A week ago (March 24-25), Jason Brattain won five matches on the loss side of a Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball stop and then, the opening set of a true double elimination final against another Jason (Rogers). Rogers rallied in the second set to claim the event title. Perhaps believing that more time on the loss side would result in a different outcome, Brattain won seven matches on the loss side during the March 31-April 1 stop on the tour and won both sets of a double elimination final against Mike Bumgarner to claim his first Q City 9-Ball title. The event drew 25 entrants to Randolph’s Billiards in Hickory, NC.

 

With Brattain already at work on the loss side, having lost to Oscar Espinoza in the event’s second round, Bumgarner advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Randall Bowman, which he won 7-3. He was joined in the hot seat match by Collin Hall, who’d defeated Steve Hughes in the other winners’ side semifinal 6-2. Bumgarner punctuated his winners’ side exploits with a shutout over Hall and waited for Brattain to meet him in the finals.

 

With two notches on his loss-side belt, Brattain downed Tyson Key 6-4, and then Daniel Gambill 6-6 (Gambill racing to 9), to enter the event’s first money round against Bowman. Hughes drew Jerry Hilton, who’d defeated Espinoza 7-3 (spoiling any thoughts Brattain may have been entertaining of a re-match) and Jeff Young 7-2.

 

Brattain gave up only a single rack to Bowman and advanced to the quarterfinals. Hughes, in the meantime, downed Hilton 7-3 to join him. Brattain then downEd Hughes 6-3 in those quarterfinals.

 

In a straight-up race to 6, Brattain and Hall battled to double hill, before Brattain completed his loss side trip and turned to face Bumgarner in the true double elimination finals. Brattain took the opening set 6-4, and though Bumgarner battled in the second set to force a 12th deciding game (Bumgarner racing to 7), Brattain dropped the final ball and claimed the event title.

 

Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Randolph’s Billiards, 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 April 7-8, will be hosted by a new venue on the tour, Carolina Billiards in Garner, NC.

 

When you get a wily veteran into the hot seat of a handicapped tournament, it’s hard to envision him (or sometimes, her) relinquishing it by losing two in a row in a double elimination final. That, however, is exactly what happened during the February 3-4 stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour. Mark Tademy, who’s been around long enough (and more) to have been a part of the ‘noble experiment’ known as the International Pool Tour (IPT) just over a dozen years ago, joined a roster of 42 entrants at the Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC, and advanced through the field to the hot seat. In the double elimination finals, however, he ran into Don Lilly, winner of the January 27-28 stop on the tour (and something of a wily veteran himself), who’d been sent to the loss side in the event’s third round and battled through seven, loss-side matches to reach the finals, double-dip Tademy and claim the event title.

 

Lilly, it should be noted, ended up in more or less the same position, as his finals opponent in the January 27-28 stop; Jason Rogers won nine on the loss side to face Lilly in the finals of that one, only to be defeated in the opening set of the true double elimination final. With Lilly at work on the loss side, Tademy (racing to 10 throughout the tournament) faced Dalton Messer in one winners’ side semifinal, as Alex Valencia squared off against Steve Reece (the tour’s 2017 Tour Champion) in the other one.

 

Tademy downed Messer 10-4 (double hill), as Valencia sent Reece to the loss side 6-4. Tademy gave up only a single rack to Valencia in the hot seat match, and appeared poised to chalk up an undefeated run.

 

With two notches on his loss-side belt, Lilly defeated Zac Leonard 6-2, and NYC-area visitor, Oscar Bonilla 6-6 (Bonilla, like Tademy, racing to 10). This set Lilly up to face Reece. Messer drew Steve Hughes, who’d sent Lilly to the loss side, and after joining him, defeated Shyne Barnes and Cody Jones, both 7-3.

 

Lilly and Hughes advanced to a re-match in the quarterfinals; Lilly, 6-1 over Reece and Hughes, 7-3 over Messer. Lilly successfully wreaked vengeance on Hughes in those quarterfinals against Hughes, defeating him 6-2 and advancing to face Valencia in the semifinals. A double match ensued there, eventually advancing Lilly to the finals against Tademy.

 

The opening set of the true double elimination final came within a game of double hill, but Lilly closed it out at 6-8 and they moved to the second set. Tademy failed to chalk up a single rack in the second set, and according to tour director Herman Parker, was reluctant, at first, to claim his runner-up prize money. He did, eventually, as did Lilly, who claimed his second Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball title in a row.

 

Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at the Gate City Billiards Club, 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 the weekend of February 10-11, will be hosted by Brass Tap in Raleigh, NC.

A pair of ‘Steves’ battled it out for the 2017 Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour Championships on the weekend of December 16-17. Steve Reece and Steve Hughes played three matches to determine the winner. Reece took two out of three of them, including the all-important second set of a true double elimination final to claim the championship title. The $1,500-added Tour Championships drew 74 entrants to Randolph’s Billiards in Hickory, NC.

 

The first of the three ‘Steve’ battles was the hot seat match. Reece had sent Rick Roper to the loss side, double hill in one winners’ side semifinal, as Hughes sent Chris Walsh over 7-6 (Walsh racing to 8). Reece claimed the hot seat 5-4 (Hughes racing to 7) and waited for him to get back from the semifinals.

 

On the loss side, Walsh picked up Jeff Abernathy, who’d defeated Scott Roberts 10-6 and Daniel Gambill 10-8 (double hill) to reach him. Roper drew Bernie Kirby, who’d been defeated by one of the ‘Steves’ (Hughes) and was in the midst of an 8-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him all the way to the semifinals. He’d eliminated Dalton Messer 6-3 and Mackie Lowery, double hill (6-6) to face Roper.

 

Walsh downed Abernathy 8-8 (Abernathy racing to 10), as Kirby chalked up win #7, 6-1 over Roper. Kirby’s last win came in the quarterfinals that followed. He eliminated Walsh 6-5 (Walsh racing to 8) to earn his re-match against Hughes.

 

Hughes defeated Kirby a second time, shutting him out to earn his own re-match against Reece. Hughes took the opening set of the true double elimination final 7-1. Reece rallied in the second set to win it 5-4 and claim the Tour Championship title.

 

Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Randolph’s Billiards, 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 2018 season opener, scheduled for the weekend of January 6-7, 2018, and to be hosted by Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC.

Reymart Lim capped off an already impressive year for himself with a comeback win at the Saturday, July 15 stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour. Sent to the semifinals after being defeated by Tim Monk in the battle for the hot seat, Lim came back to down Monk twice in a true double elimination final. The $250-added event drew 22 entrants to Q Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA.

 

Monk was no slouch in this event, either. Not only did he defeat Lim in their first meeting, he'd taken out former VA State 9-Ball Champion Eric Moore in a winners' side semifinal to get into the hot seat match. With Moore racing to 11, Monk defeated him 7-4 to advance to the hot seat match. Lim, in the meantime, had defeated Iris Cabatit 11-1 in the other winners' side semifinal. The Monk/Lim hot seat match came within a game of going double hill, but Monk hung on to win it 7-9 (Lim racing to 11).

 

On the loss side, Moore picked up Steve Hughes, who'd defeated Kenny Miller 7-7 (Miller racing to 9), and Nilbert Lim (friends with, but not related to Reymart) 7-4. Cabatit drew Randy Canipe, owner of Randolph's Billiards in Hickory, NC, who'd eliminated Jared Vogel 8-2 and Ryan Spalmaker 8-5.

 

Hughes battled Moore to double hill before Moore advanced to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Canipe, who'd downed Cabatit 8-1. In a straight-up race to 11, Moore took the quarterfinal rather handily 11-3, but then ran into a determined Reymart Lim. In another straight-up race to 11, Lim downed Moore, and turned to a second, and potentially, third shot against Monk in the hot seat.

 

Seemingly not happy with the seven racks he'd given up to Monk in the hot seat match, Lim bore down and gave up less than half that amount over the two sets of the true double elimination final. Monk chalked up two in the opening set to Lim's 11. Lim gave up only one in the second set to claim the event title.

 

Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Q Master Billiards, 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 July 22-23, will be the $1,000-added, North Carolina State 10-Ball Championship, hosted by the Brass Tap in Raleigh, NC.

Sixteen-year-old Hunter White went undefeated on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour stop on the weekend of October 1-2, to become the first player to win three stops in a single tour season. As a result, his handicap is likely to edge upward to '9' in the weeks ahead. The event drew 33 entrants to Randolph's Billiards in Hickory, NC.

 

White's victory was chalked up without benefit of a final match. Having defeated Brian Capps in the hot seat match, the two finalists opted out of the final, leaving the undefeated White as the official winner.

 

White and Capps got into what proved to be their last match, battling for the hot seat, on the heels of two double hill wins in the winners' side semifinals. White downed Steve Hughes 8-6 (Hughes racing to 7), as Capps sent Scott Howard to the loss side 10-6 (Howard, as well, racing to 7). With Capps racing to 10, White claimed the hot seat, and in effect, the event title, with an 8-7 win.

 

On the loss side, Hughes picked up Aaron McClure, who'd defeated Jeff Abernathy, double hill, and Robert Moreno 6-3. Howard drew Rick Roper, who'd shut out Robert Ash and eliminated Paul Canterbury 7-4. 

 

Roper squeaked by Howard, double hill, and in the quarterfinals, facEd Hughes, who'd downed McClure 7-4. Hughes won the 'first money round' quarterfinals 7-5, and then had his short, two-match, loss-side run ended by Capps in the semifinals 10-3.

 

White and Capps then opted out of a final match. White, as the undefeated hot seat occupant, claimed the official event title.

 

Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff of Randolph's Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta-13 racks and Ruthless Billiards. The next stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of October 8-9, will be hosted by Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA. 

 

Two Steves squared off in the hot seat match during the March 8 stop on the Tiger Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour. The two Steves might have met again in the finals, had not one of the Steves been traveling with the guy he faced in the semifinals and forfeited the win to his traveling companion, Dan Heidrich. The winning Steve – Stevie Moore – defeated Heidrich to claim the event title, while the other Steve – Steve Hughes – went home thrilled at having battled Stevie Moore to double hill in the hot seat match, in what was reportedly his first professional tournament of any kind. The $500-added event drew 23 entrants to Badfish Billiards in Matthews, NC.

 

The two Steves met in their hot seat contest, once Moore had sent Ed Yero to the losers' bracket 7-3 and Hughes had sent Ron Park over 7-4. Hughes and Moore battled to the aforementioned double hill before Moore finally prevailed and waited on what turned out to be Heidrich.

 

On the loss side, Heidrich, after defeating Jeremy Faassan and Robin Hill, both 7-2, met up with Park. Ed Yero drew Matt Reed, who'd gotten by Bill Horn 7-4 and survived a double hill match against Mark Patterson. Heidrich and Yero moved on to the quarterfinals, once Heidrich had eliminated Park, double hill and Yero downed Reed 7-3. Heidrich took the quarterfinal match 7-4 over Yero, and then became the recipient of Hughes' forfeit in the semifinals. 

 

Moore completed his undefeated run with a 9-2 win over Heidrich in the finals. This Tiger Southeast Open 9-Ball title was the first 2014 win for Moore, who was last seen in the tour's winners' circle last December.

 

Tour Director Tommy Kennedy thanked room owner Morey Little and his staff, as well as signature sponsor Tiger Products,  J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Simonis Cloth, Mueller Recreational Products, Chris Nitti Cues and Andy Gilbert Cues.