The Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, through its tour directors Herman and Angela Parker turned their recent tour stop on the weekend of January 11-12 into a benefit event for Brian James, a tour competitor battling fatal pancreatic cancer. Through the raffling of cues, balls and an assortment of other products from keychains to clothing, the tour was able to raise $3,300 to help defray some of the costs of his ongoing health care. James was on hand for the tour stop that followed, which drew 63 entrants to Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN. Trey Frank went undefeated to the hot seat match, where he sent Jonathan Ailstock to the semifinals. The win would stand as the definitive final match between the two, as Ailstock returned from those semifinals to negotiate a split with Frank of the event’s top two prizes.
Their first meeting followed their victories in the winners’ side semifinals. They each gave up only a single rack in advancing to the hot seat match. Frank had defeated Michael Chapman 7-1, as Ailstock was sending Steve Dye to the loss side 6-1. Their hot seat match, appropriately enough, was a double hill affair, eventually won by Frank.
On the loss side, Chapman and Dye walked right into their second straight loss. Chapman picked up Chris Stump, who’d been defeated by Frank in the 4th round, and was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the semifinals. He’d recently eliminated Doug Schulz 5-1 and Charles Hartung 5-2 and then eliminated Chapman 5-3. Dye drew Hershel Rife, who’d defeated Dalton Messer 5-4 (Messer racing to 6) and Anthony Mabe 5-3.
Chapman and Dye fell to Stump and Rife by the same 5-3 score. Stump then downed Rife 5-2 in the quarterfinals that followed.
In what proved to be the last match of the night, Ailstock ended Stump’s loss-side streak 6-2 in the semifinals. Ailstock agreed to the split, and as the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, Frank claimed the event title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Janet Atwell and her Borderline Billiards staff for their hospitality and all of those who donated to and/or participated in the raffle that was able to donate $3,300 to Brian James and his family. The Parkers also thanked title sponsor Viking Cues, Bar Pool Tables, Delta 13 Racks, AZ Billiards and Professor Q-Ball. The next stop on the tour, scheduled for January 18-19, will be hosted by Mickey Milligans in New Bern, NC.
Two former winners on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour squared off on Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 24-25) in the finals of the tour’s 6th Annual Turkey Bowl. Hunter White, who, as a junior player, won three events on the tour two years ago, went undefeated through a record field of 76 entrants (last year’s Turkey Bowl drew 66). White had to defeat Chase Smith twice, whose last appearance in a Q City 9-Ball winners’ circle occurred in September 2017. The $1,000-added event, which featured competitors from eight states (WI, MI, VA, TN, NC, SC, GA & FL) and Germany, was hosted by Steakhorse Restaurant & Billiards in Spartanburg, SC.
They met first in a winners’ side semifinal, as former BEF Junior Champion (14-and-under Boys, 2013) Sergio Rivas and Lauren Kauffman squared off in the other one. In their first of two, White and Smith battled to double hill before White finished it 7-5 (Smith racing to 6). Rivas joined White for the hot seat match, having shut Kauffman out. White claimed the hot seat in a double hill win over Rivas and waited for Smith to return.
Anderson jumped right into the quarterfinals when Kauffman forfeited their match. He was joined by Smith, who’d downed Hart 6-1. With Anderson racing to 8 in the quarterfinal match, Smith defeated him 6-1 to face Rivas in the semifinals.
Rivas slipped a gear, so to speak, and managed to chalk up only one rack of the 10 he needed to win the semifinal. Smith, in the meantime, chalked up the six he needed for a re-match against White in the finals.
White and Smith fought a second double hill battle, with the same result. With Smith racing to 6 in the first of potentially two sets, White chalked up his seven racks first and claimed the event title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Dayne Miller and his Steakhorse staff, 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 (Dec. 1-2), will be hosted by Speakeazy Billiards in Sanford, NC.
You’d have thought, given a 9-2 score in the hot seat match, that the finals between Jeff Jordan and Michael Chapman might have been a single, one-sided match. The occasion was a stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour on the weekend of November 25-26; a $500-added event that drew 27 entrants to Cue Time in Spartanburg, SC. Jordan claimed the hot seat, and while Chapman came back from a win in the semifinals and took the opening set of the true double elimination finals, Jordan won the second set to claim the title. All of the event’s final three matches went double hill.
They got into their first of three after Jordan had sent Chad Vinesett to the loss side 9-2 in one winners’ side semifinal, and Chapman had defeated Justin Clark 7-3 in the other one. Jordan chalked up the aforementioned 9-2 win to claim the hot seat, and waited for Chapman to get back and engage him in a grueling, two-set final.
On the loss side, Vinesett picked up Tyler Mayfield, who’d recently defeated Dalton Messer 7-4 and Matt Lucas 7-5 to reach him. Clark drew Jennifer Polik, who’d gotten by Josh Crow 5-1 and Brian Pyle, double hill.
Mayfield and Clark advanced to the quarterfinals; Mayfield 7-4 over Vinesett and Clark 7-2 over Polik. Clark took the quarterfinal match 7-4 over Mayfield, and then engaged Chapman in his first of three double hill matches. Chapman won the first one, over Clark, to earn himself a second and third shot against Jordan in the hot seat.
With Jordan racing to 9, and Chapman racing to 7, Chapman took the first set of the finals 7-8, which forced a second set. It went double hill a third time for Chapman, but Jordan won it to claim the event title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Cue Time for their hospitality, 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 this weekend (December 2-3), will be hosted by Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC.
He had to win two double hill matches out of his final three, but Taz Holliday did just that on the weekend of October 28-29 to complete an undefeated run and win the 2017 Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Bar Box Tour Championship. The $1,000-added, invitational event drew 77 entrants, representing seven states (FL, GA, NC, SC, VA, TN, and WV) to Cue Time in Spartanburg, SC.
Holliday’s first double hill fight of his final three matches came in a winners’ side semifinal against the higher-handicapped Bobby McGrath. With McGrath racing to 11, Holliday got into the hot seat match with a 6-10 win over him. Jason Potts, playing in the other winners’ side semifinal, defeated Brent Hensley 7-4. With Potts racing to 7, Holliday claimed the hot seat 6-5 and waited for Potts to come back from the semifinals.
On the loss side, McGrath picked up Michael Chapman, who’d defeated Justin Duncan 7-5 and Scott Roberts 7-3 to reach him. Hensley drew Jerry Ray Harris, who’d eliminated Bo Blakely 6-2 and survived a double hill fight versus Chris Gentile (6-8, Gentile racing to 9). Chapman and Harris handed McGrath and Hensley their second straight loss; Chapman 7-9 over McGrath (racing to 11) and Harris 6-2 over Hensley.
Chapman dropped Harris off in the quarterfinals 7-2, but had his modest loss-side streak ended by Potts in the semifinals 7-5. Holliday completed his undefeated run with a re-match double hill win over Potts in the finals.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Cue Time for their hospitality, 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 will be the $1,000-added, 3rd Annual North Carolina State 8-Ball Championships. Scheduled for November 4-5, this annual event has been won by Mike Davis over the past two years, and will be hosted by Brown’s Billiards in Raleigh, NC.
It is not often that a final tournament match is called off because one of the competitors has to get to school in the morning. Such was the case on Saturday, October 15, when 12-year-old Joey Tate, winner of the Billiard Education Foundation’s Junior National Championships (14 and under division) last month in Las Vegas, and Corey Sykes opted out of a final match on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. Tate had defeated Sykes in the hot seat match, but Sykes took the first set of a true double elimination final before the decision not to play a second set was made. As the hot seat occupant, Tate became the event’s ‘official’ winner, chalking up his first regional tour win. The event drew 22 entrants to Brass Tap in Raleigh, NC.
Originally from the Chicago area, Tate and his family have relocated to the Raleigh area, making Brass Tap something of a home room for the youngster. It might be a little early to start thinking of him as the ‘house pro’ of the room, but his performance in this most recent event is certainly a qualifying credential. He and Sykes advanced to the winners’ side semifinals, with Tate facing Michael Chapman and Sykes squaring off against another, slightly older junior player, Peter Abatangelo. Tate sent Chapman to the loss side in a double hill battle, while Sykes defeated Abatangelo 10-3. With Tate racing to 6 (a number that will likely rise in the weeks and months ahead) and Sykes racing to 10, the two fought to a deciding game, won by Tate, giving him a 6-9 win and possession of his first hot seat.
On the loss side, Chapman picked up Jason Rogers, who’d defeated Mike Rowe 9-4 and Randall Bowman, double hill, to reach him. Abatangelo drew Ryan Tremblay, who’d eliminated Ben Spivey 6-2 and Greg Pullman 6-3. Rogers downed Chapman double hill and in the quarterfinals, faced Tremblay, who’d ended the junior’s tournament with a 6-4 win.
Rogers won the quarterfinal match over Tremblay, double hill (9-5), and was then eliminated, double hill (10-8), by Sykes in the semifinals. It proved to be the last of six double hill matches among the event’s final 12 competitors. Sykes took the opening set of the true double elimination 10-3 over Tate, at which point, they opted out of a second set. Tate will be travelling to Moscow in about a month to represent the US in the Junior World Championships, and as a result, is working ahead of time (even on Sundays) at making up the three weeks of school he’ll miss while competing in the event. The added workload was a factor in their mutual decision not to pursue a deciding match.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Brass Tap, 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 October 21-22, will be hosted by Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
Given the theory, supported by anecdotal evidence, that competing against stronger opponents improves one's own pool game, the allure of handicapped tournaments is easy to understand. Handicaps in such situations are designed to give lower-ranked players something of a fighting chance against seasoned (higher handicapped) veterans.
On the weekend of June 17-18, at a stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour, Michael Chapman, looking for his first major tournament win, made it to the hot seat. In the finals, he faced Open/Pro player Jonathan Pinegar, aka Hennessee from Tennessee, who'd lost his opening match and won eight on the loss side to reach those finals. With Pinegar racing to 12 and Chapman racing to 6, Pinegar took the opening set in the true double elimination final. Chapman, though, obviously improving on the spot, as it were, came back to win the second set and claim his first major title. The event drew 27 entrants to a new venue on the tour, Billiards and Brews in Knoxville, TN.
In the event's opening round, Pinegar faced Ricky Bingham, who was racing to 8. Bingham won that match 8-9, and eventually advanced to a winners' side semifinal against Jerry Ray Harris. Chapman, in the meantime, squared off against Bryan Walters in the other winners' side semifinal. Harris downed Bingham 5-4, as Chapman was sending Walters to the loss side 6-4. Chapman claimed the hot seat by that same score, and waited for Pinegar to complete his loss-side run.
It was Walters who drew Pinegar, halfway through his eight-match, loss-side winning streak, which included, most recently, a double hill win over Brett Kleinhaus (12-8), and a 12-3 win over Joel Bradshaw. Bingham drew Steve Ellis, who'd downed Angela Gann 6-2 and Rick Rogers 6-4. Pinegar advanced to the quarterfinals 12-3 over Walters, as Ellis spoiled the opportunity for a Pinegar/Bingham re-match with a 6-3 win over Bingham.
Pinegar gave up only a single rack to Ellis in those quarterfinals, and then spoiled Harris' hopes for a re-match against Chapman, with a 12-2 win in the semifinals. Chapman put up a double hill fight against Pinegar in the opening set of the true double elimination final, but Pinegar prevailed 12-5 to force a second set. Chapman downed Pinegar in the second set 6-8, completing his undefeated run to claim his first major title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Billiards and Brews, 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 June 24-25, will be the 1st Annual South Carolina State 9-Ball Barbox Championships, to be hosted by Cue Time Billiards in Spartanburg, SC.
