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Holmes/Lee return from hot seat loss to win Scotch Doubles on Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour

Jason Holmes and Sean Lee

They’re crowd pleasers, participating and watching crowds. No denying that, even though as scintillating top-notch pool action, they generally leave much to be desired. They tend, too, to bring people to the tables – husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, fathers and sons – who might not otherwise participate in the general atmosphere of a regional pool tour stop, featuring an area’s best players. It has a way of ‘seeding the field,’ so to speak. Engaging newcomers to the intrinsic enjoyment of sports competition in the hopes that it might lead to individual participation. Maybe not, but Herman Parker, tour director of the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, “gets requests for them all the time,” so he schedules Scotch Doubles tournaments, most recently this past weekend (Jan. 15-16), when the tour held a $200-added event that drew 19 teams to Corner Pocket in Fayetteville, NC.

The team of Jason Holmes and Sean Lee prevailed, although their road to the finals and event victory took a side trip to the semifinals, when the team of Josh Shultz and Tanya Willaford downed them in the hot seat match. 

Holmes/Lee earned their place in that hot seat match with a 5-3 victory over Mike Soyka and Jason Williams in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Shultz/Willaford got there by sending Chad Weachter and Michael Shan to the loss side 5-2 in the other one. Shultz/Willaford punched Holmes/Lee’s ticket to the semifinals with a double hill victory in that hot seat match.

On the loss side, the Weachter/Shan team picked up the husband/wife team of Chris and Jacqui Rhoades, who’d recently eliminated Tyrone Davis and someone known only as “Lorenzo” in a double hill fight and then, defeated Chris Petoletti and Jason Rogers 5-4 (Petoletti/Rogers racing to 7). Soyka/Williams drew Justin Knuckles and Allie Tilley, who’d defeated Robert McDaniels and Kevin Williams, double hill, and Larry Moore and Lewis Croom 5-1.

The Rhoades family engaged their opponents in another double hill fight, but this time, their opponents – Weachter and Shan – won and advanced to the quarterfinals. Knuckles/Tilley joined them after handing Soyka/Williams their second straight loss, 5-1.

Knuckles and Tilley were able to advance one more step, downing Weachter/Shan 5-3 in those quarterfinals, but team Holmes/Lee had their sights set on a rematch and stopped Knuckles/Tilley 5-3 in the semifinals.

In what was reportedly their first outing as a team, Holmes and Lee moved on to the task of downing the hot seat occupants, Shultz and Willaford, twice. The opening set went double hill before Holmes/Lee finished it to even up the losses of the last two teams standing. Holmes/Lee won the second set 5-3 to claim the event title.

TD Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Corner Pocket for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, and Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour will be a one-day affair, scheduled for this weekend (Jan. 22). The $500-added event will be hosted by Overtime Billiards in Columbia, SC.

Weachter goes undefeated, takes home first Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour title

Chad Weachter

Based on what we know, Chad Weachter took home more money winning this past weekend’s stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour (Sat., Oct. 16), than he’d earned in his last (and only) two cash finishes on the tour since 2017. In the meantime, the event’s runner-up, Justin Knuckles, with (now) four cash finishes on the tour this year (three times as runner-up and once, finishing third), won seven matches on the loss side for the right to meet Weachter in the finals. The event drew 28 entrants to Buck’s Billiards in Raleigh, NC.

Weachter and Knuckles met first in the second round of play and locked up in a double hill fight for advancement. Weachter won their first battle and advanced through the field for a winners’ side semifinal matchup against Paul Johnson. Robert Perez faced Jason Rogers in the other one.

Weachter got into the hot seat match with a 6-2 win over Johnson, as Perez downed Rogers 6-5 (Rogers racing to 8). Weachter claimed the hot seat, double hill, over Perez.

On the loss side, it was Johnson who drew Justin Knuckles, five matches into his seven-match loss-side run. Knuckles had just shutout Billie Spatafora and sent Logan Mook packing 6-2. Rogers picked up Delton Howard, who’d eliminated Jan Bailey 7-1 and Dale Lloyd, double hill, to reach him. 

Knuckles chalked up loss-side win #5, 6-2, over Johnson, as Rogers was busy dropping Howard 8-4. Win #6 for Knuckles was a double hill win in the quarterfinals over Rogers. Knuckles completed his loss-side run with a shutout over Robert Perez in the semifinals.

Two competitors, each looking for their first win on the tour, squared off in a true double elimination final. It required only a single set. Weachter defeated Knuckles a second time, 6-4, to claim his first tour title. 

Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Buck’s Billiards, 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. 23-24), will be a handicapped, Scotch Doubles tournament, hosted by Corner Pocket in Fayetteville, NC. 

Leonard and McGinn split top prizes on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour

Zac Leonard

Fresh off his best earnings year, to date (2018), Zac Leonard, who was the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour’s Points Champion last year, opened his 2019 campaign with an undefeated tour victory. Leonard won two stops on the 2018 tour, was runner-up twice, and cashed in eight events. At this most recent $250-added event, held on Saturday, January 19, he advanced, undefeated, to the hot seat and just as dawn was starting to creep up onto the Sunday, January 20th horizon (4 a.m.), he agreed to a split of the top two cash prizes with runner-up Raymond McGinn. The event drew 31 entrants to Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC.
 
Leonard and McGinn met twice in this one; the first time in a winners’ side semifinal and again, when they opted out of playing, in the finals. While Leonard and McGinn were playing their match, Billie Spatafora and Jack Whitfield squared off in the other winners’ side semifinal.
 
Leonard got into the hot seat match with a 7-3 win over McGinn. He was met by Spatafora, who’d defeated Whitfield 5-5 (Whitfield racing to 7). Leonard gave up only a single rack to Spatafora, sending him to the loss side 7-1 in what would prove to be his (Leonard’s) final match.
 
On the loss side, McGinn picked up Jorge Ramos, who’d defeated John McColl 7-4 and Chad Weachter, double hill (7-5) to reach him. Whitfield drew Chris McSorley, who’d eliminated Chris Rhoades 6-4 and Sydney Champion 6-5 (Champion racing to 8). Raymond McGinn got into the quarterfinals with a 6-2 win over Ramos. He was joined by Whitfield, who benefited from a forfeit by McSorley.
 
McGinn downed Whitfield in those quarterfinals and advanced to defeat Spatafora in the semifinals, both by the same 6-2 score. The decision was made to not play a final match, the top two prizes were split and everybody went home.
 
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Mickey Milligan’s, 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 (Jan. 26-27), will be hosted Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.

Leonard wins second straight ‘split’ decision on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour

Zac Leonard

It was the second week in a row that Zac Leonard found himself in the hot seat at a stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour and came to an agreement with his finals opponent to not play a last match. As the undefeated competitor, Leonard claimed the official event title both times. It was the second time that he’d reached such an agreement with BJ Ussery, although when he reached the agreement in August, it was the undefeated Ussery who claimed the official event title. On Saturday, Sept. 22, the two met in the hot seat match and let the result – a win for Leonard – stand. The event, originally scheduled to be played at Corner Pockets in Fayetteville, changed its venue to Speakeazy Billiards in Sanford, NC, but still suffered from a bit of post-Hurricane-Florence syndrome and drew a short field of 22 entrants.
 
Leonard and Ussery advanced through the field to face opponents in the two winners’ side semifinals; Leonard meeting Q City 9-Ball veteran JT Ringgold and Ussery squaring off against Bill Ethridge. Leonard downed Ringgold 7-3, as Ussery sent Ethridge to the loss side 11-4. In their only match, with Ussery racing to 11, Leonard claimed the hot seat 7-6.
 
On the loss side, Ringgold picked up Jason Evans, who’d shut out Nick Mauldin and defeated Billie Spatafora 9-3 to reach him. Ethridge drew Chad Weachter, who’d defeated Don Lilly 5-1 and Travis Guerra 5-3 (Lilly entered the event as the tour’s # 1-ranked player and left as #2, behind Leonard).
 
Ringgold advanced to the quarterfinals with a double hill 10-8 win over Evans, and was met by Weachter, who’d eliminated Ethridge 5-2. With Ringgold racing to 10, Weachter took the quarterfinal match 5-4.
 
Ussery stopped Weachter’s loss-side run 11-3 in the semifinals. He and Leonard opted out of the final match, leaving the undefeated Leonard as the official event winner.
 
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Speakeazy Billiards for their change-of-venue, 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 (Sept. 29-30), will be the tour’s 2018 Bar Box Tournament Championships, open to invited members of the tour. The $2,000-added event will be hosted by Steakhorse Restaurant & Billiards in Spartanburg, SC.
 

Bennett goes undefeated to take Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball stop

Keith Bennett

Two ‘old hands’ battled for the hot seat. Had it not been for a decision to split the top two prizes, one of those ‘old hands’ would have battled a (borderline) junior player in the finals. It was Keith Bennett and BJ Ussery who squared off in the winners’ side final of the Sept. 1-2 stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. It was Bennett and 19-year-old Justin Martin, recently chosen as a member of the USA’s Atlantic Cup Challenge team, who would have met in the finals. Martin will be the oldest member of the team and the only one not to have claimed a BEF Junior Nationals title. When the decision to split the top two prizes was made, the undefeated Bennett was declared the official winner of the $500-added event that drew 46 entrants to Speakeazy Billiards in Sanford, NC.
 
All three of them competed in the winners’ side semifinal; Bennett against Martin, and Ussery versus Josh Shultz. Both matches went double hill before advancing Bennett and Ussery to the hot seat match; Bennett 11-9 over Martin, racing to 10, and Ussery 11-5 over Shultz, racing to 6. Bennett won what proved to be his final match 11-7 over Ussery to claim the hot seat.
 
On the loss side, Martin picked up Scott Roberts, who’d eliminated Chad Weachter 8-1 and Mike Mullins 8-3 to reach him. Shultz drew another ‘old hand,’ Larry Faulk, who’d advanced with a forfeit by Rashad Brooks and downed Zac Leonard 7-2.
 
Martin defeated Roberts 10-5 and in the quarterfinals, faced Shultz, who’d defeated Faulk 6-1. Martin then dominated that quarterfinal match, defeating Shultz 10-2. Ussery put up more of a fight in the semifinals, but Martin defeated him, as well, 10-7, to earn himself a re-match against Bennett, which, of course, never happened.
 
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Speakeazy Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, 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 (Sept. 8-9) will be Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
 
 

Roberts goes undefeated to take his second 2017 Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball stop

Scott Roberts

In his four 'payout' appearances on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour this year, Scott Roberts has won twice and been runner-up and fifth, once each. He chalked up his second 2017 victory on the tour with an undefeated run on Saturday, June 10. The event drew 27 entrants to Corner Pockets in Fayetteville, NC.
 
Roberts advanced through the field to a winners' side semifinal match against Brian Pate. Chad Weachter, in the meantime, faced Anthony Mabe in the other winners' side semifinal. Roberts moved into the hot seat match with a double hill win over Pate (8-5, with Pate racing to 6). He was joined by Weachter, who downed Mabe 6-5 (Mabe racing to 7). Roberts gave up only one rack in claiming the hot seat over Weachter 8-1.
 
On the loss side, Mabe picked up Brian Bryant, who'd eliminated Tanya Parsley 9-2, and Bo Blakely 9-1 to reach him. Pate drew Jeremy Faassen, who'd gotten by Stevie McClinton and Ed Leggett, both 5-3. It was Pate and Mabe handing Faassen and Bryant their second loss and advancing to the quarterfinals; Pate, 6-3 over Faassen and Mabe, 7-4 over Bryant.
 
Mabe won the quarterfinal match over Pate 7-4, earning himself a re-match against Weachter in the semifinals. Mabe won that re-match 7-4 for a shot at Roberts in the finals. Roberts spoiled Mabe's come-from-the-loss-side bid 8-3 in the finals.
 
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Corner Pockets, 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 June 17-18 will be hosted by a new venue for the tour, Billiards and Brews in Knoxville, TN.