Derby City One Pocket Final to Feature Shane Van Boening vs Joey Gray

Joey Gray warms up on the Accu-Stats table to prepare for the finals

The fans at the 2012 Derby City Classic will be treated to an All-American finale to the One Pocket event… as defending champion Shane Van Boening will be taking on a newcomer to the finals of this event, Oklahoma player Joey Gray.

In the semifinal match on the live Accu-Stats stream, Van Boening dashed Efren Reyes’ hopes of a sixth Derby One Pocket title, winning authoritatively at 3-0. Meanwhile, the other semifinal match featured relative-unknown Joey Gray, who claimed a big upset over reigning US Open Champion Darren Appleton, defeating him 3-1.

The final match of this prestigious event is about to get underway at 9:30pm EST between Van Boening and Gray… and fans can catch the action live online via www.Accu-Stats.com.

Share/Bookmark

Four Players Remain in the Derby City One Pocket while the First Rounds of Action in 9-Ball are Underway

Shane Van Boening made it past Brandon Shuff to the Semis (Photo by Ricky Bryant - RB Productions)

Round by round, the field in the revered Derby City Classic One Pocket event has continued to narrow as the event has reached its final day. Only six players remained at the beginning of the 11th round of the event, which started with a total of 312 players… and only one was undefeated at that point: 25-year-old Joey Gray of Oklahoma City, OK.

Gray, who is becoming one of the top emerging young players in the US, took on one of the world’s best in Round 11, five-time Derby City One Pocket Champion Efren Reyes.  Reyes had previously lost to Richie Richeson in Round 4, but went on to win six more matches, followed by a win over Joey Gray.

Also matching up in Round 11, top East Coast player Brandon Shuff of Virginia took on reigning One Pocket Champion Shane Van Boening for the second time today. Shuff served Van Boening his first loss in the previous round, and after the re-draw for Round 11 they faced off again. As Shuff had previously lost to Efren Reyes in Round 8, both Shuff and Van Boening had one loss.  Van Boening would make a turnaround in this match, defeating Shuff at 3-2.

The other two remaining players in this round were reigning US Open 9-Ball Champion Darren Appleton and former DCC Bank Champion John Brumback. The match between the two champions would be a close battle, but Appleton came out ahead to stay alive and move onto the semifinal matches.

The match-ups for the Final Four of the One Pocket Division are:
Darren Appleton vs Joey Gray
Efren Reyes vs Shane Van Boening

Check out www.Accu-Stats.com for the feature streamed match of Efren Reyes vs Shane Van Boening at 7pm EST.  The One Pocket Finals will be held this evening at 9pm EST.

Competition in the 9-Ball Division has also begun today, which features an initial field of at least 286 of the top players from around the world.  Stay on the NYC Grind for more updates on the 9-Ball event, as well as the Fatboy 10-Ball Challenge.

Share/Bookmark

Playing to Build Lives at the 3rd Western Women’s Charity 9-Ball Challenge

Western Women's Charity 9-Ball Challenge

Tournaments dedicated to raising funds for a charity are common across a wide variety of sports, and billiards is no exception. Ranging from celebrity charity tournaments like Justin Tuck’s Celebrity Billiards Challenge to long-running memorial benefit tournaments like the Jay Swanson Memorial, which will hold its 16th annual tournament in 2012.

A relatively new charity event came onto the scene two years ago, which is taking place for it’s third year in Las Vegas… The 3rd Western Women’s Charity 9-Ball Challenge, which benefits the Shade Tree shelter for women & children. The tournament will implement a number of dimensions for fundraising, including joining up with the Rack Starz, who will be donating a portion of their calendar proceeds to Shade Tree as well.  For more info on the event and the charity cause, read on…

…

Playing to Build Lives at the 3rd Western Women’s Charity 9-Ball Challenge

The Annual Western Women’s Charity 9-Ball Challenge to benefit the Shade Tree is entering its third year! A celebration of pool, women players, and giving back to others, the event is hosted at Rum Runner on Tropicana Avenue in Las Vegas, also the home of the famous Doc Hill and Andy Mercer Memorial events.

The tournament is sponsored by Rum Runner, Davalyn Cues, The RackStarz, Graziers Food Marketplace, Southern Nevada 9-Ball Taverns Association Pool League, CueSports International, the USA Pool League, Las Vegas APA, Las Vegas TAP, Pool Sharks, Longhorn Casino, Mueller Recreational Products, SLMndInk.com, VegasBilliardsBuzz.com, The Break Magazine and AZBilliards.com.

EVENT DETAILS:

Date: March 31 – April 1, 2012
Player Meeting / Auction: Friday, March 30th at 8 pm.
Host Room: Rum Runner
1801 East Tropicana Ave
Las Vegas, Nevada
(Open 24 hours daily)

Continue reading “Playing to Build Lives at the 3rd Western Women’s Charity 9-Ball Challenge” »

Share/Bookmark