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Formby wins two out of three over Walters to claim Q City 9-Ball Tour Championship

Derek Formby

The $1,000-added Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball 2020 Bar Box Tour Championships, postponed until this past weekend (Jan. 9-10), drew 104 entrants to Break & Run Billiards in Chesnee, SC. Derek Formby came from the loss side to double dip hot seat occupant Benny Walters to claim the event title. Formby had met Walters in a winners’ side semifinal and won three on the loss side to meet and defeat him twice in a true double elimination final.

They’d met first in that winners’ side semifinal, as Dustin Coe and Greg Dix met in the other one. Walters and Formby battled to double hill, before Walters won the only match of three that he’d play against Formby and advanced to the hot seat match. Coe joined him after defeating Dix 6-6 (Dix racing to 8). Walters claimed the hot seat over Coe in his second straight double hill win.

On the loss side, Dix picked up tour veteran BJ Ussery, the highest handicap present at this tour championship, who’d defeated Kevin Ping 12-1 and Gary South 12-4. Formby drew Hunter White, another tour veteran, who’d eliminated Jimmy Bird 10-2 and Johnny Walker 10-4 to reach Formby.

With White racing to 10, it was Formby who advanced to the quarterfinals over him, 6-8. Formby was joined by Dix, who’d defeated Ussery 8-9 (Ussery racing to 12). At about midnight on Sunday night, Formby and Dix initiated what would turn out to be a double hill quarterfinal, which eventually advanced Formby into the semifinals against Dustin Coe.

Formby and Coe, in a straight up race to 6, also battled to double hill in those semifinals. Formby survived again to earn a shot at Walters in the hot seat.

In the opening set of the true double elimination final, Formby found himself engaged in his third straight double hill match and for the third straight time, he won. Now tied at one match apiece, Formby and Walters battled for the bar box tour championship. Formby pulled out in front in the second set and stayed there to win it 6-2.

Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Break & Run Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Bar Pool Tables, JB Magic Templates, AZBilliards, Tickler Pool Ball Washing Machine, Skyline Construction, Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division and Dirty South Grind Apparel Co.

The Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour will be right back at it this weekend, Jan. 16-17. The tour will hold a $1,000-added tournament at Sonny’s Billiards & Bistro in Princeton, WV.

Stewart takes two of three over Collins to win Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball stop in Myrtle Beach

Donnie Stewart

Donnie Stewart made his first official appearance on the AZBilliards Money Leaderboard in 2018, when he recorded cash payout finishes in four stops on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour; finishing 9th, 7th, 5th, and (his best, to that point) 3rd at a stop in Cary, NC. On Saturday, November 2, at a $500-added stop, hosted by Shore Thing Billiards in North Myrtle Beach, SC, Stewart went undefeated into the hot seat, gave up the opening set of a true double elimination final to Matt Collins, but came back to take the second set and claim his first ever event title.
 
Stewart had to get by Collins twice, actually. They met first in a winners’ side semifinal, as Mitchell Floyd and Deon Rheuark squared off in the other one. Stewart sent Collins to the loss side 6-3. Floyd joined him in the battle for the hot seat, after shutting Rheuark out. Stewart claimed the hot seat 6-2 and waited for Collins to finish his three-match, loss-side trip back to the finals.
 
On the loss side, Collins drew Travis Guerra, who’d defeated Alex Stone 6-4 and Keno Patel 6-2 to reach him. Rheuark drew Wendell Thompkins, who’d gotten by Sugar Small 7-3 and survived a double hill (7-6) battle versus Greg Dix.
 
Collins got into the quarterfinal match with a 6-4 win over Guerra. Thompkins joined him, after eliminating Rheuark 7-1. The last recorded time that Collins and Thompkins had faced each other in a pool match, it was in the same location, in the finals of a stop on the Great Southern Billiard Tour in 2015. Thompkins had defeated Collins in the hot seat match of that event, but Collins came back from a double hill win in the semifinals, chalked up a second double hill win in the opening set of the finals, and then took the second set to claim his first event title. Back at Shore Thing Billiards, just over four years later, Collins bested Thompkins again; this time, 6-4 to win the quarterfinal match.
 
Collins shut Mitchell Floyd out in the semifinals and strode into the double elimination finals with some momentum. He used it to chalk up a 6-2 win in the opening set. Stewart, though, came back in the second set to win it 6-2 and claim his first event title.
 
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Shore Thing Billiards, 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 (Nov. 9-10), will be a $500-added event ($1,000-added with 64 or more entrants) hosted by Break ‘N Run Billiards in Chesnee, SC.

Dix comes back from double hill hot seat match to double dip Crain on GSBT

Shannon Daulton, Greg Dix, Jennifer Dix ,Christian Dix, Scott Crain and host Caitlin Pettipas

Playing against the lower echelon of skills in a handicapped tournament can be daunting, as six of the final 12 players on the Great Southern Billiard Tour's October 10-11 stop discovered. Greg Dix, racing to 8, was one of those six, picking up a defeat in the hot seat match against a "5" – Scott Crain – but coming back to double dip Crain in the true double elimination finals. The $700-added event drew 28 entrants (including this reporter) to Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle  Beach, SC.
 
Dix and Crain advanced to the winners' side semifinals, with Dix facing Justin Marten and Crain squaring off against Kenny Wilson. Dix sent Marten over 8-2, as Crain was sending Wilson over 5-5 (Wilson racing to 8). Crain claimed the hot seat 5-7 (double hill) and waited for Dix to get back from the semifinals.
 
On the loss side (with me, long gone), Marten picked up John Phillips, who'd defeated Tim Nash 4-2, and shut out Cliff Crib. Wilson drew Dan Woods, who'd defeated Brian Bagwell and B.J. Hucks, both 3-3 (Bagwell and Hucks, both racing to 8). Woods and Marten advanced to the quarterfinals; Woods 3-4 over Wilson (racing to 8), and Marten 8-2 over Phillips. 
 
Woods then eliminated Marten in the quarterfinals 3-4 (Marten racing to 8). Though Marten would put up a double hill fight in the semifinals, Dix prevailed 8-2 for a second shot and, as it turned out, third shot at Crain in the hot seat. Dix took the opener 8-1, and won the second set 8-3 to claim his fourth GSBT title since 2007.
 

Hess downs tour veteran Britt to win his first GSBT stop

Shannon Daulton, Tyler Hess with his girlfriend, owner Brent Hudgens and Matt Hall

Handicaps, as they apply to the varied billiard sports, are often debated, though few would argue that they are a reasonable means for leveling the playing field between two players with a discernible gap in their skills.  On the Great Southern Billiard Tour, players race to their ranking, giving, as a relevant example, Tyler Hess, racing to 4, an advantage over a veteran like Phillip Britt who has to win nine games, before Hess wins his four. Hess took advantage of that handicap to down Britt in the finals of the June 13-14 stop on the GSBT and chalk up his first win on the tour. The $750-added event drew 38 entrants to Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle Beach, SC.
 
Advancing to a winners' side semifinal, Hess faced another GSBT veteran racing to 9 – Greg Dix – as Britt squared off against Matt Hall, racing to 4, in the other. It was Hall and Hess advancing to the hot seat match; Hall 4-6 over Britt and Hess 4-7 over Dix. In a straight-up race to 4, Hess took the hot seat 4-1 and waited on Britt's return from a three-match run on the loss side.
 
In the first of his three, Britt faced Robert Otto, who'd defeated Andy Bowden 5-4, and Eric Norton 5-2 to reach Britt. Dix drew Dave Brown, 7-4 winner over Scott Crane and 7-3 winner over Tony DeGuzman. Britt  eliminated Otto 9-3, as Dix was busy winning a double hill match over Brown. In the quarterfinal, straight-up race to 9 between the two GSBT vets, Britt prevailed 9-7. for a shot at the man who'd sent him to the loss side, Matt Hall.
 
Once again, Hall's handicap advantage proved to be important, as he defeated Britt a second time, by the same score he'd defeated him in the winners' side semifinal, 4-6. So it was the 4-rated players squaring off in the finals. The fought to double hill before Hess finished things up to claim his first GSBT title. 
 
Shannon Daulton thanked the ownership and staff at Shore Thing Billiards, as well as sponsors Nick Varner Cues and Cases, Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Lomax Custom Cues, Tiger Products, Ozone Billiards, Delta-13 and AZBilliards. The next stop on the GSBT, scheduled for June 27-28, will be hosted by the Coliseum in Greenville, SC. With 40 entrants, $1,000 will be added to this event. With 64 entrants, that amount will be increased to $2,000.
 

Batten goes undefeated to win his first GSBT title, while Stone stops Britt in semifinals

Shannon Daulton, Jeff Batten, Brad Stone and owner Brent Hudgens

As the February 7-8 stop on the Great Southern Billiard Tour wound down to its final 12 players (four on the winners' side, eight on the loss side), the lower handicaps were doing quite well against the more veteran competitors. Two players who only had to win four games to win a match advanced to the hot seat, and in the end, played in the finals, as well. While Jeff Batten defeated Brad Stone twice to capture his first GSBT title, it should be noted that Stone was the one who had to travel to the one-loss side and face Phillip Britt. Britt had to win nine games to win a match and was in the midst of an eight match, loss-side winning streak that Stone brought to an end. The $1,000-added event drew 45 entrants to Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle Beach, SC.
 
As GSBT veterans like Britt, Greg Dix and Jeff Abernathy were working on the loss side, Batten and Stone advanced to the winners' side semifinals. Batten met and defeated David Tootle (racing to 6) 4-4, as Stone was busy sending Ray Floyd to the loss side 4-3. Batten claimed the hot seat, and waited on Stone's return, no doubt rooting for him in the semifinals versus Britt.
 
On the loss side, Tootle was the one who had the misfortune to draw Britt, who'd been defeated in the opening round, and had won six on the loss side already, including a 9-2 win over Paul Durgin and a decidedly tighter 9-6 win over Abernathy. Floyd drew Paul Bailey, who'd defeated Chris Gentile 7-4 and eliminated Dix in a double hill fight. Bailey and Britt advanced to the quarterfinals, handing Floyd and Tootle their second straight loss; Bailey 7-4 over Floyd and Britt 9-4 over Tootle.
 
Britt then completed his loss-side winning streak with a 9-3 win over Bailey in the quarterfinals. He chalked up six in the semifinals versus Stone, but by then, Stone had won the four games he needed for a second shot at Batten in the hot seat.  The final match was a straight-up race to four that went double hill before Batten prevailed to record his first GSBT victory.
 
Tour director Shannon Daulton, fresh off his win in the Banks division of the Derby City Classic, thanked the ownership and staff at Shore Thing Billiards for their continuing support. The next stop on the GSBT, scheduled for February 28-March 1, will be hosted by Legends Billiards in Inman, SC. 

Somner double dips Dix to win his first GSBT stop

Shannon Daulton, Richie Sumner, Greg Dix and Brent Hudgins

Richie Somner came back from the semifinals of the December 7-8 stop on the Great Southern Billiard Tour, to take both sets of a true double elimination final from Greg Dix and capture his first GSBT title. The $1,000-added event drew 32 entrants to Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle Beach, SC.
 
Somner worked his way through to a winners' side semifinal against Gatlin Haskins, while Dix took on Jamie Spivey. Dix won 9-3, and was met in the hot seat match by Somner, who'd defeated Haskins 7-4.  With Somner racing to 7, Dix took the first of his three against him, handily, 9-3, and sat in the hot seat to await his return.
 
Haskins moved to the loss side and met up with B.J. Hucks, who'd gotten by Matt Collins 9-2 and survived a double hill battle against Chris Gentile. Spivey picked up Jim Grey, who'd defeated Justin Martin 6-5 and Anthony Ballario 6-4.
 
Grey and Haskins advanced to the quarterfinals, once Grey had eliminated Spivey 6-2 and Haskins had sent Hucks home 9-5. With Haskins racing to 9, Grey squeaked by him in a double hill battle that sent him to the semifinals. Somner ended Grey's loss-side winning streak with a 7-4 win that earned him a second shot against Dix.
 
With Dix racing to 9, Somner won the opening set of the finals 7-6. He allowed Dix one more rack in the second set, winning it 7-7 to capture his first GSBT title.
 
Tour director Shannon Daulton thanked the ownership and staff at Shore Thing Billiards for their ongoing support and hospitality, as well as sponsors Nick Varner Cues & Cases, Delta 13 Racks, Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Tiger Products, Ozone Billiards and Lomax Custom Cues.
 
The Great Southern Billiard Tour will host its 7th Annual Tour Championship beginning on Friday, Dec. 13, at Michael's Billiards in Fairfield, OH. With $5,000 guaranteed prize money up for grabs, it's the tour's biggest event. Anybody looking for further information about this event should call Shannon Daulton at 865-850-4572, or log on to the tour's Web site at www.greatsouthernbilliardtour.com.
 

Dix gets by Hucks twice to claim GSBT event title

Described by tour director as a "known force at the beach," Greg Dix picked up his second 2013 win on the Great Southern Billiard Tour at Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle Beach, SC. His previous win came in May at the same location, as did his third place finish in January, and his second place finish in August. The $650-added stop on October 5-6 drew 25 entrants.
 
The undefeated express almost got de-railed in one of the winners' side semifinals, as Phillip Britt battled Dix to double hill, before giving way. Mickey Hucks, in the meantime, racing to 6, defeated Richie Somner 6-5 (Somner racing to 7). Dix dominated the hot seat match 9-2, in his first of two against Hucks.
 
Somner moved west to pick up  Greg Little, who'd defeated Willie Darrigan, double hill, Chad Lee 6-4. Britt had the misfortune of running into Ray Floyd, who was working his way to the semifinals, and had gotten by Hank Warner 5-4 (Warner racing to 6), and Karl Simmons, double hill. Somner dropped Little into the tie for fifth 7-4, and taking advantage of his handicap Floyd eliminated Britt 5-8.
 
Floyd completed his loss-side run with a 5-2 victory over Somner in the quarterfinals, and though he'd battle to double hill in the semifinals, Hucks prevailed for a second shot at Dix. Dix completed his undefeated run with a 9-3 victory in the finals.
 
Shannon and Marge Daulton thanked the ownership and staff at Shore Thing Billiards for their continuing support of the tour, as well as sponsors Nick Varner Cues and Cases, Delta 13 Racks, Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Tiger Products, Ozone Billiards and Lomax Custom Cues. The next stop on the GSBT, scheduled for October 26-27, will be a $1,000-added 9-ball tournament, to be hosted by Chalk It Up Billiards in La Grange, GA.

Heyward stops loss-side charge by Dix to win 8-Ball GSBT stop

Shannon Daulton, Jason Heyward, Greg Dix, & Brent Hudgins (owner of Shore Thing Billiards)

Working under a new handicap system that has players racing to their ranking number – in 8-ball, 3-9; in 9-ball, 3-11 – the Great Southern Billiard Tour stopped off at Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle Beach on Saturday, August 3 for an 8-ball tournament. Greg Dix, who won the last Shore Thing Billiards 8-ball tournament, back in May, almost made it two, winning seven on the loss side to challenge hot seat occupant, Jason Heyward. Heyward, though, came back from a defeat in the opening set of the true double elimination final to win the second set and claim the event title. The $700-added Amateur 8-ball event drew 25 entrants.
 
As Dix went to work on the loss side (following a 6-2 defeat at the hands of Mike Johnson in the second round), Heyward advanced among the winners' side final four for a contest against Daniel Adams. David Styers, in the meantime, met up with Trent Talbert. Heyward sent Adams packing 9-4 (Adams racing to 6), as Styers, in a straight-up race to 6, downed Talbert 6-2. Heyward got into the hot seat with a 9-4 win over Styers, and waited for Dix to complete his loss-side run.
 
With two victories already on the board, Dix gave up only a single rack, in total, to Robert Worsham (0) and Guy Faulk, and picked up Adams. Talbert drew Phillip Britt, who'd gotten by Collin Hall and Dale Holt, both 8-4, although with Holt racing to five, that was a double hill match. Dix and Talbert downed Adams and Britt 8-2 and squared off against each other in the quarterfinals.
 
Dix took the quarterfinal match against Talbert 8-2, as well, and gave up one more rack in the semifinals, winning it 8-3 over Styers. In the opening set of the true double elimination final, Dix capitalized on a few Heyward errors and chalked up yet another 8-2 win (through his final six matches, Dix won 82% of the games he played; 48-10). Dix encountered some problems on his break in the second set, tending to allow Heyward to step to the table with a benevolent spread of balls. Heyward took full advantage, winning the second set 9-4, and the event title.
 
Shannon and Marge thanked Brent Hudgins and his staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Nick Varner Cues & Cases, Delta 13 Racks, Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Tiger Products, and Lomax Custom Cues. Next up for the GSBT is a stop at Johnny Archer's place – The Marietta Billiard Club in Marietta, GA – for a $1,000-added Amateur 9-ball tournament, set for August 17-18.