The first three TV games took place on Friday evening at the Riviera Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas as the round of 16 got underway in the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters. From a starting line up of 64 players, there are just 13 left as Dennis Orcollo, John Morra and Ralf Souquet won through.

In the opening match of the last 16, Filipino Dennis Orcollo made light work of Raj Hundal (India), going through to the quarter finals by an 8-1 scoreline. Hundal, who looked composed as he negotiated his way through the opening two rounds, made too many mistakes for a player of Orcollo’s obvious calibre.

Hundal’s safety game wasn’t tight enough to contain Orcollo and the sharp-shooting Pinoy completed four break and runs as he ran away with the match.

‘It was a great! I had a break in the first game as Hundal missed a ball. That was my chance and I took it. I always think I’m going to win the competition, but there’s a lot of top players here,” said Orcollo.

The second game of the evening was a nervy affair as up-and-coming Canadian talent John Morra put paid to John Schmidt’s World Pool Masters hopes, winning through by an 8-4 margin. Morra can look forward to a quarter-final match-up against Dennis Orcollo.

It was a scrappy encounter with both players making errors, but Morra rode his luck to pull away after leading 5-1.

“I played pretty well for most of the match but was difficult to get used to the TV table as it was very different to the tables we’ve been playing on,” said Morra.

“But I feel good about my game and got a couple of rolls which helped but John’s a great player so that’s a great win.

The first three TV games took place on Friday evening at the Riviera Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas as the round of 16 got underway in the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters.

“Dennis is one of my favourite players. I’ve played him once in an event in Virginia three years ago and beat him 9-2. He won the tournament but I beat him on the winner’s side.

“I feel really good but tomorrow is a whole new day and I hope I can play better. I did make mistakes and need to step it up a notch to beat Dennis.”

In the final match of the evening, five times Masters champ, Ralf Souquet had just enough to stay ahead and close out Indonesia’s Ricky Yang in a tough encounter.

Souquet opened up a big lead but the dogged Yang, now emerging as one of Asia’s premier players, came back at him. Souquet though, held him off for the win.

“It’s always good when there’s a W next to your name but this was not the best performance at this event, but as long as I reach eight first then I’m happy.

“I started off well but I missed a stupid one ball in the side when it was 4-1 and from that point I let it slip away and made a few more mistakes.

“The shot clock kept bothering me as we hadn’t played with it earlier and when you play ten tournaments without it, it can be difficult.

“Ricky Yang is a very good player and was expecting a close match and he won the Philippine Open and is well known so I wasn’t expecting an easy one.”

Play continues tomorrow.

Friday Night Last 16 Results

Raj Hundal (IND) 1-8 Dennis Orcollo (PHI)

John Morra (CAN) 8-4 John Schmidt (USA)

Ricky Yang (INA) 6-8 Ralf Souquet (GER)

Saturday Afternoon’s Matches

Roberto Gomez (PHI) v Jayson Shaw (SCO)

Naoyuki Oi (JAP) v Charlie Williams (USA)

Daryl Peach (ENG) v Toru Kuribayashi (JAP)

After 17 years as a 16-player invitational competition, the Masters, one of the longest established tournaments in pool, is now a 64 player event and takes place over five days instead of three.

Working in conjunction with Cuesports International, the Masters takes place during the annual BCA National 8-Ball Championships, which sees thousands of players and fans flock to the Riviera for a lengthy festival of pool.

Television is produced by Matchroom Sport and will be seen as 15 x one hour programmes in 14 countries around the world with more to be added to the list.

The prize fund is set at a guaranteed $100,000 with $20,000 going to the eventual champion.

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 InsidePOOL Staff

Out of the 333 players who entered the one-pocket division at the Derby City Classic, one emerged triumphant after his final match against Scott “The Freezer” Frost. John “Mr. 403″ Schmidt surprised almost everybody by taking first place over the more seasoned Frost, with it the first-place prize.

In the semifinals, Schmidt matched up with Jose “Amang” Parica, while Frost met Jeremy Jones. At 1-all, Parica sold out, and Schmidt was able to clear the table for the hill. A poor safety by Parica in the final game left Schmidt the run-out, and he took the match 3-1.

Schmidt made short work of the One Pocket division finals of the 11th Annual Derby City Classic.

With Frost up 1-0 against Jones, “Double J” only needed one ball to get out, and while Frost had left him frozen on the rail for the spot shot, he played three-rail short-size position to get out. Now tied at 1-all, Jones scratched on a safety and, in frustration, cracked his cue stick on the table, breaking the butt. Frost took ball in hand and ran out for the lead. A sell-out by Frost, though, allowed Jones back in the match, making it 2-2. In the final rack, Frost ran 7 balls when he got an opening and then played a weak safety. Jones was able to run 6 balls but got funny on his next ball, and after a series of safeties, Frost made a sweet bank to win.

View the 11th Annual Derby City Classic Image Gallery

In the photo-finish lag for the break in the finals, Frost won. Schmidt whiffed a ball, bringing his score into the negative region, and a few more mistakes on Schmidt’s behalf led to Frost winning the first game 8 to -1. Schmidt broke in the second game, and Frost miscued, at which point Schmidt ran 8 and out. Astonishingly, Frost broke and scratched in the third game, and again Schmidt capitalized, running 8 and out for the hill. A poor break by Schmidt gave Frost 2 balls in the next rack, and then they traded safeties until Frost’s cue ball got away from him and he scratched. Schmidt ran 8 and out again for the win.

The current points leaders in the race for the all-around title are John Brumback with 145, Johnathan Pinegar with 130, and Rodolfo Luat with 100.

In the 9-ball division, Schmidt remains undefeated, as does Brumback, who defeated Efren Reyes earlier. Defending champion Ralf Souquet is still alive, as are Johnny Archer, Darren Appleton, Larry Nevel, and Tyler Edey.

In the Straight Pool Challenge: There were eight players who began play Thursday. Danny Harriman defeated Huidji See, while Thorsten Hohmann defeated Corey Deuel. In today’s matches, Darren Appleton matched up with Beau Runningen, while Schmidt played Charlie Williams.

Out of the 11 innings involved in the Appleton-Runningen match, 9 were safety play. The final score was 100-27, with Appleton notching a high run of 85. Schmidt destroyed Williams 100-17 in their match and then went on to play more one-pocket. Schmidt’s high run was 53, and the match was over in five innings. In the semifinals, Schmidt will play Harriman, and Appleton will play Hohmann.

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by InsidePOOL Staff

John Brumback, BCA National Banks champion and two-time Derby City Classic banks runner-up, bested Rodolfo Luat in the finals of the 9-ball banks division of the Eleventh Annual Derby City Classic. Additionally, Lee Van Corteza took first place in the Fatboy 10-Ball Challenge, winning over Ralf Souquet in the finals.

In the semifinals, Brumback matched up with Johnathan Pinegar from Huntsville, AL. Pinegar is a two-time Music City Open champion and has only played in four banks events. At 1-0 Brumback, the Owenton, KY, resident missed an aggressive bank and allowed Pinegar back in the match. After a short break at 1 apiece, both players traded innings until Brumback gained the hill 2-1. Pinegar played offensively in the next rack, running four balls. At that point Brumback got back in the match, and after some back-and-forth play, Pinegar made a long bank to make it hill-hill. With Brumback up four balls in the final rack, Pinegar notched a ball and then another two. After trading some defensive shots, Brumback scored the final game.

An emotional John Brumback took down the 9-Ball Banks division at the 2009 Derby City Classic.

Going into the finals, Luat had no losses, while Brumback suffered one loss, and that was to Scott Frost in the seventh round. In the first set, there was only one missed ball, with the game going to Brumback. Luat countered by taking the second game and then ran three off his break, but Brumback put that game under his belt to take the lead 2-1. More defensive play followed, with both missing several shots, but Brumback sold out, and Luat ran three to win, making it hill-hill. The last game was another grind; at 3-0 Brumback he missed a long, straight-back bank. This was followed by a series of misses, but Brumback prevailed to force the second set.

View the 11th Annual Derby City Classic Image Gallery

A smiling Corteza shut down the always-strong Ralf 'The Surgeon' Souquet in the finals of the Fatboy Challenge at the Derby City Classic.

Brumback won the first rack decisively 5-1, with Luat countering by winning the next. Another convincing win for Brumback in the third rack 5-2 put him on the hill. A strong run in the final rack handed Brumback the 3-1 victory, his first at the Derby City Classic.

In the Straight Pool Challenge, Tuesday’s high runs have been Darren Appleton with 114, Beau Runningen with 99, and Charlie Williams with 85. So far the top eight in the leader board are John “Mr. 403″ Schmidt with 154, Corey Deuel with 153, Huidji See with 114, Darren Appleton with 114, Beau Runningen with 100, Danny Harriman with 93, Charlie Williams with 85, and Bob Hunter with 80.

In the final match of the Fatboy 10-Ball Challenge, Souquet and Corteza met on the Accu-Stats table. While Corteza didn’t make a ball on the break until his eighth break, Souquet exhibited severe troubles at the table and never seemed to get into a rhythm. Souquet only held the lead once during the match, at 3-2, and Corteza was able to dominate it easily. The first break and run-out didn’t occur until the nineteenth rack—at 11-8, Souquet broke and ran out. Ultimately Corteza was able to walk away the 15-11 winner, claiming the $10,000 first-place prize.

In the one-pocket division, the field has been whittled from 333 to 118 and will conclude Friday evening. The 9-ball division kicks off Wednesday.

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China and Philippines Beaten in Semis

USA 9 – 6 Philippines

The USA billiard team of Morris and Van Boening cruised past the pre-tournament favorite Philippines billiard team, 9-6. They now face off against the billiards team from England in the finals.

Team USA delivered their best performance of the week as they beat a strong Philippines side consisting of Francisco Bustamante and Dennis Orcollo to book their second PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool final in three years.

The American side of Rodney Morris and Shane van Boening took the match 9-6 and Morris, who was in the losing side along with Earl Strickland in 2006 was delighted.

“That was the most solid performance we have made so far and we’re due for another great match,” said Morris.

“We’re getting in stroke and this is the final match so someone has to dethrone (reigning World Pool Champion) Daryl.

“It will be a great match as England have played solidly and are in good form. We’re loose, they’re loose so it will just be a case of making the better decisions and the better shots.

“Against the Philippines was the most difficult match we’ve had as historically Francisco has been a thorn in my side. He used to beat me up on the table and he remembers when I couldn’t play.

“Me and Shane are working well together. I would normally shoot more but my game has adapted to his and it’s good that I can adjust.

“On this format winning this would be right up there in my career, probably just under winning the Mosconi Cup. But it’s a world cup, a world title and no tournament that I’ve ever won had ‘world’ in it.

The Philippines steadied their nerves as they took the opener but the USA got back to the table in the second game. Van Boening and Morris completed a decent run out to level the score.

Van Boening crushed his break shot but nothing dropped and it left the 1 ball on for the Filipinos. They raced through the rack to regain the lead.

Orcollo made an illegal break whereby less than three balls were either potted or passed the headstring, so the US got back to the table but some flashy shot making from the Pinoy duo looked to taking them into a 3-1 lead. Orcollo though, missed a fairly easy 9 ball to gift the rack to the USA and tie the score at 2-2. It was to prove a critical point in the match

Morris missed the 2 ball in the next but it rolled safe. Orcollo came with his jump stick but could not get safe and the USA cleared to go into a 3-2 lead.

Morris played a delicate 1/2 combination but was forced to lay a snooker on the 3 ball in the next but Bustamante could see it. The shot was difficult and did not come off leaving an open table for the USA and they ran out to open up a two rack lead.

A great break from Morris set up a nice run out with the only the 4 and 7 balls stuck together but the Rocket broke them up nicely to record their fourth consecutive rack and give them an ominous  5-2 lead.

The Philippines tucked the US up in a snooker and although they escaped it left the table open and Bustamante and Orcollo got a confidence booster as they ran out to reduce the deficit.

Orcollo played a nervous positional shot, leaving a tough 6 ball for his partner. He missed it and a safety battled ensued which the USA always had the upper hand and Morris ended the deadlock with a great long pot on the 6 ball as the USA went into a 6-3 lead.

The Americans ran the next from the break to go to 7-3, just two racks away from a spot in the final. A dry break from Van Boening got the Philippines back to the table and they ran it out to get to 4-7.

A muffed safety from Van Boening in the next gave the Philippines a great chance and they cleared to close down the American lead. A disastrous scratch off the break by Bustamante gave ball in hand to the USA and they completed the run out to get to get to the hill at 8-5.

The Philippines took the next but an excellent run out from Van Boening and Morris sealed an excellent 9-6 victory and the American’s best performance of the week.

 
England 9 – 5 China

Peach and Gray managed to defeat the billiard team from China to earn their spot int he finals against USA.

Enlgand, who had never advanced past the last 16 in two previous World Cup of Pool competitions, played their way into the final. They produced a near faultless performance in a 9-5 victory over Chinese duo of Li He-wen and Fu Jianbo, the defending champions.

Reigning World Pool Champion Peach said: “When we first came here we said that no matter what happened, if we missed silly balls, won or lost, then we won as a team and lost as team.

“No one would get blamed and it has worked for us, it was a little motto I learnt from the Mosconi Cup.

“China have already proved themselves by going eight matches without losing and they work well together as me and Mark do.

“It’s a good achievement to win but I would be lying if I said we didn’t expect to win.”

Former snooker professional Gray has been playing pool for four years and now faces the biggest match of his career against the USA in the final.

“That was by far our best performance in the tournament and probably the best performance from anyone as no one missed a ball,” said Gray. “We both set high standards as Daryl is the World Champion and I’m No.1 in Europe.

“We had watched a bit of China and they are very attacking players and go for their shots but had not been under any pressure. We knew if we put them under pressure we would win.

“Winning the competition would mean the world to me. I’m in my first world final and I’ve come from a snooker background where I had limited success.

“I’ve always been financed by my parents so I dedicate this to my mum and dad, Vicky and Tony.”

England won the lag but an illegal break gave China back the table. England got the better of a safety exchange and then ran out the rack from the 2-ball for an early lead.

That soon doubled as a good break from Mark Gray proved the catalyst for a run out and England had made the perfect start.

But Daryl Peach scratched in the third rack and China, with ball-in-hand, did the rest to get their first rack on the board. It became level soon after as Peach overhit an attempted safety shot and left the 1-ball on and every mistake was being punished in a high-class opening.

That continued in the next two racks as all errors were being made to pay. Gray overcooked a safety and China made it 3-2 but a Chinese mistake in the sixth led to England making it 3-3.

England restored their two rack advantage by claiming the next two for 3-5. Fu was unsuccessful with a jump shot on the 1-ball in the seventh before Fu failed to escape from a tight snooker laid by Gray in the eighth.

The match was swinging from one side to the other and China then claimed the next two for 5-5.

England seemed to have a game plan by putting pressure on to the Chinese by deliberately leaving a series of long but difficult pots on. The strategy was working as both Chinese players were then missing the pots with England now sitting in a good position.

The Europeans made it 6-5 before they out-fought the Chinese in the 12th. A deliberate foul from Gray was immediately followed by a careless mistake from Fu as no ball hit the rail as the Chinese seemed to be feeling the pressure.

In fact, both Chinese players were now struggling and a routine pot on the 1-ball in the next from Li went wrong and China sat down for the rest of the rack as England moved to the hill at 8-5. A 9/4 combination from Peach sealed the victory.