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Lim returns from hot seat loss to win NC State 10-Ball Open Championships

Reymart Lim

For the second week in a row, Reymart Lim returned from a hot seat loss to meet and defeat its occupant and capture an event title. On the weekend of July 15-16, he captured a Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball title at Q Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA. On the weekend of July 22-23, the tour traveled to Raleigh, NC for the $1,000-added North Carolina State 10-Ball Open, and Lim, once again, was defeated in the hot seat match (by Keith Bennett) and returned from a semifinal, against last year's runner-up, Mike Davis, to down Bennett in the final and claim the title. The event, held under the auspices of the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour drew 54 entrants to Brass Tap & Billiards in Raleigh.
 
Lim advanced through three rounds to compete in a winners' side semifinal against BJ Ussery. Bennett, in the meantime, got through his first three opening rounds and met up with Brian White. Bennett and White locked up in a double hill battle that eventually sent Bennett to the hot seat match, where he was joined by Lim, who'd sent Ussery west 7-5. Bennett claimed the hot seat (as had Tim Monk the week before) 7-4.
 
Ussery moved over and picked up Mike Davis, who'd been defeated by White in a winners' side quarterfinal and was working on a modest, two-game, loss-side winning streak. He'd downed David Hunt and James Blackburn, both 7-3 to reach Ussery. White drew Cory Morphew, who'd eliminated Corey Sykes 7-4, and Glen Russell, Sr. 7-5.
 
White and Ussery picked up their second straight and eliminating loss. Morphew eliminated the possibility of a Davis/White re-match by shutting White out. Davis joined Morphew in the quarterfinals match by downing Ussery 7-4.
 
Davis and Morphew battled to double hill in the quarterfinals before the last 10-ball dropped, advancing Davis to the semifinals against Lim; a sort of 'old school' (Davis) versus moderately 'new school' (Lim) matchup. 'New school' won the day, as Lim eliminated Davis 7-4.
 
In another and third straight 'old school' versus 'new school' battle in the finals, 'new school' claimed the title. Lim took the single race to 9 (9-4) to capture the NC State 10-Ball Open title.
 
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Brass Tap & 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 29-30, will be hosted by Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
 

Lim shuts down Monk in double elimination final to take Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball title

Reymart Lim

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.

Guerra wins second set of true-double final over Capps to win Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball stop

Travis Guerra

Travis Guerra's been poking at the winners' circle on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour all year long. He was runner-up at a stop in January (to Greg Taylor), and a couple of weeks later, finished fifth in the 2016 Tour Championships. He made it as far as the semifinals, twice; once in April and once in May. He broke through to chalk up his first event victory of the year at a stop on July 1-2, which drew 30 entrants to Randolph's Billiards in Hickory, NC. It was his first win on the tour since he'd gone undefeated in an 8-ball event, two years ago. This time around, though he made it to the hot seat, Brian Capps gave him a run for his money in the double elimination finals, taking the first set.
 
They'd missed battling for the hot seat by a match. Guerra advanced to that hot seat match with a 6-4 win over Matt Lucas in one winners' side semifinal. Justin Clark, in the meantime, racing to 6, downed Capps (racing to 10) 6-1 in the other winners' side semifinal. In a straight up race to 6, Guerra claimed the hot seat over Clark and waited on the return of Capps.
 
On the loss side, Capps picked up Trey Frank, who'd just eliminated Tim Monk and Jeff Young, both 7-2. Lucas drew Clint Clark (no relation to Justin), who, racing to 10, had shut out Joe Sims, and given up only a single rack to Steve Reece.
 
With Clark and Capps both racing to 10, they both advanced to the quarterfinals; Clark 10-4 over Lucas, and Capps 10-3 over Frank. In what was arguably the best match of the weekend (two top-tier players racing to 10) Capps and Clint Clark battled back and forth to double hill, before Capps prevailed to take on his second Clark in a row (Justin) in the semifinals.
 
Justin put up a bit of fight in those semifinals and came within a game of forcing a deciding game against Capps, but Capps closed it out at 10-4, for a shot at Guerra in the hot seat. With a dose of momentum on his side, Capps gave up only a single rack to Guerra in the opening set of the true double elimination final. Fortunes reversed in the second set, as they often do when it's nearing 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning after two days of pool shooting, and Guerra got out in front in the second set and stayed there, winning it 6-3 to claim the event title.
 
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Randolph 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 8-9, will be hosted by Mickey Milligan's in New Bern, NC.

Walsh and Gambill split top money on Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour

Chris Walsh and Daniel Gambill played two matches during the Saturday, February 4 stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour. Walsh took the first one to claim the hot seat and Gambill won the second in the first set of a true double elimination final. They opted out of a second set and split the top two prizes, leaving Walsh as the official winner. The event drew 45 entrants to Randolph's Billiards in Hickory, NC.
 
The first match followed a 9-3 victory by Gambill over Dustin Barkley, and a 7-2 win by Walsh over Rick Roper in the two winners' side semifinals. Walsh claimed the hot seat and his last match victory 7-3 over Gambill.
 
Barkley and Roper moved to the loss side and met up with Tim Monk and Brandon Canipe, respectively. Monk had downed Rocky Hawk 7-3 and Brian Capps 7-6 (Capps racing to 10) to draw Barkley. Canipe eliminated Jake Medlin 6-1 and Jeff Young 6-2 to draw Roper.
 
Barkley and Roper advanced to the quarterfinals; Barkley 6-1 over Monk, and Roper 7-5 over Canipe. Barkley gave up only a single rack to Roper in the quarterfinals that followed, and then had his short, loss-side streak ended 9-3 in a re-match against Gambill in the semifinals.
 
As noted at the outset, Gambill took the opening set of the finals 9-5 over Walsh. They left it at that, allowing to Walsh to claim the official event title, while the two split the first two cash prizes.
 
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Randolph's Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta 13 Racks, GoPlayPool.com, AZBilliards and Professor Q Ball. Parker also noted that through a combination of cash donations (approximately $800) and goods and services ($500) by local businesses, the tour was able to raise money to help long-time tour member and supporter, Josh Newman, in support of medical expenses for his mother, who was recently diagnosed with lung cancer.
 
The next stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of February 11-12, will be a guaranteed $500-added event ($1,000-added with a full field of 48), hosted by Mister Cues II in Atlanta, GA.