LION ROARS INTO HALL OF FAME
Over the years, Alex Pagulayan, the comical, mischievous and lethal Canadian-by-way-of-the-Philippines pool star, has parlayed his talents into the World 9-Ball Championship, a U.S. Open 9-Ball title and a pair of Derby City Classic Master of the Table crowns. Those achievements have now earned the 41-year-old “Lion” the “ultimate accomplishment,” induction into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame.
The United States Billiard Media Association announced that Pagulayan will enter the sport’s most exclusive club, along with table manufacturer/promoter Greg Sullivan and Johnston City Hustlers Jamboree creators George and Paul Jansco. All will be formally honored during ceremonies at the Norfolk Sheraton Waterside Hotel in Norfolk, Va., on Friday, Nov. 1.
Pagulayan, who earned election in a run-off against England’s Kelly Fisher after the two had tied on the initial ballot, will enter the Greatest Players wing of the Hall of Fame. Sullivan, 70, and the late Jansco brothers will be honored in the Meritorious Service category.
“I don’t know what to say,” said Pagulayan after being informed of his election. “For a pool player, this is the ultimate accomplishment, right? And I’m happy to become the first Canadian in the BCA Hall of Fame.” Pagulayan, who moved from the Philippines to Toronto at 16, made his presence felt in 2002, when he reached the final of the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships. After losing to Germany’s Ralf Souquet in the title match, Pagulayan, then 24, reached the final of the World Pool Championship a year later. Again, he lost in the final. Again, he lost to a German player, Thorsten Hohmann. But it was clear that Pagulayan had championship ability, and in 2004 he returned to the title match at the World Pool Championship in Taipei, Taiwan. This time he emerged victorious, topping local hopeful Pei Wei Chang for the title. A year later, Pagulayan exorcised his U.S. Open 9-Ball demon as well, winning the title. In addition to World Summit of Pool and World Pool Masters titles, Pagulayan is the only player to have won titles in all three divisions of the annual Derby City Classic — One-Pocket, Banks and 9-Ball. He also earned Master of the Table titles in 2015 and 2016.
“The Derby City All-Around titles are my biggest career highlights,” Pagulayan said. “They are such big fields and you have to play all three games well. And it’s really hard to win all three disciplines. I feel like I won pool’s triathlon.”
It was the first year of eligibility for both Pagulayan and Fisher. Each were named on 62 percent of the ballots, forcing a run-off vote. In the special election, Pagulayan received 21 votes, while Fisher received 16. Holland’s Niels Feijen (27 percent) and American Corey Deuel (24 percent) were the next highest vote-getters on the initial ballot. Shannon Daulton, Jeremy Jones, Stefano Pellinga, Vivian Villarreal and Charlie Williams were named on less than 10 percent of the ballots.
For Sullivan, admission into the BCA Hall of Fame caps a life of service trying to elevate pool from a recreation to a legitimate professional sport. An Indiana native, Sullivan became a poolroom owner and, with input from top players, began constructing pool tables to professional specifications.
Sullivan launched Diamond Billiard Products, with his tables quickly becoming the preferred playfield of the pros. Frustrated by coin-operated tables that forced players to use magnetic or oversized cue balls, Sullivan is also credited with introducing optical sensor to coin-op tables so that standard cue balls could be used. For Sullivan, it marked another victory in putting professional equipment into the hands of all players.
In the 1990s, Sullivan contracted the Pantone Company to research the optimum color for pool cloth. The testing resulted in the Tournament Blue prevalent in today’s professional tournaments.
As a lifelong fan of the Johnston City Hustler’s Jamborees of the 1960s and ’70s, Sullivan launched a similar multi-discipline event, the Derby City Classic, in 1998. The annual event has drawn thousands of professional and regional players to Southern Indiana for 21 years.
“I have to say, I’m in shock,” Sullivan said when informed. “My whole life has been about pool, just trying to turn it from a game to a sport. It’s all I’ve ever done.”
That George and Paulie Jansco should join Sullivan in the same Hall of Fame class is appropriate, since the Southern Illinois club owners founded the famed Johnston City Hustlers Jamboree and All-Around Pool Championship in the 1960s. The Janscos contributed to the pool’s romanticized image as a gunslinger’s activity. Their promotion of the gambling aspect of the sport contributed to its rise in popularity with the public, with their tournaments drawing media coverage from major television networks and national magazines like “Sports Illustrated.” So popular were the Johnston City events that the Jansco’s launched a second event, the Stardust Open in Las Vegas. The Janscos could also be credited with moving 9-ball and one-pocket into the game’s forefront during a time in which straight pool was considered the only professional game. They were also among the first promoters to welcome integrated fields, paving the way for players like African-American Cicero Murphy to compete for world titles. George Jansco passed away in 1969. Paul Jansco died in 1997.
DCC 9-Ball: Alex Roars in Final
Pagulayan was all smiles after taking the 9-ball title. (Photo by David Thomson-mediumpool.com)
Dechaine, fresh off a dominant 9-2 victory over Shane Van Boening, kept pace with Pagulayan. With the 9-ball event extending races to nine racks, a change to meet BCA-mandated specifications for points events, Pagulayan and Dechaine met on the hill, 8-8. Following an exchange of safeties, the Filipino hit a table-length kick on the 1 ball on his way out, securing his spot alongside Putnam.
And while Putnam kept pace with Pagulayan, the Lion proved too much for the 41-year-old American. After Putnam closed to within a rack at 7-6, Pagulayan forced his opponent to foul in each of the next two racks to take the $16,000 title by a final count of 9-6.
With that victory, Pagualayn capped the 15th Derby City Classic where the majority of the big prizes went to the always-formidable Filipino contingent. Francisco Bustamante, winner of the banks division and runner-up to Corey Deuel in one-pocket, took home the $20,000 Master of the Table all-around award. Dennis Orcollo, meanwhile, snapped off the Bigfoot 10-Ball Challenge to pocket the $20,000 first prize.
Bustamante Snags DCC Banks
Bustamante took his first DCC division title in banks. (Photo by Ashi Fachler)
The banks division kicked off Friday, Jan. 25, with a total of 353 players, down from 2012’s total of 404. Bustamante had no difficulties through the opening rounds, until he ran into Justin Hall in the ninth round. Hall, who won Master of the Table at last year’s Derby clone Southern Classic, topped the Filipino, forcing him to exercise his buy-back option in the modified double-elimination format.
Bustamante, though, bounced back by eliminating fellow Filipino Carlo Biado before drawing a bye in the 11th round when just five players remained. Hall eliminated Warren Kiamco and Shannon Murphy ousted Skyler Woodward, leaving just three players alive. Hall then drew the bye, leaving Bustamante facing Murphy, who was still unbeaten and held his buy-back option. Murphy then won the first two racks, putting Bustamante within a game of elimination. But the Filipino fought back with three consecutive games to force Murphy to use his buy-back.
Bustamante then caught a break by earning the bye into the final, with Hall and Murphy and Hall playing a de facto semifinal. Hall ran five-and-out in the first game and never ceded control of the match en route to a 3-1 victory.
The final, though, saw Bustamante jump out to a 2-0 lead in games putting him on the hill. Hall took Game 3, but Bustamante clinched the 2013 9-ball banks title by taking the next rack 5-3.
Joyner Named 2006 Louie Roberts A/E Award Winner
Cliff Joyner of High Point, N.C., was voted this year’s winner of the Louie Roberts A/E (Action/Entertainment) Award for his endless pursuit of action at the 2006 Derby City Classic.
The award was instituted in 2003 and is named in honor of Louie Roberts, who was never a Hall Of Famer but certainly was entertaining to watch. Every year the distinction goes to the person that makes the most of his or her time at Derby City, and makes it the most interesting for fans to watch. Recipients of the A/E award win free lodging and a waiver of the Derby City entry fee for life.
Joyner was the top vote-getter in a poll on an Internet forum, where his non-stop one-pocket action is said to have drawn crowds “morning, noon, and night” at the nine-day tournament in Louisville, Ky. He joins the ranks of former winners Alex Pagulayan, Tony Watson, and Scott Frost.
Jason Miller, the New Darling of Derby City, Joins Pagulayan on IPT
Miller’s Time: Jason dominated at Derby.
After hardly playing pool for a year, Miller arrived at the Eighth Annual Derby City Classic and wrested the Master of the Table title and its $20,000 prize from perennial all-around champion Efren Reyes. Then he strolled undefeated through a tough-as-nails 46-player qualification tournament for the International Pool Tour and won a berth on the million-dollar 8-ball circuit for 2006.
So when we say Miller arrived at the nine-day Derby City Classic, held Jan. 5-14 at the Executive West Hotel in Louisville, Ky., we mean he really arrived.
“I’m extremely excited,” Miller enthused. “This is great. The week was great … and then winning this card is just icing on the cake. It’s been a long ten days. A marathon. I just concentrate on one match at a time, and that’s about it. I got a good night’s sleep every night, didn’t stay up late, no gambling matches. It was well worth it.”
During the nine-day Derby endurance test, Miller won the 9-ball banks division, placed second in the one-pocket pack, and held on long enough for a 15th-place finish in the 9-ball contest. Reyes, who blitzed Miller 3-0 in the 20-minute one-pocket final, needed to top the 9-ball field to keep his Master of the Table title from 2005, but fell short in the semifinal versus fellow Filipino Rodolfo Luat.
As the 9-ball division was wrapping up on Jan. 14, the IPT kicked off the first of its four qualifiers for a handful of open spots on the 150-player tour. Each of the 46 players paid a $2,000 entry fee, and the only reward would be tour cards for the top two finishers.
The all-star field made for perhaps the most intimidating qualifier in pool history. At the top of the list was reigning U.S. Open champ Alex Pagulayan, but there wasn’t much of a drop-off from there, as the dream of competing on the IPT brought a passel of national 8-ball champs from the BCA and VNEA amateur leagues (Shane Van Boening, Brian Groce), 9-ball pros (Tang Hoa, Robb Saez, George Breedlove) and international studs like Hungary’s Vilmos Foldes, Germany’s Thomas Engert and the U.K.’s Imran Majid.
Miller was the first to qualify on Jan. 15, besting Foldes, 10-6, in the winners-bracket final. Pagulayan then outplayed Foldes, 10-2, to win his tour card. The Killer Pixie jigged around the table, crying out, “I made it! I’m in the IPT now!”
“It’s not only the IPT,” Pagulayan admitted afterward. “I’ve been here all week. I was doing good in the banks, and for some reason, they played like God on me. I was doing good in one-pocket, and for some reason Efren — he didn’t play like Efren. He played better than Efren. And then in 9-ball, Luat beat me, played his best against me. … At least I got this. I think I got the most important thing, I think. That might make me a millionaire, I think.”
Ralf Souquet felt almost as fortunate, breaking something of a dry spell to win the 9-ball division at Derby City. Among the top three players in he world in 2002, Souquet has struggled recently with physical and personal woes, and was seeking chiropractic treatment in Louisville for intense back pain during the Classic.
After crushing Luat, 7-0, in the 9-ball final, Germany’s “The Kaiser” was all smiles.
“I don’t know what it is,” Germany’s “The Kaiser” demurred. “… I do have a new girlfriend.”
Lion Wins Derby City Ring Game
The 2005 Derby City Classic is underway with 408 players competing in the bank pool event. That is more more players than competed last year. Promoter Greg Sullivan was elated with the event so far. “It is great to see our goals being accomplished in such a big way” Sullivan said.
The 10-Ball ring game took place in front of a standing room only crowd between Efren Reyes, Johnny Archer, Shannon Daulton, John Schmidt, Robb Saez and Alex Pagulayan. Each player was putting up $3000 for the chance to walk away with $18,000.
Johnny Archer was the first player eliminated, and Robb Saez quickly joined him as a spectator. At the time of Saez’s elimination, Alex Pagulayan led with $8600. John Schmidt was in second with $5000 and Efren Reyes was in third with $3600. Shannon Daulton is on the bubble with $1100 and the players are playing for $400 a rack.
Shannon Daulton was the third player eliminated. At the time of the elimination, Alex Pagulayan held $7100 with Efren Reyes and John Schmidt only $100 apart at $5500 and $5400.
The fourth player eliminated was John Schmidt and Alex Pagulayan was in the lead with $9900 and Efren Reyes trailing with $8100. At that time, the format went to ‘no miss – roll out’ where a player can push out at any time, but the next shooter must make a ball or give up ball in hand. The wager on each game was raised to the amount that the lower player had, which meant the first game was for $8100.
It only took one game after that when Efren missed a ball mid-rack and Alex ran out for the ring game win.
Varner Doing Fine
Hall-of-Famer and BD columnist Nick Varner is recuperating nicely from aorta femoral bypass surgery performed on Jan. 29. Although currently in the midst of an anticipated two-month recovery, Varner hopes to return to competition as early as the BCA Open 9-Ball Championships in mid-May.
Varner was rushed to the hospital on Jan. 20 when, during a match at the Derby City Classic in Louisville, Ky., he began to have trouble staying on his feet. Doctors discovered a blockage in the major artery near his abdomen that feeds both the right and left leg.
Varner is still feeling the effects of the particularly invasive procedure, which called for temporary displacement of his intestines. “It really screws up your digestive track,” Varner said. However, all signs point to full recovery: “It looks like everything went okay.”
Doctors recommended that Varner quit smoking, and, indeed, he hasn’t had a cigarette since first entering the hospital. For the time being, he’s happy to lead a relatively sheltered life away from the poolroom while the nicotine leaves his system. He also is looking forward to April 26 — the date his wife, Toni, is expected to give birth to their first child. Best wishes from BD.
Reyes Shines at Derby City
Reyes like what he saw on the table at Derby City.
A 24-hour, 9-day pool orgy for both gamblers and serious tournament players, the Classic kicked off on Jan. 16 with a $30,000 ring game between Cory Deuel, Jimmy Wetch, Alex Pagulayan, Earl Strickland, Rodney Morris and Charlie Williams. Deuel eventually outlasted Pagulayan for the $30,000 prize in a match that went well past five hours. The event proved so popular that Derby City organizers hastily assembled a six-man cast for the next night for another $30,000. In that six-hour tilt, BD Player of the Year Johnny Archer bested Pagulayan, Reyes, Ralf Souquet, John Schmidt and Jose Parica.
More than 300 players entered each of the three main events at Derby City this year. Jason Miller of Dayton, Ohio, took the 9-ball bank pool crown and its $8,000 first prize after besting undefeated John Brumback twice in the true double-elimination final (Derby City players with one loss can buy back into the tournament once in each division). Reyes mopped up Chicagoan Marco Marquez in the one-pocket final, 3-0, after his foe failed to take advantage of a commanding lead in the first game.
Pocketing the $9,000 one-pocket prize, Reyes then plowed through the 9-ball field, only to meet the similarly undefeated Souquet in the final. Souquet took the first match, 7-2, and after Reyes bought back in, “The Kaiser” toppled Reyes again by an identical score. The win brought a $13,000 payday for the German, who entered all three events this year without ever having played bank pool or one-pocket in a serious tournament setting.
Daulton Master of the Table
Shannon “The Cannon” Daulton punctuated his claim as All-Around Champion at the Derby City Classic in Louisville, Ky., Saturday night by winning the multi-discipline tournament’s 9-ball division. The 28-year-old Kentuckian, who had already clinched the event’s all-around crown prior to the 9-ball division finale, defeated Finland’s Mika Immonen, 7-4, to earn the $8,000 top prize. With his $5,000 prize as All-Around Champion, and $1,675 earned in the 9-Ball Banks and One-Pocket divisions, Daulton’s weeklong stay at the Derby City Classic garnered him $14,675. Jose Parcia, winner of the 9-Ball Banks event, was second in the all-around race. Buddy Hall earned he $5,000 One-Pocket title.