After the 1st NC State 9-Ball Championships were won by Larry Nevel in 2013, Mike Davis, Jr. won the next three between 2014 and 2016 He skipped three years in which Shannon Fitch (’17), Reymart Lim (’18) and Keith Bennett (’19) won, before returning to the annual event in 2020, downing Justin Martin in the finals. BJ Ussery claimed the title in 2021 and Jesus Atencio won it last year. Mike Davis, Jr. chalked up his fifth NC State 9-Ball Championship title this past weekend (Feb. 25-26), going undefeated and downing Brian White twice; hot seat and finals. The $1,000-added event, held under the auspices of the PremierBilliards.com TOP (The Open Players) Tour, drew 38 entrants to Breaktime Billiards in Winston-Salem, NC.
A previously-scheduled Ladies event did not occur when it drew only 5 women, including a pair of junior competitors, Hayleigh Marion and Skylar Hess. The women were offered the opportunity at a reduced entry to compete in the Open event and did so, comporting themselves quite well actually.
“Even when they lost,” said tour director, Herman Parker, “the fact that they’d won a few, collectively, against some strong (male) competition was pretty significant.”
Skylar Hess, a regular on the Junior International Championship circuit (JIC), defeated Jason Blackwell before losing to Barry Mashburn and Kirk Overcash. Hayleigh Marion won two on the winners’ side and one on the loss side before being knocked out by Q City 9-Ball veteran and multiple event winner, Reid Vance. Christy Norris, who plays on the tour regularly in mixed-gender events, came within of match of advancing to the first money round, before she forfeited a match against her significant other, Barry Mashburn (who promptly loss in the subsequent round, which led to some gentle ‘ribbing’ after the fact).
“I was super-impressed with the womens’ play this past weekend,” said Parker.
Davis and Brian White met first in the hot seat match after Davis had defeated Clint Clark 7-3 in one of the winners’ side semifinals and White had downed Don Lilly 7-1 in the other one. Davis claimed the hot seat 7-4 and waited on White’s return.
On the loss side, Davis actually had two “White”s to watch, because Hunter White was working his way through the bracket on the loss side as well. Hunter had eliminated Mark Bolton 7-3 and in the first money round, Barry Mashburn 7-4 to draw Lilly. Clark picked up Josh Padron, who’d recently defeated Kelly Farrar 7-3 and to enter that first money round too, survived a double hill battle versus Scott Howard to reach him.
Hunter White defeated Lily 7-3 and in the quarterfinals, met up with Clint Clark, who’d eliminated Padron 7-4. Hunter White then downed Clark 7-2 in those quarterfinals, leaving Davis (waiting in the hot seat) in the position of wondering which “White” to watch as the two of them squared off in the semifinals.
One “White” won as the other went down. Brian defeated Hunter 7-3 for a second crack at Davis in the finals. Davis and Brian White mirrored their hot seat match score, which gave Davis his fifth NC State 9-Ball Championship title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Breaktime Billiards for their hospitality (and sponsorship of the tour), as well as title sponsor PremierBilliards.com, BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division and TKO Custom Cues.
The next stop on the PremierBilliards.com TOP Tour, scheduled for the weekend of March 18-19 will be the 2023 West Virginia State 9-Ball Open, to be hosted by The League Room in Parkersburg, WV. The next stop on the PremierBilliards.com Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this coming weekend (March 4-5), will be hosted by West End Billiards in Gastonia, NC.
Hunter White hadn’t won a stop on the PremierBilliards.com Q City 9-Ball Tour since the last weekend in February, 2021. It was the weekend that North Carolina’s governor, Roy Cooper, signed an executive order restoring indoor service to bars and increased seating capacity for indoor sporting events,after the height of the pandemic had passed. White continued to compete that year, cashing in nine events and in the end, making it his best earnings year since he recorded his first here at AZBilliards in 2014. His reported winnings in 2022, paled in comparison with only five cash finishes.
This past weekend (Sat., Jan. 28), White left little doubt that his head was ‘back in the game’ by opening his 2023 campaign with an undefeated run to the hot seat at a stop on the tour, winning, on average, four out of every five games he played (45-10; 82%). He and Jeff Abernathy, looking for his first victory on the tour since 2019, split the top two prizes when they opted out of playing a final match. The $500-added event drew 39 entrants to Randolph Billiards in Hickory, NC.
After an opening round bye, all 10 of the racks chalked up against White were recorded in his first three matches (3, 5, 2), which brought him to a winners’ side semifinal match against Matt Lumston, who’d just sent Abernathy to the loss side. Ian Watson and Marcus Pendley squared off in the other winners’ side semifinal.
White shut Lumston out. Watson joined him in the hot seat match after dispatching Pendley to the ‘west,’ 5-6 (Pendley racing to 8). White claimed the hot seat with his second shutout in a row.
On the loss side, Abernathy defeated Tim Williams 9-2 and Jason Blackwell 9-4, advancing to the first money round to face Pendley. Lumston drew Thomas Sansone, who’d defeated Joe Frasier 7-2 and Jerry Hilton 7-3, to reach him.
Abernathy and Sansone handed Pendley and Lumston their second straight loss; Abernathy downing Pendley 9-6, as Sansone eliminated Lumston 7-4. Abernathy then defeated Sansone 9-4 in the quarterfinals.
In what proved to be the final match of the event, Abernathy gave up only a single rack to Ian Watson and won their semifinal match. The split-cash accommodation, which had been reached prior to the semifinal match, left White, occupant of the hot seat, as the official winner of the event and Abernathy as its runner-up.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Randolph Billiards for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor PremierBilliards.com, Breaktime Billiards (Winston-Salem, NC), BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division and TKO Custom Cues. The next stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (Feb. 4-5), will be a $500-added event, hosted by Action Billiards in Inman, SC.
Burlington, NC’s Michael Robertson appears to be a player that you want to catch early before he gets any ‘wind in his sails.’ He’s cashed nine times on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour spread out over six years and on the three occasions that he has claimed an event title, he’s gone undefeated. He won his first two last year, his best recorded earnings year, about two weeks apart in November and December and this past weekend (Dec. 17-18), chalked up his third, going (once again) undefeated to claim the tour’s 10th Annual Bar Box Championships. The $1,000-added event drew 58 entrants to Rock House in Gastonia, NC.
This most recent win was not without its challenges; a double hill battle for the hot seat and meeting an opponent who’d earned some momentum from a five-match, loss-side streak to meet him in the finals. Robertson advanced through the field to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal match against Stevie McClinton. Joshua Shultz, in the meantime, worked his way through the field to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal versus Dustin Barkley, who’d just defeated Robertson’s eventual finals opponent, Jon Jon Newman, in a winners’ side quarterfinal 6-3.
Robertson got into the hot seat match 7-5 over McClinton. Shultz downed Barkley 7-4 to join him. Shultz put up a double hill fight that almost derailed Robertson’s bid for a third undefeated tour victory, but Robertson held on to win.
Following his loss to Barkley, Newman opened his loss-side campaign with a shutout over Chris Clary, followed it with a double hill win over Jason Blackwell, and drew McClinton. Barkley picked up veteran Q City competitor Hank Powell, who’d defeated Chris Preacher and Brian Ervin, both 8-3, to reach him.
Newman advanced to the quarterfinals over McClinton 6-5 (McClinton racing to 7). Barkley earned a rematch against him with a double hill win over Powell. His momentum building, Newman defeated Barkley 6-4 in their quarterfinal rematch.
Newman gave up only a single rack to Shultz in the semifinals that followed and making a bid to prevent Robertson’s third tour win, advanced to the finals, needing to defeat him twice. Newman, racing to 6, got to within a game of forcing a deciding rack in the opening set, but Robertson edged out in front at the end to win the game, match and 10th Annual Bar Box Championships 7-4.
Tour director Herman Parker’s thanks were extended to 10 years’ worth of player names, locations and sponsors, beginning with title sponsor Viking Cues, the ownership and staff at Rock House, Breaktime Billiards of Winston-Salem, NC (and other venues, too numerous to mention), BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, Ridge Back Rails, and Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division.
The Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour’s schedule is a ‘work in progress’ going into the holiday weekend. In addition to its normal array of handicapped events, the tour will also add a series of Open events to its 2023 schedule, dates for which, according to Parker, should be available within the next week to 10 days, either on the tour’s Facebook page or the calendar here on AZBilliards.
Cameron Hollingsworth, Breaktime owner Sundeep “Sonny” Makhani and Larry Hughes.
Both finalists in the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball’s 10th Tour Championships, held this past weekend (Nov. 19-20), had something to play for, beyond just the cash and whatever bragging rights they might claim later. Larry Hughes and Cameron Hollingsworth were both looking to record their first cash wins. Hollingsworth was also trying to take advantage of the fact that his older brother, the twice-defending champion of this event, Landon Hollingsworth, was in Puerto Rico. Ahead of the final match, each of them had recorded a single loss. Hughes took the last match to claim the title. Though the outcome could be attributed to any one of a number of factors, it would appear to be unlikely that it was due to which of them wanted it more. The $1,500-added event drew 56 entrants to Breaktime Billiards in Winston-Salem, NC.
Winning it was a breakthrough for Hughes. Coming from the loss side, winning seven and the opening set of the true double elimination, not to mention recording his first cash win was a breakthrough for Hollingsworth.
With Hollingsworth on the loss side, having lost a third round match to Billy Walker, Hughes advanced through the field to face Eric Stanton in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Clay Davis and Jason Blackwell squared off in the other one.
Davis defeated Blackwell 8-1, while Hughes was shutting Stanton out. Hughes grabbed the hot seat 6-2 and waited on the as-determined-as-he-was Hollingsworth to complete his loss-side run.
With two notches on that loss-side belt, Hollingsworth defeated Barry Mashburn 5-4 (Mashburn racing to 9) and Trent Talbert 5-4 (Talbert racing to 6), to pick up Stanton. Blackwell drew Josh Heeter, who’d defeated Jeff Howell and Thomas Sansone, both 9-3, to reach him.
Hollingsworth and Heeter advanced to the quarterfinals; Hollingsworth 5-2 over Stanton and Heeter 9-4 over Blackwell. Hollingsworth chalked up wins #6 and #7 with a double hill, quarterfinal win over Heeter and 5-1 victory over Davis in the semifinals.
With Davis racing to 6, Hollingsworth took the opening set of the true double elimination final 5-4. Hughes fought back in the second set to take a lead and stretch it to three games, winning it 6-3 to claim his first event title and the 10th Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour Championship title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked tour sponsor Sundeep Makhani and his Breaktime Billiards staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Breaktime Billiards (Winston-Salem, NC), BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, Ridge Back Rails, and Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division.
The tour will be off for the Thanksgiving weekend and return to the felt on the weekend of Dec. 3-4. The event will be a $250-added event, hosted by Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC.
As this appears on the page, Junior competitor Landon Hollingsworth is either on his way or at Pat Fleming’s International Open in Norfolk, VA to compete in the 18 & Under Boys’ championship event of the 2022 Junior International Championship (JIC) series. As a warm-up to the event this past weekend (Sat., Oct. 29), he travelled to Columbia, SC to compete in a stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour at Overtime Billiards. He went undefeated through the $500-added event that drew 33 entrants and marked his sixth victory on the tour since 2020. It’s his second tour victory of this year (he won the last stop on the tour a month ago), to go along with finishing first in the JIC’s ProAm Division (which earned him a paid entry to Puerto Rico’s 10-Ball Open later this month), the Dynaspheres Cup’s Junior 9-Ball event (20 & Under) and a third place finish in Shane Van Boening’s Junior Open, held in conjunction with Matchroom Sport’s US Open last month.
The clearest sign of his progress since he first came on the scene is not just the visible improvement of his skills. On the Q City 9-Ball Tour (and elsewhere), his ranking, based on the number of games he has to win to complete a match has steadily increased.
“Four years ago,” noted Q City 9-Ball Tour director Herman Parker, “he came into our events as a ‘5.’ He’s a ‘10’ now.”
Hollingsworth and Hunter White (himself, a recently-former junior competitor, also a ‘10’ now) battled twice for this event title; hot seat and finals. Hollingsworth won them both.
They advanced through the field from opposite ends of the bracket with Hollingsworth facing Jason Blackwell in one winners’ side semifinal and White squaring off against Jesse Draper in the other. Hollingsworth fought a double hill battle before advancing to the hot seat match against Jason Blackwell. Hunter gave up only a single rack to Draper. Hollingsworth then gave White a taste of his own ‘winners’ side semifinal’ medicine, allowing him only a single rack to claim the hot seat.
On the loss side, in the first money round, Blackwell picked up Calvin Lee, who’d recently defeated Will Hammer and Josh Miller, both 6-4, which, versus Miller, was double hill. Draper drew Phil Stalls, who’d eliminated Stevie McClinton and Matt Lucas, both 6-3.
Draper advanced with a double hill win over Stalls. Blackwell did not, falling to Lee 6-3. Lee then defeated Draper 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
Lee almost made the semifinals ‘double hill’ interesting, but fell a game short, as Hunter White won 10-4 (Lee racing to 6). The likelihood of White falling to Hollingsworth a second time with only a single rack to show for it was slim. As had happened in the semifinals, the final match came within a game of double hill. Hollingsworth, though, completing what could only be described as good practice for this coming week on his schedule, completed his undefeated run through the field with a 10-8 victory for his sixth Q City 9-Ball Tour win.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Overtime Billiards for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Breaktime Billiards (Winston-Salem, NC), BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, Ridge Back Rails, and Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (Nov. 5-6) will be hosted by Janet Atwell’s Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
In the early hours of Sunday, August 14, Chad Dill, occupying the hot seat at the time, entered the second set of a double elimination final against 16-year-old Hunter Zayas on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. Dill fought Zayas in the second set, battling him to a double-hill, final game, which he won to claim his first Q City 9-Ball Tour title and enter the AZBilliards database of players for the first time. The $250-added event drew 28 entrants to the new venue, Action Billiards in Inman, SC.
Dill and Zayas were among the winners’ side final four, but did not face each other. Dill faced Jason Blackwell in one of the winners’ side semifinals, while Zayas met Dalton Messer in the other. Dill got into the hot seat match with a double hill win over Blackwell, and was joined by Messer, who’d sent Zayas over 6-3. Dill sent Messer off to the semifinals 5-3 and claimed the hot seat.
On the loss side, Zayas and Blackwell, got ‘right back onto their horses’ with victories. Zayas picked up Cameron Hollingsworth, who’d defeated Terry Cannon 5-3, and his older brother, Landon Hollingsworth 5-5 (Landon racing to 9) to reach him. Blackwell drew Marc Rochester, who’d recently eliminated Cory Edwards with a shutout and Katie Bischoff 6-2.
Zayas downed Cameron Hollingsworth 6-3. Blackwell joined him in the quarterfinals, after ending Rochester’s day 6-4. Zayas then took out both Blackwell in the quarterfinals and Messer in the semifinals 6-3.
Entering the finals, as Saturday turned into Sunday, Zayas was looking for his first recorded cash payout in 2022 and his first win on the tour since February, 2021. Hot seat occupant Dill was also looking for his first 2022 cash payout, his first ever, along with his first win on any tour, anywhere. Zayas had the ‘experience’ upper hand in the double elimination final and took the opening set 6-3. But Dill came back in the second set to knot the proceedings at double hill; 4-5 (Zayas racing to 6). Dill won the 10th and final game to claim his first title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff of the tour’s newest venue, Action Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Breaktime Billiards (Winston-Salem, NC), BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, Ridge Back Rails, and Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division. The Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour will be off this week and be back at the tables on the weekend of August 27-28 at Janet Atwell’s room, Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
The annual Ron Park Memorial, originated and held under the auspices of the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, is shaping up to be something of a ‘moveable feast,’ in that each year could (although this is somewhat unofficial) see a new format.
“Who knows?” said Tour Director Herman Parker. “We’ll see.”
Last year, it was a straightforward 9-Ball event, while this year’s version of the memorial was a Scotch Doubles Tournament. The father/son Team Wyatt (Evan/Nate) went undefeated to claim the title, downing the team of Jason Blackwell and Mallory Walters twice, in one of the winners’ side semifinal and finals. The $250-added event drew 36 teams of two to the site of the first Ron Park Memorial – West End Billiards in Gastonia, NC.
Team Wyatt and Blackwell/Mallory met up in that winners’ side semifinal as Team Seeley (father David and son Sean) squared off against Kris Brower and Joey Fox. Team Wyatt prevailed 5-2 over Blackwell/Mallory and in the hot seat, met Team Seeley, who’d sent Brower and Fox to the loss side 5-4 (Brower/Fox racing to 7).
On the loss side, Blackwell/Walters picked up the team of Lisa Cossette and Chris Wrigley, who’d defeated Jimmy Tanner and Brian Goodson 5-3 and Ricardo Carcamo and (room owner) Josh Newman 5-4 to reach them (Carcamo/Newman racing to 8). Brower/Fox drew Lance Davis and Thomas Sansone, who’d recently eliminated the husband/wife team of Sidney and Gene Foard 7-3 and Mackie Lowery and Chad Vinesett 5-3.
Blackwell/Walters and Brower/Fox got right back to their winning ways, both teams advancing to the quarterfinals; Blackwell/Walters downing Cossette/Wrigley 5-3 and Brower/Fox defeating Davis/Sansone, double hill (5-4). With Brower/Fox racing to 7, Blackwell/Walters eliminated them 5-5.
Blackwell/Walters got their second shot at Team Wyatt with a 5-1 victory over Team Seeley in the semifinals. As the sun began its work of lightening the sky on Mother’s Day, at around 5 a.m. on Sunday, Team Wyatt finished a second win over Blackwell/Walters, this time 5-3, to claim the 2nd Annual Ron Park Memorial Tournament title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked Josh Newman and his staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, Ridge Back Rails, and Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division.
The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend, May 14-15, will be a $500-added, 9-Ball event, hosted by the Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
For the second time in a little over a month, a junior competitor has claimed a Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour Championship. Last month (Dec. 4-5), South Carolina’s Landon Hollingsworth became the first player in the nine-year history of the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour Championships (9 ft. tables) to win that event twice in a row. This past weekend (Jan. 8-9), North Carolina’s Joey Tate went undefeated to claim the tour’s 9th Annual Bar Box Tour Championships. Hollingsworth and Tate were winner and runner-up at the Junior International Championships’ (JIC’s) 18 & Under Boys final held this past October in conjunction with the International Open in Norfolk, VA. The $1,000-added Bar Box event drew 94 entrants to Break & Run Billiards in Chesnee, SC.
Tate faced another junior competitor in the finals of the event. Though not active in the JIC’s year-long series of events in 2021, Cole Lewis has been among the top five finishers in eight Q City 9-Ball events and won two of them last year, including the last 2021 tour stop just before Christmas at the Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA. He and Tate advanced through the field to arrive at winners’ side semifinals against Jason Blackwell (for Lewis) and Haskell Brown (for Tate).
Blackwell sent Lewis to the loss side 6-2 and advanced to the hot seat match. Tate joined him after downing Brown 8-2. Tate and Blackwell fought to double hill before Tate prevailed to claim the hot seat.
On the loss side, Lewis began his journey back to the finals against multiple-tour-winner Billy Fowler, who’d recently defeated two Justins, Knuckles 10-3 and Duncan 10-1, to reach him. Justin Knuckles had entered his match against Duncan, having just defeated Joey Tate’s father, Randy Tate 6-0.Brown drew Steven Ellis, who’d lost his opening match and begun an eight-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to end. He’d recently eliminated Michael Rabon 7-1 and BJ Hucks 7-5.
Brown stopped Ellis’ loss side run 7-5. He was joined in the quarterfinals by Lewis, who dropped Fowler 8-5. Lewis then defeated Brown in those quarterfinals and earned himself a rematch against Blackwell in the semifinals.
Lewis had a markedly different second shot against Blackwell, who’d sent him to the loss side 6-2 in their winners’ side semifinal match. In the event semifinals, Lewis got a shot at Tate in the hot seat with an 8-5 victory over Blackwell.
Tate, though, was not to be denied. He finished his championship run with a single set, 8-4 win over Lewis, giving him his third overall win on the tour since 2018.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Break & Run Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, and Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend, Jan. 15-16, will be a handicapped, Scotch Double event, hosted by Corner Pockets in Fayetteville, NC.
Two months ago, in late July, Greenville, SC’s Landon Hollingsworth attained something of a short-term goal when, in his third attempt, he won the Billiards Education Foundation’s Junior National Championships in Las Vegas. For the first time in the history of that event, players were allowed to compete in more than one division of the three each available for male and female competitors. In his third attempt at these national championships, Hollingsworth (16) took advantage, signing on to the 18 & Under division and the 16 & Under division. He won them both to become the first junior player to win two divisions in the first year of eligibility to do so.
“What I’d accomplished,” he said, “didn’t really hit me that day. It did the day after, though.”
This past weekend (Saturday, Sept. 11), he claimed his fourth Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour title when he went undefeated through the $610-added event that drew 54 entrants to Rock House Tavern Sports in Gastonia, NC. The win made 2021 Hollingsworth’s best recorded earnings year to date since, in 2018 at the age of 13, he began appearing on the payout lists of the tour and other events, scattered from coast to coast. Look for a profile of this young competitor in the October issue of our monthly magazine, Billiard Buzz (BUZZ tab on our Web site’s front page).
The Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour acknowledged the 20th anniversary of 9-11 with a brief message and a moment of silence before getting underway with the tournament. It didn’t finish until well into the early hours of Sunday, September 12.
In a sense, Hollingsworth defeated the Rock House Tavern Sports defending champion, Justin Duncan, in the finals. Duncan had won the previous Q City event at the venue last month (August 14). Defeated in a double hill battle by Hunter White in the fourth winners’ side round in this event, Duncan won five in a row on the loss side (two of them by forfeit) for the right to face Hollingsworth in the finals.
Hunter White, who split the top two prizes at last weekend’s Carolina Cup event with Brian White, advanced to face Brent Newman in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Hollingsworth, in the meantime, squared off against Q City 9-Ball Tour veteran Hank Powell. White got into the hot seat match with a 10-3 victory over Newman. Hollingsworth joined him after sending Powell to the loss side 8-4. An 8-3 win sent Powell off to the semifinals and left Hollingsworth in the hot seat.
On the loss side, Duncan began his trek back to the finals with a 6-1 victory over Brian Francis and then leapfrogged over a forfeit (by Hunter Zayas) in the first money round to draw Powell. Newman picked up Jason Blackwell, who’d eliminated Robert Perez 5-3 and Michael Robertson 5-2.
Duncan became the beneficiary of two straight forfeit wins, when Powell bowed out, advancing Duncan from the first money round (7/8) to the quarterfinals without having to lift his cue. Blackwell joined him after defeating Newman 5-3.
Duncan showed little signs of any ‘rest rust’ as he downed Blackwell 6-3 in those quarterfinals and then, in a rematch against Hunter White, earned the right to a shot at Hollingsworth, waiting for him in the hot seat. For the second time, Duncan and White fought back and forth to double hill, before Duncan dropped the last 9-ball.
Hollingsworth lost no time in claiming the event title. He gave up only a single rack in the finals to chalk up his fourth win on the Q City 9-Ball Tour.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Rock House Tavern Sports, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Diamond Brat, Federal Savings Bank’s Mortgage Division and AZBilliards. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for Sept. 18-19, will be a $500-added event, to be hosted by Breaktime Billiards in Winston-Salem, NC.
When Brandon Brock showed up at the Steakhorse Restaurant and Billiards in Spartanburg, SC last weekend (April 13-14) to compete in a stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, he arrived without a cue stick. Not exactly a way to enter a tournament looking for your first major win. He bought one, though (a stick, not the win); a Viking cue as it turned out and used it to go undefeated through a field of 59 entrants at the $1,000-added event and claim his first event title.
Brock faced Marcio Smith twice in this event. Both, according to our records, were looking to chalk up their first major win. Brock defeated Jeff Abernathy 6-4 in one of the winners’ side semifinals, as Smith was busy sending Rob Hart to the loss side 7-5. They met first in the battle for the hot seat, won by Brock 6-6 (Smith racing to 7).
On the loss side, Abernathy and Hart ran right into their second straight loss. Abernathy picked up Chris Gentile, who’d defeated Jason Blackwell 8-4 and survived a double hill (8-10) battle versus BJ Ussery. Hart drew Dakota Harris, who’d eliminated Steven Ellis 6-4 and Hunter White, double hill (6-8).
Gentile downed Abernathy 8-4 and in the quarterfinals, faced Harris, who’d ended Hart’s weekend 6-4. Gentile then downed Harris 8-3 to meet Smith in the semifinals.
A double hill fight ensued, eventually won by Smith (7-7). With Smith racing to 7 in the finals, Brock completed his undefeated run with a 6-5 win over Smith.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Dayne Miller and his Steakhorse 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 (April 20-21) will be hosted by Randolph Billiards in Hickory, NC.
