We welcomed Taylor Coffey to the AZBilliards database on the 4th of July weekend, when he finished in the tie for 5th place at a stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour at Janet Atwell’s room, Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN. Three weeks later, on Saturday, July 25, at Break & Run Billiards in Chesnee, SC, Coffey went undefeated to record his first win on the tour or anywhere, for that matter. He and Billy Fowler opted out of a final match, so the victory comes with a standard asterisk. The $500-added event drew 38 entrants to Break & Run Billiards.
The two did not compete against each other. Fowler got sent to the loss side by BJ Ussery, who advanced to meet Coffey in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Cameron Lawhorne and Chris Kendrick met in the other one. Coffey defeated Ussery 5-9 (Ussery racing to 12) and in the hot seat match, faced Lawhorne, who’d sent Kendrick to the loss side, double hill. Coffey claimed the hot seat over Lawhorne 5-2.
On the loss side, Ussery picked up Brett Underwood, who’d defeated Reene Driskill 7-3 and Gary South 7-5 to reach him. Kendrick drew Fowler, who, following his defeat at the hands of Ussery, had won two straight double hill matches, eliminating Jose Irizarry and Rick Harrison (both 9-5).
Fowler won his third straight 9-5 match, against Kendrick, and advanced to the quarterfinals. Ussery joined him after a 12-3 victory over Underwood.
With Ussery racing to 12, Fowler took that quarterfinal match 9-4 and then, with another 9-4 score, won the last match of the evening, eliminating Lawhorne in the semifinals. He and Coffey opted out of the final match, leaving Coffey, as the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, with the event title.
Tour director Herman Parker, who continues to recover from issues that hospitalized him a couple of weeks ago began his list of ‘thank you’s with his wife, Angela, who, in his absence, has been carrying on solo at what has now become three events. She’s always been on hand, but Herman was generally the person who would handle the nuts and bolts of organizing the tournament, once on site. She’s stepped up (and in) and done, according to Herman, a terrific job in his absence. The two also thanked title sponsor Viking Cues, Bar Pool Tables, Delta 13 Racks, AZBilliards, Tickler Pool Ball Washing Machine, Skyline Construction, Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division and Dirty South Grind Apparel Co.
The Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour will take a short break this coming weekend, during which Herman will continue his steady, but too-slow-as-far-as-he’s-concerned recovery. The tour will return the following weekend (August 8-9), when it will do “something a little different,” by conducting a Scotch Doubles tournament back at Janet Atwell’s room, Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN.
