Though Bruce Luttrell would win the opening set of the finals, Zach Robbins ended up defeating him twice on the weekend of September 6-7 to claim his first Great Southern Billiard Tour title. The $1,000-added event drew 64 entrants to Legends Billiards in Inman, SC.

 

Robbins and Luttrell met first in a winners' side quarterfinal, which sent Luttrell on a five-match, loss-side journey to meet Robbins again in the finals. Robbins went on to face Cliff Cribb in a winners' side semifinal, as Marty White squared off against Robb Hart. Robbins got into the hot seat match with an 8-6 win over Cribb, and faced White, who'd sent Hart west 5-3. Robbins got into the GSBT hot seat for the first time with an 8-4 win against White. It would be Robbins' second trip to a GSBT final, having come from the loss side to face Mike Wise in the finals of a December 2012 event at the same location.

 

On the loss side, Luttrell began his trip back to the finals with a 7-7 win over Paul Bailey, and followed it with a 7-2 victory against Brian Ervin. This set Luttrell up to face Hart. Cribb drew Jake Medlin, who'd shut out John Bannister, and defeated Bill Eisenhard 3-4. Medlin chalked up another 3-4 victory, this time against Cribb, and in the quarterfinals, faced Luttrell, who'd eliminated Hart 7-2.

 

Luttrell downed Medlin 7-2, and got his second chance against Robbins with a 7-3 victory over White in the semifinals. Luttrell took the opening set of the finals 7-3, but Robbins came back in the second set to win 8-5, claiming his first GSBT title.

In winning his third overall Great Southern Billiard Tour title on the weekend of July 12-13, B.J. Hucks had to contend with a very determined Paul Bailey, who lost his opening match and embarked on a nine-match, loss-side winning streak that put him into the finals, late on Saturday night. Hucks prevailed to go undefeated in the $1,000-added event which drew 38 entrants to Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

 

Before Hucks could contend with Bailey, at work on his loss-side streak of victories, Hucks advanced to a winners' semifinal against Guy Faulk; a formidable challenge, with Hucks needing to reach nine games before Faulk won three. Josh Richard and Bruce Luttrell squared off in the other. Hucks downed Faulk double hill, 9-2, as Richard sent Luttrell to the losers' bracket 5-3. Hucks got into the hot seat with a 9-2 win over Richard and waited for Bailey to complete his loss-side run.

 

With four down and five to go, Bailey defeated Gatlin Askins 6-3 and Dennis Rose 6-2, to pick Luttrell. Faulk drew Cliff Cribb, who'd gotten by Hank Warner 7-3 and Keith Crawford 7-2. Bailey eliminated Luttrell 6-5, and in the quarterfinals, met up with Faulk, who'd defeated Cribb 3-5. Again, Faulk's handicap brought his opponent, in this case, Bailey, to the brink. Bailey prevailed 6-2 and moved right into another double hill fight; this time, against Richard in the semifinals. 

 

Bailey won his second straight double hill battle, and completed his nine-win, loss-side streak for a crack at Hucks in the hot seat. Hucks ended the streak with a 9-3 victory in the finals.

 

The biggest story of the Great Southern Billiard Tour's 7th Annual Tour Championship weekend, December 13-15, was Alex Olinger, who won 12 straight matches – 10 on the loss side and two in the finals – to claim the 9-Ball title. In the 8-ball tournament, Mike Brown went undefeated to claim that title; his first on the GSBT. The $5,000-guaranteed purse events ($2,500 each) drew 90 entrants – 44 in 8-ball and 46 in 9-ball, with some duplication – to Michael's Billiards in Fairfield, OH, which was hosting the event for the second year in a row.

 

Olinger began his loss-side march when Louis Altes took him down 7-7 in the second round; Olinger was racing to 10. Altes would move on and advance to a winners' side semifinal against Danny Smith, who was looking to end 2012 the way he had started it, with a win (He took first place in last January's Music City Classic). In the other winners' side semifinal, Kenny Tran faced Brandon Thomas (the son in a father/son pair that competed; against each other in 8-ball). 

 

Tran won 7-5, and Smith sent Altes over 11-5. With Smith racing to 11, Tran won his final match, moving into the hot seat 7-7. Olinger was on his way.

 

By the time the loss side got into its money rounds, Olinger was just over halfway home; six down, four to go for a shot at Tran in the hot seat. He took down Bill Tremble 10-3 and Bruce Luttrell 10-5, which set him up to face Brandon Thomas. Altes picked up Timmy Heath, who'd defeated Corey Morphew 7-5, and Jeremy Seaman 7-7. Olinger got his re-match versus Altes, but only just, as Thomas battled him to double hill. Altes, in the meantime, eliminated Heath 7-5.

 

Olinger sent Altes home 10-4 in the quarterfinals that followed, and then, locked up in a double hill semifinal battle with Danny Smith. With Smith racing to 11, Olinger prevailed 10-10 and moved on to face Tran. 

 

With Tran, in the hot seat, racing to seven, Olinger took the opening set of the finals double hill (10-6). He took the second set 10-5 to claim the GSBT 9-Ball Championship title.

 

In the 8-ball tournament, Ohio's Mike Brown was the main story, as he went undefeated to claim his first-ever win on the Great Southern Billiard Tour.  Brown's trip to the hot seat dodged a bit of a bullet, as Danny Smith, who finished third in the 9-ball event, advanced to the winners' side final four, and eventually finished fourth in the 8-ball event. Brown faced Jeremy Seaman among the winners' side final four, and looking for a second hot seat match, Smith faced Chris Bosse.

 

With Seaman racing to 8, Brown got into the hot seat match 6-6, as Bosse was busy sending Smith to the loss side 5-3. Brown defeated Bosse 6-3 to claim the hot seat and waited on what turned out to be the return of Seaman.

 

Smith moved to the loss side and ran into Russell Thomas, who'd shut out Samantha Patton, and then defeated his own son, Brandon 5-4 (Brandon racing to 6). Seaman picked up Jason Thomas (no relation), who'd survived a double hill match versus Shannon Murphey, and eliminated Timmy Heath 6-3. Smith made short work of the elder Thomas 8-2, and in the quarterfinals, faced Seaman, who'd ended Jason Thomas' run, double hill.

 

In a straight-up race to 8, Seaman dropped Smith into fourth place, and then survived a double hill matchup against Bosse (8-4) in the semifinals. The Brown/Seaman re-match was a replay of their first meeting among the winners' side final four. With Seaman racing to 8, Brown prevailed 6-6 to claim the 8-ball title.

 

Shannon Daulton and Marge Cooper thanked Mike Medley and his staff at Michael's Billiards and Games, as well as sponsors Nick Varner Cues & Cases, Delta 13 Racks, Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Tiger Products, Ozone Billiards and Lomax Custom Cues.

Justin Bergman took the second set of a true double elimination final against Bruce Luttrell to win the 3rd Annual Big Muddy Freeroll Tournament, held on the weekend of September 14-15. The $2,500-added, handicapped event, which did not require an entry fee, drew 107 entrants to The Billiard Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

 

With players racing to their handicap number, from 4 to 14, Bergman was one of a handful playing at the top end of the system. He faced Bruce Luttrell, racing to 8, three times; once in the hot seat match, and twice in the finals, winning two double hill matches of those three.

 

From among the winners' side final four, Bergman met up with Robert Frost (12), as Luttrell was facing Jimmy Lang (10). Bergman sent Frost to the left bracket 14-10, as Luttrell was downing Lang, 8-5. In their first of two straight double hill matches Bergman prevailed 14-7, and sat in the hot seat, waiting for Luttrell to return from the semifinals.

 

Lang moved over and met up with Skyler Woodward (one of three, among the event's final 12, racing to 14), who'd defeated Drake Niepoetter 14-5 and Shane McMinn (another player racing to 14) 14-7. Frost drew Brady Behrman, who'd defeated Devin Poteet 10-7, and Dustin Roach 10-5. Roach, having previously defeated Drake Niepoetter's father, Dale, was, in effect, instrumental in seeing to it that father and son got to leave the tournament together, at the same time.

 

Frost downed Behrman 12-6, as Woodward handed Lang his second straight loss 14-6. A double hill fight ensued in the quarterfinals with Woodward prevailing over Frost to meet Luttrell, who at this point, racing to 8, was looking at three straight matches against two players racing to 14, in order to win the thing. He jumped the first hurdle with a 7-8 victory over Woodward in the semifinals, to earn his second, and hopefully, third shot against Bergman.

 

Luttrell took full advantage, winning the opening set of the true double elimination final 7-7. Bergman rallied, though, and took the second set 14-5 to claim the event title.

 

In addition to the standard payouts, the tournament paid $200 each to the top "B" and "C" finishers in the tournament. Andy Auer took home the $200, "B" prize, while 12-year-old Matt Wisely captured the "C" money.