Jonathan Ailstock’s recorded cash earnings on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour (19 events) date back to a third-place finish in 2015 and have been updated to include his most recent of four wins on the tour, the last of which (prior to this past weekend; March 12-13) occurred in June, 2017. He and Cameron Lawhorne battled twice at this most recent event, which drew 33 entrants to Still Cluckin’ Billiards in Providence, NC.
Ailstock and Lawhorne met up for the first time in the hot seat match. Ailstock had advanced to face Scott Roberts in one of the winners’ side semifinals as Lawhorne and Orlando Marcus squared off in the other one. Lawhorne/Marcus went double hill (8-5, with Marcus racing to 6) before Lawhorne advanced to face Ailstock, who’d sent Roberts west 7-3.
The first of their two matches went double hill. With Lawhorne racing to 8, Ailstock snared the hot seat 7-7, sending Lawhorne off to the semifinals.
On the loss side, Roberts moved over to pick up Jesse Cortner, who’d defeated Tyson Pey 5-2 and the previous stop’s winner, DJ Brads 5-4. Brads, coming off that earlier win, had his handicap raised to ‘6,’ instead of the ‘5’ it was during the last event. Last week, 5-4 would have meant ‘double hill,’ but ire ad tempus (time marches on). Marcus drew Justin Knuckles, who,with his opponent Collin Hall, racing to 7, had eliminated him 6-5. Hall was runner-up in Ailstock’s last tour win in 2017. Knuckles went on to defeat Dakota Ash 6-3 for his meetup with Marcus.
Roberts made short work of Cortner 8-1, and advanced to the quarterfinals. In a straight-up race to 6, Knuckles survived a double hill fight against Marcus to join him.
With Roberts racing to 8, Knuckles advanced to the semifinal 6-6, only to be eliminated by Lawhorne 8-2. In their second matchup, Ailstock prevailed 7-5 to claim the event title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Still Cluckin’ 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, the West Virginia State 9-Ball Championships, a $1,000-added Open (no handicap) event, scheduled for this weekend (March 19-20), will be hosted by Sonny’s Billiards in Princeton, WV.
Heeter’s loss-side run evokes memories of the late Larry “The Truth” Nevel
Back in November of 2021, Buzzy Gonzalez chalked up his first recorded cash finish anywhere at a stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour at the Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC.He finished 5th that weekend, and with no evidence of competition since, this past weekend (Feb. 12-13), he returned to the Gate City Billiards Club, where he recorded his first regional tour victory on the same tour. He was challenged in the finals by Josh Heeter, who lost his opening round match and won 12 on the loss side for the right to meet him in the finals. The event drew 68 entrants to the Gate City Billiards Club.
Heeter’s run through the loss side of the bracket brought eerily relevant memories to tour director Herman Parker (among others), who recalled that the only player to ever win that many matches on the loss side of a Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball event before was the late Larry “The Truth” Nevel, who passed away on February 11, one day before this past weekend’s tournament began.
With Heeter already at work on the loss side, Gonzalez advanced to a winners’ side semifinal versus Jerry Stone. Hank Powell and Daniel Adams squared off in the other one.
Powell and Adams fought to double hill, before Powell advanced to the hot seat match 8-5 (Adams racing to 6). Gonzalez joined him after shutting Stone out. Gonzalez claimed the hot seat over Powell 7-6.
Heeter had already chalked up nine of his eventual 12 loss-side wins, including recent victories over Justin Ward 9-3 and Gene Parker 9-4. when he ran into Stone, fresh from his defeat at the hands of Gonzalez. Adams picked up Kelly Farrar, who’d eliminated Joe Woo 7-4 and Dakota Ash, double hill (7-4), to reach him.
Heeter chalked up loss-side win #10, 9-2 over Stone. Adams joined him in the quarterfinals following his 6-6, double hill win over Farrar. Heeter then downed Adams 9-4 and in a tense, semifinal, double hill fight, defeated Powell 9-7.
Minus their respective handicaps, the event finals were a tie. Heeter, though, had to chalk up two more racks than Gonzalez, and when it reached the tie at 7-7, Gonzalez had won.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Gate City Billiards Club 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, scheduled for this weekend (Feb. 19-20), will be hosted by Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
