Earlier this year, in February, we reported on a victory for Jason Evans on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, which, in a career that’s spanned almost 20 years, was his first recorded victory in a major event. His best recorded earnings year (2002) came as the result of placing 3rd at a stop on the Joss Tour, 17th at the IBC Championships and three cash finishes at that year’s Derby City Classic. He has a way to go before he can match his earnings from that year, but on Saturday, October 5, he chalked up his second win* on the 2019 Q City 9-Ball Tour. He went undefeated at the event, but split the top two prizes when he and junior competitor Joey Tate, whom he’d defeated, double hill in the hot seat match, opted out of a final match. The $1,000-added event drew 39 entrants to The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
Evans advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Blade Best, while Tate squared off against Brent Hensley. Evans got into the hot seat match with a 9-4 victory over Best, as Tate was locked up in a straight-up race to 7, double hill fight against Hensley. Tate won it and then, in what proved to be the event finals, a second straight double hill match, fell to Evans 9-6 (Tate racing to 7).
On the loss side, Best drew Shane Woodrum, who’d shut out Travis Guerra and defeated Dustin Coe 5-2 to reach him. In an earlier round, Coe had defeated Shane’s older brother, Chris Woodrum 6-4. Hensley picked up Jonathan Ailstock, who’d been defeated by Evans in a winners’ side quarterfinal and then defeated Travis Shelton and Hank Powell, both 6-4.
Woodrum fell to Best 6-3, as Ailstock was busy downing Hensley 6-5 (Hensley racing to 7). Ailstock defeated Best 6-4 in the quarterfinals that followed, and with the notion of a rematch against Evans in the finals, squared off against Tate in the semifinals.
Tate, though, stopped Ailstock’s four-match, loss-side run with a 7-4 win in those semifinals. He and Evans opted out of the final, awarding the undefeated Evans the event title.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked the ownership and staff at The Clubhouse, 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 (October 12-13), will be hosted by Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC.
