Mike Zingale of Zingale's Billiards in Tallahassee , FL made a phone call, and invited Shannon Daulton and his Great Southern Billiard Tour down for a visit. They went, on the weekend of December 5-6, and ran a $1,200-added tournament that drew 32 entrants and saw Kenny Wilson come back from a loss in the hot seat match and double dip Clint Nichols in the finals to claim the event title.

 

Their first clash followed a 7-4 victory by Wilson over Denny Singletary, and a 6-5 win by Nichols, over Nick Applebee in the winners' side semifinals. Nichols then took the first of three over Wilson, decisively, 6-1, and sat in the hot seat, waiting for the next two.

 

Singletary and Applebee moved over to the loss side and were immediately defeated a second time. Applebee fell, 7-2, to Chris Gentile, who'd recently defeated Jason Wells 7-2 and Jesse Middlebrooks 7-6 (Middlebrooks racing to 8). Singletary ran into Randy Jordan, who'd been defeated by Wilson in the second round, and was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the semifinals. Jordan chalked up loss-side wins #3 and #4 against Lee Sanders 9-4 and Derek Fowler 9-5. 

 

Gentile downed Applebee 7-2, as Jordan was eliminating Singletary 9-5. Jordan took the quarterfinal match that followed 9-6, to earn a second shot against Wilson. Wilson ended Jordan's loss-side streak, defeating him a second time, 7-7 (same as the first time, Jordan racing to 9), and earning his own second (and third) shot against Nichols in the hot seat.

 

Five years ago, Wilson had chalked up his first win on the GSBT, by advancing to the hot seat, and holding off a loss-side challenge by Brian White, who entered the finals on the heels of a nine-match, loss-side winning streak. On this most recent weekend, Wilson chalked up his second tour victory with a 7-4 win in the opening set of the true double elimination final and a double hill win in the second set. 

 

Tour director Shannon Daulton was quite pleased with his tour's first visit to Zingale's, which also hosts Tommy Kennedy's Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, and Tony Crosby's Florida Pool Tour.

 

"It was a real pleasure to work with Mike (Zingale)," said Daulton. "It's such a player-friendly room (with) an elevated bar for viewing and separate areas for league and tournament play;  just a hell of a layout.

 

"The entire staff at Zingale's was on-point the whole weekend," he added, "and I'll bet Mike served as many drinks as his staff did."

 

The GSBT will return to Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle Beach, SC, this coming weekend (December 12-13) and will conclude its 2015 season with a Christmas tournament, scheduled for December 19-20, at Legends Billiards, in Inman, SC.

Playing against the lower echelon of skills in a handicapped tournament can be daunting, as six of the final 12 players on the Great Southern Billiard Tour's October 10-11 stop discovered. Greg Dix, racing to 8, was one of those six, picking up a defeat in the hot seat match against a "5" – Scott Crain – but coming back to double dip Crain in the true double elimination finals. The $700-added event drew 28 entrants (including this reporter) to Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle  Beach, SC.

 

Dix and Crain advanced to the winners' side semifinals, with Dix facing Justin Marten and Crain squaring off against Kenny Wilson. Dix sent Marten over 8-2, as Crain was sending Wilson over 5-5 (Wilson racing to 8). Crain claimed the hot seat 5-7 (double hill) and waited for Dix to get back from the semifinals.

 

On the loss side (with me, long gone), Marten picked up John Phillips, who'd defeated Tim Nash 4-2, and shut out Cliff Crib. Wilson drew Dan Woods, who'd defeated Brian Bagwell and B.J. Hucks, both 3-3 (Bagwell and Hucks, both racing to 8). Woods and Marten advanced to the quarterfinals; Woods 3-4 over Wilson (racing to 8), and Marten 8-2 over Phillips. 

 

Woods then eliminated Marten in the quarterfinals 3-4 (Marten racing to 8). Though Marten would put up a double hill fight in the semifinals, Dix prevailed 8-2 for a second shot and, as it turned out, third shot at Crain in the hot seat. Dix took the opener 8-1, and won the second set 8-3 to claim his fourth GSBT title since 2007.