BreakOut Apparel would like to welcome our newest member to the family, D’Angelo “Jawz” Spain! We can’t say enough about this young man. At only 9 years old, he is an absolute beast on the table. He not only competes against other juniors but adults as well. He learned how to play pool at the young age of 4 years old. He is currently coached by his father, Frank Spain, and we are excited to see what the young man can do. He’s poised, confident, respectful, and a fierce competitor on the table. Check out his list of accomplishments at only 9 years old.
TOURNAMENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
2020 – Brews and Cues 9 Ball Tournament (Glen Burnie, MD)
• 1st Place
2020- TAP Short Stack 8 Ball Tournament (Glen Burnie, MD)
• 1st Place
2020 – Joss North East 9 Ball Juniors Event (Amsterdam, NY)
• 1st Place 12 & Under
2019 – APA Junior Nationals Tournament Skill Level 5’s (St. Louis, MO)
• 49th place out of 101 players
2019 – Summer Classic Scotch Doubles Tournament (Baltimore, MD)
• 1st Place
2019 – APA Juniors National Qualifier (Laurel, MD)
• 1st place – Advanced to Nationals in St. Louis in July
2019 – Maryland State Juniors BEF 9ball Tournament 12&U (Laurel, MD)
• 3rd Place
2019 – Billiards Education Foundation Nationals Qualifier (Greenville, SC)
• 5th Place
His other SPONSORS include:
• Jacoby Custom Cues • Risky Shotz Billiards
Please welcome “Jawz” to the #BreakOutFamily. Jawz is the second junior player to join the Break Out Family, joining Skylar Hess. The complete roster of Break Out players is Allison Fisher, Loree Jon Hasson, James Aranas, Shaun Wilkie, Del Sim, James Blackburn, Ashley Burrows, Manny Perez, Clint Palaci, Steve Fleming, Tina Malm, Chuck Sampson, Dylan Spohr, Shanna Lewis, Skylar Hess and D’Angelo Spain.
We have more exciting news in the works, so stay tuned to your news feed!
You can follow Jawz on Facebook & Instagram:
@JawzSpain
2019 Tour Championships to end tour season this weekend in Chesnee, SC
On the weekend of December 14-15, BJ Ussery chalked up his seventh win* on the 2019 Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. It was also the 9th time that he had finished as either the winner or runner-up this year, and also the 11th time that he’d finished among the top five. He competed in 13 of the tour’s events, as well as the Star City 10-Ball Shootout in Roanoke, VA, where he was runner-up to James Aranas and one Atlanta stop on the J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, which he won, downing Bernardo Esteban in the finals. In fact, 2019 was Ussery’s best recorded earnings year, dating back to AZBilliards’ first notations of his winnings, nearly 20 years ago, when he finished 65th at the US Open 9-Ball Championships in 2000.
Ussery and Earl Kent were to have met in the finals of the $1,000-added event that drew 42 entrants to The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA. By mutual agreement, they split the top two prizes and opted out of a final match.
Kent came through the loss side to earn the right to face Ussery in the finals. It was Ussery and James Blackburn who met in the hot seat match. Ussery had faced and defeated Billy Walker 11-4 in one of the winners’ side semifinals, as Blackburn downed Jason Holmes 9-3 in the other one. In what proved to be Ussery’s final match, he claimed the hot seat 11-5 over Blackburn.
On the loss side, Kent defeated Jason Evans 5-3 and then, Scott Roberts 5-2 to advance into the event’s first money round against Jason Holmes. Walker picked up Joshua Shultz, who’d defeated Daniel Adams, double hill, and Dylan Carr 6-2 to reach him.
Walker moved into the quarterfinals on the heels of a 6-4 win over Shultz. Kent joined him after eliminating Holmes 5-2. Kent took the quarterfinal match 5-3 over Walker.
Kent and Blackburn squared off in the event’s final match, the semifinals. Kent downed Blackburn 5-2 and earned himself a split with Ussery.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at The Clubhouse 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 will be its annual Tour Championships, this year scheduled for December 21-22. The $1,000-added event will be hosted by Break & Run Billiards in Chesnee, SC.
Chris Bruner came into the October 12-13 VA State 8-Ball Championships as the Action Pool Tour’s top player. He went undefeated through a field of 37 at Q Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA to claim the event title and maintain his position as #1 on the tour’s player standings list. Eight of the players on the tour’s Top Ten list competed in this year’s event, but so did, among others, Shaun Wilkie (#14) and last year’s runner-up, Mike Davis (#30). Defending champion, Warren Kiamco, did not compete this year. Bruner sent #2, Steve Fleming, to the loss side, and faced #3, RJ Carmona, twice to claim the title.
The Ladies event drew a short field of 13 and was won by Liz Taylor, who, along with Jacki Duggan, who finished in 4th place, are the only women among the tour’s Top 20 in player standings. Like Bruner, Taylor went undefeated through the field and had to face the same opponent (Cheryl Pritchard) in both the hot seat and finals.
Bruner’s seven-match march to the finish line went through Jose Vega-Hernandez, Travis Southard, Jamie Bess and Fleming to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal match against Eric Moore, who would normally be among the tour’s top players, but was making here only his second appearance on the 2019 tour. Bruner arrived at the winners’ side semifinal, having given up only five total racks (two to Southard and three to Fleming).
Carmona got by Kenny Miller (#11), Jason Trigo (#17) and survived a double hill bout versus JT Ringgold (#21) to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal match against Reymart Lim (#5). Three of the four competitors in the winners’ side semifinals had won previous stops on the 2019 tour; Bruner and Lim with two each and Carmona with one.
Moore chalked up more racks against Bruner than all of his previous opponents combined. They fought to double hill before Bruner prevailed and advanced to the hot seat match. He was joined by Carmona, who’d sent Lim west 7-3. In their first of two, Bruner claimed the hot seat 7-4 over Carmona.
On the loss side, Lim picked up Scott Haas, who’d been defeated by Eric Moore 7-5 in a winners’ side quarterfinal match and gone on to defeat Shaun Wilkie 6-4 and Steve Fleming 6-2. Moore drew Ringgold, who, following his double hill loss to Bruner in a winners’ side quarterfinal, had defeated Tony Montalvo 6-2 and Kenny Miller 6-1.
Ringgold downed Moore 6-3 and in the quarterfinals, faced Lim, who’d defeated Haas 6-2. Lim took the quarterfinal match 6-3 over Ringgold.
In the semifinals that followed, Carmona gave up only a single rack to Lim and earned himself a second shot against Bruner. In their second meeting, the Bruner and Carmona battled to double hill before Bruner prevailed to deny Carmona his second 2019 tour victory and chalk up his own third win.
Taylor downs Pritchard twice to capture Ladies 8-Ball Title
Last year’s Ladies’ winner – Bethany Sykes – was ‘in the house’ for this event, though she was sent to the loss side 6-4 in the second round by the eventual winner, Liz Taylor. Sykes then won four on the loss side, before falling to the event’s runner-up, Cheryl Pritchard, in the semifinals.
It took Liz Taylor five matches to claim the title. She got by Maria Beckner 6-1 before sending the event’s defending champion, Bethany Sykes to the loss side 6-4. This set Taylor up in a winners’ side semifinal versus Kim Whitman. Awarded a preliminary round bye, Pritchard defeated Kelly Cox 6-3 to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal match against Lisa Uilani Vita.
Taylor and Whitman fought to double hill before Taylor prevailed 6-5 and sent Whitman west. Pritchard gave up only a single rack to Vita and joined Taylor in what would be their first of two, battling for the hot seat. Taylor took that first of two 6-3 and waited in the hot seat for Pritchard’s return.
On the loss side, Whitman drew Jacki Duggan, who’d lost an earlier battle to Vita and on the loss side, had eliminated Soo Emmett 5-1 and Maria Beckner 5-3. Vita picked up Sykes, who, following her defeat at the hands of Taylor, had defeated Kelly Wyatt 5-3 and Kim McKenna 5-1.
Duggan and Sykes advanced to the quarterfinals with 5-3 victories over Whitman and Vita. Sykes followed that with another 5-3 victory, over Duggan, in the quarterfinals.
Pritchard ended Sykes’ bid for a second year in the 8-Ball Championship finals with a 5-2 win in the semifinals. Taylor then ended Pritchard’s bid for the event title by shutting her out in the finals.
A Second Chance tournament drew 12 entrants and saw Steve Fleming come from the loss side to down hot seat occupant Justin Clark 6-1 in the finals. James Blackburn finished third, with Jimmy Bird in fourth place.
Tour directors Kim Wylie and Tiger Baker thanked the ownership and staff at Q Master Billiards, as well as sponsors as well as sponsors Predator Cues, Viking Cues, Simonis Cloth, Aramith Balls, Brown’s Mechanical LLC, Kamui, Diamond Billiard Products, Ozone Billiards, CSI, Grant Wylie Photography and George Hammerbacher, Advanced Pool Instructor. The next stop on the Action Pool Tour, scheduled for the weekend of November 16-17, will be hosted by Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA.
Collin Hall’s 2019 year at the tables is playing out the way his 2018 year did. On Saturday, July 20 at the Gate City Billiard Club in Greensboro, NC, Hall chalked up his second victory of the year* on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. At this point last year, July 21 to be exact, he’d chalked up only his first 2018 victory. He’s already won twice in 2019 and has until October 13-14 to break a two-per-year threshold he’s faced on three separate occasions; 2016, 2018 and now, 2019. He’s defeated six different opponents in those six final matches, including Danny Jones and Jeff Young in 2016, Brent Hensley and Wes Campbell in 2018.
Hall beat Scott Roberts at The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA in April of this year. This most recent event drew 35 entrants to the Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC. Hall took the hot seat match over BJ Ussery, and then watched, as Scott Johnson, in the midst of an eight-match loss-side winning streak, got way out in front against Ussery in the semifinal. Johnson, at the start, was getting five beads on the wire in a race to 12, so at 6-6, Johnson was on the hill. He missed three opportunities shooting at the 9-ball that would have sent him to the finals against Hall. Ussery took advantage and defeated him 12-6 for a second shot at Hall which didn’t happen. A room curfew led Hall and Ussery to negotiate a prize settlement in lieu of a final match and as the undefeated hot seat occupant, Hall claimed the title.
Their first clash in the hot seat match came after two double hill matchups in the winners’ side semifinals. Hall downed Cartelli 6-4. Ussery sent Shaun Apple to the left bracket 12-4. Hall entered the hot seat match with six on the wire in a race to 12 against Ussery and chalked up the six he needed to win 6-9, in what was, in essence, the event’s title match.
On the loss side, it was Shaun Apple who picked up Johnson, six matches into his loss-side streak, who’d just eliminated Bradley Barker and James Blackburn, both 7-5. Cartelli drew Joe Woo, who’d eliminated Gary Campbell 6-2 and Alex Valencia 6-4.
Johnson got into the quarterfinals with a 7-3 win over Apple. He was joined by Cartelli, who’d ended Woo’s day 5-2. Johnson won what would prove to be his last match of the day, defeating Cartelli 7-3 in those quarterfinals.
Johnson, who’s not appeared on a payout list (to our knowledge) since 2016, when he was runner-up to the tour’s most prolific player, JT Ringgold, entered the semifinals looking for a chance to compete in his second final in three years. And almost pulled it off. As noted above, he was in the driver’s seat, on the hill, poised (thanks to the room curfew) to chalk up a second runner-up victory against one of the tour’s best. He stumbled going into what amounted to be the ‘final turn,’ and Ussery closed the gap to win the game, match and what was essentially, the battle for the runner-up slot.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Gate City 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 (July 27-28), will be hosted by The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
At the mid-point of the Action Pool Tour’s 2019 season on the weekend of June 15-16, there was a little shuffling among the tour’s top players, spearheaded by a strong, come-from-the-loss-side performance by Chris Bruner, who backed up his runner-up performance in Stop #5 with a victory over Brandon Shuff in the finals of Stop #6 – The Brown’s Mechanical 9-Ball Open, which drew 38 entrants to Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA.
A player’s position in the tour rankings is based on a formula which assigns specific points to a player’s finish in an event (20 points for 1st, 19 for 2nd, 18 for 3rd, etc.) times the number of entrants in a given tournament. In addition to the points assigned at an individual event, a player’s position on the list is also affected by the number of times he/she competes on the tour.
In the absence of three of the tour’s top five players at this most recent event (#1 RJ Carmona, #3 Reymart Lim and #4 Liz Taylor), Bruner, who entered the tournament in the fifth spot on the tour rankings advanced two spots to #3, while Steve Fleming, who entered the tournament as the #2-ranked player (having appeared in all six of the tour’s stops) was able to advance ahead of RJ Carmona to take the top spot. With only 1360 points separating 1st place from 5th place, these positions are likely to change in the second half of the 2019 APT season.
With Carmona, Lim and Taylor absent, the door was open for Fleming to advance to the top spot from the beginning, but he was sent to the loss side 8-6 in the second round by Brandon Shuff. Shuff advanced to shut out Jared Pitts and face Shorty Davis in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Two rounds earlier, Davis, appearing in his second event on the tour, was responsible for sending Bruner to the loss side 8-3, and then, sending perennial favorite and perennially competitive Shaun Wilkie over 8-6. James Blackburn, in the meantime, got by Hai Chi, Dave Hunt and David Hairfield to face Shane Buchanan in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Shuff downed Davis 8-2 and was joined in the hot seat match by Blackburn, who’d defeated Buchanan 8-5. Shuff, making his third appearance on this year’s tour, got into the hot seat and guaranteed himself a major jump in the tour rankings (from #24 to #9) with an 8-6 victory over Blackburn.
On the loss side, Shorty Davis ran into an immediate re-match against Bruner, who was four matches into his seven-match, loss-side winning streak, which had included, most recently, victories over Graham Swinson 7-1 and John Jordan 7-2. Buchanan picked up Larry Kressel, who was five matches into his own loss-side winning streak, which had begun with an opening round loss to Jared Pitts. He’d most recently eliminated Shaun Wilkie 7-5 and Dave Hunt 7-1. In the previous round, Hunt had spoiled a potential Kressel/Pitts re-match by defeating Pitts 7-1.
Bruner had a successful rematch against Davis, downing him 7-4. He was joined in the quarterfinals by Kressel, who’d eliminated Buchanan 7-2. With Bruner looking for his sixth straight loss-side win, and Kressel looking for his seventh, the quarterfinal was a somewhat predictable double hill match. Bruner ended Kressel’s run with the win and earned himself a shot at Shuff in the hot seat with a 7-2 victory over Blackburn in the semifinals.
As it turned out, Shuff was going to move into the 9th spot in the tour rankings, regardless of the result of the final match. Bruner, as well, would advance to 3rd place, regardless of the outcome. They battled to within a game of double hill, before Bruner edged out in front near the end of the final to win it 10-8.
A Second Chance event drew six entrants, which elicited more of a highly competitive tournament than one might normally expect from such a small field. Brian Sewell and Graham Swinson met in the second winners’ side round, with Swinson shutting Sewell out. Swinson moved on to occupy the hot seat. Sewell played and won two loss-side matches for a second shot at him and took full advantage, downing Swinson, double hill, to claim the Second Chance title.
Tour directors Kris Wylie and Tiger Baker thanked the ownership and staff at Diamond Billiards for their hospitality, as well as the event’s title sponsor Brown’s Mechanical LLC, CSI, Viking Cues, Predator Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Ozone Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Aramith Balls, Kamui, Chix Cabinets, and George Hammerbacher (Advanced Pool Instructor). The next stop on the Action Pool Tour (#7), scheduled for the weekend of July 13-14, will be the APT Bar Box 10-Ball Open, hosted by Peninsula Billiards in Newport News, VA.
It was a busy weekend in Roanoke, VA. The Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball paid a visit to a new venue on their schedule – Wolf’s Den Billiards in Roanoke, owned by the Wolford family. In what brings a new degree of clarity to the phrase ‘home room,’ Shane Wolford won two out of the three events held over the weekend of March 9-10; the 53-entrant, handicapped Amateur event and a 10-entrant Open event. He was runner-up in the 17-entrant One Pocket event, which was held in the same location, but not specifically run by the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour.
The venue hadn’t just opened its doors when the tournament got underway. It was still plugging in the lights. According to tour director Herman Parker, when he arrived at the location on Saturday morning to begin registering players, the lights over the tables he was going to be using hadn’t even been hung. The situation was rectified by the time the registration process had been concluded and tournament play commenced.
In fact, Shane Wolford actually won only one of the three events, as defined by playing in an event final and winning that final match. He and Derek Leonard ended up splitting the top two payouts in the Amateur event, because when it came time for the finals of that event, Wolford was playing in the hot seat of the Open event, which he went on to win.
Former two-time junior champion Zach Hampton (14 and under, 2012/18 and under 2013) won the One Pocket tournament, downing fellow junior player Wolford 3-0 in the finals, both collecting the only cash prizes; $1050 for Hampton and $525 for Wolford. Wolford added $200 more for his actual victory in the Open event, downing James Blackburn 7-5 in the final (Wolford had defeated Blackburn earlier, double hill, in the hot seat match).
In the Amateur event, which played out over the two days of the pool room’s opening weekend, Wolford advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Ron Frank, as Derek Leonard faced Matt Siple. Leonard sent Siple to the loss side 9-3 and turned to face Wolford, who defeated Frank 9-4. Wolford claimed the hot seat 9-6 over Leonard in what proved to be Wolford’s last match of the Amateur event.
On the loss side, Siple drew Jason Evans, a recent winner on the tour (Feb.), who’d just eliminated two straight competitors, double hill – Graham Swinson and Trevor Stanley. Frank picked up Jonathan Caldwell, who, like Evans, had eliminated two straight opponents in double hill matches; Frank King and Jonathan Ailstock.
Siple and Frank ended Evans’ and Caldwell’s two-match, double hill winning streak and advanced to the quarterfinals; Siple 7-5 over Evans and Frank 9-3 over Caldwell. Siple ended Frank’s run 7-4 in those quarterfinals.
Leonard took the last match of the event, the semifinals, 9-5 over Siple and agreed with Wolford to split the top two prizes, while Wolford continued his winning run on the Open event.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the Wolford family and their Wolf’s Den Billiards' 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 (March 16-17), will be hosted by Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
Two of Collin Hall’s five victories on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour have been accomplished at The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA. He won the first of those two this past July, and on the weekend of October 13-14, he chalked up the second (fifth overall). Hall went undefeated and in lieu of a final match, he split the top two cash prizes with Brent Hensley. The event drew 33 entrants to The Clubhouse.
Hall advanced through the field and arrived at a winners’ side final match against James Blackburn. Hensley, in the meantime, squared off against the owner of The Clubhouse, Chris England. Hall advanced to the hot seat 6-5 over Blackburn (Blackburn racing to 9). He was joined by Hensley, who’d sent England to the loss side 7-3. Hall claimed the hot seat, and, as it turned out, the event title by winning a double hill hot seat match over Hensley.
On the loss side, Blackburn picked up Travis Guerra, who’d defeated Bobby McCoy 6-1 and Lee O’Neal 6-4 to reach him. England drew Brian Bryant, who’d eliminated Chuck Cuneo and Bernie Kirby, both 9-3.
Blackburn got right back to winning, downing Guerra 9-3 and advancing to the quarterfinals. Bryant joined him after chalking up his third straight 9-3 win, over England. Blackburn broke that 9-3 streak and battled Bryant to double hill before Bryant prevailed in those quarterfinals.
Hensley and Bryant battled to double hill in the semifinals, as well, thought it would be Hensley who advanced for a second shot against Hall, waiting in the hot seat. The decision to opt out of the final match was reached and as the undefeated hot seat occupant, Hall claimed the official event title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Chris England and The Clubhouse staff, 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 (Oct. 20-21), will be hosted by Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC.
On Saturday, October 6, Keith Bennett chalked up his second victory on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, and for the second time, it came without benefit of a final match. Bennett advanced undefeated to the hot seat and was scheduled to face Don Williams, who’d won eight in a row on the loss side (including a bye) to meet him. They opted out of final match, leaving Bennett, undefeated in the hot seat, as the official winner. The event drew 23 entrants to Shotmakers in Garner, NC.
With Williams already at work on the loss side, Bennett advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Anthony Mabe, as Barry Mashburn faced Kristy Norris in the other one. Bennett downed Mashburn 11-5 and in the hot seat match, faced Mashburn, who’d defeated Norris in a double hill fight. Bennett claimed the hot seat 11-6 over Mashburn and waited for Williams to complete his loss-side run.
Williams, after an opening round loss to Billie Spatafora, was awarded a loss-side bye, and added three victories before downing Shaun Apple 8-4 and JT Ringgold 8-1, to draw Norris. Mabe picked up Kevin Ping, who’d eliminated Don Lilly 7-4 and James Blackburn, double hill (7-8). Mabe and Norris picked up their second straight loss and were eliminated; Mabe by Ping 7-5 and Norris 8-5 by Williams.
In the first money match, Williams downed Ping 8-5 in the quarterfinals. He completed his loss side run with an 8-6 victory over Mashburn. Williams and Bennett made the decision to forego a final match, allowing Bennett to capture his second straight Q City 9-Ball title in a little over a month.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Shotmakers, 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 (Oct. 13-14), will be hosted by The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
Aranas wins nine on the loss side to challenge him in the finals
Brandon Shuff chalked up his first 2018 major event victory at the On the Hill Productions’ 2018 Maryland State 10-Ball Championships, navigating his way through a field of 79 entrants at Champion Billiards in Frederick, MD on the weekend of Sept. 22-23. He went undefeated through that field. In the end, he claimed the title by defeating, in his final two matches, Earl Strickland for the hot seat and in the finals, Philipines’ Zoren James Aranas, who'd won nine on the loss side to challenge him and was looking to earn his eighth 2018 title.
It was an extraordinarily robust field of entrants for an event with a total prize package of just under $6,000 ($5,925) and included a list of this and other country’s top players, beginning with Shuff, Aranas and Strickland. Also on hand were Shaun Wilkie, Zion Zvi, Alex Osipov, Matt Krah and Jorge Rodriguez. There were women competing, as well; among them, Karen Corr, Jennifer Barretta and Kia Sidbury.
It was, said Shuff, in a post-finals interview with Billiard Sports Network, the first time that he’d been able to leap the ‘Zoren James Aranas’ hurdle. They’d met, most recently, in April at the 2nd Annual Barry Behrman Memorial, where Shuff was defending the title he’d won in the inaugural event. Aranas sent Shuff to the loss side in a winners’ side quarterfinal match, and though he’d come back through five loss-side matches to challenge him in the finals, Aranas defeated him a second time to claim that title.
This time, it was Aranas coming from the loss side. It was Shaun Wilkie who sent Aranas over 7-5 in the second round, which launched the nine-match, loss-side streak that ended in the finals. Shuff in the meantime, was launching his own uninterrupted winners’ side streak with victories over Mark Nanashee 7-2, Kenny Rutman 7-1, Matt Krah in a double hill fight, and Jennifer Barretta 7-4. Shuff drew Eddie Abraham in one of the winners’ side semifinals.
Also in the meantime, Earl Strickland was working on the winners’ side toward a meetup with Shuff in the hot seat match. Strickland had downed Eric Gonzalez 7-3, shut out Corey Rausch, defeated Dylan Spohr 7-2, sent James Blackburn west 7-1 and got into a winners’ side semifinal match against Del Sim with a 7-3 win over Wilkie.
Strickland got into the hot seat match with a 7-1 win over Sim. Shuff joined him after a 7-5 victory over Abraham. In the battle for the hot seat, their respective Fargo Ratings – 775 for Strickland and 738 for Shuff – gave Strickland a 68.1% edge in their race to 7. In the first of two straight matches, Shuff defied the odds and claimed the hot seat with a 7-4 win.
Meanwhile, back at the loss-side ranch, Aranas was working his way through to a meetup with Abraham. Aranas had most recently defeated Joey Korsiak 7-4 (loss-side win #6) and eliminated Wilkie (#7) 7-5 to reach him. Sim drew Jennifer Barretta, originally sent to the loss side by Shuff in the fifth round, who’d most recently defeated Tom Matikainen 7-4 and survived a double hill fight against Adam Kielar.
Aranas advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-3 victory over Abraham, and was joined by Sim, who’d eliminated Barretta 7-4. Barretta’s finish in the tie for 5th place made her the top finishing female at this event. Corr finished just out of the money in the eight-way tie for 25th.
Aranas and Sim then locked up in a quarterfinal, double hill fight which eventually sent Aranas to a semifinal match against Strickland. Aranas got his shot at Shuff in the hot seat with a 7-3 win over Strickland.
Shuff and Aranas entered the finals with a 68-point differential in their respective Fargo Ratings; Aranas with the advantage, 806 to 738. The calculated ‘odds’ gave Aranas an 80.6% advantage in their race to 7.
Shuff didn’t get the Fargo memo. He downed Aranas 7-5 in those finals to win his first 2018 title and claim the first Maryland State 10-Ball Championships.
Tour directors Loye Bolyard and Rick Scarlato, Jr. thanked the ownership and staff at Champion Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors McDermott Cues, Navigator Tips, Phillippe Cues, Lights Out Billiards Apparel, TAP Pool League (Chesapeake Bay), Billiards Sports Network, Aramith Balls, and Simonis Cloth. The next On the Hill Productions’ event, scheduled for the weekend of Nov. 3-4, will be the Maryland State 10-Ball Bar Table Championships, to be hosted by Bank Shot Bar & Grill in Laurel, MD.
JT Ringgold continues to solidify his position as the top winner on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. On the weekend of June 23-24, he added his 11th victory on the tour. His closest competitor in the category is James Blackburn, who, to date, has won five times on the tour. The $500-added weekend event drew 41 entrants to Speakeazy Billiards in Sanford, NC.
Ringgold came within a match of going undefeated. Barry Mashburn won five on the loss side for the right to meet him in the true double elimination finals and won the opening set. Ringgold took the second set to claim the title.
Mashburn was sent to the loss side in a winners’ side quarterfinal match against Jason Rogers, who advanced to meet David Brown in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Ringgold and Joshua Shultz squared off in the other one. Brown sent Rogers to the loss side 8-4, and in the hot seat match, faced Ringgold, who’d defeated Shultz 10-4. Ringgold claimed the hot seat 10-5 over Brown and waited on the return of Mashburn.
Mashburn opened his loss-side run by giving up only a single rack over his first two matches; one to Anthony Mabe and none at all versus Dylan Letchworth. This set Mashburn up to face Shultz. Rogers drew Stevie McClinton, who’d eliminated Don Lilly, 7-6 and Donnie Stewart 7-1 to reach him.
Mashburn jumped immediately into the quarterfinals, when Shultz forfeited (citing a prior commitment, Shultz had left on Saturday). Mashburn was joined in the quarterfinals by McClinton, who’d defeated Rogers 7-5.
Mashburn took the quarterfinal 9-4, and then, defeated Brown in the semifinals 9-5. Carrying the familiar ‘momentum sword,’ Mashburn took the opening set of the true double elimination final 9-4 (Ringgold racing to 10). Ringgold then demonstrated the skill and experience that had, to that point, earned him 10 Q City 9-Ball titles. He defeated Mashburn 10-5 in the second set to claim his 11th title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Jim Bullis and his Speakeazy 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 this weekend (June 30-July 1) will be a $200-added event, hosted by Pal’s Billiards in Piedmont, SC.
BreakOut Apparel would like to welcome our newest member to the family, D’Angelo “Jawz” Spain! We can’t say enough about this young man. At only 9 years old, he is an absolute beast on the table. He not only competes against other juniors but adults as well. He learned how to play pool at the young age of 4 years old. He is currently coached by his father, Frank Spain, and we are excited to see what the young man can do. He’s poised, confident, respectful, and a fierce competitor on the table. Check out his list of accomplishments at only 9 years old.
