After four days of competition at the Derby City Classic, the Bank 9-Ball division ended Monday night with John Brumback successfully defending his title as Derby City Classic Bank Champion by defeating Filipino billiards legend Efren Reyes. In addition to being the defending Banks Division champion, Brumback is also the defending Derby City Classic All-Around champion.

The event kicked off Friday, January 22 with 352 competitors. It was originally thought that the field was 353, but Roberto Gomez was not registered and his entry was withdrawn. The total prize fund for the event was $45,200 with $10,000 being added by the Derby City Classic promoters.

Efren Reyes defeated Larry Nevel in the semis to earn his chance to win the one discipline that has eluded him in the past. Though Reyes has won several titles, including the All-Around, the Banks division has remained out of his reach. His highest finish in the Banks division was runner-up against Steve Moore.

With Brumback being a Kentucky native and Reyes being a legend know around the world, the finals was a classic home crowd favorite versus the world. As Brumback won the lag, the crowd barely cheered. But as Brumback broke, made several banks, and then went on the close out game 1 without a contest, the crowd erupted with hope. Brumback continued to fire in banks and play smart safeties and won the second game. Brumback was met in the third game by a determined Reyes. The game went to a 4-4- tie in ball count before Brumback fired the last bank in for the win.

Brumback handed Reyes a 3-0 beatdown in his successful title defense in the Derby City Classic Bank Division finals.

Derby City Classic 2010 Banks Division Results
1st John Brumback $10,000
2nd Efren Reyes $5,000
3rd Larry Nevel $2500
4-5th Rafael Martinez 1,375
Alex Pagulayan
6-9th Chris Bartram $850
George Breedlove
Shannon Daulton
Truman Hogue
10-16th Bill Bailey $550
Danny Harriman
Neil Jacobs
Michael Laney
Clent McCollough
Steve Moore
Mark Slye, Jr.

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By Joshua Johnson, Inside POOL

Thirty-two of the original 61 players who started the day are moving into Sunday play in the Great Southern Billiard Tour’s Choo Choo Amateur 9-Ball Classic. The tournament, which is taking place at Diamond Billiard Club in Chattanooga, TN, features some of the most recognizable amateurs in the south to include Landon Shuffett, Mike Laney, Danny Smith and Bill Bailey. However, as play on Saturday came to a close, some of those names found themselves on the wrong side of the tournament chart or out of the tournament.

Mike Laney was one who could not navigate the tough field, getting knocked out of the tournament early Saturday evening. Other top players finding the way difficult going are Russ Edwards, Danny Smith, and Bill Bailey. Top names still fighting in the winners’ bracket are Landon Shuffett, Diamond Billiard Club proprietor Davey Crockett Jr., Josh O’Neal, and Arlo Walsman.

Play will begin again on Sunday at 12:00pm with 1-loss bracket action. Some of the feature matchups going into day 2 of this $1500 added tournament are Josh O’Neal vs. Landon Shuffett, Arlo Walsman vs. Matt Reed and Daniel McKinney vs. Jimmy Dickerson, all on the winners side. Top names still alive on the one-loss side include Bill Bailey, Smith, David Rice, Russ Edwards, Nicholas Hickerson and Jason Jahop.

Thirty-two of the original 61 players who started the day are moving into Sunday play in the Great Southern Billiard Tour’s Choo Choo Amateur 9-Ball Classic.

Players are using the GSBT’s newly implemented, and popular, handicapping format. Players who are rated an “AA” have to go to 10 games, “A” players have to go to 9, and “B” players have to go to 7 in an alternate break race. This format levels the playing fields for multiple skill levels in the amateur ranks.

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Tournament brackets

The Great Southern Billiard Tour would like to thank the owner of the Diamond Billiard Club, Davey Crockett, for hosting the event as well as its sponsors: Nick Varner Cues and Cases, Tiger Products, Delta-13 Rack, Gambler Clothing, Masters Chalk, Inside POOL, AZ Billiards, Professor Q-BALL, and Billiards Stroke News.

Shane "The South Dakota Kid" Van Boening is looking to snare another title on the Great Southern Billiard Tour.

Shane Van Boening was meticulously counting the bracket spaces on the tournament board, counting aloud to add up how many matches he would have to win to snap off the tournament. Van Boening defeated a tough string of opponents Saturday, including an 11-4 win over Steve Moore, an 11-2 victory over Louis “The Wolf” Ulrich, and an 11-9 grudge match over Cliff Joyner. Van Boening will meet up with Danny Smith tomorrow in the afternoon.

On the winners’ side of the bracket, Jesse Middlebrook has continued to amaze, defeating Larry “The Truth” Nevel 11-5 and then Josh Roberts 11-7 to earn a spot Sunday against Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan, who survived a hill-hill bout with Bill Bailey and then defeated up-and-comer Danny Smith 11-5 to continue his winners’ side campaign. Rafael Martinez and Sparky Ferrell will play on Sunday as well, with Martinez advancing over Cliff Joyner 11-7 earlier in the day and Ferrell defeating Johnathan Teder 11-6 to earn his return for Sunday.

On the one-loss side, Jonathan Pinegar bested Gabe Owen 11-6 and will play Josh Roberts Sunday, while Teder will face Nevel and Vilmont will play Billy Young.

The $1,000 entry 10-ball ring game is set to go off tonight and will start at $50 a game per player and will rise in price all the way to $800 a game toward the end of the match. The high-caliber field includes Larry Nevel, Shane Van Boening, Johnny Archer, Steve Moore, Alex Pagulayan, Billy Young, Bobby Pickle, and Cliff Joyner. Stay tuned for breaking news about this challenging match.

Great Southern Billiard Tour / Chattanooga, TN
by Rick Davis
Billiards News – Steve Moore, Southern player extraordinaire, was the conductor at the Choo-Choo Classic V, where he went undefeated. Taking place at Diamond Billiard Club in Chattanooga, TN, the Great Southern Billiard Tour drew in a 41-player field for their double-elimination event, but when Moore was not minding the train he was driving the bus as he took everyone to school.

On the winners’ side Moore started the second day of play by defeating Cliff Joyner 9-6 then sent Dave Crockett west after their 9-4 meeting. In the lower half of the chart, Louis Ulrich defeated John “Hennessee” Pinegar 9-5 then tournament director Shannon Daulton 9-7 to meet Moore in the hot seat match. Moore was in top gear, while Ulrich could barely get off the line, and before long Moore had taken the last match needed to see the finals, defeating Ulrich 9-3.

Over on the one-loss side it was anyone’s game for most of the day. Multi-time Viking Tour winner Eddie Little might have been an early favorite if it was not for Pinegar eliminating him 7-4 in his first one-loss-side match. Pinegar went on to eliminate Russ Edwards double-hill and Dave Crockett 7-2 to reach the quarterfinals. Another great Southern player, Bill Bailey, started Day Two on the one-loss side, but after knocking out his fourth player of the day, Daulton 7-1, he was up against Pinegar.

With the final group of matches ready to go the event blazed by, first with Bailey destroying Pinegar 7-2 in the quarterfinals and then Ulrich shutting out Bailey in the semifinals. Ulrich returned for another shot at Moore in the finals, but the event conductor was barreling along. With the score at 8-5 Moore, an unlucky roll for Ulrich handed Moore the rack to cap off an incredible weekend of play.

Results:
1st Steve Moore
2nd Louis Ulrich
3rd Bill Bailey
4th John Pinegar
5th Dave Crockett
Shannon Daulton
7th Russ Edwards
Doug Young