Brandon Kidwell came back from a defeat in a winners' side semifinal to meet and defeat hot seat occupant Ron Frank during the February 27-28 stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour. The event drew 51 entrants to Janet Atwell's Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
Kidwell fell to Keith Wiseman in a winners' side quarterfinal, which set Wiseman up to face Jordan Grubb. Frank, in the meantime, squared off against June Bug. Wiseman sent Grubb to the loss side 8-5, as Frank was busy sending June Bug over 9-3. Frank claimed the hot seat in a double hill fight against Wiseman and waited on Kidwell's return.
Kidwell opened his loss-side campaign with a 7-4 win over Dustin Brown, and followed that with a 7-5 win over Pete Browning, setting him for a match versus June Bug. Grub picked up Cory Morphew, who'd eliminated Darren Musser 10-5 and Mike Brown 10-1. Kidwell chalked up win #3, 7-4, over June Bug, as Grub was eliminating Morphew 8-7 (Morphew racing to 10).
Kidwell gave up only a single rack in the quarterfinal match against Grubb, and turned to face the man who'd sent him to the loss side, Wiseman, in the semifinals. With Wiseman racing to 8, Kidwell advanced to the finals 7-6.
In the first of two sets, Kidwell and Frank battled to double hill, before Kidwell prevailed to force a second set. He won that one, as well, downing Frank 7-4 to claim the event title.
Shannon Daulton, Alex Olinger, Kenny Tran and room owner Mike Medley
The biggest story of the Great Southern Billiard Tour's 7th Annual Tour Championship weekend, December 13-15, was Alex Olinger, who won 12 straight matches – 10 on the loss side and two in the finals – to claim the 9-Ball title. In the 8-ball tournament, Mike Brown went undefeated to claim that title; his first on the GSBT. The $5,000-guaranteed purse events ($2,500 each) drew 90 entrants – 44 in 8-ball and 46 in 9-ball, with some duplication – to Michael's Billiards in Fairfield, OH, which was hosting the event for the second year in a row.
Olinger began his loss-side march when Louis Altes took him down 7-7 in the second round; Olinger was racing to 10. Altes would move on and advance to a winners' side semifinal against Danny Smith, who was looking to end 2012 the way he had started it, with a win (He took first place in last January's Music City Classic). In the other winners' side semifinal, Kenny Tran faced Brandon Thomas (the son in a father/son pair that competed; against each other in 8-ball).
Tran won 7-5, and Smith sent Altes over 11-5. With Smith racing to 11, Tran won his final match, moving into the hot seat 7-7. Olinger was on his way.
By the time the loss side got into its money rounds, Olinger was just over halfway home; six down, four to go for a shot at Tran in the hot seat. He took down Bill Tremble 10-3 and Bruce Luttrell 10-5, which set him up to face Brandon Thomas. Altes picked up Timmy Heath, who'd defeated Corey Morphew 7-5, and Jeremy Seaman 7-7. Olinger got his re-match versus Altes, but only just, as Thomas battled him to double hill. Altes, in the meantime, eliminated Heath 7-5.
Olinger sent Altes home 10-4 in the quarterfinals that followed, and then, locked up in a double hill semifinal battle with Danny Smith. With Smith racing to 11, Olinger prevailed 10-10 and moved on to face Tran.
With Tran, in the hot seat, racing to seven, Olinger took the opening set of the finals double hill (10-6). He took the second set 10-5 to claim the GSBT 9-Ball Championship title.
In the 8-ball tournament, Ohio's Mike Brown was the main story, as he went undefeated to claim his first-ever win on the Great Southern Billiard Tour. Brown's trip to the hot seat dodged a bit of a bullet, as Danny Smith, who finished third in the 9-ball event, advanced to the winners' side final four, and eventually finished fourth in the 8-ball event. Brown faced Jeremy Seaman among the winners' side final four, and looking for a second hot seat match, Smith faced Chris Bosse.
With Seaman racing to 8, Brown got into the hot seat match 6-6, as Bosse was busy sending Smith to the loss side 5-3. Brown defeated Bosse 6-3 to claim the hot seat and waited on what turned out to be the return of Seaman.
Smith moved to the loss side and ran into Russell Thomas, who'd shut out Samantha Patton, and then defeated his own son, Brandon 5-4 (Brandon racing to 6). Seaman picked up Jason Thomas (no relation), who'd survived a double hill match versus Shannon Murphey, and eliminated Timmy Heath 6-3. Smith made short work of the elder Thomas 8-2, and in the quarterfinals, faced Seaman, who'd ended Jason Thomas' run, double hill.
In a straight-up race to 8, Seaman dropped Smith into fourth place, and then survived a double hill matchup against Bosse (8-4) in the semifinals. The Brown/Seaman re-match was a replay of their first meeting among the winners' side final four. With Seaman racing to 8, Brown prevailed 6-6 to claim the 8-ball title.
Shannon Daulton and Marge Cooper thanked Mike Medley and his staff at Michael's Billiards and Games, as well as sponsors Nick Varner Cues & Cases, Delta 13 Racks, Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Tiger Products, Ozone Billiards and Lomax Custom Cues.
Jesse Engel fell to Larry Nevel in the early going of the Arena Billiards 9-Ball Open, but won seven on the loss side to eventually meet and defeat Gary Abood in the event finals. The $1,800-added event drew 79 entrants (only 77 actually played) to Arena Billiards in West Monroe, LA.
Once Engel had been sent west, Nevel was eventually sent to follow him by Abood, who advanced among the winners' side final four for a matchup against James Council. Carl McLendon squared off against Eric Brown in the other winners' side semifinal. Abood gave up only a single rack against Council and in the battle for the hot seat, met McClendon, who'd defeated Brown 7-3. Abood got into the hot seat with a double hill win over McClendon.
Engel, in the meantime, was racking them up on the loss side. With two down and five to go, he defeated Tom Orange, and was denied a re-match against Nevel, when Josh Roberts took him out in the same round. Engel went on to defeat Roberts 7-5, which set him up to face Council. Brown drew Clint Freeman, who'd gotten by Mike Brown and Kenny Loftis.
Engel defeated Council 7-3 and was met in the quarterfinals by Brown, who'd eliminated Freeman 7-4. Engel moved on and chalked up four straight 7-4 wins, beginning with his defeat of Brown in those quarterfinals.
He defeated McClendon in the semifinals, and got out in front of Abood in the opening set of the finals to take it 7-4, as well. Abood jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set, but Engel caught up to him and eventually sealed the deal with a final 7-4 win.
They’re like footsteps creeping up behind you, those matches won by loss-side opponents looking to dethrone the occupant of a given tournament’s hot seat. Shannon Murphy heard them on the weekend of February 17-19, as he sat in the hot seat, waiting for Ryan Stone to complete a five-match, loss-side winning streak that propelled him into the finals. Murphy, though, took the opening set of what would have been a true double elimination final and finished the 9-ball segment of the weekend’s activities undefeated. The $1,500-added amateur event drew 55 entrants to Michael’s Billiards in Fairfield, OH.
Murphey was the only ‘AA’ player among the winners’ side final four, that included three ‘A’ players – Frank Ruby, Mike Brown and Billy Thorpe. Murphy got into the hot seat match with a commanding 11-1 victory over Thorpe, and was joined by Brown, who’d sent Stone west among the winners’ side final eight and then downed Ruby 9-7. Murphy moved into the hot seat with an 11-5 victory over Brown and sat listening for the footsteps.
Those Ryan Stone footsteps began on the loss-side with an 11-3 victory over D.J. Holloway and an 11-8 win over Lee Holt, which set him up to face Thorpe. Ruby drew Clay Carmen, who’d downed Joe Pierce 7-2 and James Davis, Jr. 7-7. It was Stone and Ruby advancing to the quarterfinals; Stone with an 11-8 victory over Thorpe, and Ruby advancing 9-7 over Carmen.
With three down and two to go, Stone ended Ruby’s day with an 11-4 victory in the quarterfinals to earn a re-match against Brown in the semifinals. He completed his loss-side journey with a successful rematch victory over Brown 11-7. Murphy, though, put a stop to the winning streak. He took the first of what might have been two, with an 11-7 victory that secured the 9-ball title with an undefeated effort.
Beginning on Friday night, February 17, this GSBT event opened with a 32-player, bank pool mini-tournament, with races to 2 on the winners’ side and 1 on the loss side. Timmy Heath pocketed the first place prize of $300 with a finals victory over T.J. Bach, who went home with $200 for his effort. Greg Putnam finished third ($100) and Shane Winters finished fourth ($40). The weekend also entailed an 8-ball event that drew 52 entrants (see accompanying report).
Tour directors Shannon and Marge Daulton thanked Mike Medley 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.
