When your finalists are battling to win their first event on your tour, you stick around to let them decide it on the table. When you’re either one of the finalists, you battle aches, pains and fatigue  to get it done and claim your first event title. Gary South and Junior Gabriel battled three times during the March 7 (and a few hours into March 8) stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour and were chasing dawn when they broke the last rack of the 31 games they played. South won 20 of those games and two of the matches to claim his first (recorded) regional tour win, anywhere.

 

It was Gabriel’s second runner-up finish on the tour, having finished 2nd at a stop last August at the same location – Break & Run Billiards in Chesnee, SC. He’d won seven on the loss side during that event to face Hunter White in the finals. As he did this past weekend, he won the opening set of the true double elimination final, but dropped the second. It happened to be Hunter White’s birthday. This most recent $500-added event, which drew 39 entrants to Break & Run Billiards was the fourth cash finish on the tour for both South and Gabriel and the best finish of all of them for South.

 

They both advanced to winners’ side semifinal matches; South, against junior player Landon Hollingsworth and Gabriel versus Randy Tate. South sent Hollingsworth to the loss side 7-5 and in their first of three, battling for the hot seat, faced Gabriel, who’d sent Tate over 6-3. South gave up only a single rack to Gabriel and claimed his first hot seat.

 

Landon Hollingsworth and Tate got right back to work on the loss side. Hollingsworth picked up Trey Frank, who’d defeated Sydney Cork and Brian Ervin, both 7-1, to reach him. Tate drew Billy Fowler, last year’s Bar Box Tour Champion, who’d eliminated Aaron McClure 9-3 and Ryan Hollingsworth (no relation to Landon) 9-1.

 

Landon Hollingsworth downed Frank 6-3 and in the quarterfinals, faced Tate, who’d eliminated Fowler 6-5 (Fowler racing to 9). The junior player, Hollingsworth defeated Tate 6-2 in those quarterfinals, but couldn’t get past Junior Gabriel, who ended the youngster’s night with a 6-3 victory in the semifinals.

 

With their first major event victory on the line, it was no surprise that the opening set of the true double elimination final went double hill. Gabriel won it to force a second set. South won that 7-4 to claim the event title.

 

Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Break & Run Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Bar Pool Tables, Delta 13 Racks, AZBilliards, and Tickler Pool Ball Washing Machine. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for March 14-15, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC.

Last year proved to be a bit of an off-year for JT Ringgold, who, though he cashed in 12 events, failed to chalk up more than a single victory; in June, on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour at Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC. He barely took home one-third of the cash he won in 2018, his best earnings year to date, when he won three stops on the tour (one of them at Mickey Milligan’s) and the Action Pool Tour’s season finale. Ringgold returned to Mickey Milligan’s on Saturday, January 18 and opened his 2020 campaign on a semi-positive note. Though he managed to earn a spot in the finals against Matt Raden, the two of them opted out of a final match, leaving Raden, the undefeated occupant of the hot seat as the winner. It was Raden’s first cash finish on the tour, on which he’s been competing since 2017. The $400-added event drew 24 entrants to Mickey Milligan’s.

 

They met once in this event, in a winners’ side quarterfinal, which went double hill, before Raden prevailed 7-10 (Ringgold to 11). Ringgold moved to the loss side, as Raden drew a winners’ side semifinal matchup against Montez Lloyd. Ron Ford, in the meantime, squared off against Jorge Ramos in the other winners’ side semifinal.

 

Two double hill matches sent Raden and Ford to the hot seat match. Raden downed Lloyd 7-5 and Ford defeatEd Ramos 5-6. Raden claimed his first-ever hot seat with a 7-3 victory over Ford in what proved to be Raden’s final match.

 

Over on the loss side, Ringgold began his five-match trek toward a rematch against Raden with an 11-1 victory over Jeff Matthews and then downed Joshua Shultz 11-4 to draw Ramos. Mike Powell, who’d defeated Mickey Milligan’s owner Gerry Sheperd 5-1 and survived a double hill fight against Ms. Sydney Cork (5-3), leapfrogged over Montez Lloyd, who forfeited his first loss-side match.

 

Ringgold joined Powell in the quarterfinals after defeating Ramos 11-6. In what proved to be Ringgold’s final match, he defeated Powell 11-3 in those quarterfinals.

 

Ringgold then did his own leapfrog number. Ford forfeited the semifinal match, which set Ringgold up to face Raden in the finals. The two agreed to the split, leaving Raden with his first regional tour win, albeit with the *, and the evening was done.

 

Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Gerry Sheperd and his Mickey Milligan’s 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 tour, scheduled for January 25-26, will be a $500-added event ($1,000-added with 64+ players), hosted by Break & Run Billiards in Chesnee, SC.

Though still a long way from beating his best earnings year to date (2005), BJ Ussery is making an “I’m back” statement on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour this year. On the weekend of October 12-13, he added his sixth victory on the tour since February with an undefeated run through a field of 40 entrants at Gate City Billiards in Greensboro, NC. In addition to his six victories on the tour, Ussery has also tallied three runner-up finishes, a 3rd, 4th and 7th-place finish, as well as a victory on the Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour.

 

Ussery faced separate opponents in the hot seat match and finals of this event, both of whom were also looking to add to their win totals on the 2019 tour. In the hot seat match, he battled Jeff Abernathy, who was seeking his third win on the 2019 tour. In the finals, Ussery faced Josh Heeter, who’d been defeated in the third round of play and won seven matches on the loss side to face him in the finals, hoping to chalk up his second victory on the 2019 tour.

 

Ussery advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Anthony Mabe, as Abernathy squared off against Jeff Little. Ussery got into the hot seat match with a 12-3 victory over Mabe. He was joined by Abernathy, who’d shut Little out. Ussery claimed the hot seat 12-3 and waited on what turned out to be Heeter.

 

Three matches into his loss-side winning streak, Josh Heeter eliminated Matt Raden 8-2 and then shut out Tim Nelson to draw Little, coming over from the winners’ side semifinal. Mabe picked up Reené Driskill, who’d recently defeated Hunter Apple 4-2 and shut out Sydney Cork to reach him.

 

Heeter and Little locked up in a double hill fight that did eventually send Heeter to the quarterfinals 8-4 (Little racing to 5). Mabe joined him, following a 7-2 win over Driskill.

 

Heeter, who entered the quarterfinals having given up only six racks in his last 30 games, kept it at six racks in his last 38 games with a shutout over Mabe. He then gave up only four to Abernathy, who was racing to 9, to advance to the finals against Ussery.

 

As might have been expected, Ussery and Heeter locked up in a double hill fight to claim the event title. Ussery prevailed 12-7 to chalk up his sixth Q-City 9-Ball title in 2019.

 

Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Gate City Billiards, 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 (October 19-20) will be hosted by Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.