Shannon Daulton, James Moore (TD), Han Choi and Mike Davis
They were a couple of marquee names in a field of relative unknowns. The $1,380-added World Cup Billiards Open in Greenville, SC, held over the weekend of July 26-27, drew 55 entrants, and to nobody's surprise, Shannon Daulton and Mike Davis faced each other twice; in the hot seat match and finals. Shannon "The Cannon" took both matches to claim the event title, undefeated. Normally to be found tour directing his great Southern Billiard Tour, it was only his third appearance this year in a tournament event (Derby City in January and the Smoky Mountain Shootout in April).
Little had been seen of Mike Davis since he announced his retirement just prior to the 2013 George "Ginky" Sansouci Memorial Tournament in 2013. He came out of that retirement just long enough to win that Ginky Memorial, defeating Dennis Hatch in the finals. Davis settled down (so to speak) to become a time-share salesman in Florida, only to discover that he wasn't suited for the job. Just recently, he gave it up, and returned to the road, looking to get back into the game.
"It just wasn't for me," he said of his short-lived career as a salesman, "so I'm playing pool again for now."
Though he'd not announced any official retirement, Daulton, too, encountered aspects of getting back into the saddle on his way to this most recent victory at the World Cup Billiards Open.
"It's very difficult," he said of getting back to the tables as a competitor. "The first day of this one, I was in survival mode. I did a tremendous amount of practicing in my teenage years, and I have to say that I've been very lucky and blessed to be able to survive off whatever natural talent I have when I get into something like this."
According to Daulton, about 90% of the players in this World Cup Billiards Open were people who play on his tour, throughout the year, including a couple that he beat on the way to the hot seat and finals; B.J. Hucks and Wendell Thompkins. "The Cannon" also took down John Jones and found himself in a winners' side semifinal against Travis Dorn. Davis, in the meantime, was facing Andy Twitchen. Daulton got into the hot seat match 11-7 over Dorn and was met by Davis, who'd sent Twitchen to the losers' bracket 11-6. Daulton took the first of two against Davis 11-6 and sat in the hot seat waiting for his return.
"He scratched once on the break," said Davis, "and that was the only mistake he made in that hot seat match."
Dorn and Twitchen moved to the loss side and faced Corey Morphew and Michael Clay, who handed them their second straight defeat; Morphew surviving a double hill match against Dorn, Clay downing Twitchen 7-4. Morphew eliminated Clay 7-3 in the quarterfinals, but was himself eliminated by Davis 7-4 in the semifinals.
From Davis' perspective, punctuating the difficulty of accomplishing pool's version of "climbing back into the saddle," Daulton took an early 6-0 lead against him in the finals.
"That's the type of game I was capable of," said Davis, "but I haven't really played quite up to that standard for a while."
That said, though Daulton went on to win, he won only five of the next 11 games. If they'd cleared the scoreboard with Daulton up 6-0, Davis would have won the subsequent race to 6, on the hill. As it was, Daulton stayed on top and completed his undefeated run to claim his first event title of the year.
Pool rooms interested in having their events become part of the Simonis Cloth Classic Tour, can reach tour representatives at 1-800-200-POOL.
Mr. Cues II in Atlanta played host to the Simonis Cloth's 4th Annual Richard Sweet Memorial over the July 4th weekend which is a memorial event and a celebration of his life and contributions to our sport, featuring four separate events; two, single-elimination, 'King of the Hill' format (one $500 1st prize) tournaments, a Thursday 8-Ball tournament and a Friday 9-ball tournament , a 1-day $1,000-guaranteed prize fund 9-Ball race to 4 double elimination tournament on Sunday, and a $3,000-guaranteed prize fund main event in 10-Ball which ran Saturday and Sunday. Jayson Shaw won two of them, and almost won a third. He opened the weekend's proceedings with a finals victory over John Maikke in the first of the single elimination tournaments(8-Ball) on Independence Day that drew 86 entrants. The following day, in the second of the single elimination tournaments (this one, with 79 players and 9-Ball), Shaw made it to the finals again, only to be denied his second win, by Michael Clay, who shut him out in the finals.
In the Saturday, main event, the 10-Ball Competition, Jayson Shaw squared off the event's defending champion, Phil Burford, twice; once in the hot seat match, and again, in the finals. Shaw had sent Jeff Hooks to the loss side 7-3 among the winners' side final four, as Burford was busy doing likewise to Randy Jordan 7-2. Shaw got into the hot seat with a 7-5 win over Burford and waited for him to get back. It wasn't long.
Jordan and Hooks moved to the loss side, where they were picked up by J. R. Rossman and Tim Orange. Rossman had gotten by Matt Bulfin 7-2 and John Maikke 7-4. Orange had defeated Dustin Byrd (The Parakeet) 7-5 and John Jones 7-3. Jordan advanced to the quarterfinals, double hill, over Rossman. Orange handed Hooks his second straight loss 7-5 to join him.
Jordan took the quarterfinal match over Orange 7-5 and earned himself a re-match against Burford, who'd sent him west among the winners' side final four. Burford, anxious for his own rematch against Shaw in the hot seat, downed Jordan 7-5. Shaw, though, hunkered down and gave up only a single rack in the opening set of the potential two-set final to claim the event title.
Events shifted to double elimination with commencement of the races-to-4 9-Ball Tournament on Sunday, which drew 59 entrants. Larry Nevel (who'd won both single elimination tournaments at last year's Sweet Memorial) started out by dropping his opening round match to Danny Cash, but rallied on the loss side to win nine straight, and then, two more in the finals against Bernardo Estevan.
Estevan had advanced to the hot seat with a winners' side final four victory over Tommy Najar 4-2, while the winner of the second single elimination 8-ball tournament, Michael Clay, advanced to meet him with a 4-1 victory over Pat Cooper. Estevan shut Clay out in the battle for the hot seat and waited on the return of Nevel.
Meanwhile, on the loss side, The Truth was mowin' 'em down, one by one. With four down and five to go, he defeated Tony Riley 4-1, and survived a double hill battle against Jason Lyons, to pick up Majar. Cooper drew Andy Stewart, who'd squeaked by Horace Goodwin 4-3 and defeated Dana Aft 4-1. Nevel and Stewart handed Najar and Cooper their second straight defeats; Stewart shutting out Cooper and Nevel advancing to the quarterfinals 4-2 over Najar.
Nevel gave up only two racks over his next 14 games. He shut out Stewart in the quarterfinals, and gave up a single rack to Clay in the semifinals. Moving into the opening set of the finals against Estevan, he gave up one that forced a second set. Estevan battled him to double hill in that second set, but Nevel prevailed to claim the title.
Full payouts for the main 10-Ball event are as follows:
It was two Double-A battles between B.J. Ussery and Sam Monday on the Great Southern Billiard Tour’s August 13-14 stop in Raleigh, NC, and it was two victories for Ussery, as he completed an undefeated weekend. The $1,500-added event drew 58 entrants to Brown’s Billiards in Raleigh.
Ussery got into the hot seat match with a commanding 7-1 victory over Mike Fuller, as Monday was sending Norris Brady to the west bracket 11-6. In their first of two, battling for the hot seat, Ussery and Monday fought back and forth to double hill before Ussery prevailed, and waited in the hot seat for the re-match.
Fuller and Crawford got their re-match in the quarterfinals, after Fuller had downed Cook 11-4 and Crawford had squeaked by Brady 9-8. Crawford wreaked his vengeance on Fuller with a second squeaker, a 9-10 victory (Fuller going to 11). Crawford’s four-match winning streak came to an end in the semifinals, at the hands of Monday who, after an 11-8 victory, went on to his own re-match against Ussery.
In a straight-up race to 11, Ussery took the opening set of the true double elimination final against Monday 11-8 to complete his undefeated weekend. It was Ussery’s first win on the GSBT in his second 2011 appearance (he’d finished second in March at Speak Eazy Billiards in Sanford, NC). This most recent victory marked the 10th time since January that Ussery has finished either first or second on either the GSBT or the Jacoby Custom Cue Carolina Tour.
Though not included in site payouts registering dollar amounts, Chris Vollmar, Larry Faulk, Ronny Park, and Ray Floyd received free entries for their 9th place finish. Tour director Shannon Daulton thanked David Huffman and his staff at Brown’s Billiards, as well as sponsors Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Nick Varner Cues and Cases, Mike Davis Exterminating, Tiger Products, and Delta-13 Racks.
