Alex Pagulayan, back-to-back Derby City One Pocket champion
Alex Pagulayan picked up right about where he left off last year as he rolled through an impressive field of 397 players to capture his second straight Derby City One Pocket title. It seems like every year at Derby City, some straight shooting player from across the globe marches into the finals of the Banks or One Pocket, despite not having a reputation for having much experience with these two popular American games. This year it was the Netherland’s Niels Feijen, who earned his way to the finals with impressive wins over several players, including perennial champion Efren Reyes, who finished in the 6th spot this year. Maybe they are studying a little more One Pocket over there than we think!
The top five were rounded out with Shannon Murphy finishing 3rd for his strongest One Pocket finish at DCC, followed by Corey Deuel and Jayson Shaw, 4th and 5th.
Alex followed his One Pocket win with a 2nd place finish in 9-Ball (which also saw a record field with 406 entries this year), which carried him to the 2016 Master of the Table title as well. With this win, Alex joins Reyes and Shane van Boening as the only players to record back-to-back One Pocket and Master of the Table titles at DCC.
Champion John Brumback takes aim for his third DCC Banks title
John Brumback methodically worked his way through a crowded field to get back to a very familiar place for him at this year’s 18th annual Derby City Classic — the finals of the Bank Pool division. He was not to be denied this year, as he defeated young gun Jason Shaw in the finals for his third DCC Banks title.
Understated Ohioan Alex Olinger finished third in his highest DCC finish, followed by Dennis Orcullo and Earl Strickland to round out the top five. This 18th year for the DCC marked a record setting field of 475 players in Banks and featured some fresh new faces coming into the final day, like Shaw, Olinger and Billy Thorpe, who finished a strong 6th.
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