Derby City Classic

The Derby City Classic is an annual pocket billiard convention held every January at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana casino in Elizabeth, Indiana near Louisville, Kentucky.[1] It is eight days long and offers various disciplines of pocket billiard competitions for pool players of all caliber.[2] It is often referred to as the DCC.

History

The annual convention has been in existence since 1997. Diamond Billiard Products,[3] manufacturer of Diamond-brand pool tables, the official table of the US Open Nine-ball Championship, is the title sponsor of the event, and the lead tournament promoter is Greg Sullivan. Over $100,000 is added to the tournament payouts. Sullivan was inspired to create the DCC by the Johnston City Classic, a former one-pocket tournament held in Johnston City, Illinois and first organized in 1961 with the purpose of bringing America's top pool gamblers together.[1]

During the eight-day-long convention, competition is held consecutively in three major disciplines, bank pool, nine-ball, and one-pocket. According to Sullivan, "I made it where you're a sucker if you didn't enter."[1] All tournaments are "buyback" competitions in which players can buy their way back in after being first eliminated; matches are races to three sets, much shorter than standard matches; and the entry fee for a tournament is less than that for a spectator's ticket.[1] An All-Around Champion title is awarded each year to an individual player who participates in all three disciplines, and is determined by an ascending point scale and high quality of play, with a prize of $25,000.

The late "St. Louis" Louie Roberts, a legendary American player known for entertaining style of play and high-stakes gambling action, is memorialized by the annual Louie Roberts A&E Award, which stands for "action and entertainment". This is a contest attendees of the event vote, and the pool player who displays the most action and entertainment a la Roberts each year wins this award and is thereafter granted lifetime free entry to the Derby City Classic, including a free room at the Horseshoe's hotel during the event.[1]

There are also smaller age-restricted competitions for under-16, over-21, over-62, and over-70 divisions, as well as a ladies-only tournament held. Pool industry members bring their wares to the DCC and set up vendor booths, providing a billiard expo for attendees. The vendor booths display a large variety of cue sticks, pool paraphernalia, billiard clothing, books, and instructional DVDs.

To commemorate the great one-pocket champions, OnePocket.org, a website dedicated to the pocket billiard game of one-pocket, hosts an annual dinner gala at the Derby City Classic and inducts two people each year into the One Pocket Hall of Fame.[4]

A ring game formerly run by the late Grady Mathews is another attraction, a ten-ball contest which consists of six players who post an entry fee of $3,000, winner take all. This is recorded live and broadcast via the Internet. Shane Van Boening won the January 2008 event.[5]

Added to the event in recent years is a straight pool competition. The competition begins where players are given an assigned number of chances to make a high run. The top 8 players based on their highest run will qualify into a single elimination tournament where every match is race-to-125.

Winners

Players who participate in the nine-ball, nine-ball banks, and one pocket competitions get the chance to win the overall title called "Master of the Table." It is also possible for a player to win the overall title without winning any of the three competitions.

Year Nine-ball Nine-ball banks One pocket Overall
1999 United States Troy Frank United States Nick Varner Philippines Efren Reyes Philippines Efren Reyes
2000 United States George San Souci United States Shannon Daulton United States Nick Varner United States Dee Adkins
2001 United States Shannon Daulton Philippines Jose Parica United States Buddy Hall United States Shannon Daulton
2002 Finland Mika Immonen United States Larry Price United States Cliff Joyner Philippines Jose Parica
2003 United States Shannon Daulton United States Danny Harriman Philippines Jose Parica United States Larry Nevel
2004 Germany Ralf Souquet United States Jason Miller Philippines Efren Reyes Philippines Efren Reyes
2005 Philippines Efren Reyes United States Dave Matlock Philippines Efren Reyes Philippines Efren Reyes
2006 Germany Ralf Souquet United States Jason Miller Philippines Efren Reyes United States Jason Miller
2007 Netherlands Niels Feijen United States Stevie Moore Philippines Efren Reyes Philippines Efren Reyes
2008 Germany Ralf Souquet United States Larry Price United States Gabe Owen Philippines Francisco Bustamante
2009 United States Shane van Boening United States John Brumback United States John Schmidt United States John Brumback
2010 Philippines Efren Reyes United States John Brumback United States Scott Frost Philippines Efren Reyes
2011 Philippines Dennis Orcollo Canada Alex Pagulayan United States Shane van Boening United States Shane van Boening
2012 United States Shane van Boening Canada John Morra United States Shane van Boening United States Shane van Boening
2013 Canada Alex Pagulayan Philippines Francisco Bustamante United States Corey Deuel Philippines Francisco Bustamante
2014 United States Shane van Boening Philippines Dennis Orcollo Philippines Efren Reyes Philippines Dennis Orcollo
2015 Philippines Warren Kiamco United States Shannon Daulton Canada Alex Pagulayan Canada Alex Pagulayan
2016 United States Shane van Boening United States John Brumback Canada Alex Pagulayan Canada Alex Pagulayan

Other winners

Along with the three competitions mentioned above, two new competitions have been added and are gaining importance.

Year Straight pool Ten-ball
2007 Finland Mika Immonen n/a
2008 United Kingdom Darren Appleton n/a
2009 United States Danny Harriman n/a
2010 United States Charlie Williams n/a
2011 United Kingdom Darren Appleton n/a
2012 Germany Ralf Souquet n/a
2013 United States Max Eberle Philippines Dennis Orcollo
2014 Philippines Dennis Orcollo United States Shane van Boening
2015 Russia Ruslan Chinakov United States Shane van Boening
2016 Philippines Dennis Orcollo United Kingdom Jayson Shaw

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hill, David (February 18, 2014). "Can't Knock the Hustle". Grantland.com. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  2. Derby City Classic, DerbyCityClassic.com, retrieved 24 May 2008
  3. Diamond Billiard Products website DiamondBilliards.net, Retrieved 24 May 2008
  4. "One Pocket Hall of Fame: Celebrating The Legacy of Pool in Action OnePocket.org, Retrieved 24 May 2008
  5. "Van Boening Wins 10-Ball Ring Game". AZBilliards.com: The A to Z of Billiards and Pool. Avondale, AZ: AZBilliards, Inc. January 5, 2008. pp. "Independent Event" section. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
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