Until this past weekend, Brandon Butts had cashed only twice on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, finishing 5th at a benefit for Anthony Mabe this past June and 4th at a stop on the tour in February, 2020. Third time, they say, is a charm and it worked for Butts this past weekend, as he went undefeated, earning more in one appearance than he’d made in the other two combined. The Saturday, Oct. 3 event, undoubtedly ‘hurt’ in the attendance department by drawing a number of tour regulars to an event in Aiken, SC (the inaugural Omega Diamond Classic), drew 26 entrants to Still Cluckin’ in Providence, NC.
Butts and Billie Spadafora advanced to the winners’ side semifinal; Butts, facing Mike Powell and Spadafora, going up against Juan Rojas. Butts and Powell fought to a 9th deciding game, which advanced Butts to the hot seat match. Spadafora joined him after sending Rojas to the loss side 5-1. Butts’ tour win was preceded by his first appearance in a hot seat match, which he won 5-3 to claim his first hot seat.
Powell and Rojas got right back to work on the loss side. Powell faced Jason Rogers, who’d recently shut out Chris Knakal and survived a double hill fight versus Paul Johnson. Rojas picked up Daniel Guill, who’d won two straight double hill matches, against Thomas Sansone and Collin Hall, to reach him. Advancing to the first money round, the quarterfinals, Powell downed Rogers 5-6 (Rogers racing to 8), while Rojas eliminated Guill 6-1.
Powell and Rojas fought a double hill battle in those quarterfinals, which eventually sent Powell to the semifinals. Spadafora then spoiled Powell’s hope of a rematch versus Butts in the finals by defeating him 5-2. Butts then spoiled Spadafora’s realized rematch against him with a 5-2 win in the finals to claim his first tour title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Still Cluckin’, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Diamond Brat, Federal Savings Bank’s Mortgage Division and AZBilliards. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (Oct. 9-10), will be hosted by Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
Billy Walker and BJ Ussery met three times in last weekend’s (Feb. 8-9) Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour stop in Lynchburg, VA. According to FargoRate calculations, Walker, rated at 532, came into the match with a 10.2% chance of defeating the 732-rated Ussery in a match, with Ussery racing to 11 and Walker to 6. They met three times; once, in the hot seat match and twice in the finals. Walker took two out of three of those matches to claim the event title and presumably up his Fargo Rate in the process. He was looking for and eventually secured his first Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour title and, in fact, his first recorded title anywhere. The $1,000-added event drew 46 entrants to The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
Ussery’s races to 11 can make his path to a winners’ circle tricky. Case in point: his winners’ side semifinal match against Billie Spadafora, who was racing to 5. They battled to double hill before Ussery won his 11th game and advanced to the hot seat match. Walker joined him after defeating Zach Hampton 6-4 in the other winners’ side semifinal. Walker then took the first of three against Ussery 6-8 to claim the hot seat.
On the loss side, Hampton picked up Janet Atwell, who’d defeated Victor Williams 7-1 and Dylan Carr 7-2. Spadafora would have drawn Jordyn Worley, who’d shut out Jonathan Ailstock and downed Collin Hall 4-3 to reach him (Hall racing to 7), but Spadafora did not make it back to the event’s second day.
Worley leapfrogged into the quarterfinals, where she was joined by Hampton, who’d eliminated Atwell 9-4. Worley took another step, downing Hampton 4-3 (Hampton racing to 9) in those quarterfinals.
Ussery put a stop to Worley’s aspirations with an 11-2 win in the semifinals that followed and then, riding that intangible mount known as momentum, took the opening set of the final against Walker. But just barely, with Walker chalking up a 5th rack to force a deciding 16th game. Ussery won that game and the opening set. Walker, though, had plenty left in the ‘tank’ and took the second set 6-9 to claim his first event title on the tour.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at The Clubhouse, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Bar Pool Tables, Delta 13 Racks, AZ Billiards and Professor Q-Ball. The next stop on the tour, scheduled for Feb. 15-16, will be a $1,000-added Scotch Double event (combined high handicap of 15), hosted by Break & Run Billiards in Chesnee, SC.
Until the weekend of September 7-8, Kelly Farrar had cashed in only three events on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, finishing 4th twice (both times in May, 2018 and 2019) and 5th once (this past April). In a relatively small field on hand for the tour stop at Brown’s Billiards in Raleigh (18 entrants) this past weekend, he went undefeated to claim his first tour title.
He defeated Scott Johnson, also looking for his first tour win, twice to do it. Johnson had only cashed twice previously on the tour, finishing 3rd a little over a month ago (July) and was runner-up to JT Ringgold at a stop in April, 2016.
They advanced through the short field to a winners’ side semifinal match. Farrar faced Travis Guerra, as Johnson met up with Gary South. Johnson sent South west 7-3. He was joined in the hot seat match by Farrar, who’d given up only a single rack to Geurra in a 6-1 victory. With Johnson racing to 7, Farrar defeated him double hill (6-6) and sat in the hot seat, awaiting his return.
On the loss side, Guerra drew Josh Shultz, who’d defeated Brian Overman 6-4 and Steve Jenkins 6-2 to reach him. South picked up Tanya Parsley, who’d been defeated in the opening round of play by Ricky Dickson and was in the midst of a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would take her as far as the semifinals. She’d recently shut out Billie Spadafora and defeated David Strum 4-3 (Strum racing to 6).
Both matches for advancement to the quarterfinals went double hill, with Guerra downing Shultz 6-5 and Parsley knocking off South 4-6 (South racing to 7). With Guerra racing to 6, Parsley won the quarterfinal match 4-4.
Johnson was able to put an end to Parsley’s winning streak in the semifinals, but not before she’d brought him to the brink and forced a 10th and deciding game. Johnson’s 7-3 win gave him a second shot at Farrar in the hot seat. Farrar, though, improved on his hot seat performance with a 6-4 win over Johnson in the finals.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Brown’s Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Bar Pool Tables, Delta 13 Racks, AZ Billiards and Professor Q-Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (September 14-15), will be the $500-added North Carolina State 8-Ball Championships ($1,000-added with field of 64), hosted by Randolph’s Billiards in Hickory, NC.
“Nothing in the world,” said McDonald’s founder, Ray Kroc, “can take the place of perseverance.”
“Not,” he went on to say, “talent. . . genius. . . or education. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Take the case of one Travis Worden, a relative newcomer to the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, who, on the weekend of August 18-19, found himself in a hot seat match against tour veteran Hank Powell. It didn’t go well. Worden failed to chalk up a single rack against Powell. He did, however, apply some of the referenced perseverance, came back from the semifinals and downed Powell twice, both times double hill, to claim his first Q City 9-Ball title. The event, originally scheduled to be held at Shotmaker’s in Garner, NC, ran into some conflicting schedule issues and shifted location to Buck’s Billiards, where it drew 19 entrants.
Their first meeting followed a 6-2 victory for Worden over Christy Norris in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Powell, in the meantime, was locked up in a double hill fight against Barry Mashburn in the other winners’ side semifinal. Powell prevailed 7-8 (Mashburn racing to 9) and then promptly shut Worden out to claim the hot seat.
On the loss side, Norris picked up Billie Spadafora, who’d defeated Richard Lynch 5-3 and youngster Joey Tate 5-4 (Tate racing to 7). Mashburn drew Brian Overman, who’d eliminated Josh Shultz 6-3 and Donald Williams 6-4.
Spadafora and Overman handed Norris and Mashburn their second straight loss; Spadafora, 5-3 over Norris and Overman, double hill over Mashburn (6-8 with Mashburn racing to 9). Spadafora and Overman locked up in a double hill quarterfinal match, eventually won by Spadafora who advanced to face the about-to-persevere Travis Worden.
Worden defeated Spadafora 6-3 and turned to face Powell in the hot seat. With Powell racing to 7, Worden battled to double hill in the opening set and won it 6-6. This is about the time that a hot seat occupant generally realizes that it’s time to get serious and put his/her challenger away.
Didn’t happen. Worden fought Powell to a second double hill juncture and won the second set 6-6, as well. Worden claimed his first Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Buck’s Billiards for their ongoing and on this particular weekend, last-minute hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Bar Pool Tables, Delta 13 Racks, AZ Billiards and Professor Q-Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (August 24-25), will be a $500-added event ($1,000 with 64 or more entrants) hosted by Break & Run Billiards in Chesnee, SC.
Until this past weekend, Brandon Butts had cashed only twice on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, finishing 5th at a benefit for Anthony Mabe this past June and 4th at a stop on the tour in February, 2020. Third time, they say, is a charm and it worked for Butts this past weekend, as he went undefeated, earning more in one appearance than he’d made in the other two combined. The Saturday, Oct. 3 event, undoubtedly ‘hurt’ in the attendance department by drawing a number of tour regulars to an event in Aiken, SC (the inaugural Omega Diamond Classic), drew 26 entrants to Still Cluckin’ in Providence, NC.
