As the February 7-8 stop on the Great Southern Billiard Tour wound down to its final 12 players (four on the winners' side, eight on the loss side), the lower handicaps were doing quite well against the more veteran competitors. Two players who only had to win four games to win a match advanced to the hot seat, and in the end, played in the finals, as well. While Jeff Batten defeated Brad Stone twice to capture his first GSBT title, it should be noted that Stone was the one who had to travel to the one-loss side and face Phillip Britt. Britt had to win nine games to win a match and was in the midst of an eight match, loss-side winning streak that Stone brought to an end. The $1,000-added event drew 45 entrants to Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle Beach, SC.

 

As GSBT veterans like Britt, Greg Dix and Jeff Abernathy were working on the loss side, Batten and Stone advanced to the winners' side semifinals. Batten met and defeated David Tootle (racing to 6) 4-4, as Stone was busy sending Ray Floyd to the loss side 4-3. Batten claimed the hot seat, and waited on Stone's return, no doubt rooting for him in the semifinals versus Britt.

 

On the loss side, Tootle was the one who had the misfortune to draw Britt, who'd been defeated in the opening round, and had won six on the loss side already, including a 9-2 win over Paul Durgin and a decidedly tighter 9-6 win over Abernathy. Floyd drew Paul Bailey, who'd defeated Chris Gentile 7-4 and eliminated Dix in a double hill fight. Bailey and Britt advanced to the quarterfinals, handing Floyd and Tootle their second straight loss; Bailey 7-4 over Floyd and Britt 9-4 over Tootle.

 

Britt then completed his loss-side winning streak with a 9-3 win over Bailey in the quarterfinals. He chalked up six in the semifinals versus Stone, but by then, Stone had won the four games he needed for a second shot at Batten in the hot seat.  The final match was a straight-up race to four that went double hill before Batten prevailed to record his first GSBT victory.

 

Tour director Shannon Daulton, fresh off his win in the Banks division of the Derby City Classic, thanked the ownership and staff at Shore Thing Billiards for their continuing support. The next stop on the GSBT, scheduled for February 28-March 1, will be hosted by Legends Billiards in Inman, SC. 

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.

In winning his third overall Great Southern Billiard Tour title on the weekend of July 12-13, B.J. Hucks had to contend with a very determined Paul Bailey, who lost his opening match and embarked on a nine-match, loss-side winning streak that put him into the finals, late on Saturday night. Hucks prevailed to go undefeated in the $1,000-added event which drew 38 entrants to Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

 

Before Hucks could contend with Bailey, at work on his loss-side streak of victories, Hucks advanced to a winners' semifinal against Guy Faulk; a formidable challenge, with Hucks needing to reach nine games before Faulk won three. Josh Richard and Bruce Luttrell squared off in the other. Hucks downed Faulk double hill, 9-2, as Richard sent Luttrell to the losers' bracket 5-3. Hucks got into the hot seat with a 9-2 win over Richard and waited for Bailey to complete his loss-side run.

 

With four down and five to go, Bailey defeated Gatlin Askins 6-3 and Dennis Rose 6-2, to pick Luttrell. Faulk drew Cliff Cribb, who'd gotten by Hank Warner 7-3 and Keith Crawford 7-2. Bailey eliminated Luttrell 6-5, and in the quarterfinals, met up with Faulk, who'd defeated Cribb 3-5. Again, Faulk's handicap brought his opponent, in this case, Bailey, to the brink. Bailey prevailed 6-2 and moved right into another double hill fight; this time, against Richard in the semifinals. 

 

Bailey won his second straight double hill battle, and completed his nine-win, loss-side streak for a crack at Hucks in the hot seat. Hucks ended the streak with a 9-3 victory in the finals.