True Tales from the Derby City Classic

Reyes was all over the posters for past champions, but fell short this year.

What are the chances?

In what other sport can you bump into the greatest player of the last quarter century - if not all time - on your way to get a plate of nachos? Chances are Derek Jeter isn't standing in the concession line at Yankee Stadium. Probably the same for Kobe Bryant in L.A.

But this is pool, where a $10 VIP ticket can get you within five feet of Efren Reyes while he does what he does better than anyone on the planet. Pay the $150 entry fee for the 9-ball division, and you can have a shot at playing him.

In the eighth round of 9-ball, regional tour regular Michael Fuller drew Reyes. After a mental game of ping-pong - I get to play Efren, but I have to play Efren - Fuller decided to just see what happens.

"I was excited to play him," Fuller said. "I'm hoping to draw the best players because I never get to play them. I want to get the experience."

Not only did he get an experience, the 31-year-old from Roxboro, N.C., ended Reyes' 2008 Derby City Classic. Fuller celebrated the 7-5 win with a quick smile to his friends, doing his best to keep up a been-there-done-that facade.

"I ain't used to playing those caliber of players," he admitted. "I was nervous the whole time."

Trailing 5-3 and awaiting Reyes' break, Fuller could have simply assumed the role of tourist. But he got an opportunity when Reyes broke dry. He cleaned up the open table, and ran the next two racks to get on the hill, 6-5.

During the final rack, Fuller tried to detach himself from the situation, although his shirt was visibly shaking - his frayed nerves still firing during his final shots.

"I tried to just picture I was playing a ghost," he said, "Just picture there wasn't anybody in the room. That eliminated a lot of pressure."

Fuller made it through the rack to take the set, 7-5, on his way to finishing seventh in the 9-ball division.

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