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Shelton and Powell split top prizes on PremierBilliards.com’s Q City 9-Ball Tour

April 16th, 2024 | azhousepro | Uncategorized

Melvin Shelton

Tour continues to raise funds, currently $1,700, for one of its own, Thomas Sansone 

With what seems like half the pool world settled into the 30th Annual Super Billiards Expo that drew 128 professionals and literally thousands of amateur and Pro-Am competitors to Pennsylvania this past weekend (April 11-13), the other half attended their regularly-scheduled regional tour events in somewhat smaller increments. The PremierBilliards.com’s Q City 9-Ball Tour, for example, settled into Breaktime Billiards in Winston-Salem, NC for a $500-added event that drew 25 entrants.

The event served a double purpose. In addition to its regular functions, the tour has been using its last two (and next two) stops to raise money on behalf of one of its regular competitors, Thomas Sansone, who has recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 liver cancer. Sansone, who won an event on the tour last month, was on-hand and competed at this event, finishing in the tie for 9th place. The tour will continue to raise money for Sansone at this coming weekend’s event (April 20-21) at Dot’s Cue Club in Rocky Mount, NC and the following week (April 27-28) at The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA. 

Melvin Shelton, who entered the AZBilliards database in 2012 with a 5th place finish on the Great Southern Billiard Tour and had not been ‘heard from’ since, went undefeated to the hot seat of this past weekend’s event. He and tour veteran, Hank Powell, met twice at the tables and eventually negotiated a split of the top two prizes.

Shelton got by Kevin Walker and Travis Geurra, both 5-3, before running into junior competitor (and son of Breaktime Billiards owner, Sundeep Makhani), Jas Makhani and defeating him 5-6 (Makhani racing to 8). Shelton drew Hank Powell in one of the winners’ side semifinals. In the meantime, another junior competitor, 16-year-old (in July) Jayce Little defeated Ace Daewood 6-2, Will Havis, double hill and Christian Fuller 6-1 to pick up Tim Nelson in the other winners’ side semifinal.

With Powell racing to 8, it was Shelton who advanced to the hot seat match 5-4. Little joined him after sending Nelson to the loss side 6-2. Shelton claimed the seat with a 5-4 victory over Little (racing to 6).

On the loss side, Powell picked up Travis Guerra, who’d followed his loss to Shelton with a win over Daewood 5-1 and three straight, double-hill victories over Kirk Overcash, Daniel Jones and Christian Fuller. Nelson drew Makhani, who’d followed his winners’ side quarterfinal loss to Shelton with victories over Junior Link 8-2 and Derek Leonard 8-4 (in his previous match, Leonard had eliminated Thomas Sansone).

Powell advanced 8-1 over Guerra to the quarterfinals. Nelson joined him after sending Makhani ‘home’ 6-4 (not far, Breaktime Billiards being the junior competitor’s ‘home’ room, owned by his Dad). Powell made short work of Nelson, allowing him only a single match in those quarterfinals. Powell then eliminated Jayce Little in the semifinals, allowing him just two racks for a potential second shot at Shelton in the hot seat.

That ‘potential shot’ didn’t happen. Shelton and Powell negotiated their split, leaving Shelton, undefeated at that point, to be the event’s official winner.

Tour director Herman Parker thanked Sundeep Makhani and his Breaktime Billiards staff for their hospitality, along with title sponsor PremierBilliards.com, BarPoolTables.net (Randy Tate), TKO Custom Cues and Realty One Group results (Kirk Overcash), Dirty South Grind Apparel (Angela Harlan-Parker), Federal Savings Bank (Alex Narod), CHC Underground (Chris Clary) and AZBilliards.

As noted earlier, this coming weekend’s (April 20-21) stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour will be a $500-added event, which will continue fund-raising activities to benefit Thomas Sansone. The following week (April 27-28), the tour will continue fund-raising for Sansone at The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.

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Hall comes back from the loss side to take Blackburn in GSBT finals

March 27th, 2012 | azhousepro | Uncategorized

Justin Hall was just in time, so to speak.

Hall came back from a third round loss during the March 24-25 stop on the Great Southern Billiard Tour to meet and defeat hot seat occupant, James Blackburn, and claim the event title. The $1,500-added Clubhouse Amateur drew 44 entrants to The Clubhouse Bar & Billiards in Lynchburg, VA.

Blackburn moved on to meet Albert Otto among the winners’ side final four, and was joined by Jeff Abernathy and Melvin Shelton. Blackburn sent Otto to join Hall 7-4, as Abernathy downed Shelton 10-4. Blackburn got into the hot seat with a double hill, 7-9 win and waited for Hall.

With two loss-side wins already, Hall defeated Chuck Cuneo 10-7 and Brian Bryant 10-2 to pick up Shelton. Otto met up with Brent Hensley who’d defeated Warren Drummond 9-8 and Steve Dye 9-5. Otto moved into the quarterfinals, following a 6-7 win over Hensley, and was met by Hall, who’d defeated Shelton 10-2. Hall then shut out Otto to meet up with the man who’d significantly lengthened his tournament run back in the third round, Jeff Abernathy. He exacted his semifinal revenge 10-7 and moved on to the double set finals.

Hall took the opening set 10-2, and though Blackburn put up more of a fight in the second set, it wasn’t enough. A 10-5 win in that second set gave Justin Hall the ‘just in time’ victory that captured the event title.

Tour directors Shannon and Marge Daulton thanked Clubhouse owner Chris England and his staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Nick Varner Cues and Cases, Mike Davis Exterminating, Tiger Products and Delta-13 racks. Next stop for the GSBT is a $1,500-added event, scheduled for March 31-April 2 at Lucky Shot Billiards in Albemarle, NC.