By: Markus Noé
We are already finished with day four at this years Derby City Classic, which means today was the conclusion of the 10 ball Bigfoot challenge. For those unfamiliar with this mini-tournament it is played on a Diamond 10ft table and only 16 players are able to play. It is single elimination race to 11 and the top four are the only ones to cash.
For the past two years Shane VanBoening has been dominate in this tournament winning the last two Bigfoot challenges. Being that this is a single elimination format it really is an impressive feat as he has not lost a match in this tournament in almost 3 years. On route to the final SVB won his matches against, Niels Feijen, Alex Pagulayan, and Dennis Orcullo. In his first two matches he won easily 11-4 and 11-5. In his match with Orcullo both players were playing bellow their standards however it was a very entertaining match that ended 11-9.
The three time Turning Stone Champion Jayson Shaw had an equally difficult task on route to the finals. First he beat Canadian John Morra, 11-7, then went on to win 11-4 and 11-8 against Sky Woodward and Efren Reyes. I have had the pleasure over the past two years to see Shaw play live on several occasions and his game has come along way. When he was first introduced to North America the natural talent was evident but perhaps the only knock on him was his over aggressive style. After winning three consecutive Turning Stone Classics, placing well in the U.S Open and having various smaller tour victories he looks like he is ready to break through to that elite level, if he has not done so already. Shaw is still a very offensively minded player which is why he is so entertaining. However now his shot selection is better and combined with the willingness to lay up occasionally, Shaw has become a threat to win any event he enters.
This evening in the final of the Bigfoot Challenge it was another chance for him to showcase his world class skills. Perhaps many were expecting SVB to run away with another title this year but Shaw came in with a look of determination and in my opinion was breaking better than anyone else in the field. In the final Shaw continued his high level of play and basically shut SVB out of this final winning 11-5 and breaking and running 4 tables along the way. The skills of all these top players must be respected and appreciated, however purely for fans he might be the most exciting player to watch at this time. With his issue of travelling abroad being recently settled we should see more of Shaw on the international scene and look for him to take down a major event this year.
Shaw’s TPA was .893 while Van Boening’s was .776.
Green Room Action
Along with the several tournaments there are to play during the 10 days of the Derby City Classic, it is well known that there are some monster gambling matches that also take place. Tonight John Morra lost 25-12 to Jeffery Ignacio, Scott Frost lost a 1 pocket match 7-5 while giving up some weight. Also Danny Smith beat Omar Alshaheen in banks. Tomorrow night Erik Hjorleifson is scheduled to gamble Oscar Domiguez, I guess a few details still need to be worked out. This will be streamed, we will post the information tomorrow on the Cue Sport Nation Facebook Page. Make sure to check back daily as we will continue to update. Accu-Stats.com will be playing matches from each event throughout the week, so make sure to go to their webpage and buy the pass.
Bigfoot Cash
Jayson Shaw $16,000
Shane VanBoening $8,000
Efren Reyes/Dennis Orcullo $4,000
