In terms of attendance, the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour stop on the weekend of April 14-15, was likely affected by the concurrent Super Billiards Expo (SBE) in Philadelphia. Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC is about eight hours away from the SBE site, which drew over a thousand entrants to its Amateur tournament, many of them residing within an eight-hour travel distance. The winner of the SBE’s Pro Player Championships (Mike Dechaine) drove six hours to compete. The $250-added Q City 9-Ball stop drew 21 entrants and came to an end when Frank Owens and Zach Leonard opted out of a final match, which would have been their second, and split the top two prizes.
They met first in the hot seat match. Owens had sent Matt Lucas to the loss side, double hill, in one winners’ side semifinal, while Leonard downed Richard Limo 7-3 in the other one. With Leonard racing to 7, Owens claimed the hot seat 5-4.
On the loss side, Lucas and Limo ran right into their second straight loss. Lucas picked up Jack Whitfield, who’d shutout C.B. Brown, and defeated Cody Jones 7-4 to reach him. Limo had the misfortune of meeting up with the tour’s most prolific winner, J.T. Ringgold, who, after being awarded an opening round bye, had dropped his first match to Bill Duggan, and was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the semifinals. He’d gotten by Chris Gentile 10-5 and shut out Wayne Miller to draw Limo.
Ringgold downed Limo 10-4, and in the quarterfinals, faced Whitfield, who’d defeated Lucas 7-2. Ringgold then ended Whitfield’s run 10-3, before coming up against Leonard in the semifinals. With Ringgold racing to 10, he and Leonard fought back and forth to double hill (6-9), before Leonard dropped the deciding 9-ball to earn a second shot against Owens.
That second shot did not materialize. Owens and Leonard opted out of the final match, with Owens, in the hot seat, claiming the official event title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Mickey Milligan’s, 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 21-22, will be hosted by Gate City Billiards Club, in Greensboro, NC.
Jason Rogers has been climbing steps in a victory ladder in this early going of 2018, although not in strict order. It’s been his best recorded earnings year, to date, and it’s only March. In competition on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, he finished 5th on Jan. 6-7, was runner-up three weeks later, and a week after that (Feb. 3), he stepped down a rung to finish third. On the weekend of March 24-25, he found himself in the hot seat, and though he’d be defeated in the opening set of a true double elimination final by Jason Brattain, he rallied to win the second set and claim the event title, his first on the tour since August of 2015. This most recent event drew 40 entrants to Brown’s Billiards in Raleigh, NC.
The Rogers/Brattain matchup at the end almost happened early. Rogers advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Frank Owens (who’d just sent Brattain to the loss side), while Anthony Mabe faced Brian Beckham in the other one. Rogers and Mabe gave up one rack each to their respective opponents; Rogers downing Owens 8-1 and Mabe defeating Beckham 7-1. Rogers and Mabe battled to double hill in the hot seat match, and were it not for the final game, Rogers might have faced Brattain in the semifinals. Rogers won that deciding game, and it was Mabe who moved over to the semifinals.
Owens and Beckham moved to the loss side and immediately ran into their second straight loss. Owens’ loss was a forfeit, prompted by his absence on the tournament’s second day. Advancing automatically to the quarterfinals was Randall Bowman, who’d defeated Jesse White 7-4, and Tyson Key 7-2. Beckham ran into Brattain, who’d defeated Josh Padron, double hill, and Justin Martin 6-5 (Martin racing to 10). Brattain downed Beckham 6-2 to join Bowman in the quarterfinal match.
Brattain then defeated Bowman 6-4 in those quarterfinals. Moving on to the semifinals, he eliminated Mabe 6-5 (Mabe racing to 7).
With Rogers racing to 8, Brattain took the opening set of the true double elimination final 6-5. Rogers, though, came back to win the second set 8-4 and claim the event title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Brown’s Billiards, 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 March 31-April 1, will be hosted by Randolph’s Billiards in Hickory, NC.
J.R. Poste won two straight double hill matches to get into the hot seat of a Q City 9-Ball Tour stop on the weekend of July 30-31. Poste and B.J. Hucks ended up splitting the event's top two prizes, while, undefeated, Poste claimed the event title that drew 39 entrants to Breaktime Billiards in Wilmington, NC.
Poste's first double hill win of the final two came in a winners' side semifinal match against J.T. Ringgold, as Joe Blanton was busy defeating Andy Bowden in the other semifinal. Poste claimed the hot seat, double hill, over Blanton in what proved to be his last match.
Ringgold moved to the loss side, where he picked up Taz Holiday, who'd defeated Frank Owens (runner-up on the tour's last stop, July 23) 5-4, and Mickey Hucks (no relation to B.J.) 5-3. Bowden drew B.J., who'd gotten by Ed Leggett and Brandy Hodges, both 7-3.
Hucks, racing to 7, gave up only a single rack to Bowden, advancing to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Ringgold, who'd eliminated Holiday 9-4. With Ringgold racing to 9, Hucks survived a double hill fight, winning it 7-7, and advancing to take on Blanton in the semifinals.
Hucks chalked up his last of the night, 7-2, over Blanton. He and Poste then opted out of the final, declared Poste the official winner, and split the top two prizes.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Breaktime Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, and Delta-13 racks. The next stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for August 6-7, will be hosted by Brown's Billiards in Raleigh, NC.
Overall, Kenny Daughtrey won 17 of the 11 games he played against Frank Owens during the July 23 stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour. Five of the 17 came in a double hill, 5-5 loss (Daughtrey racing to 6) in the opening set of the true double elimination final. Dead even on games at that point, Daughtrey lost, one game shy of his handicapped goal, forcing a second set. As he'd done before, Daughtrey kept Owen one game 'off the hill' in that second set, and claimed the title. The event drew 20 entrants to Brian's Billiards in Roanoke Rapids, NC.
Daughtrey won three out of his final four matches 6-3. He sent Chad Weachter to the loss side by that score to get into the hot seat match. Owens, in the meantime, was busy surviving a double hill fight against Randy Hodges. Daughtrey claimed the hot seat 6-3 and sent Owens to the semifinals.
On the loss side, Daughtrey's father, Ken, Sr., was on site, rooting for his namesake, and competing in the tournament, with at least one eye on a potential father/son final. Thomas Williams, in the midst of a five-game, loss-side winning streak that would take him to the semifinals, ended that potential party 5-1, and then defeated Justin Blackman by the same score to draw Weachter, who'd sent him to the loss side in the first place. Hodges picked up the tail end of another father/son saga – Terry Ringgold – who'd defeated his son, J.T., 4-5 (J.T. racing to 9) and then eliminated Junior Avery, double hill.
Hodges thwarted the elder Ringgold's plans with a 5-2 victory, as Williams was chalking up his fourth loss-side win 5-3 over Weachter. Williams' final victory was a shutout over Hodges in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, fired-up-with-a-shutout-win Williams faced itching-for-another-shot-at-Daughtrey Owens. Owens took the straight-up, race to 5, semifinal match 5-2, and got his shot. In the opening set, he battled to double hill and won it. In the second set, Daughtrey opted for a repeat of the hot seat win and won the set 6-3 to claim the event title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Brian's Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, and Delta-13 Racks. The next stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of July 30-31, will be hosted by Breaktime Billiards in Wilmington, NC.
Terry and J.T. Ringgold, father and son respectively, battled twice to claim the title at a Q City 9-Ball Tour on the weekend of June 25-26. The son won both matches at the $250-added event that drew 18 entrants to Mickey Milligan's in New Bern, NC.
They met first in the hot seat match. Terry had defeated Danny Farren 4-5 (Farren racing to 7) as J.T. sent Randy Hodges to the loss side 9-4. J.T. showed no mercy in the subsequent battle for the hot seat. He shut his father out, and waited on his return.
On the loss side, Danny Farren picked up Frank Owens, who'd defeated Montez Lloyd and Brad Burton, both 5-3, to reach him. Hodges drew Josh Heeter, who'd eliminated Zach Cortright 7-3 and Jack Whitfield, 7-4. Heeter and Owens advanced to the quarterfinals, handing Hodges and Farren their second straight defeat; Heeter 7-4 over Hodges and Owens 5-3 over Farren.
Heeter took the quarterfinal match over Owens 7-3, but had his loss-side streak ended by the elder Ringgold 4-3 in the semifinals. The father put up a bit of fight in the second match against his son, chalking up two racks. J.T. chalked up his nine to claim the title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked Gerry Shepherd and his staff at Mickey Milligans for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Viking Cues, and Delta-13 racks. The next stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of July 2-3, will be hosted by Chandley's Chalk and Cue in Statesville, NC.
More often than not, by the time a player manages to chalk up a win in a money tournament, he or she has 'cashed' in previous attempts. Oftentimes, you'll discover that a given player has been on a tour for quite a while, collecting the lower amounts of cash available in a given tournament, slowly working his or her way up an earnings ladder, progressing from a payout for the tie at 9th through 12th, or 7th and 8th, on up to 4th, etc. On the weekend of June 11-12, at a stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour that drew 42 entrants to Brass Tap Billiards in Raleigh, the undefeated winner (Randy Hodges) and runner-up (Chris Petoletti) both earned their first-ever chunk of change on the tour.
They met twice in this 10-Ball event; once in the battle for the hot seat and again, in the finals. Hodges had sent Brandon Walton to the loss side 5-4 in one winners' side semifinal, while Petoletti was busy sending Frank Owens over 6-4. Just being a part of the winners' side semifinals guaranteed them their first look at prize money, since a loss would have put them into the first money round (the tie for 5th/6th) on the loss side. The two victories guaranteed the two of them a finish among the top three. Hodges made that a guarantee of first place or runner-up with a 5-2 win over Petoletti, who moved to the loss side with all three of the possibilities still in play.
On the loss side, Walton ran into Buddy Fisher, who'd gotten by Josh Williams 6-4 and Brian Floyd 6-5. Owens drew Steve Page, recent winner over Dave Brown 10-6, and Justin Martin 10-7. Owens and Walton got right back to work, defeating Page (5-7; Page, racing to 10), and Fisher (6-1), respectively, and advancing to face each other in the quarterfinals.
Owens left Walton in fourth place with a 5-4 win, and had his short, loss-side run ended by Petoletti in the semifinals 6-2. Petoletti and Hodges squared off in the finals to compete for a $250 differential in their first Q City 9-Ball payday, along with, for the winner, free entry into a North Carolina State Championship in November. Hodges completed his undefeated run with a 5-4 win (Petoletti racing to 6) to claim his first Q City 9-Ball title, along with $600 in cash.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Brass Tap Billiards in Raleigh, along with sponsors Viking Cues and Delta-13 racks. The next stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for June 18-19, will be hosted by Breaktime Billiards in Cary, NC.
Opting out of a finals match for less than obvious reasons (illness, family emergency, work responsibilities, the odd hurricane or two) is generally frowned upon. It's not something that tour directors like to see happen because it has a way of reflecting poorly on the tour. By the same token, most tour directors who've been on their feet running an event all weekend, have a tendency to sympathize with players who, at 2 a.m., just want to call it a day.
Shannon Fitch and Bryan Plummer, playing on the Q City 9-Ball Tour on Saturday, May 14, elected to exercise this option, when, as the bell tolled 2, they were to have played a final match. Fitch, as the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, was declared the official winner of the event that had drawn 33 entrants to Buck's Billiards in Raleigh, NC.
It's hard to know who was most affected by the decision; the undefeated opponent in the hot seat (Fitch), or, in this particular case, the opponent who'd won seven on the loss side for a chance at winning the tournament (Plummer)?
With Plummer already at work on the loss side, Fitch advanced to a winners' side semifinal versus Frank Owens. Steve Page and Junior Avery squared off in the other one. Fitch downed Owens 11-2, and in the hot seat match, faced Page, who'd sent Avery over 10-3. Fitch claimed the hot seat over Page 11-7 and for all intents and purposes, his night was over.
On the loss side, Owens picked up JT Ringgold, who'd eliminated Austin Coble and Andy Bowden, both 9-3. It was Avery who drew Plummer, four matches into his seven-match, loss-side winning streak that had most recently included a double hill victory over Richard Howerton, and a 6-4 win over George Crawford.
Plummer moved into the quarterfinals on the heels of a 6-2 win over Avery. Owens joined him by defeating Ringgold 5-7 (Ringgold racing to 9). Plummer took the quarterfinal match over Owens 6-2, and earned himself a shot at the title with a 6-4 victory over Page in the semifinals.
Plummer and Fitch opted out of the final. Fitch was declared the official title winner.
The next stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for May 21-22, at the Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC, will be an 8-ball event that will serve as a qualifier for the North Carolina 8-Ball State Championships.
