Greg Burke and Todd Noble opted to let their hot seat match stand as the title match at the conclusion of the Saturday, August 29 stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour.  The undefeated Noble claimed title to the event that drew 27 entrants to The Smokin' Cue in Hickory, NC.

 

Noble defeated Josh Padron 6-3 in one winners' side semifinal, while Burke sent David Lear over 7-3. Noble claimed the hot seat 6-5 (Burke racing to 7) in what proved to be his last match of the evening.

 

Padron and Lear moved to the loss side and picked up Jeff Pate and Matt Lucas. Lucas had defeated Justin Clark 4-2 and David Best 4-4 (Best racing to 6) to reach Lear. Pate, who'd been sent to the loss side by Padron, was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side winning streak that would carry him to the semifinals. He'd gotten by Stevie McClinton 8-5 and Cameron Tuten 8-3 to draw his rematch against Padron.

 

Pate successfully navigated that re-match 8-2 and in the quarterfinals, faced Lear, who'd eliminated Lucas 7-3. Pate then chalked up his sixth and final loss-side victory 8-4 over Lear.

 

In the event's final match, Burke stopped Pate's loss-side streak 7-3. He and Noble opted out of the final match, leaving the undefeated Noble as the event winner, while  the two split the top two money prizes.

 

The Q City 9-Ball Tour will visit Hickory, NC on Labor Day weekend (September 5-6). The event will be hosted by Randolph's Billiards.

It was a weekend of pool sprints and marathons; two race-to-three, single elimination tournaments, one race-to-four Second Chance tournament and a main, $3,500-added, 10-ball event that drew the largest crowd. It was the 6th Annual Richard Sweet Memorial Tournament, held, on the weekend of June 25-28, under the auspices of the Tiger Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour. The event, hosted by the Sweet family's Mr. Cues II in Atlanta, GA, drew 225 competitors to the four events; 59 signed on to Friday night's 9-Ball Tournament, 46 were in attendance at Thursday night's 8-ball event, 47 checked in to the 'last hurrah 'second chance tournament on Sunday, while 73 went at it in the marquee 10-ball competition.

 

Richie Richeson, a 22-year-plus veteran of the sport, who, in 1993, shared 17th place at the US Open 9-Ball Championships with the likes of Allen Hopkins and Mike Massey, claimed the 10-ball title. Richeson survived a double elimination finals matchup against Evan Lunda, who'd come from deep on the loss side to challenge him and win the opening set of the finals. 

 

Advancing to a winners' side semifinal, Richeson faced Cliff Joyner, who also finished in that tie for 17th place at the US Open in 1993. Jason Stemen, in the meantime, squared off against Todd Noble. Richeson sent Joyner to the west bracket 7-3, as Stemen was busy surviving a double hill battle over Noble. Richeson claimed the hot heat 7-5 over Stemen and waited on Lunda.

 

On the loss side, Joyner ran into George Spires, recent 7-5 winner over both Horace Godwin and Brandon Davenport. It was Noble who picked up Lunda, 7-4 winner over both Ellis Brown and Kim Heath. Joyner gave up only a single rack to Spires, as Lunda gave up three to Noble.

 

Lunda eliminated Joyner 7-2 in the quarterfinals, and then spoiled Stemen's shot at a re-match against Richeson by defeating him in the semifinals 7-3. Lunda took the opening set of the double elimination finals in a hard-fought double hill battle, but Richeson pulled ahead in the second set to claim the title 7-4.

 

In the Thursday night, race-to-three, 8-ball, single elimination event, Tim Orange downed Mike Clay 3-2 in the finals to claim the $500 first prize. Clay took home the only other ($250) prize available. On Friday night, Tim Heath downed Mike Davis 3-1 in the finals of the single-elimination, race-to-three 9-ball event. Like Orange and Clay, Heath and Davis claimed the $500 and $250 prizes at stake.

 

The weekend concluded with a double-elimination, race-to-four 9-ball event that saw Randy Jordan go undefeated through the field of 47 entrants. Jordan claimed the hot seat over Mike Clay and waited for him to come back. On the loss side, Tim Heath eliminated Ryan Hollingsworth 4-2 in the quarterfinals, only to be shut out by Clay in the semifinals. Jordan completed his undefeated run 4-2 over Clay to claim the Second Chance title.

 

Tour director, Tommy Kennedy, last year's runner-up (to Shawn Putnam) and 9th-place finisher in that 1993 US Open thanked the Sweet family – Ricky, Susan and Mandy – and their staff at Mr. Cues II, as well as title sponsor Tiger Products, J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Simonis, Mueller Recreational Products, Viking Cues, Cue Stix International, Nick Varner Cues, Aramis, Chris Nitti Cues, Andy Gilbert Custom Cues and Paul Frankel with Professor Cue Ball magazine. 

For the second week in a row, the Great Southern Billiard Tour featured two players who had never been in a final before battling it out for the event title. It was also the second week in a row that the two finalists had been among the winners' side final four, and had to play both sets of a double elimination final to determine the winner. On the weekend of December 20-21, at a $1,000-added event that drew 74 entrants to Legends Billiards in Inman, SC, it was Todd Noble who took the second set of the true double elimination final against Mike Walker to capture the event title.

 

They almost met in the hot seat match. Noble faced Matt Malden in one winners' side semifinal, as Walker squared off against Matt Hall in the other. Noble advanced to the hot seat match 6-3 over Malden, but Hall sent Walker west 3-4. Noble and Hall locked up in a double hill hot seat match that left Noble in the hot seat and Hall moving to the semifinals for a fateful meet-up with Walker.

 

Walker had moved over and picked up Romy Malonzo, who'd defeated John Walker 5-3 and Hunter White 5-4 to reach him. Malden drew Zach Baker, who'd eliminated Marty White 4-4 and in a 'match of Zachs' (Baker and Collins) defeated Collins, double hill. Walker then defeated Malonzo, double hill, and in the quarterfinals, faced Malden, who'd finished Baker 7-2.

 

Walker took the quarterfinal match over Malden 5-5, to earn his re-match against Hall in the semifinals. Hall put up a double hill fight, but Walker prevailed for a shot at Noble in the hot seat. The two locked up in a first set, double hill fight, eventually won by Walker. Noble came back in the second set to win it 6-3 and claim his first GSBT title.