Pool Cue News and Review

Ok, I officially refuse to refer to this event by the name the promoters gave it since the advertised prize pool is off by $940,000.  Despite the list of 190+ “interested” players that Hopkins listed, the total number of players to actually show and play this event was 12.  Yep, 12 players.  The real player list is as follows:

1. Johnny Archer
2. Marlon Manalo
3. Francisco Bustamante
4. Shane Van Boening
5. Dennis Hatch
6. Corey Deuel
7. Daryl Peach
8. Evan Broxmeyer
9. Tony Chohan
10. Matt Krah
11. Stevie Moore
12. Dennis Orcollo

Obviously, this event isn’t going to make it to prime time, but the TAR guys were nice enough to set up their gear and broadcast these events online.  You can catch the stream at http://www.theactionreport.com.

Because of the low turnout, the prize money will be paid out as follows:

1st: $20,000
2nd: $12,000
3rd/4th: $10,000
5-12th: $1000 each

$20k is a very decent prize, as are the payouts for 2-4, but to call this thing the Million Dollar Shootout takes hyperbole to a whole new level.  Not to be a downer, but you’re simply not going to find 200 players willing to pony up $5,000 to enter this thing.  The goal was to make this the WSOP for pool, but there’s a huge difference between pool and poker.  If you’re got a chip and a chair, you can win a poker tournament, but for pool you actually have to have skill.  There is no hope for some APA or VNEA player to come in and beat the likes of Johnny Archer, Shane van Boring and Francisco Bustamante.  This point is being hammered home by the last place showing of some guy named Evan Broxmeyer.  To win this style of tournament, you have to play consistently well for the entire event.  There’s no catching pocket aces or going runner runner on people in pool.

Anyway, as it stands right now, Dennis Orcollo is in the lead with 64 wins followed by Shane, Francisco and Corey with 54 wins and Johnny Archer at 53 wins.

Standings After 4 Rounds
Dennis Orcollo           64
Shane Van Boening     54
Corey Deuel                54
Francisco Bustamante 54
Johnny Archer             53
Dennis Hatch              52
Tony Chohan              52
Marlon Manolo            51
Stevie Moore               50
Darryl Peach               49
Matt Krah                    40
Evan Broxmeyer          26

I’ll be back tomorrow to give you the final results, but I really recommend you check out The Action Report and watch some of these matches live.  The TAR guys do a great job with these streaming events.