The Great Southern Billiard Tour grabbed the attention of Breakers Billiards in Rock Hill, South Carolina the weekend of September 15th and 16th with their $1500 added Mid-Carolina Classic II event. Even though there were many events in the region over this particular weekend, the caliber of play within the thirty-two player field in attendance was not lacking in the least.
Some of the players attending the event were Shannon Daulton, Gabe Owen, Jeff Abernathy, Sparky Ferrell, Gene Cooper, Norris Brady, and Josh Roberts. After an exciting day of play on Saturday, the field had lingered down to the final sixteen that would start the day out on Sunday at 2 p.m.:
Winners side:
Shannon Daulton over Jeff Abernathy 9-5
Gabe Owen over Chris Steele 9-4
Sparky Ferrell over Matt Reed 9-7
Gene Cooper over Norris Brady 9-8
One loss side:
Josh Newman over Kevin Ferrell
Jared McGee over Brian Ripoli
Josh Roberts over Michael Haas
Jeff Peele over Dusty Norris
The action continued with Jeff Peele overcoming Chris Steele on the hill (7-6), Jeff Abernathy defeating Josh Newman 7-4, Norris Brady eliminating Josh Roberts 7-3, and Sparky Ferrell moving on in the tournament over Jared McGee 7-5.
This took the field down to four players on the winner's side, which would later reflect wins for Owen over Daulton 9-5, and Reed over Cooper 9-8. On the one-loss side Abernathy defeated Cooper 7-3, and Daulton ended over Brady 7-3.
The hot-seat match saw Gabe Owen coming out slightly ahead of Matt Reed with a final score of 9-7, while Shannon Daulton was taking over Jeff Abernathy 7-4 in their match. This set-up Shannon Daulton versus Matt Reed, with Reed eventually taking the win over Daulton 7-4 to get to Owen in the finals.
Matt Reed (from Hickory, NC) had been playing strong all weekend, but he obviously had his hands full in the final match with Gabe Owen as Owen jumped out with a quick 7-3 lead. Although Reed was down numerous games, he was able to get back into the set to pull the match a bit closer. Unfortunately, he was unable to take the lead and for the second time this weekend, ended with a loss to Owen of 9-7.
Congratulations to Gabe Owen and Matt Reed for a great tournament. In addition to these two winners of the event, the highest lady finisher, Amy Peele, was awarded a $50 prize for her play.
Thanks to Jeff and Amy Peele for hosting the event – they have a great room where players really enjoy coming to play. The next Great Southern Billiard Tour event will be held September 29th and 30th at Sporty's in Greenville, South Carolina.
