No Repeat for Reyes

No Repeat for Reyes
By Mike Fieldhammer, InsidePOOL Staff
Efren “The Magician” Reyes was bested by former U.S. Open champ Gabe Owen in the eleventh round of the one-pocket competition at the Tenth Annual Derby City Classic. Reyes, the two-time defending DCC one-pocket champion, went down three games to one as crowds watched from any vantage point that they could. In the fourth game, with Owen leading two games to one and the ball count 6-3 in Owen’s favor, Reyes back-cut a ball poorly, allowing Owen a bank shot with position on the 1 ball for the match. Owen exclaimed, “Yes!” as the 1 hit the pocket and strode toward Reyes for a handshake. In typical Reyes fashion, he smiled and shrugged slightly as he exited toward the masses.
Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan met Francisco “Django” Bustamante for the right to move on to pick up some Master of the Table points. Both players were ousted from the bank pool tournament in the same round, finishing tied for seventh place. Bustamante took the match three games to one. Pagulayan said after the match, “I had a chance to tie it up. I missed an easy shot, pretty easy. I should have got it to two-two.”
Larry Nevel and Tony Mougey drew each other for the final pairing. Nevel, the All-Around champion in 2003, finished the bank pool in tenth place and could accumulate some more all-around points. Nevel struck swiftly and won three games in a row to end Mougey’s tournament run.
Three players remain: Nevel, Owen, and Bustamante. Owen seems to have luck running on his side. With his re-buy option still in his pocket, Owen drew the bye and awaits the winner of Nevel/Bustamante.
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A one-pocket champion will be crowned Friday. The champ and results of round five of the 9-ball tournament will be known Saturday. Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news on the Tenth Annual Derby City Classic.