With a little less than half of the field still in play, the Saturday, August 3 stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour featured a large number of its better players, as defined by their tour ratings. Justin Martin, who races to 10 in his matches, was among the event’s final 12 and went on to win the event, undefeated*. Also present among the final 12 were BJ Ussery (racing to 12 in his matches) and JT Ringgold (racing to 11). The $250-added event drew 29 entrants to Mickey Milligan’s Billiards in New Bern, NC.
Martin was to have faced Jack Whitfield twice in this one, but did so only once. Martin got into the hot seat match following a 10-5 victory over Danny Farren in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Whitfield joined him after a 7-5 win over Junior Avery in the other one. In what proved to be the title match, battling for the hot seat, Martin gave up only a single rack, downing Whitfield 10-1.
Farren and Avery moved to the loss side of the bracket and faced Ringgold and Travis Guerra, respectively, for advancement to the first money round. Ringgold eliminated Farren 11-6, as Guerra downed Avery 6-4.
The first money round match, the quarterfinals, came within a game of going double hill. It was Ringgold who fell a rack short of forcing a deciding game, and Guerra advanced 6-9.
In what proved to be the event’s final match, Whitfield earned a second shot at Martin in the hot seat with a 7-4 victory over Guerra. The final match did not occur. It was 6 a.m. on Sunday morning and Martin and Whitfield opted out, leaving the undefeatEd Martin as the event’s official winner.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Micky Milligan’s for their hospitality, 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 (August 10-11), will be hosted by a new venue for the tour, Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle Beach, SC.
