In the semifinals, Reyes was pitted against Immonen who had been the fortunate recipient of two byes o­n finals day. The New York-based Finn’s luck ran out against Reyes, though, and he was given almost no makeable shots as Reyes cruised to a 7-0 shutout.In the other semifinal, a long wait for dinner at a local restaurant and bad traffic caused Saez to arrive 15 minutes late for his match with Baraks. Saez never looked comfortable, and the cool-stroking Illinois cue man ran out an easy 7-1 victor.

A packed crowd in the TV arena was then treated to a Reyes master class as he defeated Baraks 7-1 playing virtually flawless pool. After rolling in the winning 9 ball, the delighted Reyes waved his cue to the crowd to hail his historic victory.  “I was lucky in the semifinal against Mika, but I played really good in the final. The key for me is breaking well, and I found a way to make a ball o­n every break, so I aimed the same and played the same speed every time. I’m fifty, so I don’t know how long I can play so good, so this is great.”

With that, the 2005 Derby City Classic came to a close. There have been over 1,000 entries to the marathon of banks, o­ne-pocket, and 9-ball pool, but at the end, Reyes was the undisputed master.

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the world of billiards and pool.