There’s a reason that you don’t find evidence of pool players opting to forfeit their opening match so they can spend all of their tournament time on the loss side of a double elimination bracket, waiting for a metaphoric ‘sword’ over their heads to descend and cut them out of the competition. Roanoke, VA’s Damien “DJ” Brads, former US Marine, seems to have developed an affinity for the loss-side experience.
Brads has only been competing on the PremierBilliards.com Q City 9-Ball Tour for about a year now, cashing in five events since last March. He’s won two of them (last March and this past weekend, Feb. 18-19). Both times, he lost his opening match and ended up winning the two sets of a double elimination final to claim the title. In March, 2022, at The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA, he won eight on the loss side to finish with 10 straight wins, matching a tour record set by Larry Nevel in 2014. At a $250-added event which drew 39 entrants to Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC this past weekend, he broke that record by winning 10 on the loss side and the two sets of the final.
Brads battled to double hill in his opening match before Brian Blankenship sent him off to chalk up his record-setting 10-match, loss-side winning streak. In the meantime, the tour event was playing host to the return of JT Ringgold. Though he’d made limited appearances on the tour in the past two years (three cash finishes since 2021, including two in which he finished as runner-up), he was a long way from the days of 2018/2019, when he cashed in a total of 27 events (nine in events other than the Q City 9-Ball Tour) and won five of them. He returned with his ranking unaffected, needing in this most recent event to win 10 games every time he stepped to the table.
The eventual runner-up, Ringgold advanced through the field, as did Justin Knuckles, who’d lost to DJ Brads in the semifinals of Brads’ win last March. Ringgold and Knuckles squared off in one of the winners’ side semifinals this past weekend, while Jack Whitfield and Eddie Williams met in the other one.
Ringgold advanced to the hot seat match with a 10-1 win over Knuckles. Whitfield and Williams battled to double hill before Whitfield prevailed. Ringgold and Whitfield battled to double hill as well, before Ringgold grabbed the hot seat 10-6 (Whitfield racing to 7).
On the loss side, Brads had won five when he eliminated Joshua Shultz, double hill and Michael Yamuni 6-2 to draw Eddie Williams. Knuckles picked up Tracy Hardie, who had her own loss-side story to tell. Racing to 4 throughout, she’d won two on the winners’ side before she ran into JT Ringgold, whom she battled to double hill before he prevailed, sending her west in the bracket toward a quarterfinal matchup against Brads. She’d eliminated Donna Sellman 4-2 and survived a double hill battle against Chris Gehrki to meet Knuckles.
With Knuckles racing to 7, Hardie advanced to the quarterfinals 4-3. Brads downed Williams 6-2 to join her. It was clear that both competitors had a lot at stake in the quarterfinals, which was reflected in the double hill match that ensued and eventually (6-3) sent Brads to the semifinals against Jack Whitfield.
By the same 6-3 score, Brads defeated Whitfield (racing to 7) and advanced to the double elimination finals against Ringgold. There was a lot at stake for both competitors in this pair of matches, too. And like the quarterfinals, it was reflected in the double-hill, first-set match score of 6-9 that forced a second set. The first set seemed to have a way of taking the wind out of Ringgold’s metaphoric sails. Brad won the second set 6-3 to set the tour’s longest-run-to-the-winner’-circle record.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Mickey Milligan’s, as well as title sponsor PremierBillairds.com, Breaktime Billiards (Winston-Salem, NC), BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division and TKO Custom Cues.
This weekend, Feb. 25-26, Breaktime Billiards in Winston-Salem, NC will play host to the 11th Annual NC State 9-Ball Open. The PremierBilliards.com Q City 9-Ball weekend will feature a $1,000-added Open tournament and a $250-added 3rd Annual Ladies event.
In what will be his last year as a junior competitor, Brent Worth, already 18, is making as much of that final year as he can. He’s competed in six of the seven 18U Boys (best finish, 5th) and ProAm (best finish, 4th) divisions of the Junior International Championships thus far, finished 5th in the Dynaspheres Cup Junior 9-Ball Open in March and just this past weekend, Saturday, Sept. 10, won eight on the loss side and double-dipped hot seat occupant, Stevie McClinton, to win his first regional tour event on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. The $500-added event drew 44 entrants to The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
Worth moved to the loss side in the second round of play, losing 5-3 to Greg Vaughan, whose son, Grayson, competed as well and did better than his father did. In the meantime, McClinton and DJ Brads advanced to their respective winners’ side semifinals; McClinton versus Scott Roberts and Brads against Cameron Lawhorne.
McClinton downed Roberts 7-6 (Roberts racing to 8) and was joined in the hot seat match by Brads, who sent Lawhorne to the loss side 6-3. McClinton claimed the hot seat over Brads 7-2.
On the loss side, playing in the first money round of the tournament, it was Lawhorne who picked up Worth, five matches into his loss-side winning streak, having recently eliminated Thomas Sansone 6-1 and Robert Cuneo, double hill. Roberts drew Collin Hall, who’d recently defeated Jimmy Bird, double hill and Grayson Vaughan by shutout.
Worth, picking up some speed at this point, gave up only a single rack to Lawhorne and advanced to the quarterfinals against Roberts, who eliminated Hall 8-4. Worth and Roberts battled to double hill before Worth advanced to the semifinals against Brads.
By this time, it was fairly clear to tour representatives and spectators alike that Worth could arguably have been rated as a ‘7’ instead of the ‘6’ at which he played the entire tournament. According to tour director Herman Parker, Worth will play as a ‘7’ the next time he competes on the tour.
In a straight-up race to 6 in the semifinals, Worth defeated Brads 6-3, advancing to a double-elimination final in which he’d be awarded a single “bead on the wire” in both races to 7 (if needed) against McClinton. Worth didn’t ‘need the bead’ in either set.
He won the opening set 6-3 and came back to do one better (6-2) in the second set, claiming his first event title in his first appearance on the tour.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at the Clubhouse for their hospitality, along with title sponsor Viking Cues, Breaktime Billiards (Winston-Salem, NC), BarPoolTables.net, 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 coming weekend, Sept. 17-18, will be a $250-added event, hosted by West End Billiards in Gastonia, NC.
Mac Harrell’s been competing since (as far as we know) 2008, when he finished 7th at a stop on the former Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour. He went on to record (on average) one payout finish per year, early on the Carolina Tour, later until recently on the Action Pool Tour and once, in 2013, at the Super Billiards Expo’s Amateur Championships (33rd). On the weekend of August 6-7, Harrell went undefeated to claim his first (recorded) regional tour victory on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. The $250-added event drew 41 entrants to Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC.
Harrell and Delton Howard battled twice to claim the title; once in a winners’ side semifinal and again in the finals. As Harrell and Howard fought in their first meeting, Gregory Speight and Jorge Ramos faced each other in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Harrell advanced to the hot seat match with an 8-3 win over Howard and was joined by Speight, who’d sent Ramos over 7-4. Harrell claimed the hot seat 8-3 over Speight and waited on Howard’s return.
Howard and Ramos moved over, coming back on Sunday to compete in the first of the money rounds. Howard drew Greg Smith, who’d recently eliminated Eddie Almonte 8-5 and Jerry Cannon 8-3. Ramos picked up DJ Brads, who’d defeated Jack Whitfield 6-3 and Bill Chase, double hill, to reach him.
Howard and Ramos got right back into gear. Howard, downing Smith 8-3 and Ramos, eliminating Brads 7-4. In the quarterfinals that followed, Howard limited Ramos’ loss-side run to a single match, defeating him, 8-4.
In the semifinals that featured two opponents anxious for a second shot at the hot seat occupant, it was Howard who prevailed. He eliminated Speight 8-4. Momentum may have been in the wind, as Howard chalked up three more racks against Harrell in the finals than he had in their winners’ side semifinal matchup. Not enough. Harrell claimed what is believed to be his first regional tour title with an 8-6 victory in those finals.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Mickey Milligan’s for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Breaktime Billiards (Winston-Salem, NC), BarPoolTables.net, 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, Aug. 13-14, will be a $250-added event, hosted by a new venue for the tour – Action Billiards in Inman, SC.
Prior to this past weekend, Saturday, June 4, the last time Mike Skeens had cashed in an official event of the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, was eight days shy of a year ago (June 12, 2021), when he was defeated twice, in a winners’ side semifinal and eventually, the loss-side semifinal by Janet Atwell, owner of the host room, Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN. Back at the same room a year later, last Saturday, Skeens went undefeated to the hot seat, downing DJ Brads to claim it, and later, after the semifinals, he and junior competitor Landon Hollingsworth opted out of a final match, leaving Skeens as the official winner of the 3rd Annual Brian James Memorial. It was Skeens’ first recorded tour victory, albeit with a no-final-match asterisk. The event drew 52 entrants to Borderline Billiards.
Skeens was no doubt relieved to hear that however his tournament run was to proceed, it would not entail running into Janet Atwell, who didn’t compete in the event, although a run-in versus Clevinger was possible. Skeens advanced through the field to draw Hollingsworth in one of the winners’ side semifinals, while Brads squared off against Ricky Bingham in the other one.
With Hollingsworth racing to 9, Skeens defeated him 5-5 and in the hot seat match, faced Brads, who’d sent Bingham to the loss side 6-4. In a straight-up race to 6, Skeens and Brads battled to double hill in what would prove to be the defining match of the event. Skeens prevailed and Brads headed off to the semifinals.
On the loss side, Hollingsworth drew James Brown, who’d rendered a Clevinger/Skeens final matchup impossible when he downed Clevinger 5-2 and then, Doug Schulz 5-5 (Schulz racing to 8) to face Hollingsworth. Bingham picked up Thomas Sansone, who’d defeated Eric Roberts 7-6 (Roberts racing to 9) and Adam Pendley 6-5 (Pendley racing to 9) to reach him.
In the first money round, Bingham eliminated Sansone, double hill, and in the quarterfinals, faced Hollingsworth, who’d also survived a double hill match (9-5), versus Brown. Hollingsworth stopped Bingham’s loss-side run 9-3 in those quarterfinals.
Hollingsworth then spoiled Brads’ bid for a rematch against Skeens by defeating him 9-4 in the semifinals. The decision to split the top two prizes was made and Skeens went into the record books as the official winner of the 3rd Annual Brian James Memorial.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked Janet Atwell and her Borderline Billiards staff, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, BarPoolTables.net, 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, June 11-12, will be a Scotch Doubles event, hosted by Corner Pocket in Fayetteville, NC.
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.
DJ Brads isn’t the first competitor to bring home his first recorded cash payout with a win on a regional tour event and isn’t likely to be the last. But losing his first match at last weekend’s (Sat., March 5) Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour stop and then wending his way through eight loss-side wins to double dip hot seat occupant, Greg Taylor, certainly caught the attention of those present who watched it happen. To include the attention of tour director, Herman Parker, who’ll likely be adjusting Brads’ handicap rating for future events. The $500-added event drew 24 entrants to the Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
Brads lost that first-round match of his to Justin Knuckles and would successfully win their rematch in the semifinals later. Knuckles advanced through three more opponents to face Scott Largen in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Taylor and Rodney Strickland squared off in the other one.
Knuckles moved on to the hot seat match 6-2 over Largen. Taylor joined him after sending Strickland to the loss side 8-2. In a double hill battle, Taylor claimed the hot seat (8-5), sending Knuckles off to his semifinal rematch.
Three wins into his loss-side streak, Brads downed Wes Campbell 5-1 and shut out Ethan Carson to draw Strickland. Largen picked up Cameron Lawhorne, who’d recently eliminated James Marvin 8-3 and Earl Kent, double hill. Brads moved into the quarterfinals 5-1 over Strickland and was joined by Largen, who’d defeated Lawhorne 6-4.
Brads’ win #7 in those quarterfinals sent Largen home 5-4 (Largen racing to 6). This handed Brads his opportunity for redemption (or revenge, dependent on how you look at it) against Knuckles in the semifinals. He’d given up six and chalked up three racks in their first meeting. This time around, he tallied five racks, gave up only one and moved on for a shot against Taylor in the hot seat.
With Taylor racing to 8, Brads completed his trip to the winners’ circle with a 5-2 victory in the opening set of a true double elimination final and won the second set 5-3 to claim the title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at the Clubhouse, 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 (March 12-13) will be a $500-added event, hosted by Still Cluckin’ in Providence, NC.
There’s a reason that you don’t find evidence of pool players opting to forfeit their opening match so they can spend all of their tournament time on the loss side of a double elimination bracket, waiting for a metaphoric ‘sword’ over their heads to descend and cut them out of the competition. Roanoke, VA’s Damien “DJ” Brads, former US Marine, seems to have developed an affinity for the loss-side experience.
