Jonathan Ailstock
Since he started showing up on payout lists here at AZBilliards eight years ago, Jonathan Ailstock has been able to bring home cash from a number of regional tours that have plied their trade in the relative vicinity of his Virginia home. In that first year, 2015, Ailstock cashed in three different tours; The Great Southern Billiard Tour, the Q City 9-Ball Tour and the Action Pool Tour. He would go on through a work-in-progress pool career to win four stops on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, finish 5th three times at events of the annual Super Billiards Expo (twice in One Pocket and once, last year, in a 6-Ball event) and within the past six weeks, he’s won two stops on the Stroker’s Tour, going undefeated, back-to-back in both of them. He chalked up the second of those this past weekend (June 17-18) at a $250-added, Barbox 9-ball event that drew 39 entrants to Top Shelf Billiards in Collinsville, VA.
An opening round bye for Ailstock was followed by a shutout over Danny Wise, a 7-2 win over Thomas Sansone, and a 7-4 victory over Greg Nall, which set him up to face Michael Neal in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Jody Musselman, in the meantime, who would face Ailstock twice, hot seat and finals, was also awarded an opening round bye before downing his first three opponents by an aggregate score of 18-4. He got by Justin Cason (1), JR Coca (2) and Kevin Walker (1) to draw Greg Shelton in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Ailstock moved on to the hot seat match after dispatching Neal to the loss side 7-3. Musselman joined him after sending Shelton over 6-3. Ailstock claimed the hot seat 7-4.
Over on the loss side, two Gregs lined up to do battle; Greg Shelton, newly arrived from the winners’ side semifinal, faced Greg Nall, who’d followed his loss to Ailstock with victories over Dusty Wallace and Rico Alvarez, both 6-3. Neal, coming over from the winners’ side, picked up Collin Hall, who was working on a four-match, loss-side streak that had recently eliminated Kevin Walker with a shutout and Sansone 7-2.
Hall ended Neal’s streak 7-4 and advanced to the quarterfinals. Hall was joined by Nall, who’d won the ‘Gregs’ battle 6-4. Nall ended Hall’s streak with a double hill win in those quarterfinals.
In the semifinals that followed, Musselman gave up only a single rack to Nall to earn his spot in the finals. He and Ailstock chalked up a replay of their hot seat match, with Ailstock winning a second time 7-4 to claim his first bak-to-back wins on a regional tour.
Tour director Tim Byrant thanked the ownership and staff at Top Shelf Billiards for their hospitality. The next stop on the Stroker’s Tour, scheduled for Saturday, July 8, will be hosted by Break Time Billiards in Winston-Salem, NC.
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