Baraks Bombs Double J at Memphis Classic

Baraks Bombs Double J at Memphis ClassicBy Steve TrinwardIf you missed the final day of the Memphis 9-Ball Classic this year, you missed a truly memorable event. If you were there, you know exactly what I mean.To cut to the chase, or the race-to-9 and to the top of the tournament heap, Jeremy "Double J" Jones, the 33-year-old world-class player from just outside of Houston, TX, beat everybody in the house—from his name-alike Shane Jones to Earl "The Pearl" Strickland to claim the winners’ side honors for the weekend. Unfortunately for him, it was a double-elimination event, and so after all that he still had to face a fellow named James Baraks, a rising force as a regional player in the Midwest but not nearly as well-known nationally as his more famous opponent. Baraks rose from the one-loss side with only a closely lost battle with the aforementioned other Mr. Jones to mar his weekend. He then met Shane Jones in the semifinals of the one-loss rounds and evened that score.
In order to win the tournament, of course, Baraks had to beat Jeremy Jones not once but twice. In the first match-up, Baraks was in complete control almost from the beginning, running out to a 5-0 lead with some nifty breaks and consistent tablework and then matching “Double J” over the next eight games to win 9-4. In the rematch, with now both men holding one loss and being on the verge of going home, it was Jeremy who zoomed to an early 4-0 lead; however, this time Baraks overcame a stretch of dry breaks to avail himself of every "unforced error" Jones committed. First he brought the score to 5-4 Jones, using every opening Jones left him, however small. Then, after Jeremy had pushed out to leads of 7-5 and even hill-6, Baraks just battled back—off yet another dry break and some stellar breaking by Jeremy—to close to hill-hill. Finally, despite yet another dry break by Baraks in the final game, Jeremy failed to convert the 4 ball, rimming the far corner pocket as though it were a basketball hoop, rejecting a last-minute half-court heave from a desperate point guard. Baraks stepped up and ran the table in spite of a cue rebound that nearly left the table completely and ended the marathon event conclusively 9-8 as the clock ticked over to 4:03 a.m. CST.Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

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