About 14 years ago (Feb. 7-8, 2009), Florida’s Tony Pete recorded his first event victory with us here at AZBilliards. In a 75-entrant field on the Florida-based KF Cues Pool Tour, he was sent to the loss side and won five straight matches to face and defeat the competitor who’d sent him there, Mark Wathen, in a single match final. Pete won a second KF Cues Pool Tour event in March that year and then went into a protracted dry spell, until he finished as runner-up to Mike Davis, Jr. at the season opener of the Capital City Pool Tour in Cary, NC last year. This past weekend (Feb. 11-12), Pete chalked up his third recorded event victory and as he did 14 years ago to start his (recorded) pool career off, he came from the loss-side to do it. At a $250-added event on the PremierBilliards.com Q City 9-Ball Tour that drew 26 entrants to Bennie’s Billiards (formerly Buck’s Billiards) in Raleigh, NC, Pete won eight on the loss side and then double-dipped P.J. Schmidt to claim the event title.
Unlike 14 years ago, Pete did not complete his title run this time by downing the player who’d sent him to the loss side. The opportunity to vanquish an earlier opponent might have happened in the quarterfinals, but didn’t. The player that sent Pete over was Jason Rogers, who advanced beyond his victory over Pete to draw the tour’s 2022 tour champion, Larry Hughes, in one of the winners’ side semifinals. P.J. Schmidt squared off against Greg Taylor in the other one.
Schmidt downed Taylor 5-6 (Taylor racing to 8) and was joined in the hot seat match by Hughes, who’d sent Rogers off to a possible rematch against Pete 6-4. With Hughes racing to 6, Schmidt claimed the hot seat 5-4 and waited for Pete to complete his loss-side run.
With three loss-side wins behind him, Pete defeated Steve Page and Chris Petoletti, both 7-4, to draw Taylor. Rogers drew Justin Knuckles, who’d eliminated Charles Caudle 7-1 and Travis Shelton, double hill, to reach him. Pete got into the quarterfinals on the heels of a 7-2 win over Taylor, but Knuckles jumped right into those quarterfinals when Rogers forfeited.
Pete and Knuckles battled to double hill in those quarterfinals before Pete advanced to meet and defeat Hughes in the semifinals 7-2. Pete completed his title run with a 7-3 victory in the opening set of the true double elimination final and a 7-2 win in the second.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Bennie’s Billiards for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor PremierBilliards.com, Breaktime Billiards (Winston-Salem, NC), BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division and TKO Custom Cues. The next stop on the PremierBilliards.com Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (Feb. 18-19), will be a $250-added event, hosted by Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC. The following weekend (Feb. 25-26), the tour will host the $1,000-added NC State Open and the $250-added NC State Ladies Open at Breaktime Billiards in Winston-Salem, NC.
He’d cashed in only three Q City 9-Ball Tour events before this past weekend (Jan. 14-15) and finished as runner-up to BJ Ussery in one of them, three years ago. Kirk Overcash, who in addition to competing, helps sponsor the tour through TKO Custom Cues and Realty One Group, ended that drought this past weekend with an undefeated run on a $500-added tour event, which drew 47 entrants to Breaktime Billiards in Winston-Salem, NC.
He and Tim Nelson, also looking for his first win on the tour, battled twice to claim it. Both won double hill matches in the winners’ side semifinals for advancement to the hot seat match; Overcash defeated tour veteran Hank Powell 5-7 (Powell racing to 8), as Nelson was getting by Joey Palazzolo 6-4 (Palazzolo racing to 5). Overcash claimed his first hot seat with a 5-1 victory over Nelson.
On the loss side, Powell picked up Clint Clark, who was working on a six-match loss side streak that was about to come to an end and had recently eliminated Chris Clary 8-3 and, in the first money round, Jamie Bowen, double hill 8-5 (Bowen racing to 6). Palazollo drew Runal Bhatt, who’d lost his opening match to Clary and was working on an eight-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the quarterfinals. He’d recently shut out Travis Shelton and downed Jeff Underwood in the first money round 7-2.
Clark’s loss-side run came to an end with a defeat at the hands of Powell 8-6. Bhatt advanced one more step, downing Palazzolo 7-3. Powell then stopped Bhat 8-3 in the quarterfinals.
With Powell racing to 8, Nelson earned his second shot at Overcash with a 6-5 win in the semifinals. Nelson, racing to 6, made their second match a little more competitive, but in the finals, Overcash defeated him a second time, 5-4 to claim his first event title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Breaktime for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor PremierBilliards.com, along with title sponsor PremierBilliards.com, Breaktime Billiards (Winston-Salem, NC), BarPoolTables.net, Dirty South Grind Apparel Co., Realty One Group Results, Diamond Brat, AZBilliards.com, Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division and TKO Custom Cues. The next stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (Jan. 20-21), will be hosted by Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
Earlier this year, in February, we reported on a victory for Jason Evans on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, which, in a career that’s spanned almost 20 years, was his first recorded victory in a major event. His best recorded earnings year (2002) came as the result of placing 3rd at a stop on the Joss Tour, 17th at the IBC Championships and three cash finishes at that year’s Derby City Classic. He has a way to go before he can match his earnings from that year, but on Saturday, October 5, he chalked up his second win* on the 2019 Q City 9-Ball Tour. He went undefeated at the event, but split the top two prizes when he and junior competitor Joey Tate, whom he’d defeated, double hill in the hot seat match, opted out of a final match. The $1,000-added event drew 39 entrants to The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
Evans advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Blade Best, while Tate squared off against Brent Hensley. Evans got into the hot seat match with a 9-4 victory over Best, as Tate was locked up in a straight-up race to 7, double hill fight against Hensley. Tate won it and then, in what proved to be the event finals, a second straight double hill match, fell to Evans 9-6 (Tate racing to 7).
Woodrum fell to Best 6-3, as Ailstock was busy downing Hensley 6-5 (Hensley racing to 7). Ailstock defeated Best 6-4 in the quarterfinals that followed, and with the notion of a rematch against Evans in the finals, squared off against Tate in the semifinals.
Tate, though, stopped Ailstock’s four-match, loss-side run with a 7-4 win in those semifinals. He and Evans opted out of the final, awarding the undefeated Evans the event title.
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 next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (October 12-13), will be hosted by Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC.
On the weekend of April 21-22, at the Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC, Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball veteran Don Lilly was looking to chalk up his fourth tour win of the year, having won in January, and twice in February. He navigated his way through the field of 40, made it to the hot seat, downing veteran competitor Mark Tademy, and waited on the return of what turned out to be one Cameron Lawhorne, who was looking for his first victory on the tour. Lawhorne had been defeated in the event’s third round, and won seven straight on the loss side, including two back-to-back double hill matches that put him into the finals. He double dipped Lilly to claim the event title.
With the eventual winner already at work on the loss side, Lilly advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Donald Williams. Tademy, in the meantime, squared off against Tyson Key.
Lilly sent Williams to the loss side 7-2 and was joined in the hot seat match by Tademy, who’d given up only a single rack in a 10-1 victory over Key. Lilly sent Tademy to the semifinals 7-5, envisioning just one more hurdle between him and his fourth tour win.
That hurdle, Lawhorne, had chalked up two of his seven, loss-side wins when he eliminated Travis Shelton 5-4 and then, Morgan Sutherland 5-1 to draw Key. Williams drew Danny Jones, who’d gotten by Brandon Stiltner (the man who’d sent Lawhorne to the loss side in the third winners’ side round) 10-5 and Don Liebes (owner of Gate City Billiards) 10-3.
In the first of two, double hill matches, Lawhorne downed Key (5-4), and in the quarterfinals, faced Williams, who’d defeated Jones 8-1. Lawhorne then defeated Williams 5-7 (Williams racing to 8).
With Tademy racing to 10, Lawhorne denied him a second shot at Lilly with a 5-8 win in the semifinals. Lawhorne went on to win both sets of the true double elimination final against Lilly (racing to 7), giving up four racks in the first set and none at all in the second.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Don Liebes and his Gate City Billiards Club staff for their hospitality, 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 28-29, will be hosted by The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
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.
Michelle Jiang, 16, Harvard, Mass., winner of the Women’s 8-Ball Singles Platinum Division
The 8-Ball divisions at the 2017 BCAPL National Championships are wrapping up and more champions have been crowned! The 41st BCAPL National Championships started July 19 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. More than 5,000 players are participating in this year’s event, which has more than 40 divisions.
Here are the top finishers in the divisions that have concluded:
Following an event victory in February, Jonathan Ailstock turned in a second undefeated performance on the Q City 9-Ball Tour on Saturday, May 28. The event, presented by Viking Cues, drew 31 entrants to Friendly Cue Billiards in Lynchburg, VA.
In his final three games, Ailstock had to defeat two higher ranked opponents, JT Ringgold and Brian Bryant, to complete his run. He ended up defeating Bryant twice. They met first in the hot seat, after Ailstock had sent Ringgold to the loss side 6-7 (Ringgold racing to 9), and Bryant had sent Wes Campbell over 9-3. Ailstock chalked up a second 6-7 win over an opponent racing to 9 (Bryant) and claimed the hot seat.
On the loss side, Ringgold drew Trey Frank, who'd gotten by Travis Shelton 7-3 and Scott Roberts 7-1. Campbell drew Ed Leggett, who, after a defeat at the hands of Ailstock in the opening round, went on a seven-match, loss-side streak that took him eventually to the semifinals. He downed Josh Williams and Todd Brady 5-2 before facing Campbell.
Leggett and Frank handed Campbell and Ringgold their second straight losses; Leggett, 5-2 over Campbell, and Frank, 7-6 over Ringgold. With Frank racing to 7, Leggett took the subsequent quarterfinal match 5-5, but had his loss-side streak ended in the semifinals by Bryant 9-3.
With Bryant racing to 9, he and Ailstock locked up in a double hill battle. Ailstock won the case game to claim his second Q City 9-Ball title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the owner (Daniel "Papa John" Adams) and his staff at Friendly Cue Billiards, as well as sponsors Viking Cues and Delta-13 racks. The next stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for June 4-5, will be hosted by Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
About 14 years ago (Feb. 7-8, 2009), Florida’s Tony Pete recorded his first event victory with us here at AZBilliards. In a 75-entrant field on the Florida-based KF Cues Pool Tour, he was sent to the loss side and won five straight matches to face and defeat the competitor who’d sent him there, Mark Wathen, in a single match final. Pete won a second KF Cues Pool Tour event in March that year and then went into a protracted dry spell, until he finished as runner-up to Mike Davis, Jr. at the season opener of the Capital City Pool Tour in Cary, NC last year. This past weekend (Feb. 11-12), Pete chalked up his third recorded event victory and as he did 14 years ago to start his (recorded) pool career off, he came from the loss-side to do it. At a $250-added event on the PremierBilliards.com Q City 9-Ball Tour that drew 26 entrants to Bennie’s Billiards (formerly Buck’s Billiards) in Raleigh, NC, Pete won eight on the loss side and then double-dipped P.J. Schmidt to claim the event title.
