Pearl mounts comeback, SVB takes cheese

SVB with his big checks for winning the DCC

Earl Strickland had a great run during this year's Derby City Classic. He placed high in the nine-ball field, and only fell a few balls short of winning the One-Pocket division outright. He beat Shannon "The Cannon" Daulton in the semi-finals (3-2 in a close match), and then narrowly lost to Shane Van Boening in the finals 2-3.  The Pearl expresses a few choice words after his One-Pocket defeat in the video above.

Van Boening went on to place second in the nine-ball division and took the Master of the Table award.  Dennis Orcollo won the nine-ball division (check out the video in the blog post below). Alex Pagulayan won the Nine-Ball Banks division, and placed second in the Straight Pool Challenge.  The Straight Pool Challenge went to Darren Appleton.  Rodney "The Rocket" Morris won the Fatboy 10-ball challenge, beating out Appleton in the final.

If you're trying to keep up, here's the list:

Derby City Classic, 2011

Master of the Table: Shane Van Boening

Nine-Ball: Dennis Orcollo (Second: Shane Van Boening)

One-Pocket: Shane Van Boening (Second: Earl Strickland)

Nine-Ball Banks: Alex Pagulayan

Fatboy 10-Ball Challenge: Rodney Morris (Second: Darren Appleton)

Straight Pool Challenge: Darren Appleton (Second Niels Feijen)

-- R.A. Dyer

The History of Pool Cue Abuse

Earl Strickland's emotional outbursts have earned him a lot of criticism over the years. But judging from internet traffic, they also have brought a lot of attention to the sport. As of March 7, 2010, the image of Earl smashing his pool cue in frustration during a Mosconi Cup event has been viewed 181,233 times (181,238 if you count the five times I watched it that day). I've included the video, above, for your amusement.

But know that Earl is not alone for engaging in such over-the-top antics. Some of the very greatest players in our sport have been known to snap a cue -- or worse -- in a fit of pique. Check out, for instance, the-- R.A. Dyer