morning draw with anticipation.

The Banks event saw some heavy matches as the Sunday action sent dozens more of the top professional bank pool aficionados packing.

The highlight of the day saw two legendary past champions square off on the Accu-Stats live streaming table. As Efren Reyes and Shannon Daulton entered the arena, the crowd gathered to watch the what they knew would be a match to talk about afterward. The match saw Reyes jump out to a 1-0 lead but in what seemed to e only minutes, Daulton fought back and surged ahead of Reyes to a 2-1 lead.

It seemed to be over with Reyes looking lethargic and nonchalant in his shot approach. Daulton took a 4-1 ball lead and 2-1 game lead to the table to pocket what seemed to be the match bank. After successfully pocketing the ball, Daulton started to approach Reyes for a congratulatory handshake but was stopped dead in his tracks and watched in disbelief as the cue ball traveled all the way around the table to slowly use its last ounce of energy to scratch.

That might have been just bad news, the the real salt and lemon for the wound came as Daulton scratched again during his next shot. This gave Reyes the shot that he needed to come to life, play perfectly and win the next two games to deliver Daulton his first loss.

Dazzling White Diamond Billiards Victory for Ferrell

Dazzling White Diamond Billiards Victory for Ferrell
White Diamonds Billiards Winter Extravaganza / Lafayette, LA

by Lea Andrews

Sparky Ferrell met Joey Gray twice—and put him in his place twice—on his way to undefeated victory at the White Diamond Billiards Winter Extravaganza. The $1,000-added event, which was streamed live by Ray “Bigtruck” Hansen at poolactiontv.com, was an extravaganza indeed, drawing a full field of 128 players to White Diamond Billiards in Lafayette, LA, the weekend of January 9-10.

Ferrell got past 2009 Summer Extravaganza winner Jeremy Jones to reach the hot seat match, where he met up with Gray for the first time. Gray, who was coming off a win over Rafael Martinez, moved west after falling 7-3 to Ferrell.

On the left side of the bracket, Jerry Slivka landed in a ninth-place tie courtesy of David Trest, who moved on to face Bobby Pickle. Pickle, who’d just ousted Shane Waltrip, did the same to Trest to meet up with Martinez. Meanwhile, Joey Barnes notched a win over David Gutierrez to face Kevin Noel, who’d gotten past Sean Black. Barnes put Noel in seventh to face Jones and dashed his hopes of back-to-back Extravaganza victories 7-4.

In the quarterfinals Barnes met up with Martinez, who’d put Pickle in fifth, but it was the end of the road for Barnes. Martinez kept it close in the semifinals against Gray, but with the score at 6-5 Gray, Martinez attempted a thin cut on the 8 ball but hit nothing but the cushion behind it, giving up ball in hand and the set to Gray.

In the true double-elimination final match, Ferrell hit the string first after he broke and got out with a 2-9 combination. Gray returned with a break and run to tie it up, but Ferrell pulled ahead 4-1. Gray staged a comeback that began with a 9 on the break, going on to get the score to 4-4 and 6-5. His final break, though, put the cue ball in a pocket and spread the balls wide open, leaving Ferrell a clear path to victory.

Results:
1st Sparky Ferrell $2,142
2nd Joey Gray $1,040
3rd Rafael Martinez $796
4th Joey Barnes $551
5th Jeremy Jones $367
Bobby Pickle
7th David Trest $214
Kevin Noel
9th Jerry Slivka $107
Shane Waltrip
David Gutierrez
Sean Black

Viking 9-Ball Tour at Classic Billiards

The Viking Cue Amateur 9-Ball Tour was hosted by Classic Billiards in Conyers, GA. The Viking Cue Amateur 9-Ball Tour drew in 98 entries and paid players over $5700 this past weekend. The Action packed weekend kicked off on Friday night with a mini tournament and concluded Sunday night as David Trest and David Rice would battle for the first place prize in the $1500 Added main event.

David Trest would take home two wins, he won the Friday nite mini tournament by defeating James Giorella in the finals 4-0 in set #1 and 4-1 in set #2.
1st David Trest $150
2nd James Giorella $90
3rd John Maikke $50
4th Matt Bulfin $30
The Saturday Ring Game was won by Jeff Tabet. Jeff won $300 by taking first place, Jonathon Tedder claimed $100 for second place.

The Viking Cue Amateur 9-Ball Tours Sunday Mini Tournament was won by BR Tatum who defeated Sam Gilmer to claim first place prize fund.
1st BR Tatum $150
2nd Sam Gilmer $80
3rd Jeff Lavinge $30
This weekends winner of The Viking Cue Raffle was Ryan Roundtree. Ryan won $230 Viking Cue that comes with a lifetime guarantee.

If you make your way to Georgia don’t miss out on all the action at Classic Billiards. There is never a lack of action in the room. Monday thru Sunday the room is filled as players from around the region match up.

Hunter Bags Billiard Congress of Wisconsin Trophy

Hunter Bags Billiard Congress of Wisconsin Trophy
Billiard Congress of Wisconsin Open 9-Ball Tour / Racine, WI

by Jonathan Demet

Bob Hunter took first place at the December 6 stop of the Billiard Congress of Wisconsin Open 9-Ball Tour, defeating Matt Daiber in the finals. The tour brought out 22 of the Midwest’s top players to Outbreak Billiards in Racine, WI, for the $500-added event.

Frequent tour victor Jeff Carter took control of the winners’ bracket and matched up with Matt Daiber for the hot seat, but he was sent west as Daiber, known as “The Action Man,” advanced to wait for an opponent.

Hunter made his way through the one-loss side, scoring a 6-3 victory over Ike Runnels and moving on to face Gil Hernandez. Hernandez reached Hunter by taking down Claudio Parrone. Hunter and Hernandez seesawed to double-hill, when an unforced error left Hunter with cue ball in hand on the 5 ball. With an open table, Hunter cleared the remaining balls to advance.

Before he could rematch with Daiber, Hunter had to face Carter in the semifinals, and he sent Carter home in third place with a 6-5 score. In the final match, Daiber needed two games with Hunter breaking on the hill. Daiber gained control of the game by sinking the 1 ball but misses the 2. After a safety by Hunter, Daiber gives Hunter the chance he needed to win the title.

Results:
1st Bob Hunter $400
2nd Matt Daiber $260
3rd Jeff Carter $175
4th Gil Hernandez $140
5th Ike Runnels $90
Claudio Parrone
7th Tommy Paulowske
Jonathan Demet

Billiard Gods Productions to Sponsor Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour

Billiard Gods Productions to Sponsor Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour

Allan Sand, Billiard Gods Productions (www.billiardgods.com) is proud to become a sponsor of the Viking Cue 9-Ball Tour. This is a great opportunity to support all those who make the Green Game such a great part of our lives.

Billiard Gods Productions is the publisher and distributor of the Handbook of the Billiard Gods series of books. These each present true table knowledge and are designed to help you become the Intelligent Shooter. This knowledge is independent of skill levels and shows how you can make good table decisions.

Currently, there are three books (CD book format) available:

* Table Map Library – 3,100+ cue ball patterns that provide dozens of ways to get from one location to another. For those who want to master table patterns. Useful for safeties and kicks, and the game of One Pocket
* Safety Toolbox – the knowledge on how to use defensive shots as offensive tools. Every trick and trap will help you win more games. Included are the finest cue ball and object ball control exercises.
* Cue Ball Control Cheat Sheets – Learn in weeks what takes others years to use cue ball speed and spin to get position on any ball. Hundreds of diagrams with exact spin and speed cheats. Just reading this makes you a smarter player.

Two new books in January and March of 2010:

* The Art of War versus The Art of Pool – this book takes the rules of war by Sun Tsu (a Chinese general who lived 2,500 years ago) and applies them to pool strategies, tactics, and deceptions. If you are serious about becoming a serious player, this book will teach you the mindset. Embedded are the real and true secrets to being a tough and dangerous competitor. (For those interested in the philosophy of pool.)
* How to Stop Sharking – this book identifies 75 major sharking techniques that unscrupulous players can use against you. Each one includes a full description (with variations) and the necessary actions to restore the integrity of the game. (Written about pool, the material applies to all sports.)

Go to www.billiardgods.com and read further details. Also available are 10 cool pool screensavers.