Mike Fuller, once among the top players in the Carolinas ‘back in the (proverbial) day,’ has been away from the tables for a while. Prior to this weekend, Saturday, July 27, his last known (recorded) victory occurred on the Action Pool Tour in 2012 and before that, in 2011, he chalked up six wins on the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour, one each on the Great Southern Billiard and Planet Pool Tour and cashed in a total of eight other tournaments, including a 33rd-place finish in that year’s US Open 9-Ball Championships. He reportedly stopped playing when he purchased an APA franchise and now, he’s back.
His first (known) recent appearance this past weekend, came at a $500-added stop on the PremierBilliards.com’s Q City 9-Ball Tour, hosted by The Clubhouse in Lynchburg,VA. Fuller went undefeated to the hot seat and arranged for a split of the event’s top two prizes. He became the official winner, as the potential runner-up, Robert Kuneo (who’d lost the hot seat match) and Jim Jablonski, who won the quarterfinal, opted out of a semifinal and split what was left of the top three prizes. The event was impacted by another event, scheduled geographically close to The Clubhouse and drew a short field of 18 entrants.
Fuller started out against the event’s toughest competitor, tour veteran Billy Fowler, the only player racing to 10 throughout the tournament. Fuller, racing to 7, defeated him 7-7, advancing to defeat Chuck Cuneo 7-1 (Cuneo racing to 6) and drawing Brian Canada in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Meanwhile, Chuck Cuneo’s brother, Robert, got by Christian Fuller and Chris Clary, both 6-3 to pick up Daniel Adams in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Kuneo downed Adams 6-4, as Fuller was sending Canada to the loss side 7-1. In what proved to be Fuller’s last match, Fuller claimed the hot seat 7-2 over Kuneo.
Jim Jablonski, destined to finish in a tie for third, had lost his opening match to Nathan Worley and set out on a five-match, loss-side winning streak that began with a double-hill win over Melvin Shelton, and was followed by two 5-1 victories versus Jesse Draper and Billy Fowler. He drew Canada coming off his winners’ side semifinal loss. Adams picked up Worley, who’d followed a winners’ side quarterfinal loss to Canada, with a double hill win over Darren Musser and a 6-3 win over Lee Staton to face Adams.
Jablonski eliminated Canada 5-4 (Canada racing to 6) and advanced to the quarterfinals. Adams defeated Worley 7-4 and joined him. Jablonksi won his second straight 5-4 match, this time, against Adams, who was racing to 7. Negotiations got underway for the prize splits and the night was over.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at the Clubhouse for their hospitality, along with title sponsor PremierBilliards.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), Run Racks Worldwide Apparel (Wanderer Kelly) and AZBilliards.
The next stop on the PremierBilliards.com’s Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this coming weekend, August 3-4, will be a $500-added event hosted by Breaktime Billiards in Winston-Salem, NC.
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