Harry Cooper parlayed a mid-level handicap with some deft shooting to go undefeated on the Saturday, August 5 stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour. He was challenged by separate opponents – one with a much higher, and one with just a little higher handicap – in the hot seat match and finals, but stayed the course and won the title. The $500-added event drew 31 entrants to Legend's Billiards in Inman, SC.
Cooper, racing to 5 in his matches, advanced through two rounds of play to meet up with Kyle Bailey in a winners' side semifinal. Bailey had just sent Cooper's eventual opponent in the finals, Steve Ellis, to the loss side. Brian White, in the meantime, racing to 10 in his matches, faced Mike Jones. Bailey and Jones each chalked up three racks in their matches, while Cooper and White scored their 5 and 10, respectively, to advance to the hot seat match. Cooper and White played to a 5-5 tie, which, with White racing to 10, left Cooper in the hot seat, and White moving over to the semifinals.
On the loss side, Steve Ellis, racing to 6, started his trip back to the finals with a 6-3 win over Jerry Varnado, and a 6-4 win over Richard Wojnarowski, which set him (Ellis) up to face Jones. Bailey drew teenage phenom Hunter White (no relation to Brian), who'd defeated Rick Daniels and Mackie Lowery, both 9-2, to reach him.
Ellis downed Jones 6-4, and in the quarterfinals, met up with Bailey, who'd eliminated White 6-7 (White racing to 9). In a straight-up race to 6, Ellis defeated Bailey 6-3, and faced Brian White in the semifinals. In a match faintly reminiscent of the hot seat match (a tie, won by the lower-handicapped player), Ellis downed White 6-6, completing a five-match, loss-side winning streak and advanced to the finals.
In handicap-effect, hot seat occupant Cooper started the final match with one rack on the wire in a race to 5. He completed his undefeated run with a 5-3 victory that earned him the event title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Legend's 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 August 12-13, will be hosted by The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
Blade Best and Taz Holliday split the top two prizes on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour stop on the weekend of July 29-30. As the undefeated player, Best chalked up the official title win of the event that drew 39 entrants to Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
Best advanced through the 64-player bracket to face Scott Howard in one of the winners' side semifinals, as Bill Eisenhard faced Brandon Kidwell in the other one. Kidwell had just sent Holliday to the loss side. Best sent Howard over 6-6 (Howard racing to 8), as Eisenhard was at work defeating Kidwell 7-3. Best claimed the hot seat over Eisenhard 6-5 (Eisenhard racing to 7) in what proved to be his last match.
On the loss side, Holliday opened his trip to the finals with a double hill win over renowned trick shot artist Chris Woodrum, and followed it with a shutout over Terry Lawson. This set Holliday up against Howard, coming over from his defeat in the winners' side semifinal. Kidwell picked up Jerry Varnado, who'd defeated Jerry Hilton 8-6 and Matt Shaw, double hill, to reach him.
Holliday won a double hill battle against Howard to advance to the quarterfinals. Varnado spoiled a Holliday/Kidwell re-match with an 8-1 victory over Kidwell to join Holliday.
Holliday eliminated Varnado 6-3 and then fought his third loss-side double hill match against Eisenhard in the semifinals, winning it for a shot against Best in the hot seat. They opted out of that final match, granting Best the official title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked Janet Atwell and her staff at Borderline 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 Aug. 5-6, will be hosted by Legends Billiards in Inman, SC.
Tyler Mayfield, whose last recorded tour win was his first on the Great Southern Billiard Tour, three years ago, chalked up his first win on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour on the weekend of May 20-21. On both occasions, he claimed the title by coming from the loss side to double dip the hot seat occupant. Three years ago, he won five on the loss side. In this most recent event, he won three to get himself into the finals against Bo Blakely. The event drew 49 entrants to the Gate City Billiard Club in Greensboro, NC.
Mayfield advanced to a winners' side semifinal against Travis Guerra. Blakely and Josh Padron (2016's Q City tour champion) squared off in the other one. Both matches went double hill, with Blakely and Guerra advancing to the hot seat match. In a straight-up race to 5, Blakely claimed the hot seat 5-3.
On the loss side, Mayfield began his trek back to the finals against James Blackburn, who'd defeated Cody Jones 9-2 and shut out Jeff Young to reach him. Padron drew a 'young gun,' 17-year-old Hunter White, who'd eliminated Jerry Varnado 8-4 and Josh Williams 8-3. White downed Padron 8-4, as Mayfield got by Blackburn 6-3.
Mayfield took the quarterfinal match against White 6-2, and then, locked up in a second double hill rematch fight against Guerra in the semifinals. Mayfield dropped the last ball in the 10th game to win it 6-4.
Mayfield took the first set of the double elimination final over Blakely 6-3. He completed his run with a 6-2 win in the second set to claim the event title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Gate City Billiards Club, 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 27-28, will be hosted by Janet Atwell's Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
Playing in a primarily amateur field, Jonathan "Hennessee from Tennessee" Pinegar was taxed with racing to 12, and though he wound up on the loss side of the December 19-20 stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, he won seven straight, including a victory over the man who'd sent him there – J.T. Ringgold – and the hot seat occupant, Dustin Coe. Pinegar won the final event of the tour's 2015 season, which drew 50 entrants to Janet Atwell's Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
Having sent Pinegar to the loss side, Ringgold advanced to a winners' side semifinal against Coe. Justin Espinoza, in the meantime, squared off against Daniel Mobley. Coe sent Ringgold to an eventual loss-side rematch against Pinegar with a double hill win (5-7), as Espinoza downed Mobley 8-4. Coe grabbed the hot seat, his final win, 5-2.
On the loss side, Pinegar launched his seven-match winning streak that saw him give up only 15 racks through 97 games. He started with a 12-5 victory over Scott Largen, and followed it with a shutout over Jerry Varnado, which set him up for a match against Mobley. Ringgold picked up Trey Frank, who'd defeated Matt Shaw, double hill and J.T. Ringgold's father, Terry, 7-3.
Pinegar earned his rematch against the younger Ringgold with a 12-3 victory over Mobley, while Ringgold was eliminating Frank 8-4. Over the next 55 games, Pinegar gave up only seven racks. He gave up most of those (4) in his rematch against Ringgold in the quarterfinals. He didn't give up any against Justin Espinoza in the semifinals.
With Coe racing to five, Pinegar needed to defeat him twice, and he did so, handily. He took the first set of the true double elimination final 2-1 and stepped up his game to win the second 2-1.
The Q City 9-Ball Tour will hold its Tour Championship on New Year's weekend, January 2-3. The $1,000-added event, featuring the invited top 80 players on the tour, will be hosted by Brown's Billiards in Raleigh, NC.
Clint Clark came back from a defeat in a winners' side semifinal to win three on the loss side and then double dip hot seat occupant Rick Roper in the finals of the October 17-18 stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour. The event drew 56 entrants to Chandley's in Statesville, NC.
Clark began his loss-side campaign, after a 6-3 victory by Taz Holiday in one of the winners' side semifinals. Roper defeated Brent Kyles 7-6 to meet Holiday in the hot seat match. Roper claimed the hot seat 7-3 over Holiday and waited on Clark's return.
Clark's first opponent on the loss side was Zac Leonard, who'd gotten by Mike Chapman 7-3 and Colin Hall 7-2 to reach him. Kyles drew Joey Fox, who'd eliminated Jerry Varnado and Bryan Pate, both 7-2. Clark and Kyles advanced to the quarterfinals; Clark 9-3 over Leonard and Kyles, 8-6 over Fox.
Clark then chalked up two straight 9-4 wins, ousting Kyles in the quarterfinals, and then, in a rematch, Holiday in the semifinals. He took the double elimination opening set 9-3 over Roper, and though Roper would force a deciding game in the second set, Clark prevailed 9-6 to claim the event title.
Daniel "Papa John" Adams went undefeated through a field of 23, on-hand for the 28th stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, stopping a loss-side challenge by Scott Roberts in the finals. The Saturday, July 25, handicapped event, originally slated for Chandley's in Statesville, NC, was hosted by The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, TN.
Adams, a "7" handicap, entered the tournament in the middle of a pack of 64 players, who will, at season's end, qualify for the tour's championship event. His undefeated run notched him a few slots above Mike Davis. On his way to the tour win, he faced off in a winners' side semifinal against Jerry Varnado, who is among the tour's top ten shooters. Darren Musser, in the meantime, met up with Brian Bryant. Adams advanced to the hot seat match 7-6 over Varnado and was joined by Musser, who'd sent Bryant to the loss side 8-7. Adams claimed the hot seat 7-2 and over Musser and waited for Roberts to complete his five-match, loss-side run.
After falling to Musser 8-5 in a winners' side quarterfinal, Roberts (coming into the tournament at #12 on the tour list) defeated Bill Miller and Bobby Glenn, both 8-3, to pick up Varnado. Bryant drew Wes Campbell, who'd gotten by Mike Allen 6-2 and Chad Pike 6-4. Roberts eliminated Varnado 8-5 and was joined in the quarterfinal match by Bryant, who'd defeated Campbell 9-5.
Roberts took the quarterfinal match 8-3 over Bryant, earning himself a second shot at Musser in the semifinals. He took advantage of the opportunity and defeated Musser 8-3. "Papa John" ended Roberts' loss-side winning streak with a 7-2 victory in the finals and claimed the event title.
Stop #29 on the Q City 9-Ball Tour is scheduled for the weekend of August 1-2. The event will be hosted by Breakers Sky Lounge in Herndon, VA.
Trey Frank took two out of three matches against Bobby Clinton to win a July 4th weekend stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour. The handicapped, 9-ball event drew 38 entrants to the Gate City Billiard Club in Greensboro, NC.
They met first in the battle for the hot seat. Frank had defeated Norris Brady 6-9 (Brady racing to 11), as Clinton was sending Brent Kyles to the loss side 7-3. Clinton took the first of three against Frank 7-3 and waited in the hot seat for him to get back.
On the loss side, Norris Brady ran into David Tickle, who'd defeated Scott Largen 8-2 and Austin Sawyer 8-4 to reach him. Kyles drew Jerry Varnado, recent winner over Mike Davis 8-10 (Davis racing to 13), and Mike Bumgarner 8-5. Brady and Kyles advanced to the quarterfinals; Brady 11-6 over Tickle and Kyles 8-4 over Varnado.
Brady then eliminated Kyles 11-4 for a second shot at Frank in the semifinals. Frank stepped up his game in his second meeting versus Brady, allowing him only five racks of the 11 he would have needed to win, while scoring six to earn himself a second, and, as it turned out, third shot against Clinton in the hot seat.
Frank downed Clinton in both sets of the true double elimination final. Both times, they battled to double hill, which, with Frank racing to 6 and Clinton racing to 7, was a deadlock at 5-6. Frank closed it out 6-6 both times to claim the event title.
