Jason Evans (entrant #172 in our database of nearly 20,000 pool players) had been bringing home cash from pool tournaments for almost 20 years, but according to our records (containing information only on events reported to us), had yet to win a major tournament. Until this past weekend, February 16-17, when he went undefeated through a field of 41 on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. Evans and David Tickle battled twice in this event, hosted by Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC. Both matches, for the hot seat and finals, in straight-up races to 9, went double hill.
Their first meetup followed Tickle’s defeat of Shaun Apple 9-2 in one of the winners’ side semifinals and Evans’ 9-1 victory over Brad Smith in the other one. Evans took the first of his two double hill wins over Tickle and claimed (again, according to available records) his first hot seat.
On the loss side, Apple picked up Jerry Stone, who’d defeated Scott Johnson 6-5 (Johnson racing to 7) and Michael Moore 6-4. Smith drew Gate City Billiards Club owner, Don Liebes, who’d recently defeated Harry Florence, double hill, and Geoff Grayson 6-3.
Apple and Smith advanced to the quarterfinals; Apple 5-4 over Stone (racing to 6) and Smith, by shutout, over Liebes. Smith gave up only a single rack to Apple to take the quarterfinal match 6-1.
Tickle gave up only two to Smith in the semifinals to earn his rematch against Evans in the finals. A second double hill match ensued, with the same result. Evans claimed his first major title.
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, 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. 23-24), will be dedicated to the memory of tour veteran Chris Walsh, who passed away recently. The event is expected to be the first Chris Walsh Memorial of many to come. The event will be hosted by Walsh’s home room, Randolph Billiards in Hickory, NC, where he won a stop on the tour in February 2017. Money will be raised at this event in support of Walsh’s family.
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.
Clear dominance in the hot seat match for William Cloud turned into relative dominance for Josh Williams in a two-set final that earned him the event title. The occasion was the August 13-14 stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, which drew 36 entrants to the Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC.
Cloud sent Mike McPherson to the loss side 8-4 in one winners' side semifinal, as Williams sent Jonathan Ailstock over 5-3 in the other one. In the hot seat match, Cloud gave up only two racks to Williams (racing to 5), which proved to be his last winning set.
On the loss side, McPherson picked up Brad Barton, who'd defeated Chad Weachter 6-3, and David Tickle, double hill, to reach him. Ailstock drew Gate City Billiards owner Don Liebes, who'd eliminated John Sanders 5-4 (Sanders racing to 8), and Anthony Mabe 5-5 (Mabe racing to 7).
McPherson gave up a single rack to Barton and advanced to the quarterfinals. Liebes joined him after defeating Ailstock 5-4 (Ailstock racing to 6). A second straight 7-1 set for McPherson put him a single match away from a re-match versus Cloud. Williams spoiled that party in the semifinals with a 5-3 win that gave him the re-match against Cloud.
The total game score over the two-set final was Williams 10, and Cloud 9. Williams took the opening set 5-4, and then, allowed Cloud one more rack, before chalking up the second set 5-5 and claiming the event title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked Don Liebes and his staff at the Gateway Billiard Club, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta-13 racks, and Ruthless Billiards Apparel. The next stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for August 20-21, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Cue Time in Spartanburg, SC.
