Rory Dover
The Q City 9-Ball Tour wasted no time launching its 2024 season this past weekend, opening up in one of its regular rooms – BreakTime Billiards in Winston-Salem, NC – for a $500-added event on the new year’s first weekend (Jan. 6-7) that drew 47 entrants to the location. Rory Dover went undefeated to the hot seat in the event before negotiating with semifinal winner, Will Carver, to split the event’s top two prizes.
That split might have been in Dover’s best interest, given the fact that while Carver had lost his opening match to Mike Sewell 4-5 (Carver racing to 7), he’d set out on a nine-match, loss-side winning streak and with that kind of momentum, might have finished with a victory in the final. Maybe not, it being one of those no-way-of knowing possibilities inherent in a prize-split at the end. Dover, racing to 5 throughout, faced five opponents, three of whom were racing to higher numbers than him. With the other two, in straight-up races to five (his first and, as it turned out, his last match, battling for the hot seat), Dover chalked up decisive wins.
Awarded an opening-round bye, Dover gave up a single rack in his second-round match to Mike Sewell, who had previously sent the eventual runner-up, Will Carver, to the loss side 5-4 in the opening round of play. Dover advanced to give up a single rack to Bryan Plummer (racing to 7) and came within a game of double-hill to defeat Josh Heeter 5-7 (Heeter racing to 9). Dover picked up Brandon McGuire (racing to 6) in one of the winners’ side semifinals and defeated him double hill (5-5) to advance to the hot seat match.
Members of the Hyatt family were ‘in the house’ for this event. Joe Hyatt, Sr., though a regular competitor on the tour, was not among them, but his son, 11-year-old Jacob Hyatt was. Also a regular competitor on the tour, who’s cashed in previous events, Jacob didn’t fare as well this time (two and out). Joe Hyatt, Jr. (16), though, another tour regular, did better at this event (more on this shortly). He and brother Jacob finished 3rd and 4th at a Q City 9-Ball event last July.
This past weekend, Joe, Jr. opened with a victory over Tim Nelson 5-4 (Nelson racing to 6) and advanced to defeat David Honeycutt 5-4 (double hill), Jose Irizarry 5-5 (Irizarry racing to 7) and Jarrett Shotwell 5-1 (Shotwell racing to 6) to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Eric Stanton. Hyatt defeated Stanton 5-4 (Hyatt racing to 6) and joined Dover in the hot seat match. In a straight-up race to 5, Dover prevailed 5-2 over Hyatt, claiming the hot seat in what would prove to be his last match.
As it turned out, when McGuire and Stanton showed up on the loss side, they both faced opponents who’d won six on the loss side. McGuire drew Will Carver, who’d recently eliminated David Shipman (7-3) and Jarrett Shotwell (7-4). Stanton picked up Jas Makhani (the 15-year-old son of Breaktime Billiards’ owner, Sundeep Makhani), who’d lost his opening match, double hill, to Jesse Draper and won his loss-side six, to include most-recent wins over a pair of Q City 9-Ball veterans, Billy Fowler and Jose Irrizarry, both 7-4, with Fowler racing to 8 and Irrizary to 7.
Carver advanced with a shutout over McGuire, as Makhani and Stanton battled to double hill. Makhani prevailed finally and joined Carver in the quarterfinals. Makhani had seven-match, loss-side streak ended by Carver 7-4 in those quarterfinals.
Joe Hyatt, Jr. put up a bit of a fight in the semifinals and came within a game of forcing an 11th deciding, double-hill game. Carver though, chalked up his seventh before Hyatt reached his fourth and earned himself a shot at Dover, waiting for him in the hot seat. It didn’t happen. Dover and Carver negotiated a deal for the top two prizes and with Dover as the undefeated hot seat occupant, he became the official winner of the Q City 9-Ball’s 2024 season-opener.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked Sundeep Makhani and his Breaktime Billiards staff for their hospitality and continued support of the tour, along with title sponsor PremierBilliards.com, BarPoolTables.net (Randy Tate), TKO Custom Cues and Realty One Group results (Kirk Overcash, who also contributed trophies), Dirty South Grind Apparel (Angela Harlan-Parker), Federal Savings Bank (Alex Narod), CHC Underground (Chris Clary) and AZBilliards.
The next stop on the PremierBilliards.com’s Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (Jan. 13-14th) will be a $250-added event, to be hosted by Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC.
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