For the second week in a row, the Great Southern Billiard Tour featured two players who had never been in a final before battling it out for the event title. It was also the second week in a row that the two finalists had been among the winners' side final four, and had to play both sets of a double elimination final to determine the winner. On the weekend of December 20-21, at a $1,000-added event that drew 74 entrants to Legends Billiards in Inman, SC, it was Todd Noble who took the second set of the true double elimination final against Mike Walker to capture the event title.

 

They almost met in the hot seat match. Noble faced Matt Malden in one winners' side semifinal, as Walker squared off against Matt Hall in the other. Noble advanced to the hot seat match 6-3 over Malden, but Hall sent Walker west 3-4. Noble and Hall locked up in a double hill hot seat match that left Noble in the hot seat and Hall moving to the semifinals for a fateful meet-up with Walker.

 

Walker had moved over and picked up Romy Malonzo, who'd defeated John Walker 5-3 and Hunter White 5-4 to reach him. Malden drew Zach Baker, who'd eliminated Marty White 4-4 and in a 'match of Zachs' (Baker and Collins) defeated Collins, double hill. Walker then defeated Malonzo, double hill, and in the quarterfinals, faced Malden, who'd finished Baker 7-2.

 

Walker took the quarterfinal match over Malden 5-5, to earn his re-match against Hall in the semifinals. Hall put up a double hill fight, but Walker prevailed for a shot at Noble in the hot seat. The two locked up in a first set, double hill fight, eventually won by Walker. Noble came back in the second set to win it 6-3 and claim his first GSBT title.

Though Bruce Luttrell would win the opening set of the finals, Zach Robbins ended up defeating him twice on the weekend of September 6-7 to claim his first Great Southern Billiard Tour title. The $1,000-added event drew 64 entrants to Legends Billiards in Inman, SC.

 

Robbins and Luttrell met first in a winners' side quarterfinal, which sent Luttrell on a five-match, loss-side journey to meet Robbins again in the finals. Robbins went on to face Cliff Cribb in a winners' side semifinal, as Marty White squared off against Robb Hart. Robbins got into the hot seat match with an 8-6 win over Cribb, and faced White, who'd sent Hart west 5-3. Robbins got into the GSBT hot seat for the first time with an 8-4 win against White. It would be Robbins' second trip to a GSBT final, having come from the loss side to face Mike Wise in the finals of a December 2012 event at the same location.

 

On the loss side, Luttrell began his trip back to the finals with a 7-7 win over Paul Bailey, and followed it with a 7-2 victory against Brian Ervin. This set Luttrell up to face Hart. Cribb drew Jake Medlin, who'd shut out John Bannister, and defeated Bill Eisenhard 3-4. Medlin chalked up another 3-4 victory, this time against Cribb, and in the quarterfinals, faced Luttrell, who'd eliminated Hart 7-2.

 

Luttrell downed Medlin 7-2, and got his second chance against Robbins with a 7-3 victory over White in the semifinals. Luttrell took the opening set of the finals 7-3, but Robbins came back in the second set to win 8-5, claiming his first GSBT title.