In what proved to be his best recorded earnings year at the tables (2021), Mike Gann won a stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour and finished as runner-up to Daniel Autrey in another, both at the same location; Peyton’s Place in Knoxville, TN. He shifted his Tennessee location to Hummy’s Bar (formerly, JAC’s All-American) in Newport, TN this past weekend (Sat., March 26) to chalk up a second win on the tour, taking two out of three versus Adam Pendley to claim the title. The $250-added event drew 31 entrants to Hummy’s Bar.
Gann and Pendley both had to deal with venue owner, Brady Brazell, before facing each other in the finals. Gann picked Brazell up in a winners’ side semifinal, while Pendley was battling another room owner, Josh Newman of West End Billiards in Gastonia, NC, in the other one.
Pendley sent Newman to the loss side 9-7 and was joined in the hot seat match by Gann, who’d defeated Brazell 10-4. Gann and Pendley battled to double hill, before Gann prevailed (10-8) to claim the hot seat.
Brazell and Stiltner locked up in a double hill fight that eventually sent Brazell to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Newman, who’d downed Messer 10-4.
Brazell took the room owner vs. room owner quarterfinals 7-5, and then, it was Adam Pendley’s turn to face him in the semifinals. Pendley ended Brazell’s run 9-3 for a necessary double shot at Gann in the hot seat.
With Gann racing to 10, Pendley took the opening set of the true double elimination final 9-4. In the early hours of Sunday, they repeated the five-point differential in the second set, but it was Gann who came out on top 10-5 to clinch the event title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked Brady Brazell and his Hummy’s Bar staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, BarPoolTables.net, Break Time Billiards of Winston-Salem, NC, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, Ridge Back Rails, and Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (April 2-3), will be a $500-added event, hosted by the League Room in Parkersburg, WV.
About a month short of two years ago (February 25-26, 2017), pro player Jeffrey DeLuna from the Phillipines signed on to a 65-entrant stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, being held at Janet Atwell’s room, Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN. As a professional, DeLuna had to win 13 games per match before most of his opponents chalked up eight or nine. Not surprisingly, DeLuna went undefeated through the field, but not before he was challenged twice by Brandon Kidwell, who called then and continues to call Borderline Billiards his home room. The hot seat match was something of a blowout. With Kidwell racing to 8, he managed to chalk up only three against the seasoned pro’s 13. The finals were a different story. Though DeLuna went on to defeat Kidwell a second time, it was not before Kidwell had brought him to the double-hill brink of defeat at 12-7. Had he won the match, in the double elimination format of the final, Kidwell would have had to do it again; a point rendered moot when DeLuna broke the double-hill tie and claimed the event title.
On the weekend of January 26-27, Kidwell, with two victories on the tour in his past (both prior to his meetup with DeLuna), returned to the ‘scene of the crime’, as it were, came back from a hot seat loss and defeated Scott Roberts twice to claim his first Q City 9-Ball title in a little over two years. The event drew 50 entrants to Borderline Billiards, which, thanks to Atwell, filled in an empty slot on the tour schedule just four days before it began.
Kidwell (still racing to 8, throughout) advanced through the field to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal match against 17-year-old Hunter White. Scott Roberts, in the meantime, squared off against Brandon Stiltner. Kidwell downed White 8-2 and was joined in the hot seat match by Roberts, who’d survived a double hill battle (8-5) against Stiltner. Roberts took possession of the hot seat 8-4 and waited on Kidwell’s return from the semifinals.
Over on the loss side, Stiltner ran into Brian James, who’d defeated Richard Kearsey 6-2 and June Bug (aka James Miracle) 6-3 to reach him. White picked up Mike Clevinger, who’d most recently shut out Trevor Stanley and defeated Steve Guy 6-4. James advanced 6-2 over Stiltner. White joined him in the quarterfinals after shutting Clevinger out 9-0.
James Took the quarterfinal match over White 6-3 and then locked up in a double hill battle with Kidwell in the semifinals. Kidwell dropped the 9-ball in the deciding match and turned his attention to a rematch against Roberts in a double elimination final.
In a straight-up race to 8, the first set ended with the same score as the hot seat match, although it was Kidwell who chalked up the 8 and Roberts with the 4. Roberts came back in the second set, but not by nearly enough. Kidwell claimed the title with a second-set 8-5 win.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Janet Atwell and her staff at Borderline Billiards, not only for hosting the event, but for agreeing to do so, four days ahead of the scheduled start. They also thanked 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 (Feb. 2-3), will be a $500-added event, hosted by Speak Eazy Billiards in Sanford, NC.
It is, for those keeping score, the exact same headline (with a name changed to reflect the difference) that was used to describe Raed Shabib’s last win on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour in September, 2017. On the weekend of December 15-16 in 2018, Shabib, once again, navigated his way through a field of entrants to get into the hot seat, was defeated in the first set of a double elimination final, and came back to win the second set to claim the event title. The occasion this time was the annual Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Invitational Tour Championships. The $1,000-added event drew 87 entrants to Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
This victory took a little longer, given the 3-times-plus-a-little number of entrants that were on hand at Borderline Billiards. In the time it took Shabib to get about halfway through this one, he’d already won the 2017 event. Shabib worked his way through the field to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal match against Brian James. Lee O’Neal, in the meantime, met up with Brandon Stiltner.
Shabib downed James 8-3, as O’Neal was sending Stiltner west 5-4 (Stiltner racing to 6). Shabib then claimed the hot seat 8-4 over O’Neal and waited on his return.
On the loss side, Stiltner picked up Jason Potts, who’d recently defeated Matt Shaw 7-3 and Stevie Thomas 7-1. James drew Tyler Mayfield, who’d eliminated Stevie McClinton, double hill and Mike Clevinger 6-4. Potts defeated Stiltner 7-4 and in the quarterfinals, faced James, who’d sent Mayfield home 6-4.
James advanced another step, defeating Potts 6-4 in those quarterfinals, before O’Neal downed him in the semifinals 5-4 (James racing to 6). With Shabib racing to 8, O’Neal took the opening set of the true double elimination final 5-4. Shabib came back in the second set and allowed O’Neal only a single rack to claim the event title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Janet Atwell and her Borderline Billiards staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Bar Pool Tables, Delta 13 Racks, AZ Billiards and Professor Q-Ball. The first stop on the 2019 Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour will precede the New Year by nine days. Scheduled for this weekend, December 22-23, the $500-added event ($1,000, with 50 or more entrants) will be hosted by The Steakhorse Restaurant & Billiards in Spartanburg, SC.
Event Directors note growing field for Beasley Custom Cues 9-Ball Open in June
In his first appearance and win on the Viking Cues’ Q-City 9-Ball Tour, Daniel Moore came back from a winners’ side quarterfinal loss against Mark Hurst to meet and defeat him twice in a double elimination final during the May 5-6 stop on the tour. The event drew 53 entrants to Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
Once Hurst downed Moore 6-5 in their first of three matches (Moore racing to 7), he advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Ryan Fossum. Steve Dye, in the meantime, squared off against Brady Brazell. Hurst got into the hot seat match with a 6-3 win over Fossum. Dye joined him after downing Brazell 5-4 (Brazell racing to 7). Hurst claimed the hot seat 6-3 over Dye and waited in it for the return of Moore.
Moore opened his loss side trip with a 7-1 victory over Justin Clark, and followed it with a double hill win (7-5) over Brandon Stiltner. This set him up to face Brazell. Fossum drew John Hoge, who’d defeated Shawn Martin, double hill (5-5), and shut out Mike Skeens to reach him.
Both matches for advancement to the quarterfinals went double hill; Fossum over Hoge and Moore over Brazell. Moore took the next two, 7-3, downing Fossum in the quarterfinals and Dye in the semifinals.
Moore also took the opening set of the true double elimination final against Hurst 7-3. Hurst got an extra rack in during the second set, but Moore claimed his first Q-City 9-Ball title with a 7-4 win in that second set.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Janet Atwell and her staff at Borderline Billiards (which will host the Tour Championships later this year), as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta 13 Racks, AZBilliards and Professor Q Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of May 12-13 will be hosted by Corner Pockets in Fayetteville, NC.
$10,000-added Beasley Custom Cues 9-Ball Open, set for June, is filling up
With a little over a month to go, the Beasley Custom Cues 9-Ball Open (formerly, the Don Coates Memorial) has already attracted some of the sport’s top names. Scheduled for the weekend of June 13-17 (commencing on a Wednesday) at Brass Tap & Billiards in Raleigh, NC, the $10,000-added (guaranteed) event has already signed up Johnny Archer, Sky Woodward, Rodney Morris, Brandon Shuff, and from the Philippines, Zoren James Aranas (Warren Kiamco is expected to join, but hasn’t done so, as yet). Also competing will be young, Albanian sensation Eklent (“Klenti”) Kaci, who finished as runner-up to Jayson Shaw in last October’s US Open 9-Ball Championships and chalked up two wins on the 2017 Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour.
Event directors Herman and Angela Parker are advising those who want to compete in this event to get in touch as soon as possible, as the event will be capped at 128 entrants. Anyone interested should call them at 336-686-5360.
On the weekend of April 21-22, at the Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC, Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball veteran Don Lilly was looking to chalk up his fourth tour win of the year, having won in January, and twice in February. He navigated his way through the field of 40, made it to the hot seat, downing veteran competitor Mark Tademy, and waited on the return of what turned out to be one Cameron Lawhorne, who was looking for his first victory on the tour. Lawhorne had been defeated in the event’s third round, and won seven straight on the loss side, including two back-to-back double hill matches that put him into the finals. He double dipped Lilly to claim the event title.
With the eventual winner already at work on the loss side, Lilly advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Donald Williams. Tademy, in the meantime, squared off against Tyson Key.
Lilly sent Williams to the loss side 7-2 and was joined in the hot seat match by Tademy, who’d given up only a single rack in a 10-1 victory over Key. Lilly sent Tademy to the semifinals 7-5, envisioning just one more hurdle between him and his fourth tour win.
That hurdle, Lawhorne, had chalked up two of his seven, loss-side wins when he eliminated Travis Shelton 5-4 and then, Morgan Sutherland 5-1 to draw Key. Williams drew Danny Jones, who’d gotten by Brandon Stiltner (the man who’d sent Lawhorne to the loss side in the third winners’ side round) 10-5 and Don Liebes (owner of Gate City Billiards) 10-3.
In the first of two, double hill matches, Lawhorne downed Key (5-4), and in the quarterfinals, faced Williams, who’d defeated Jones 8-1. Lawhorne then defeated Williams 5-7 (Williams racing to 8).
With Tademy racing to 10, Lawhorne denied him a second shot at Lilly with a 5-8 win in the semifinals. Lawhorne went on to win both sets of the true double elimination final against Lilly (racing to 7), giving up four racks in the first set and none at all in the second.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Don Liebes and his Gate City Billiards Club staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta 13 Racks, AZBilliards and Professor Q Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for April 28-29, will be hosted by The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
Eighteen months ago, Dustin Coe split a two-set final with Mike Hancock, winning the second set to capture his first Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour title at Janet Atwell’s Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN. On the weekend of January 20-21, he was having none of that. At an event that drew 53 entrants to Borderline Billiards, he took the opening set of a true double elimination final against Dalton Messer to chalk up his second Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball title.
Coe faced separate opponents in the hot seat and finals of this one. He got into the hot seat match with a 6-3 win over Mike Chapman, while Messer was being defeated by 15-year-old Cameron Lawhorne 5-3. Coe claimed the hot seat with a 6-1 victory over Lawhorne and waited on Messer’s return.
On the loss side, Messer picked up Scott Howard, who’d defeated Bear Mullins 7-4 and Brandon Kidwell 7-5 to reach him. Chapman drew Brandon Stiltner, who’d eliminated his older brother, Junior Stiltner, and Matt Shaw, both 6-2.
Messer advanced to the quarterfinals 5-4 over Howard (Howard racing to 7). Chapman did not. He was downed by Stiltner 6-3. Messer took completely different paths to win his next two matches and a shot at Coe in the hot seat. He shut out Stiltner 5-0 in the quarterfinals and then, survived a double hill match against Lawhorne in the semifinals.
Coe was taking no chances. He came out gunning in the opening set, allowing Messer only a single rack to claim his second Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Janet Atwell and her staff at Borderline Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta 13 Racks, AZBilliards and Professor Q Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of January 27-28, will be hosted by Corner Pockets in Fayetteville, NC.
JT Ringgold chalked up his eighth win on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour on the weekend of December 2-3; the most of any competitor on the tour in the five years of its existence. He did so by defeating Zach Leonard two out of the three times they met at the event that drew 35 entrants to the Gate City Billiards Club in the tour’s backyard, Greensboro, NC.
They met first in the hot seat match. Ringgold had sent Mike McPherson to the loss side 10-5, as Leonard was defeating Jose Irizarry 7-5 in the two winners’ side semifinals. With Leonard racing to 7, Ringgold claimed the hot seat 10-3 and waited for Leonard to get back from the overall event semifinals.
On the loss side, McPherson picked up Jim Lewis, who’d downed Ken Mizelle 8-2 and Daniel Adams 8-4 to reach him. Irizarry drew Josh Williams, who, in his most recent two matches, had given up only two racks over 14 games (one each) to Cameron Lawhorne and Brandon Stiltner.
Williams gave up four racks to Irizarry, but not before he’d chalked up his requisite six to advance to the quarterfinals. McPherson joined him on the heels of a 7-5 win over Lewis. Williams stepped back into his established pattern, giving up only a single rack to McPherson in the quarterfinals.
Leonard ended Williams’ bid for a spot in the finals with a 7-4 win in the semifinals. He employed the momentum to win the first set of the finals 7-7 (Ringgold racing to 10). Ringgold was shy by three racks in that first set. Leonard came up three short in the second set, as Ringgold won it 10-4 to claim the event title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Gate City Billiards Club, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta 13 Racks, AZBilliards and Professor Q Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (December 9-10), will be hosted by Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
As the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour geared up for its first of two tour championships this coming weekend, the competitor who finished 7th in this past January’s tour championship, Blade Best, traveled to Bristol, TN on the weekend of October 21-22 to compete on the tour, and went undefeated to claim the title. The event drew 33 entrants to Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
Best, who faced separate opponents in the hot seat match and finals, got into the hot seat match following a 6-3 win over Brandon Stiltner in one of the two winners’ side semifinals. Randall Bowman, in the meantime, defeated Best’s eventual finals opponent, Doug Shulz 7-5. Best claimed the hot seat 6-4 and waited for Shulz to complete his three-match, loss-side trip to the finals.
Shulz and Adams advanced to the quarterfinals; Shulz, double hill over Bingham and Adams, 8-4 over Stiltner. Shulz took the next two matches by the same 8-2 score, over Adams in the quarterfinals, and Bowman in the semifinals. Best, though, ended Shulz’ run with a 6-5, single-set victory in the double elimination finals (Shulz racing to 8) to claim the event title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Janet Atwell and her staff at Borderline Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta 13 Racks, AZBilliards and Professor Q Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour will be the first of two Tour Championships, the first, this weekend (October 28-29), will be a $1,000-added event on the bar tables of Cue Time in Spartanburg, SC. The event will be by invitation to the tour’s top 100 competitors. The full-table tour championship dates will be announced at a later date.
