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Williams Beats Reyes for Big Apple Title

Williams' cues may be up in the air, but his game is rock solid.

Williams’ cues may be up in the air, but his game is rock solid.

Charlie Williams went undefeated at the Big Apple 9-Ball Challenge, Aug. 15-17 at Master Billiards in Queens, New York. Williams took the title in the final over Efren Reyes, 13-8. His win came right on the heels of an 11-9 hot-seat victory over Reyes.

Williams’ back-to-back wins over “The Magician” were all the more impressive because he played every game with a borrowed cue. Williams’ plane was rerouted to Connecticut because his flight was in the air at the time of the blackout that affected many cities in the Eastern U.S. and Canada, and in the confusion, his luggage (including his cues) was lost.

Williams took home $12,000 for the win, while Reyes settled for $7,000. In third was Rodney Morris for $4,500; Jose Parica took fourth place and $3,000 and Francisco Bustamante and Alex Pagulayan tied at fifth for $2,000 apiece.

Efren Reyes Takes Mid-Atlantic 9-Ball Crown

The ever-humble Reyes chalked his win up to luck.

The ever-humble Reyes chalked his win up to luck.

Efren “Bata” Reyes took the title at the Mid Atlantic 9-Ball Championship in Chesapeake, Va., held Jan. 22-26. He defeated Korean ace Young Hwa Jeong, 13-7, revenging an earlier loss to Jeong in the winners’-side semifinal.

Efren put in a stunning run to get to the finals, holding his opponents to the single digits in race-to-11 games. He defeated Leonardo Andam, 11-5, Mike Lebron, 11-3, Tony Robles, 11-7, Jose Parica, 11-5, Jim Rempe, 11-3, and Francisco Bustamante, 11-6, before losing to Jeong, 11-8, and taking at trip to the losers’ side. Once there, he defeated Bustamante again, 11-8, to earn himself the final rematch with Jeong.

Both finalists were in top form for the duration of the tournament, and the final showcased nearly flawless play by both competitors. Reyes felt that the turning point in the final was a single missed shot by Jeong, coupled with a dose of luck: “I was behind 4-3 and Young missed a shot. This is when I got lucky, because the gods smiled on me and I knew it was my chance to win. I am very lucky.”

Daulton Triumphs at Derby City

Shannon "The Cannon" Daulton shot his way through the competition at Derby City

Shannon “The Cannon” Daulton shot his way through the competition at Derby City

The wild and woolly Derby City Classic drew to a close in the wee hours of Sunday morning as Shannon Daulton put a halt to a surprising run by Max Eberle by rattling off seven straight games to win the 9-ball competition, 7-3.

Earlier in the 9-day tournament, held in Louisville, Ky., Jose Parica defeated Larry Nevel in the One-Pocket competition, and Danny Harriman (voted BD’s Most Improved Player of 2002) took the 9-Ball Bank Pool title by besting Steve McAninch.

Nevel proved to be the iron man of the grueling event, winning the all-around title by virtue of his second-place finish in one-pocket and third-place finish in 9-ball banks.