As is known to be the case with real estate, success at the tables could arguably be about “location, location, location.” On the weekend of March 10-11, Billy Fowler won his second Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball title by going undefeated through a field of 70 entrants, gathered for a $500-added event, hosted by Cue Time in Spartanburg, SC. It was the same location where he’d won his first Q City 9-Ball title, about two years ago (August 2016).
The two wins were almost identical. In the earlier, first victory, Fowler’s bid at an undefeated run was spoiled by Billy Carroll, who took the opening set of a true double elimination final. Fowler rallied to take the second set and the title. In this most recent event, Fowler’s match record went unblemished, in spite of a seven-match (one forfeit), loss-side run by Greg Burke, who’d been defeated by Fowler, double hill in an earlier winners’ side match.
Fowler benefited, as well, from a forfeited match, same player, in a winners’ side semifinal. Unable to attend the second day of this tournament, Mike Wise was forced to forfeit his winners’ side semifinal match, which put Fowler into the hot seat match. He faced Brian Warren, who’d sent Daniel Rutledge to the loss side 6-2. Fowler claimed the hot seat 8-4, and waited for Burke to finish his loss-side run.
On the loss side, Burke chalked up wins #3 and #4 against Danny Turner (8-1), and Matt Shaw (8-4) before, thanks to a second forfeit by Wise, advancing directly to the quarterfinals. Rutledge had drawn Matt Gibson, who’d defeated Calvin Lee 5-4 and Jim Jennings 5-3, before downing Rutledge 5-4 (Rutledge racing to 6) and joining Burke in the quarterfinals.
Burke eliminated Gibson 8-3 in those quarterfinals, and gave up only a single rack to Warren in the semifinals that followed. The momentum didn’t help much. Fowler took the opening set of the true double elimination final 8-4 over Burke to end it and claim his second Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Cue Time, 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 17-18, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Q Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA.
Dustin Byrd had a lunch date with his Mom on Mother’s Day, May 14. He missed that luncheon date when his performance on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour on Saturday, May 13 dictated a return to the tables on Sunday. He capitalized on that lost lunch and the potential for any Mom ‘payback’ by winning three straight double hill matches to complete an undefeated run, and then dedicating the win to his mother, Denise. The $1,000-added event drew 51 entrants to Mr. Cues II in Atlanta, GA.
Byrd faced Bernardo Hernandez twice in this event; hot seat and finals. He got into the hot seat match with a double hill win over Corey Morphew, as Hernandez was busy sending Greg Burke to the loss side 9-4. Byrd claimed the hot seat, double hill (6-8; Hernandez racing to 9) and waited on Hernandez’ return.
On the loss side, Morphew picked up Steve Thompson, who’d lost his opening match and was in the midst of a nine-match, loss-side winning streak that had advanced him through the first money round (9/12), defeating Justin Clark 6-5 and then downed Hadi Lee 6-3. Burke drew Matt Lucas, who’d eliminated Jeff Jordan and Henry Cofer, both 5-3, to reach him.
With Morphew racing to 9, Thompson advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-8 win over him. He was joined by Burke, who’d defeated Lucas 7-1. Thompson chalked up his last, loss-side win with a 6-4 victory over Burke.
Hernandez defeated Thompson 9-4 in the semifinals to earn himself a second shot against Byrd in the hot seat. Hernandez may have forgotten that it was Mother’s Day, and possibly didn’t know that Byrd had something of a promise to keep. Byrd reminded him with a second double hill win that allowed him to claim the title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Mr. Cues II, 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 May 20-21, will be hosted by Gate City Billiards in Greensboro, NC.
As Billy Carroll and David Williams had done the week before (April 1-2) and J.T. Ringgold and Scott Roberts had done the week before that (March 25), Justin Duncan and Greg Burke (who'd driven to the event together) opted out of a final match during the April 8-9 stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour. They'd met in the hot seat match, won by Duncan, and allowed that to stand as the winner-defining match. The $500-added event drew 48 entrants to Legends Billiards in Inman, SC.
Their first match followed a 7-2 victory by Burke, over Roger Jeffcoat, and a 5-3 win by Duncan, over Ronnie Anderson, in the winners' side semifinals. Duncan claimed the hot seat 5-4 over Burke (Burke racing to 7).
On the loss side, Jeffcoat picked up Steven Ellis, who'd survived two straight double hill matches, against Taz Holliday and Stevie McClinton, to reach him. Anderson drew Corey Morphew, the highest-ranked player left in the field, who'd eliminated Jason Blackwell 9-3 and Dalton Messer 9-4 (double hill).
Jeffcoat and Anderson's loss-side trip lasted only one match. Ellis defeated Jeffcoat 5-2, while Morphew downed Anderson 9-2. Morphew, racing to 9, picked up seven of the racks he needed in the quarterfinals that followed, but Ellis reached five racks first for a 5-7 win that sent him to the semifinals.
In what proved to be the final match of the event, Burke downed Ellis 7-3 in those semifinals. Burke and Duncan came to the no-last-match agreement and split the top two prizes.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff of Legends 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 this weekend (April 15-16), will be a 'bar box' event, hosted by The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
In spite of an initial cancellation and a number of competing events (like Derby City), the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour set a participant record during its 2016 Tour Championships, held on the weekend of January 21-22. Hosted by The Brass Tap in Raleigh, NC, the $1,000-added event drew 82 entrants, breaking a previous entrant record by 13. The roster of competitors included two junior players, who finished among the event's final four. Emerging from the field, undefeated, was Joshua Padron, who downed one of those juniors, 16-year-old Hunter White, twice, to claim the event title.
Originally scheduled for the weekend of January 7-8, the event was canceled and re-scheduled when the Raleigh area went under a state of emergency, related to expected ice and snow storms. It was an unavoidable cancellation, which didn't prevent a list of potential participants, who'd had to travel some distance, from complaining about that cancellation in the pool world blog-o-sphere.
"In spite of the cancellation, it was a tremendous field," said tour director Herman Parker. "If it hadn't been for Derby City, we'd have had 128."
In the year ahead, the tour will hold two tour championships, one in September and another at the end of the year, each catering to participation on different sized tables. One will play out on 'bar box' tables and the other, on standard 9-ft. tables.
Padron's victory and young Hunter White's standout performance in the runner-up category had a way of overshadowing a strong showing by Greg Burke. He and White traveled together to the championships from the Greenville/Spartanburg area. Burke lost his opening round match, and chalked up 11 matches (one bye) on the loss side of the bracket before meeting his traveling companion in the semifinals.
Padron advanced to a winners' side semifinal against Travis Guerra (runner-up on the preceding tour stop – January 14), while Hunter White squared off against Barry Mashburn. Padron downed Guerra 6-4, and in the hot seat match, faced, in their first of two, White, who'd downed Mashburn 8-4. Padron claimed the hot seat and waited for White to get back from the semifinals, against Burke, as it turned out.
On the loss side, the event's other notable junior, Peter Abatangelo (15), defeated Earl Davis 5-2, and in a meeting between pool student (Abatangelo) and teacher (George Crawford), Abatangelo prevailed, 5-1, to draw Guerra, fresh off his defeat at the hands of Padron. Mashburn had the misfortune of drawing Burke, who, by this time, had chalked up eight victories on the loss side, including David Brown 7-4 and Blade Best 7-2.
Abatangelo advanced to the quarterfinals 5-3 over Geurra, as Burke was downing loss-side opponent # 8 (Mashburn) 7-3, to join him. Burke was now poised to face two junior players in a row. He took care of the first one, Abatangelo, 7-2 in the quarterfinals, but then ran into his traveling companion, Hunter White. The two battled to double hill, before White chalked up the final game and advanced to the finals, presumably with his ride home not in jeopardy.
With White racing to 8, and Padron to 6, White had to win twice to claim the title. He didn't. Padron took the opening and only set 6-4 to become the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour's 2016 Champion.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at The Brass Tap for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta 13 Racks, Ruthless Billiards, GoPlayPool.com, AZBilliards and Professor Q Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for January 28-29, will be hosted by Gate City Billiards in Greensboro, NC.
Robert Hart and Billy Fowler fought two double hill matches during the Saturday, November 26 stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour. Hart won the first one, battling for the hot seat, and Fowler won the second, in the first set of the true double elimination final. Just ahead of 3 a.m., they let it go at that, with Hart as the hot seat occupant, capturing the official event title. The $500-added event drew 44 entrants to Cue Time in Spartanburg, SC.
In the lead-up to their first meeting, Hart squared off against teenager Hunter White, while Fowler faced Samantha Kielson in the two winners' side semifinals. Hart sent White to the loss side 5-4 (White racing to 8). Fowler sent Kielson over 7-2. With Fowler racing to 7, Hart took the first of their two 5-6, double hill.
On the loss side, White and Kielson ran right into their second loss. White was defeated, double hill, by Steve Loftin, who'd eliminated Greg Burke 4-2 and Andy Bowden 4-3 (Bowden racing to 5). Kielson fell 6-2 to Dayne Miller, who'd eliminated Travis Guerra 6-1 and Philip "Monk" Denton 6-4 before meeting her.
Miller downed Lofton 6-2 in the subsequent quarterfinals. Fowler, though, ended Miller's loss-side streak 7-4.
With Hart racing to 5 and Fowler to 7, Fowler took the opening set of the true double elimination final 7-4, which was double hill. It was at this point that they opted out of a second deciding match, choosing to split the top two prizes and allowing Hart to claim the official event title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Cue Time, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta 13 Racks, Ruthless Billiards, GoPlayPool.com, AZBilliards and Professor Q Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for December 3-4, will be hosted by the Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC.
As the two presidential candidates banter back and forth about their stamina (or lack, thereof), pool players have to be thinking that if that's a significant qualification, they should be up there trading thoughts with the candidates. The grind of a weekend tournament, or a single-day tournament that ends up racing the dawn are common on the pool circuit, and often, when it comes down to a final that could well be lit by natural daylight, the two opponents figure that the prize differential between the top two cash amounts is not significant enough to warrant playing that final game. So it was, on Saturday, September 24, when Justin Duncan and Greg Burke, after a full day, opted out of their final match on the Viking Cues' Q-City 9-Ball Tour. Having defeated Burke once, and sitting in the hot seat, Duncan claimed the official title, as 3 a.m. loomed on the event horizon. The $500-added event drew 39 entrants to Legends Billiards in Inman, SC.
They met first in a winners' side semifinal, when it was still Saturday. Aaron McClure, in the meantime, squared off against Kirk Hixon. Duncan downed Burke 5-3, and in the hot seat match faced McClure, who'd sent Hixon west 6-3. Duncan claimed the hot seat over McClure in a hard fought double hill battle, which proved to be his last.
On the loss side, Jim Jennings was doing his level best to get a shot against Duncan. An opening round bye was followed by a loss to Thomas Jones, at which point, Jennings went on a six-match, loss-side streak that would take him as far as the quarterfinals. Three matches in to that streak, he downEd Scott Ward 7-3, and then, wreaked his vengeance on Jones, defeating him 7-1, to draw Hixon. Burke drew Boyd Best, who'd won two straight double hill matches, against Steve Ellis and Romeo Malonzo, to reach him.
Jennings advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-4 victory over Hixon. Burke joined him after allowing Best only a single rack in their matchup. Burke ended Jennings' streak in those quarterfinals, but not before Jennings forced a case game to decide it.
In what would prove to be the final match of the event, Burke downed McClure in the semifinals 7-2. Duncan and Burke opted out of the final, leaving the undefeated Duncan to claim the event title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked Legends Billiards' co-owners Marty Opyd and April Bradley and their staff, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta-13 racks and Ruthless Billiards. The next stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of October 1-2, will be hosted by Randolph's in Hickory, NC.
Greg Burke and Todd Noble opted to let their hot seat match stand as the title match at the conclusion of the Saturday, August 29 stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour. The undefeated Noble claimed title to the event that drew 27 entrants to The Smokin' Cue in Hickory, NC.
Noble defeated Josh Padron 6-3 in one winners' side semifinal, while Burke sent David Lear over 7-3. Noble claimed the hot seat 6-5 (Burke racing to 7) in what proved to be his last match of the evening.
Padron and Lear moved to the loss side and picked up Jeff Pate and Matt Lucas. Lucas had defeated Justin Clark 4-2 and David Best 4-4 (Best racing to 6) to reach Lear. Pate, who'd been sent to the loss side by Padron, was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side winning streak that would carry him to the semifinals. He'd gotten by Stevie McClinton 8-5 and Cameron Tuten 8-3 to draw his rematch against Padron.
Pate successfully navigated that re-match 8-2 and in the quarterfinals, faced Lear, who'd eliminated Lucas 7-3. Pate then chalked up his sixth and final loss-side victory 8-4 over Lear.
In the event's final match, Burke stopped Pate's loss-side streak 7-3. He and Noble opted out of the final match, leaving the undefeated Noble as the event winner, while the two split the top two money prizes.
The Q City 9-Ball Tour will visit Hickory, NC on Labor Day weekend (September 5-6). The event will be hosted by Randolph's Billiards.
