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Holmes/Lee return from hot seat loss to win Scotch Doubles on Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour

January 20th, 2022 | azhousepro | Uncategorized

Jason Holmes and Sean Lee

They’re crowd pleasers, participating and watching crowds. No denying that, even though as scintillating top-notch pool action, they generally leave much to be desired. They tend, too, to bring people to the tables – husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, fathers and sons – who might not otherwise participate in the general atmosphere of a regional pool tour stop, featuring an area’s best players. It has a way of ‘seeding the field,’ so to speak. Engaging newcomers to the intrinsic enjoyment of sports competition in the hopes that it might lead to individual participation. Maybe not, but Herman Parker, tour director of the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, “gets requests for them all the time,” so he schedules Scotch Doubles tournaments, most recently this past weekend (Jan. 15-16), when the tour held a $200-added event that drew 19 teams to Corner Pocket in Fayetteville, NC.

The team of Jason Holmes and Sean Lee prevailed, although their road to the finals and event victory took a side trip to the semifinals, when the team of Josh Shultz and Tanya Willaford downed them in the hot seat match. 

Holmes/Lee earned their place in that hot seat match with a 5-3 victory over Mike Soyka and Jason Williams in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Shultz/Willaford got there by sending Chad Weachter and Michael Shan to the loss side 5-2 in the other one. Shultz/Willaford punched Holmes/Lee’s ticket to the semifinals with a double hill victory in that hot seat match.

On the loss side, the Weachter/Shan team picked up the husband/wife team of Chris and Jacqui Rhoades, who’d recently eliminated Tyrone Davis and someone known only as “Lorenzo” in a double hill fight and then, defeated Chris Petoletti and Jason Rogers 5-4 (Petoletti/Rogers racing to 7). Soyka/Williams drew Justin Knuckles and Allie Tilley, who’d defeated Robert McDaniels and Kevin Williams, double hill, and Larry Moore and Lewis Croom 5-1.

The Rhoades family engaged their opponents in another double hill fight, but this time, their opponents – Weachter and Shan – won and advanced to the quarterfinals. Knuckles/Tilley joined them after handing Soyka/Williams their second straight loss, 5-1.

Knuckles and Tilley were able to advance one more step, downing Weachter/Shan 5-3 in those quarterfinals, but team Holmes/Lee had their sights set on a rematch and stopped Knuckles/Tilley 5-3 in the semifinals.

In what was reportedly their first outing as a team, Holmes and Lee moved on to the task of downing the hot seat occupants, Shultz and Willaford, twice. The opening set went double hill before Holmes/Lee finished it to even up the losses of the last two teams standing. Holmes/Lee won the second set 5-3 to claim the event title.

TD Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Corner Pocket 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, and Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour will be a one-day affair, scheduled for this weekend (Jan. 22). The $500-added event will be hosted by Overtime Billiards in Columbia, SC.

Ussery and Kent split top prizes on Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour

December 16th, 2019 | azhousepro | Uncategorized

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.