Reid Vance
In October of what proved to be his best recordings earning year to date (2020), Reid Vance won his first PremierBilliards.com’s Q City 9-Ball Tour event in Janet Atwell’s room, Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN, double-dipping Dustin Coe in the finals. He actually brought home more money in each of his two previous runner-up finishes that year than he did in the victory with fewer entrants. He split the top two cash prizes in January with BJ Ussery that year and eight months later, finished as runner-up to Landon Hollingsworth in the tour’s 9-Ball Tour Championships, both also at Borderline Billiards. That banner year for Vance did not go unnoticed, nor did his improvement over the next couple of years. Although a second tour win eluded him, a marked improvement in his game led tour director Herman Parker to elevate his competitive rank to an ‘8’ last year.
As is often the case, that one extra game that he had to win in all of his matches from that point on proved to be a formidable obstacle. Until this past weekend (Sat., August 5), though he made a number of appearances on the tour, he only cashed in one other event this year, splitting the top two prizes with Janet Atwell at an event in her room (again) back in March. He returned to the room this past weekend and went undefeated in a field of 30 entrants to claim his first title in almost three years, downing Jeremy Sartain twice; hot seat and finals. He completed the task having given up only six games against five opponents in six matches; a 48-6 aggregate score for an 88% game-winning average.
“That’s really strong, no matter who you’re playing,” noted tour director Herman Parker.
Almost, but not quite eclipsing Vance’s victory was one Dona Sellman, a regular on the tour, playing as a ‘4,’ who defeated (among others) tour veteran Zach Wilson (a ‘7’) in the quarterfinals. She was on the double-hill verge of earning a spot in the finals, before Sartain prevailed to win their semifinal match. It was her best (recorded) finish ever and anywhere. On her way home, still no doubt elated from her best finish in a tournament, her car was struck from behind by “someone speeding, not paying attention” on a major highway.
“I’m gonna be OK,” she wrote to tour director Herman Parker today (Monday), “and my cues that were in the trunk are ok also.”
She noted, as well, that while the “soreness is starting” and that she’d found a few “new bruises,” her state of mind was on what was ahead for her, instead of the trauma that was thankfully behind her.
“But I’ll heal,” she wrote, “maybe not for this weekend, but I’ll be fine.”
All who learned of the accident, along with those who will be learning about it when Parker posts a report on the tour’s FB group page (and we do so here), offered best wishes for a speedy recovery and a quick return to the tables to assure that the momentum of the confidence-building finish that highlighted this past weekend for her will not be lost.
Vance’s journey to the event title (with him racing to 8 throughout) got off on a strong note with a shutout over Robert Wagoner, before advancing to defeat Mike Holmes (1) and Braden Clever (1), arriving at a winners’ side semifinal against Selman. Sartain in the meantime squared off against Brian Bagwell in the other one.
Sartain and Bagwell locked up in a double-hill fight that eventually advanced Sartain to the hot seat match. Vance joined him after providing Selman with what had to be a wake-up call to her aspirations for a first title, shutting her out to advance. Vance claimed the hot seat 8-3 and waited on Sartain’s return.
On the loss side, Zach Wilson was engaged in a five-match, loss-side winning streak that had recently shut out Braden Clever and eliminated Janet Atwell 7-1 to draw Bagwell. Mike Holmes, who’d just defeated Gary South 6-5 (South, racing to 7, had been responsible for sending Wilson to the loss side) and Andy Ashburn 6-1.
Wilson and Bagwell went double-hill before Wilson prevailed, as Selman downed Holmes 4-4 (Holmes racing to 6). Wilson’s five-match streak came to an end in the quarterfinals when Selman eliminated him 4-2.
There almost had to be some drama in the semifinals, with Sartain looking for a rematch against Vance, and Selman looking to advance to her first event final. It looked in the early going as if Selman was not going to get her chance, as Sartain took a lead all the way to the hill. Racing to 4, Selman was down 2-5 and chalked up a third rack to force a single deciding game. Balls disappeared and it was Sartain who got the game’s first shot at the 9-ball.
He missed the relatively easy shot and left the ball inches away from the hole, but at a cut-shot angle that made her shot at it just a little more difficult than the one he’d taken to get it there. She took the shot, the ball inched its way toward the pocket, and then hit just enough of a corner to keep it out. Sartain dropped it to earn his second, possibly-necessary third shot against Vance in the true double-elimination final.
It took only the one set. Vance completed his undefeated run with an 8-1 victory over Sartain to claim the event title.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked Janet Atwell and her Borderline Billiards’ staff for their hospitality, along with title sponsor PremierBilliards.com, Bar PoolTables.net, Realty One Group Results, TKO Custom Cues (Kirk Overcash), Dirty South Grind Apparel Company (Angela Harlan-Parker), Diamond Brat (Tonya Crosby), Federal Savings Bank/Mortgage division (Alex Narod) and AZBilliards. The next stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend, August 12-13, will be a $250-added event, hosted by Mickey Milligans in New Bern, NC.
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