Big Orange Classic Underway

Big Orange Classic UnderwayBy Steve Trinward, InsidePOOL StaffThe Big Orange Classic, fall edition, kicked off on Friday night, October 29th, at Breakers Bar & Grill in Knoxville, TN, with a full field of 64 solid regional and national players. The participants include recent tour multi-victor James Baraks (Memphis in August, Poplar Bluff in September), as well as stalwart contenders like Nat Green, Jonathan "Hennessee" Pinegar, Brian Butler, Shawn Putnam, and Cliff Joyner, to name just a few. The tournament is the brainchild of Shannon “The Cannon” Daulton (pictured above), who launched the first Big Orange Classic last February following the Derby City Classic. As tournament director, he is seeking to make this an annual dual-event, after the DCO and then each October. Judging from the turnout and the crowds so far, he is on the right track, as the house was full and overflowing Friday and should continue that way all weekend. (Oh, by the way, Shannon is also of course competing here—he racked 'em up at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, in a first-round match with Russ Edwards.)
The traditional "mini-tournament" was held on Thursday the 28th, in order that the full weekend could be devoted to the main event. The winner was Corey Deuel ($500), who bested Matt Braden ($300); Daulton himself took home $200 for third place.Among the first-round winner Friday were Pinegar and Baraks, both in virtual walkovers, as well as Deuel, Green, Butler, Lavoie, and a number of other bright lights on the tour.Saturday will include a quarter of matchups at 11 a.m., followed by the next set of showdowns, beginning at 4 p.m. The tournament will wrap up on Sunday afternoon and evening.Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the Big Orange Classic.

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