Owen Still Riding High

Owen Still Riding High
Mike Fieldhammer, InsidePOOL Staff
As the winner of last night’s one-pocket event, Gabe “The Babe” Owen leads the points race for the Master of the Table award and is still playing in the late rounds of the 9-ball event. Six players remain in round 11, and Owen is in control of his own fate. He will have to play Francisco Bustamante in one of the three matches just announced on the final night at the Tenth Annual Derby City Classic.
Bustamante is the only player with enough points accumulated to take the crown of all-around champion away from Owen. Owen has 141.3 points with approximately 50 points guaranteed should he drop the match to Bustamante, who has 116.7. He would need to oust Owen and finish first or second to leapfrog Owen for the most all-around points.
The six players remaining in the 9-ball event will play as follows: Bustamante vs. Owen on the TV table, John “Mr. 403” Schmidt vs. Michael Dechaine, and Ralf Souquet vs. Ryan Stone. Bustamante, Schmidt, and Souquet all have their re-buy option.
Round 10 match results were John Schmidt over Steve Moore 7-5, Gabe Owen bested Michael Fuller 7-1, and Francisco Bustamante topped Michael Dechaine who immediately went to the registration booth to re-buy. Crowd favorite Shane Van Boening went down to Ralf Souquet. “The South Dakota Kid” admitted to being very tired this evening after an all-night gambling session with Alex Pagulayan.
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The 9-ball tournament will be played Saturday evening until one man is left standing. Master of the Table and the 9-ball champion will be announced later this evening right here at InsidePOOL.