Each year thousands of pool players come to Southern Indiana to participate in the Derby City Classic. This annual event offers a variety competitions such as 9-Ball Banks, One Pocketet and the BIGFOOT 10 ball challenge.
In 1998, the Derby City Classic's first event was held. Greg Sullivan was a long-time fan of the Johnston City Hustlers Jamboree in the 1960s and created the tournament. Sullivan worked with the Pantone Company on a research project to determine the best color for pool cloth. The results of the testing by the Pantone Company led to Tournament Blue being the most popular color in professional tournaments.
2003 was the second year of the event. The World Pool Alliance sponsored the tournament, which featured many top players. The tournament started with nine balls banks. Then came the one-pocket, and finally the BIGFOOT ten-ball challenge. The tournament was held in the Caesars Southern Indiana Casino in Elizabeth, Indiana. There were many vendors at the event, as well as ring games and cash games. The tournament took place at 53 9-foot Diamond tables.
A number of players were there for their first Derby City Classic appearance. Aside from the tournament, the event also featured a number of special events, including the Diamond Ten-Foot challenge, a small field of pros. The challenge is played on five-foot-by-ten-foot tables. The winner takes home $16,000. The winners of the nine ball bank and one pocket contests each take home $8,000. BIGFOOT's 10-ball challenge was the first event in the Derby City Classic. It is a small field with professionals competing for the title BIGFOOT champion.
2006 was the third year of the event. The tournament featured a number of players who had been in the field for their first Derby City Classic event. Corey Deuel, Dennis Grabe, and Lee Vann all played well in the 9-ball bank and one-pocket events. The other players were not quite as successful. Darren Appleton was able to finish third in the One-Pocket. Appleton also did well with his algorithm in the Derby Cup and earned a third-place finish.
The last event was held in 2015. There were many players who had never played in a Derby City Classic event before. Corey Deuel was a good player, as were Darren Appleton and Lee Vann. Joshua Filler was able to secure a third-place finish in the onepocket. Efren, Mika and Shane VanBoening were there as well.
The Derby City Classic is an annual pool tournament that is held at the Caesars Southern Indiana Casino in Elizabeth, IN. It offers a variety of competitions including nine-ball banking, one-pocket and the BIGFOOT-10-ball challenge. The event takes place in January. Tickets will go on sale January 20th. Tickets can also be purchased at Derby City Classic, located at Caesars Southern Indiana Casino & Hotel. For tickets to be purchased, you must show a valid picture ID.