To his many current nicknames, Efren Reyes could now add “Mayor of Derby City.” The 50-year-old Hall of Famer re-elected himself to a second consecutive term as the Derby City Classic’s All-Around champion, finishing first in both the one-pocket and 9-ball divisions and placing tied-for-13th in 9-ball banks.
Reyes’ official take for the 9-day pool extravaganza, held Jan. 14-22 in Louisville, Ky., was a whopping $43,919, including the $20,000 bonus for the all-around crown (which he also won in 2004).
The mammoth pool jamboree came to an official close near 11 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, when Reyes made short work of upstart James Baraks in the 9-ball finale. The feisty Filipino allowed Baraks to the table just twice — for two shots total, both kicks — en route to a 5-0 lead. Baraks won the sixth game, but got sloppy with a kick safe in the seventh game and let the “Magician” back to the table to mop up. His 7-1 title victory was only slightly less dominating than the pasting he dealt Mika Immonen in their 7-0 semifinal match, marked by several easy runouts for Reyes.
The runners-up in the all-around race were David Matlock, winner of the 9-ball banks division, and Cory Deuel, who finished second to Reyes in one-pocket.
The awards ceremony Saturday night concluded on a slightly somber note as the crowd received an update on the condition of event producer Greg Sullivan. Sullivan had checked himself into a local hospital earlier in the week after feeling some discomfort. He was diagnosed as having had a cardiac event, received treatment that included the insertion of an artery-clearing stent, and then was released. It was reported that he was in good condition.
But that wasn’t quite the end of the event. At the Derby City Classic, tournament play shares center stage (figuratively, at least) with the many action matches running on a 24-hour basis in the main tournament room and all over the hosting Executive West Hotel. A highly anticipated money match between up-and-comers Danny “Kid Delicious” Basavich and Gabe Owen kicked off at about the same time as the Reyes-Baraks final. A crowd of about 150 stayed late into the morning to follow the 10-ahead challenge. In fact, the match was still a dead heat nearly 12 hours later. No word yet on the outcome.
