Collin Hall’s last victory on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour was just a little over three years ago, when he, sitting in the hot seat, was forced to split the top two prizes with BJ Ussery because the Gate City Billiard Club in Greensboro, NC had a curfew. This past weekend, Saturday, Nov. 12, Hall was in a similar position, having claimed the hot seat and waiting for the player he’d defeated to get back (or not) from the semifinals. There was a difference this time. There wasn’t a curfew to worry about at The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA and significantly, the competitor he faced in his last two matches owned the room.
Given that in addition to being competitors, Hall and Clubhouse owner Chris England were friends as well as workplace colleagues (Hall works security at the facility), tour director Herman Parker thought that the two might possibly opt out of the final, but they didn’t. They’d battled for the hot seat, to double hill, before Hall finished it. When England won his semifinal match, the shot at the title also represented his first chance at a title on the tour and he wasn’t about to give that up.
“Chris had never won on the tour before,” said Parker, with a laugh, “and he was on a mission.”
It was almost ‘mission accomplished,’ because for a second time, they battled to double hill. Hall, though, had the last word and completed his undefeated run. The $500-added event drew 21 entrants to The Clubhouse.
They’d advanced to their respective winners’ side semifinal from opposite ends of the bracket. Hall faced Marc Becker, as England squared off against Robert Cuneo. England battled to double hill getting to the hot seat match, but did send Cuneo loss-side packing, while Hall was engaged with sending Becker to the loss side 7-3. Hall and England played their first double hill battle, which sent England off to the semifinals.
On the loss side, Becker and Cuneo walked right into their second straight loss. Becker drew Rich Cunningham, who’d just eliminated Calvin Godsey and Dustin Coe, both 7-2. Cunio picked up Bryan Glisson, who’d taken a bit of a roller coaster ride over his previous two matches, shutting out Barrett White before surviving a double hill match against Nick Call.
Glisson defeated Cuneo 5-3. Cunningham eliminated Becker 7-3. Cunningham then prevailed in the quarterfinals, 7-1 over Glisson. In what would prove to be his second of three straight double hill matches on his mission to claim the title, England defeated Cunningham 5-6 (Cunningham racing to 7).
England, entered the final phase of his mission and it almost paid off. Hall, though, completed his undefeated run with a second double hill win over his friend, his boss and his earlier hot seat opponent.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked England and his Clubhouse staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Breaktime Billiards (Winston-Salem, NC), BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, Ridge Back Rails, and Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division.
The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend, Nov. 19-20, will be the tour’s 10th Annual Tour Championships, a $1,500-added event to be hosted by Breaktime Billiards in Winston-Salem. The two-time defending champion of the event and the only player in the event’s history to win it twice, Landon Hollingsworth, will not be in attendance, as he will be competing in Puerto Rico at the time; entry to the Puerto Rico Open was a prize he earned as the top-ranked player in the Junior International Championship Series’ ProAm division this year. The generally competitive field at this annual event will crown its first new champion since 2019.
In what will be his last year as a junior competitor, Brent Worth, already 18, is making as much of that final year as he can. He’s competed in six of the seven 18U Boys (best finish, 5th) and ProAm (best finish, 4th) divisions of the Junior International Championships thus far, finished 5th in the Dynaspheres Cup Junior 9-Ball Open in March and just this past weekend, Saturday, Sept. 10, won eight on the loss side and double-dipped hot seat occupant, Stevie McClinton, to win his first regional tour event on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. The $500-added event drew 44 entrants to The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
Worth moved to the loss side in the second round of play, losing 5-3 to Greg Vaughan, whose son, Grayson, competed as well and did better than his father did. In the meantime, McClinton and DJ Brads advanced to their respective winners’ side semifinals; McClinton versus Scott Roberts and Brads against Cameron Lawhorne.
McClinton downed Roberts 7-6 (Roberts racing to 8) and was joined in the hot seat match by Brads, who sent Lawhorne to the loss side 6-3. McClinton claimed the hot seat over Brads 7-2.
On the loss side, playing in the first money round of the tournament, it was Lawhorne who picked up Worth, five matches into his loss-side winning streak, having recently eliminated Thomas Sansone 6-1 and Robert Cuneo, double hill. Roberts drew Collin Hall, who’d recently defeated Jimmy Bird, double hill and Grayson Vaughan by shutout.
Worth, picking up some speed at this point, gave up only a single rack to Lawhorne and advanced to the quarterfinals against Roberts, who eliminated Hall 8-4. Worth and Roberts battled to double hill before Worth advanced to the semifinals against Brads.
By this time, it was fairly clear to tour representatives and spectators alike that Worth could arguably have been rated as a ‘7’ instead of the ‘6’ at which he played the entire tournament. According to tour director Herman Parker, Worth will play as a ‘7’ the next time he competes on the tour.
In a straight-up race to 6 in the semifinals, Worth defeated Brads 6-3, advancing to a double-elimination final in which he’d be awarded a single “bead on the wire” in both races to 7 (if needed) against McClinton. Worth didn’t ‘need the bead’ in either set.
He won the opening set 6-3 and came back to do one better (6-2) in the second set, claiming his first event title in his first appearance on the tour.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at the Clubhouse for their hospitality, along with title sponsor Viking Cues, Breaktime Billiards (Winston-Salem, NC), BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, Ridge Back Rails, and Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this coming weekend, Sept. 17-18, will be a $250-added event, hosted by West End Billiards in Gastonia, NC.
The first time Earl Kent recorded a payout finish on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, nine days before Christmas in 2019, he and BJ Ussery negotiated a split of the event’s top two prizes. As occupant of the hot seat at the time, Ussery claimed the event title. This past weekend, May 14, at the same location, The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA, Kent, once again, split the top two prizes with his potential opponent in the finals. This time, however, Kent was in the hot seat and became the official winner, chalking up only his second recorded cash payout and his first tour win, albeit with the missed-final asterisk. The $500-added event drew 43 entrants to The Clubhouse.
He and Cameron Lawhorne worked their way through the field to arrive at Kent’s winners’ side semifinal against Chris Woodrum and Lawhorne’s against Brian Glisson. Kent got into the hot seat match 5-3 over Woodrum, as Lawhorne prevailed in a double hill match against Glisson (8-4; Glisson racing to 5). Battling for the hot seat became the defining match of the event with the two of them battling to a 12th deciding game and Kent finally winning it.
On the loss side, as matches dwindled down to the first money round (5th/6th), there was a junior competitor in the mix. Her name as Precilia Kinsley and is likely recognizable to anyone who’s been following the exploits of the Junior International Championships, now in their second season of events. After four events on the 2022 JIC so far, Kinsley is ranked 6th among 19 junior ladies in the 18 & Under division and finished 3rd at the JIC’s last stop in Phoenix, AZ a week ago. Like other junior competitors in the JIC, Kinsley has been encouraged to extend her ‘reach’ into regional tour events and according to Q City 9-Ball tour director, Herman Parker, she’s proved to be a formidable opponent.
“It was the first time she played with us,” said Parker, “and she won her first two matches; against another junior competitor and then, one of our regulars, Reid Vance, in a double hill match.”
She was sent to the loss side by the eventual winner, Earl Kent and eliminated by another Q City 9-Ball veteran, Scott Roberts, who ended up finishing third. Roberts advanced to down James Marvin, double hill, and Collin Hall 8-4 to draw Woodrum coming over from his winners’ side semifinal match. Glisson, arriving from the other winners’ side semifinal, picked up Thomas Sansone, who’d eliminated Clubhouse owner, Chris England 6-1 and Robert Cuneo 6-4.
In the first money round, Sansone and Roberts handed Glisson and Woodrum their second straight loss; Sansone advancing to the quarterfinals, double hill, as Roberts was busy eliminating Woodrum 8-2 to join him. Roberts and Sansone then battled to double hill in those quarterfinals, before Roberts advanced for a shot at Lawhorne in the semifinals.
In what would prove to be the event’s final match, Lawhorne defeated Roberts 8-6. The deal to split the top two prizes was made, with Kent taking the official event title, his first.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked Chris England and his Clubhouse staff for their hospitality along with title sponsor Viking Cues, BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, Ridge Back Rails, and Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend, May 21-22, will be hosted Still Cluckin’ in Providence, NC.
Three months shy of two years ago, at the age of 13, Cameron Lawhorne made his first of nine successful (meaning, money-earning) appearances on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. He finished 9th in that first March, 2017 stop at Cue Time in Spartanburg, SC, and a month later, finished 5th in a stop at The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA. Throughout 2018, he competed seven more times on the tour, finishing among the top 10 in all of them, including his first tour victory in a come-from-the-loss-side, double dip win in the finals, over one of the tour’s more prolific winners, Don Lilly at the Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC.
Lawhorne, now 15, returned to The Clubhouse in Lynchburg on Saturday, December 9, and coming from the loss side again, he chalked up his second 2018 win. Before he got into the finals of the event, after winning seven on the loss side, he defeated the tour’s 2018 points leader, Zac Leonard, before double dipping Wes Enoch in the finals. The event, which coincided with a serious snow storm in the area and rendered everyone’s ride home somewhat treacherous, drew 20 entrants to the Clubhouse.
The youngster made it as far as the winners’ side quarterfinals before running into Steve Harrington and being sent to the loss side. Harrington moved on to a winners’ side semifinal against Enoch, while Leonard drew Greg Tibbs. Enoch got into the hot seat match with a 5-3 win over Harrington, as Leonard shut out Tibbs to join him. Enoch claimed the hot seat 5-5 over Leonard (racing to 7) and waited for Lawhorne to complete his loss-side trip.
Lawhorne began that trip with a double hill win over Robert Cuneo, and defeated Brian Bryant 6-5 (Bryant racing to 9) to draw Tibbs. Harrington picked up Chuck Cuneo (brother to Robert), who’d eliminated Michael Moore 7-5 and Jordan Shifflet 7-2.
Lawhorne defeated Tibbs 6-4 and in the quarterfinals, faced Cuneo, who’d defeated Harrington 7-4. Lawhorne then sent the second Cuneo to the figurative showers 6-3 and turned to face the tour’s points leader, Leonard, in the semifinals.
A 6-2 win over Leonard in those semifinals sent Lawhorne to the double elimination finals. He and Enoch would play 14 games. Lawhorne won 12 of them, giving up two in the opening set and none at all in the second set.
Going into this event, one week ahead of the invitation-only Tour Championships, the competition for the tour’s point-standings leader was still on the line and could have been won by any of four competitors. Two of the four (Don Lilly and JT Ringgold) did not compete in Lynchburg, leaving the field and ultimately the point-standings title to Zac Leonard, who, like Travis Guerra in 2017, will receive paid entry to all of the tour’s stops in 2019. The fourth possible winner of the title, Angela Parker, was ineligible by virtue of her position as co-tour director.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at The Clubhouse, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Bar Pool Tables, Delta 13 Racks, AZ Billiards and Professor Q-Ball. The invitational Tour Championships, scheduled for this weekend, December 15-16, will be hosted by Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN. According to Parker, there are presently 82 confirmed entrants for the event. It is the tour’s second Tour Championship of the year, the first of which drew 94 entrants and played out on bar box tables back in September. This weekend’s $1,000-added event will play out on Borderline Billiards’ 9-ft. tables.
The Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour will be getting a jump on the New Year. They will hold the first tour stop of their 2019 season, three days ahead of the actual New Year, on Saturday, December 29, at Randolph Billiards in Hickory, NC.
Scott Roberts continued his best recorded year at the tables with a fourth victory on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour on the weekend of October 7-8. All four of his victories have seen him navigate his way through the field undefeated, while a fifth victory (back in March) eluded him, when he and the tour’s ranking leader, J.T. Ringgold, opted out of a final match, after Roberts had won the opening set of a true double elimination final. This past weekend’s event drew 15 entrants to The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
Roberts faced different opponents in the hot seat and finals of the event. After sending his eventual finals opponent, Robert Cuneo, to the loss side in a winners’ side quarterfinal match, Roberts advanced to face Bernie Kirby. Bryce Barrow, in the meantime, faced Daniel Adams in the other winners’ side semifinal. Roberts sent Kirby west 9-3, and in the hot seat match, faced Barrow, who’d defeated Adams 5-6 (Adams racing to 8). Roberts claimed his fourth hot seat of the year 9-3 over Barrow and waited for Cuneo to complete a five-match, loss-side streak that put him into the finals.
Waiting on the loss side for Robert Cuneo was his brother, Chuck Cuneo. Robert opened his loss-side campaign with a 6-4 win over Cameron Lawhorne, while the elder Chuck was busy defeating Travis Guerra 8-5. They met in the subsequent round, with Robert advancing 6-6 (Chuck racing to 8) to meet Adams. Bernie Kirby drew Jim Jablonski, who’d defeated the owner of The Clubhouse, Chris England 5-4 (England racing to 6) and shut out Travis Shelton.
With Adams racing to 8, Robert Cuneo advanced to the quarterfinals 6-6 over Adams. He was joined by Kirby, who’d eliminated Jablonski, double hill (7-4). Cuneo moved on with a 6-5 win over Kirby in the quarterfinals (Kirby racing to 7).
Cuneo completed his loss-side run with a 6-4 win over Barrow in the semifinals. Roberts completed his undefeated run with a single-set, 9-1 victory over Cuneo in the finals.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Chris England and his staff at The Clubhouse, 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 14-15, will be hosted by Brass Tap in Raleigh, NC.
