The Derby City Classic is an annual pool convention and tournament held every January at the Caesars Southern Indiana casino in Elizabeth, Indiana, near Louisville, Kentucky. It is eight days long and offers various disciplines of competition for pool players of all caliber.Derby City Classic, DerbyCityClassic.com, retrieved 26 May 2018 It is often referred to as the DCC.
History The annual convention has been in existence since 1997. Diamond Billiard Products,Diamond Billiard Products website DiamondBilliards.com, Retrieved 26 May 2018 is the title sponsor of the event, and the lead tournament promoter is Greg Sullivan. Over $100,000 is to the tournament payouts. Sullivan was inspired to create the DCC by the Johnston City Classic, a former all-around tournament held in Johnston City, Illinois and first organized in 1961 with the purpose of bringing America's top pool gamblers together.
During the eight-day-long convention, competition is held consecutively in three major disciplines, bank pool, nine-ball, and one-pocket. According to Sullivan, "I made it where you're a sucker if you didn't enter." All tournaments are "buyback" competitions in which players can buy their way back in after being first eliminated; matches are races to three sets, much shorter than standard matches; and the entry fee for a tournament is less than that for a spectator's ticket. An All-Around Champion title is awarded each year to an individual player who participates in all three disciplines, and is determined by an ascending point scale and high quality of play, with a prize of $20,000.
The late "St. Louis" Louie Roberts, a legendary American player known for an entertaining style of play and high-stakes gambling , is memorialized by the annual Louie Roberts A&E Award, which stands for "action and entertainment". Attendees of the event vote, and the pool player who displays the most action and entertainment a la Roberts each year wins the award and is thereafter granted lifetime free entry to the Derby City Classic, including a free room at the Horseshoe's hotel during the event. The title was awarded by the DCC from 2003 until 2014, and although it continued in 2015 and 2016 (via fans and not associated with the DCC), it officially stopped being awarded in 2017.
There are also smaller age-restricted competitions for under-16, over-21, over-62, and over-70 divisions, as well as a ladies-only tournament. Pool industry members bring their wares to the DCC and set up vendor booths, providing a billiard expo for attendees. The vendor booths display a large variety of cue sticks, pool paraphernalia, billiard clothing, books, and instructional DVDs.
To commemorate the great one-pocket champions, OnePocket.org, a website dedicated to the discipline, hosts an annual dinner gala at the Derby City Classic and inducts two people each year into the One Pocket Hall of Fame."One Pocket Hall of Fame: Celebrating The Legacy of Pool in Action OnePocket.org, Retrieved 24 May 2008
Since 2004, A Bank pool event founded by the late Grady Mathews has been held, which consists of six players, who post an entry fee with a winner take all prize.
In 2007, a straight pool competition began where players are given an assigned number of chances to make a high run. The players with the 8 highest runs will qualify into a single elimination tournament where every match is race-to-125 points. In 2020 the straight pool competition had been cancelled due to schedule interference with other events and competitions.
Winners
Main events
Several hundred players each year participate in the open Bank pool, One pocket and Nine-ball events to get an opportunity to win the overall title of $20,000 cash prize and to be awarded the prestigious title of "Master of the Table." It is possible for a player to win the "Master of the Table" title without winning any of the three competitions.
Year Nine-ball Bank pool One pocket Overall 1999 Troy Frank Nick Varner Efren Reyes Efren Reyes 2000 George SanSouci Shannon Daulton Nick Varner Dee Adkins 2001 Shannon Daulton Jose Parica Buddy Hall Shannon Daulton 2002 Mika Immonen Larry Price Cliff Joyner Jose Parica 2003 Shannon Daulton Danny Harriman Jose Parica Larry Nevel 2004 Ralf Souquet Jason Miller Efren Reyes Efren Reyes 2005 Efren Reyes David Matlock Efren Reyes Efren Reyes 2006 Ralf Souquet Jason Miller Efren Reyes Jason Miller 2007 Niels Feijen Stevie Moore Efren Reyes Efren Reyes 2008 Ralf Souquet Larry Price Gabe Owen Francisco Bustamante 2009 Shane Van Boening John Brumback John Schmidt John Brumback 2010 Efren Reyes John Brumback Scott Frost Efren Reyes 2011 Dennis Orcollo Alex Pagulayan Shane Van Boening Shane Van Boening 2012 Shane Van Boening John Morra Shane Van Boening Shane Van Boening 2013 Alex Pagulayan Francisco Bustamante Corey Deuel Francisco Bustamante 2014 Shane Van Boening Dennis Orcollo Efren Reyes Dennis Orcollo 2015 Warren Kiamco Shannon Daulton Alex Pagulayan Alex Pagulayan 2016 Shane Van Boening John Brumback Alex Pagulayan Alex Pagulayan 2017 Dennis Orcollo Francisco Bustamante Billy Thorpe Dennis Orcollo 2018 Chris Melling Corey Deuel Francisco Bustamante Francisco Bustamante 2019 Skyler Woodward Billy Thorpe Francisco Bustamante Skyler Woodward 2020 Lee Vann Corteza Dennis Orcollo Billy Thorpe Dennis Orcollo 2021 Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2022 Francisco Sánchez Ruiz Fedor Gorst Fedor Gorst Fedor Gorst 2023 Fedor Gorst Fedor Gorst Tony Chohan Fedor Gorst 2024 Joshua Filler Joshua Filler Fedor Gorst Joshua Filler 2025 Joshua Filler Fedor Gorst Fedor Gorst Fedor Gorst 2026 Joshua Filler (3) Justin Hall Shane Van Boening (3) Shane Van Boening (3)
Top performers
Name Nationality Winner Runner-up Finals Efren Reyes13619 Shane Van Boening10717 Fedor Gorst112 Francisco Bustamante7411 Dennis Orcollo18 Alex Pagulayan6511 Shannon Daulton527 Joshua Filler John Brumback459 Jose Parica336 Jason Miller14 Ralf Souquet Billy Thorpe22 Corey Deuel Nick Varner13 Larry Price02 Skyler Woodward John Morra134 Justin Hall Buddy Hall23 Larry Nevel Tony Chohan Cliff Joyner12 David Matlock Dee Adkins Gabe Owen Lee Vann Corteza Mika Immonen Niels Feijen Scott Frost Stevie Moore Chris Melling01 Danny Harriman Francisco Sánchez Ruiz George SanSouci John Schmidt Troy Frank Warren Kiamco
Active participants are shown in bold. Only players who reached the final are included. This includes the Bank pool, One Pocket, Nine-ball & Overall divisions. In the event of identical records, players are sorted in alphabetical order by first name.
Bigfoot Ten-ball Invitational The bigfoot ten-ball event, played on a 10 ft table and is played alongside the other events, a 16 player invitational, that does not count towards the "Master of the Table" overall title.
Year Winner Runner-up 2013 Dennis Orcollo Niels Feijen 2014 Shane Van Boening Niels Feijen 2015 Shane Van Boening Lee Vann Corteza 2016 Jayson Shaw Shane Van Boening 2017 Jayson Shaw Alexander Kazakis 2018 Roberto Gomez Fedor Gorst 2019 Chang Jung-lin Joshua Filler 2020 Jayson Shaw Lee Vann Corteza 2021 Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2022 Joshua Filler Fedor Gorst 2023 Shane Van Boening Konrad Juszczyszyn 2024 Joshua Filler Lee Vann Corteza 2025 Pijus Labutis Joshua Filler 2026 Fedor Gorst John Morra
Top performers
Name Nationality Winner Runner-up Finals Shane Van Boening314 Jayson Shaw03 Joshua Filler224
References
ja:USオープン (ビリヤード)