Appleton Proves 10-Ball Domination

by InsidePOOL Staff

The first division of the 16th Annual U.S. Bar Table Championships ended with Darren “Dynamite” Appleton taking down the hefty $5,000 first-place prize. The Sands Regency Hotel and Casino in Reno, NV, is hosting the week-long event, which has a $24,500-added prize fund.

After besting 2007 Player of the Year Shane Van Boening 7-5 and sending the “South Dakota Kid” home in fifth place, Glen Atwell continued to make his way through the one-loss side by eliminating Steve Moore in fourth place 7-3. After Adam Behnke lost hill-hill in the first round of the 9-ball division, which began Wednesday evening, he immediately had to play in the semifinals against Atwell. It was too much for Behnke, for Atwell swept the match 7-0 to advance to the finals. 

Appleton, the reigning world 10-ball champion, enjoyed an undefeated run to the finals, but he faced off against some tough opponents. After easing by Mark Tadd 7-5, he faced off with Stan Tourangeau, whom he defeated 7-4. A hill-hill battle with Van Boening followed, leading up to the hot seat match with Behnke, whom he sent to the west side of the chart with a 7-2 victory. In the double-elimination finals, Atwell had to best Appleton twice for the win. He never even won two racks—Appleton came through practically unscathed with a 7-1 victory to take the title.

In the 9-ball division, which began Wednesday evening, a lot of the bigger name players have made an early visit to the west side of the chart. Defending all-around champion Johnathan “Hennessee” Pinegar was defeated by Van Boening in the fourth round 9-4, while Rafael Martinez lost in the same round to Appleton 9-1. Brandon Shuff  lost his hill-hill match against Joey Gray, but Gray misread the brackets for the next round and forfeited his match to Jeremy Sossei. 

The first division of the 16th Annual U.S. Bar Table Championships ended with Darren “Dynamite” Appleton taking down the hefty $5,000 first-place prize.

10-Ball Results:

1st Darren Appleton $5,000

2nd Glen Atwell $3,000

3rd Adam Behnke $2,000

4th Steve Moore $1,000

5th Shane Van Boening $700 

Jose Parica

7th Larry Wilson $500

Joey Gray

9th Stan Tourangeau $300 

Johnathan Pinegar

Mark Tadd

Rafael Martinez

13th Brandon Shuff $175

Jerry Matchin

Vince Tedesco

David Vaughn

17th Arlo Walsman $125

Austin Murphy

Bob Halloran

Warren Costanzo

Edwin Montal

Jay Jensen

Tyler Edey

Nick Kruger