They met in a winners’ side semifinal in pool’s present as icons of pool’s recent past and ongoing future. On the weekend of June 8-9, veteran competitor BJ Ussery, 40, who’s been competing professionally for nearly 20 years, faced the current two-time, 14-and-under Junior National Champion, Joey Tate, at a stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. Ussery won the match and would later, when Tate returned from a three-match journey on the loss side of the bracket, agree to a split of the top two prizes, so that Tate, whose mother was nearby, could get home in time for a good night’s sleep ahead of a school day. According to our records, Ussery’s best earnings year, to date (2005), coincided with the year that Tate was born. The $500-added event that saw them compete against each other, drew 42 entrants to SpeakEazy Billiards in Sanford, NC.
As Ussery and Tate squared off in their winners’ side semifinal, Johnny Haney and Jason Potts met in the other one. With Tate racing to 7, Ussery defeated the youngster 11-2, while Haney downed Potts 6-4. Ussery claimed the hot seat, and what proved to be his final match 11-5 over Haney.
Ussery liked what he saw of Tate and expects that the youngster is only going to get better.
“He keeps his composure about him, comes to the table and acts professional,” said Ussery. “He plays really well, but of course, he does make mistakes.”
At the moment, Ussery noted, the strength of the youngster’s game is in being “above his years in running out and his knowledge of position play.” His weaknesses, Ussery went on to say, may be his break and just the need for “pure experience.”
“That’s crazy,” said Ussery, “to think those are the only weaknesses in his game at that age, but it’s true.”
Though he defeated Tate in their only meeting, Ussery would generally not want any part of him in an 11-7 handicapped race.
“Hell, no!!” he said. “That’s how the handicap system works, and definitely, with him going to 7, I would not be the favorite.”
Tate defeated White 7-4 and in the quarterfinals, faced Heeter, who’d ended Potts’ weekend 8-2. Heeter was giving Tate a single game on the wire at the start of the quarterfinal race-to-8. Tate sent him home 7-3.
In the semifinals, it was Tate giving Haney a game on the wire in a race to 7. Tate defeated him 7-3, as well.
It was Tate who approached Ussery about forgoing the final match and splitting the top two prizes, although his mother was nearby and no doubt conveying information, perhaps silently, that the youngster had to get home. They agreed to the split.
“His Mom was really cool,” said Ussery. “I’m very peculiar about the people I help, but he seems like a good kid, so I told him a few things when we were done. Gave him some tips and adjustments and his Mom thanked me for helping him.”
“He’s going to go through the same struggles that all players do sometimes,” he added. “Sky Woodward went through it. So did Billy Thorpe. It’s hard to know how that’s going to turn out (with Tate). It’s really too early, and he hasn’t met girls yet.”
Tate will turn 14 in a little over two weeks (June 28) and is prepping for the Billiards Education Foundation’s 2019 Junior National Championships, scheduled for July 23-27. He will be looking for his third straight 14-and-under title. The event will be held in Las Vegas as part of the Billiards Congress of America’s 2019 Expo.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Speak Eazy Billiards, 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 (June 15-16), will be a $250-added event, hosted by Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC.
JT Ringgold lost an opening round match on the most recent Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour stop, won seven on the loss side and then, double-dipped hot seat occupant, Larry Faulk to claim his 13th overall title on the tour. Racing to 10 in all of the matches, his loss-side run involved 90 games, and he lost only 16 of them. The next time he competes, said tour director Herman Parker, he’ll be racing to 11. The $250-added event, held on Saturday, Oct. 20, drew 18 entrants to Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC.
With Ringgold at work on the loss side, Faulk advanced to a winners’ side semifinal matchup against Mickey Milligan’s owner, Gerry Shepherd. Robert Perez and Graham Swinson battled in the other winners’ side semifinal. Faulk shut out Shepherd 7-0, as Perez and Swinson locked up in a double hill fight that eventually advanced Perez to the hot seat match against Faulk. Faulk claimed the hot seat, and as it turned out, his final match victory with a 7-4 win over Perez.
Ringgold, in the meantime, was slicing through the loss side field, and after chalking up wins #3 and #4 against Paul Swinson (father to Graham; 10-3) and Scotty Johnson 10-1, he drew Shepherd. The younger Swinson picked up Jack Whitfield, who’d defeated Jeff Matthews 7-4 and Wayne Miller 7-3 to reach him.
Ringgold added win #5 against Shepherd 10-2 and in the quarterfinals, faced Whitfield, who’d eliminated Swinson 7-5. According to TD Parker, Ringgold, in spite of the event’s alternate break format, didn’t miss a ball in his shutout over Whitfield in the quarterfinals. He gave up three racks to Perez in his 10-3 semifinal win.
With Faulk racing to 7, Ringgold had to beat him twice to claim the title, and did so, easily. He gave up only three racks in 23 games (10-2, 10-1) to claim this 13th Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Gerry Shepherd and his Mickey Milligan’s 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 (Oct. 27-28) will be a $500-added event (with a full field of 48 entrants) hosted by Randolph Billiards in Hickory, NC.
Two ‘old hands’ battled for the hot seat. Had it not been for a decision to split the top two prizes, one of those ‘old hands’ would have battled a (borderline) junior player in the finals. It was Keith Bennett and BJ Ussery who squared off in the winners’ side final of the Sept. 1-2 stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. It was Bennett and 19-year-old Justin Martin, recently chosen as a member of the USA’s Atlantic Cup Challenge team, who would have met in the finals. Martin will be the oldest member of the team and the only one not to have claimed a BEF Junior Nationals title. When the decision to split the top two prizes was made, the undefeated Bennett was declared the official winner of the $500-added event that drew 46 entrants to Speakeazy Billiards in Sanford, NC.
All three of them competed in the winners’ side semifinal; Bennett against Martin, and Ussery versus Josh Shultz. Both matches went double hill before advancing Bennett and Ussery to the hot seat match; Bennett 11-9 over Martin, racing to 10, and Ussery 11-5 over Shultz, racing to 6. Bennett won what proved to be his final match 11-7 over Ussery to claim the hot seat.
Martin defeated Roberts 10-5 and in the quarterfinals, faced Shultz, who’d defeated Faulk 6-1. Martin then dominated that quarterfinal match, defeating Shultz 10-2. Ussery put up more of a fight in the semifinals, but Martin defeated him, as well, 10-7, to earn himself a re-match against Bennett, which, of course, never happened.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Speakeazy Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, 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 (Sept. 8-9) will be Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
With his sixth win on the tour, this past weekend (July 8-9), J.T. Ringgold stands as the top competitor on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour. He's played in more matches, chalked up more wins and pocketed more money on the tour than any other player. The $250-added event drew 33 entrants to Mickey Milligan's in New Bern, NC.
Ringgold faced separate opponents in the hot seat and finals of this event. He got into the hot seat match after a double hill (10-7) win over Larry Faulk, and faced Jack Whitfield, who'd sent Ringgold's eventual finals opponent, David Williams to the loss side 7-3. Ringgold claimed the hot seat 10-5 over Whitfield and waited on the return of Williams.
Williams opened his loss-side trip to the finals against Ringgold's father, Terry Ringgold, who'd defeated Wayne Miller and Al Boone, both 5-3, to reach him. Faulk drew Greg Smith, who'd eliminated Wayne Sutton 9-5 and Justin Clark 9-4.
It was Williams and Faulk who advanced to the quarterfinal match; Williams 5-3 over the elder Ringgold, and Faulk 8-3 over Greg Smith. Williams, at this point, playing well above his handicap, downed Faulk (racing to 8) 5-3, and then, with Whitfield racing to 7, downed him in the semifinals 5-5.
Ringgold put an exclamation point on his sixth Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour win. He chalked up his requisite 10 games without giving up a single rack to Williams.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Mickey Milligan's, 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 July 15-16, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Q Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA.
Shannon Daulton, Ray McGinn, Guy Faulk and Brent Hudgins (owner at Shore Thing Billiards)
Ray McGinn has been on and off the Great Southern Billiard Tour, dating as far back as 2009, when he finished second behind Larry Faulk at a tour stop in Jacksonville, NC. On the weekend of April 4-5, he broke through to chalk up his first victory on the tour, and once again, had to face a 'Faulk' in the finals; this time Guy Faulk, who won three on the loss side to challenge him. The $700-added event drew 31 entrants to Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle Beach, SC.
McGinn advanced to a winners' side semifinal against Mike Haas, as Faulk faced Micky Hucks. McGinn got into the hot seat match 5-3 over Haas and faced Hucks, who'd sent Faulk to the loss side 6-1. McGinn grabbed the hot seat in a double hill fight and waited on Faulk's return.
On the loss side, Faulk ran into Gatlin Askins, who'd defeated B.J. Hucks 9-5 and Jamie Ford 9-3. Haas drew Matt Bulfin, who'd gotten by Bo Miller 9-2 and eliminated Phillip Britt 9-4 (Britt, by the way, was present, when McGinn fell to Larry Faulk in the GSBT final, five years ago. Britt, in fact, had been sent to the loss side by McGinn in a winners' side semifinal).
Player handicaps came into play in the battles for advancement to the quarterfinals, with both lower handicaps (Haas and Faulk) moving on. With Bulfin and Askins racing to 9 games, Haas defeated Bulfin 4-7, while Faulk downed Askins 3-5. Faulk took it two steps further, downing Haas in those quarterfinals 3-3 and then, Hucks, in the semifinals 3-4.
McGinn put a stop to Faulk's run, although not before Faulk's handicap had forced a deciding seventh game. McGinn took the only set necessary 5-2 to claim his first GSBT title.
Younger Chapman stopped a loss-side challenge by Delton Howard to win the second set of a true double elimination final and claim a Great Southern Billiard Tour event title on the weekend of September 14-15. The $1,000-added Amateur event drew 32 entrants to Mickey Milligan's Billiards in New Bern, NC.
They almost met in the hot seat match. Chapman dominated his winners' side semifinal against Nolan Leonard 7-1, but in a straight-up, race-to-9, Larry Faulk sent Howard to the loss side 9-3. Chapman, with Faulk racing to 9, got into the hot seat with a 7-5 win.
Howard moved over and picked up William Roberts, who'd defeated Danny Farin 7-2, and Charlie Brinson 7-5 to reach him. Leonard drew Greg Smith, who'd gotten by Sammy Jones 9-4 and Sidney Champion 9-2. Howard took his first loss-side match 9-2 over Roberts, while Smith handed Leonard his second straight loss by the same score.
Howard ended Smith's loss-side journey 9-5 in the quarterfinals, earning himself a re-match against Faulk in the semifinals. Though Faulk would end up winning more games over their two matches (16), Howard won the critical second match 9-7 and got a shot at Chapman in the hot seat.
He took full advantage, winning the opening set 9-6. Chapman, though, rallied in the second set, to reach his required games (7), two ahead of Howard to claim the title.
Shannon and Marge Daulton thanked the ownership and staff at Mickey Milligan's Billiards, as well as sponsors Nick Varner Cues & Cases, Delta 13 Racks, Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Tiger Products, Ozone Billiards and Lomax Custom Cues. The GSBT's next event, a $2,000-added, amateur 8-ball/9-ball tournament, will be hosted by Michael's Billiards in Fairfield, OH on the weekend of September 28-29.
It was a good weekend to spend indoors in the lowcountry of South Carolina on the weekend of July 7-8. With outdoor temperatures into triple digits, 52 pool players opted for the air-conditioned comfort of Myrtle Beach’s Shore Thing Bar & Billiards at a $1,500-added event on the Great Southern Billiard Tour. Kept out of the GSBT winners’ circle at the same location in June by Mike Slaughter, Josh Roberts chalked up an undefeated weekend, completing it with a victory over Phillip Britt, who’d won five on the loss side to face him.
From among the winners’ side final four, Roberts faced Larry Jackson, while Jared McGee, who’d just sent Britt west, squared off against Shawn Padgett. Roberts sent Jackson to the loss side 11-6, while Padgett, a B player, sent McGee (AA) over 7-10. Roberts, who’d been denied the hot seat by Slaughter in June, got there this time, with an 11-4 victory over Padgett.
It was Jackson who moved west and had the misfortune of facing the streaking Britt, who’d gotten by Ben Fisher 9-4 and Gatlin Askins 7-2 to reach him. McGee met Wendell Thompkins, who’d defeated Larry Faulk 9-1 and Donnie Stewart 9-4. Britt won his third straight, defeating Jackson 9-7 and in the quarterfinals, faced Thompkins, who’d eliminated McGee 9-4.
In a straight-up, A-race to 9, Britt ended Thompkins’ weekend 9-6. He completed his loss-side trek back to the finals with a 9-4 victory over Padgett in the semifinals.
Roberts, though, was not to be denied. He took the opening set of the true double elimination final 11-4 to capture the event title.
Tour directors Shannon and Marge Daulton thanked Shore Thing Bar & Billiards owners, Brent and Anne Hudgins, as well as their staff, and sponsors Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Nick Varner Cues and Cases, Mike Davis Exterminating, Tiger Products and Delta-13 racks.
In the hot seat match and finals of the Great Southern Billiard Tour stop on the weekend of June 9-10, Mike Slaughter, looking to chalk up his first win on the tour, found himself facing an opponent, Josh Roberts, who was looking for his fourth trip to the finals since April of 2011. Slaughter got by Roberts both times to finish the weekend undefeated. The $1,500-added, 9-ball event on bar tables at Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle Beach, SC, drew 51 entrants.
In a straight-up race to 7, among the winners’ side final four, Slaughter defeated Chase Gilbert 7-4. Roberts (AA), in the meantime, downed Larry Faulk (A) 11-5. In their first of two, with a four-game handicap, Slaughter sent Roberts to the semifinals 7-5 and waited for his return.
Faulk moved over to pick up Brian Capps, who’d defeated both Dylan Letchworth and Shawn Padgett, both 7-4, to reach him. Gilbert picked up Billy Thorpe, who was looking for his second straight win on the tour, having won the previous week in Havelock, NC. Thorpe had defeated Alex Olinger 9-7 and Josh Newman 9-3 to reach Gilbert. Both B players (Gilbert and Capps) defeated their A opponents (respectively; Thorpe and Faulk) 7-6. In the straight-up, race-to-7 quarterfinals, Gilbert prevailed 7-5.
Gilbert got within a game of forcing a double hill match in the semifinals, and facing Slaughter a second time, but Roberts prevailed 11-5, and got his second chance. He took the opening set 11-4, but Slaughter came back to win the second set 7-4 and secure the event title.
Tour directors Shannon and Marge Daulton thanked the ownership and staff of Shore Thing Billiards (to where the tour will return next month), as well as sponsors Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Nick Varner Cues and Cases, Mike Davis Exterminating, Tiger Products and Delta-13 racks.
Shannon “The Cannon” Daulton, Billy Thorpe, Alex Olinger, & Danny Farren
He’s been at it for a few years now, trying to chalk up a win on the Great Southern Billiard Tour; four times this year, in fact, and though he’s finished among the top five in three of his last four outings, the “W” has eluded Billy Thorpe. No longer. On the weekend of June 2-3, at a $1,500-added event at BJ’s Billiards in Havelock, NC, Thorpe worked his way through a field of 42 entrants, including road partner, Alex Olinger (twice) and went undefeated to capture his first GSBT title.
Thorpe and Olinger met first in the battle for the hot seat, once Thorpe had sent Chris McSorley west 9-3 and Olinger had done likewise to Jordan Grubb 11-6. With a two-game advantage, Thorpe got into the hot seat 9-9 over Olinger and waited for his return.
Over on the loss side, Mac Herrell defeated Brian White 9-8, and Larry Faulk 9-6 to pick up Grubb. McSorley drew Nolan Leonard, who’d defeated Jason Lawson 7-3 and Delton Howard 7-2 to reach him. Herrell and Leonard ended Grubb and McSorley’s trip to the loss side quickly; Herrell 9-8 over Grubb and Leonard 7-1 over McSorley. Herrell won the quarterfinal battle that followed 7-3 over Leonard, but ran right into a determined Olinger, who defeated him 11-6 in the semifinals for a second chance against Thorpe.
Both Thorpe and Olinger, who will reportedly travel together and be on hand for the next GSBT stop on June 9-10 at Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle Beach, SC, entered the finals playing as though they were late for a bus to the beach. Thorpe got out to an early lead and held on to it throughout the length of the match; extended it, in fact, as he took his second match from Olinger 9-3 to chalk up that first win on the GSBT.
Tour directors Shannon and Marge Daulton thanked BJ Billiards in Havelock, NC for their hospitality, particularly Danny Farren and Mike Coleman for their hard work at coordinating the event. The tour, noted the Daultons, will be back “very soon.” The Daultons also thanked sponsors Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Nick Varner Cues and Cases, Mike Davis Exterminating, Tiger Products and Delta-13 racks.
Adam Bryan, a B player, took advantage of a handicap to gain the hot seat in a battle versus Greg Smith, an A player at a November 26-27 stop on the Great Southern Billiard Tour. Smith, though, returned from the semifinals to defeat him twice and take the event title. The $1,500-added event drew 32 entrants to Mickey Milligan’s Billiards & Pub in New Bern, NC.
From among the winners’ side final four, Smith, in a straight-up race to nine games between two A players, prevailed in a double hill battle against Sidney Champion. Bryan, in the meantime, facing an A player, Larry Faulk, also survived a double hill battle and advanced to the hot seat match with a 7-8 victory. Bryan then convincingly sent Smith to the semifinals with a 7-5 win that left him in the hot seat.
Champion moved to the loss side and picked up Charlie Brinson, who’d gotten by Delton Howard 7-5, and Jason Lawson 7-2. Faulk drew Montez Lloyd, who’d defeated Carlos Cruz 9-2 and Terri Faulk 9-5 to reach him. Brinson shut out Champion to advance to the quarterfinals, and was joined by Faulk, who’d downed Lloyd 9-6. Faulk then handed Brinson a dose of his own shutout medicine, winning 7-0 to face Smith in the semifinals.
In a straight-up race to nine, Smith earned his re-match versus Bryan with a 9-7 win over Faulk. Over the next two games of the true double elimination final, Smith gave up only five racks – two in the opening set and one more in the second – to capture the event title.
Free entries were awarded to Terri Faulk and Jason Lawson for their 7th/8th place finish. Tour directors Shannon and Marge Daulton thanked Gerry Sheperd and the staff at Mickey Milligan’s Billiards & Pub, as well as sponsors Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Nick Varner Cues and Cases, Mike Davis Exterminating, Tiger Products and Delta-13 racks.
