Freeze! Bata Blasts Frost in Brilliant Billiards Display

Freeze! Bata Blasts Frost in Brilliant Billiards DisplayAfter-hours action wins for young Florida pair round out Saturday morning movesBy Paul Berg, Inside POOL MagazineAfter the banking died down, the one-pocket took hold of the Billiard Club Network’s feature table. The Derby City Classic catches that gear only night people can understand. Beers are swilled and bad decisions are made. Emotions run high, sleep runs short, breakfast should have came last breakfast … or perhaps you’ve made a substantial score and are looking to parlay it into a great session of pumping up. You get in a game you probably can’t win and can’t even pump the gas to get home without multiple loans.Derby City Classic image gallery
It turns that way. Some call it a Louisville minute, but let’s not fool ourselves. Efren Reyes can give them to you in any port of call globally. Seemingly at will. Scott Frost is not short on will, but his friends are short a bit of cash. Who thought he could take Efren 10-7/9-7? For those unfamiliar with one-pocket, on Reyes’ break, Reyes had to pocket ten balls in his designated hole, spotting the first he makes to compensate for the difference in scoring from an even race-to-eight balls. When Frost broke, Efren needed one less ball to win, and “The Freezer” still only needed that tempting seven and out from a phenomenal concept shot to claim a game. Except they kept hanging up, or just barely kissing, impossibly leaving Efren a tiny window of opportunity.The masterful acknowledged greatest living practitioner of one-pocket pool leapt through to dazzle the crowd every time. A crowd that was, with brief exception, not partisan saw Reyes definitively crush Frost. Billy Incardona was among legends who took the time to sweat it, and the charm of Mike Lebron, still watching Reyes through thick and thin after years of being on his rail, gave Efren that luck he’s always talking about. He won two race-to-5 sets by the same score of 5-3 and then continued the abuse at a nice pair of bills per game. Frost never looked like he could overcome the close calls in the sets, and the discussion of changing the game between the two were memorable. Reyes’ english, like his awe-inspiring game, seems sharper when he’s about to get paid.While Frost found humor with the surrounding crowd, Reyes did as well. His grin, his banter that exists mainly of pantomime and subtle facial expression, were on full display. His ability to work within the confines of the existing lay of the rack, while Frost thrives on changing it to his advantage and to set his opponent off balance, made for an astonishing game between the two acknowledged masters.In the meantime, back in the Derbyshire Dining Room, Winterhaven, FL’s, Josh Degler pounded two young ramblers at their own game. One-pocket was again the medium, and Nick Vida and Justin Cone’s bank rolls were the canvas for Degler’s artistry. Another Florida mainstay with youth on his side, Justin Hall pounced on the offer of the 8-ball in some good old fashioned 9-ball with Nick Hickerson, the Tennessee kid who’s not quite as young and foolish anymore. That was more than “Nickles” could take, and the bet was more than his namesake.Crews from the West Coast banked them around, as Tony “Cha-Ching” Chohan and Harry “Hardway” Platis spanned the generations. The axis allied with Chohan, while his far-flung professional chums Robb Saez and Ronnie Wiseman came to bark at sparring partners and equally formidable road crew Chris Bartram and Jason Kirkwood. Cliff Joyner stalked the halls, playing one-pocket early and losing at 9-ball late. Barry Boney and “Scooter” were the two opponents, which one won? Call your friend who was smart and came to the DCC, or check the message board.Still forthcoming … recorder excerpts from the first bank pool ring game. Special Correspondent AWM’s report on the young Floridians, and the account of how Shannon Daulton ran 7 in the second banks ring game to outdo three of Chicago’s current best, the six-thousand-dollar man in a three-thousand-dollar game (Tony Coleman, take two) and the stellar performance of Danny Harriman. Another $12,000 payday in banks, and the rundown on Rounds 3 and 4 of the 9-ball banks division. Stay tuned, as DCC9 Day Two bleeds into Day Three …

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Inside Pool Magazine publishes billiard news. Definitive Synergy creates pool and billiard management software.