Corey Deuel Takes Down Shane Van Boening in the Inaugural Million Dollar 9-Ball Shootout in Valley Forge

On Sunday August 10th, history was made in Valley Forge as the first-ever Million Dollar 9-Ball Shootout, presented by Allen Hopkins, came to a close.

The event started out with twelve top professional pool players from around the world, and was narrowed down to the four players who competed in a single-elimination format on Sunday, for a shot at a $20,000 first prize–as well as a stunning diamond bracelet.

The championship match was set once Shane Van Boening and Corey Deuel thrashed Dennis Orcullo and Francisco Bustamante, respectively.

Just over a year ago, these two champions competed in another historical event: the first Action Report action challenge, a winner-take-all race to 100 for $20,000, where Van Boening defeated Deuel 100-70.

If you have seen these two champions play before, you know that this match could really be called “The Hard Break versus the Soft Break” as Van Boening is known for his powerhouse explosive breaks, while Deuel virtually patented the “soft break.” It was an interesting dynamic to see such polar opposites compete–especially because the break is so crucial.

Both of these players have very impressive resumes, with Shane Van Boening having a particularly tremendous year–claiming the 2007 US Open title, the Predator World 10-Ball Championship title, and being named the 2007 player of the year by Billiards Digest, Inside Pool, and Pool and Billiard magazines.

Van Boening and Deuel faced off on Sunday evening at 5:00, in a race to 13. Shane Van Boening’s confident presence at the table, was as always, electrifying. At times, I might even call watching him at the table a religious experience. However, at one game apiece, the tone of this match was already starting to reveal itself, with Van Boening missing a four-ball that he would typically make in his sleep, allowing Deuel to run out. From there on out, Deuel kept a steady lead, making very few errors, both in cue ball control and shot-making.

What I see as the turning point of this match is in game 16, with Deuel ahead 9-7. In the CueTable.com diagram below, Shane is at the table with no shot at the 1-ball, after Corey played kick safety. Shane attempted to play a safety by shooting the cue ball into the one (using slow speed) to intentionally double-kiss, holding the 1-ball and intending to hide the cue ball downtable behind the 9-ball. Instead, the cue ends up on the other side of the 9-ball, leaving Corey a shot.

Although Shane left Corey a shot, he could only shoot the 2-ball in the upper left-hand corner pocket. So, when he shot the 1-ball, he used lower left-hand English to spin the cue ball back for position on the 2-ball, as seen below. Corey executed this shot perfectly–accompanied by the crowd’s applause–to then run out the rack to make the score 10-7.

After Van Boening’s “safety gone wrong,” the final nail in his coffin came when he rattled a 1-ball after Deuel’s dry break–allowing Deuel to run out, again. Deuel continued to dominate the rest of the match, winning the next three games with a break-and-run on the hill, for a final score of 13-7… walking away with $20,000 and a diamond bracelet displaying the words “9 BALL.” Congratulations to both players for a great showing at this awesome event.

Throughout the Action Report was in full force, keeping the world on the pulse of pool. The Action Report (TAR) provided live streaming coverage from their website, where you will also be able to purchase DVD’s of feature matches from the event soon.

I also want to congratulate Allen Hopkins for a beautifully run tournament… pool fans everywhere look forward to the future progress of the Million Dollar 9 Ball Shootout, as it is bound to create a buzz throughout the pool world. It was great to see these top-caliber players compete in a format with longer sets, and of course–high stakes.

Also look for Allen Hopkins and his team to debut the Million Dollar Pool League–an opportunity for players to qualify to enter into future Million Dollar 9-Ball Shootout events–without putting up the $5000 entry fee!

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Results:
1st: Corey Deuel $20,000
2nd: Shane Van Boening $12,000
3rd-4th: Dennis Orcullo, Francisco Bustamante $10,000
5th-12th: Johnny Archer, Steve Moore, Matt Krah, Dennis Hatch, Tony Chohan, Daryl Peach, Marlon Manalo, Evan Broxmeyer $1,000