BJ Ussery
It’s already been a good year for B.J. Ussery, Jr., his best (recorded by us) earnings year since we began tracking his exploits back when the century turned. His previous best was last year, and by July of this year, he’d already exceeded his 2023 earnings. It was not enough to land him in a sufficiently high-enough spot on the World Nineball Tour (WNT) rankings to earn an automatic or ‘discretionary pick’ selection to this year’s Mosconi Cup team. That water has now completely gone past its bridge with the recent announcement that Billy Thorpe, 6th US competitor on the WNT rankings, will be the fifth member of the US team. Ussery was #7 on the WNT rankings; a not insignificant accomplishment, given the effort that went into it, to include travel all over the map and decent finishes in highly competitive environments.
Of the 14 events at which he has earned prize money this year, Ussery has been among the top three in eight of them, including two wins, the most recent of which came on this past weekend’s (Nov. 2) stop on the PremierBilliards.com’s TOP (The Open Player) Tour. It was, in a way, a successful shot at ‘payback’ versus Gregorio Sanchez, who’d defeated him in the TOP Tour’s Winter Classic back in February, double-dipping him in the finals. Ussery claimed the hot seat over Sanchez in this most recent matchup, and though he lost the first set of the event’s true double-elimination final, he won the second to claim the title. The $1,000-added event drew 20 entrants to Dot’s Cue Club in Rocky Mount, NC.
Ussery was awarded a bye in the opening round and opened with a 7-5 win over Dylan Letchworth, before giving up just a single rack to Jarvis Miller and drawing Joshua Padron in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Sanchez, in the meantime, without a bye, shut out two of his three opponents (Joey Tate and Jas Makhani), with a 7-2 win in the middle against Phil Stalls, to draw Delton Howard in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Ussery advanced to the hot seat match 7-4 over Padron, while Sanchez was busy sending Howard to the 5th/6th matches 7-5. Ussery claimed the hot seat 7-4.
On the loss side, Padron and Howard drew competitors who’d lost their winners’ side quarterfinal matches. Padron faced Makhani, who’d followed his loss to Sanchez with a 6-4 win over Christy Norris and a double-hill win over Dylan Letchworth. Howard picked up Jarvis Miller, who followed his loss to Ussery with a shutout over Frank Leahy and a double-hill win over Phil Stalls.
Padron advanced to the quarterfinals 6-4 over Makhani and was joined by Howard, who’d eliminated Miller 6-3. Padron gave up only a single rack to Howard in those quarterfinals, only to have Sanchez allow him only two racks in the semifinals.
It was time for déjà vu all over again, as Yogi Berra was famous for saying. Though Ussery would get within a game of forcing a double-hill first set, Sanchez edged out in front to win the match 7-5. Ussery shifted the momentum in the opposite direction for the second match, winning it 7-3 to claim title to the 2nd Annual Rocky Mount Open.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked Robert West and his Dot’s Cue Club staff for their hospitality, along with title sponsor PremierBilliards.com, digitalpool.com, BarPoolTables.net (Randy Tate), Breaktime Billiards in Winston-Salem, NC, TKO Custom Cues and Realty One Group results (Kirk Overcash), Dirty South Grind Apparel (Angela Harlan-Parker), Federal Savings Bank (Alex Narod), CHC Underground (Chris Clary), and AZBilliards.
Next up, on the PremierBilliards.com’s Q City 9-Ball Tour, will be a $250-added event, hosted by Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC.
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