Randolph's Billiards in Hickory, North Carolina, was the latest venue to host a $1500 added Great Southern Billiard Tour tournament. The weekend of June 28th-29th brought in a total field of forty-five players including top professional and regional names Mike Fuller, Eddie Little, Larry Kressel, Mike Davis, Shannon Daulton, and dominating tour presence Larry Nevel.
As mentioned in previous write-ups about the tour, this weekend was a repeat that we have seen so many times this season. Superstar Larry “The Truth” Nevel continues to dominate the GSBT field with nothing short of superior play and complete dominance. Unlike prior stops, Nevel and tour director Shannon Daulton did not have a chance to meet up for another epic battle. This weekend, Daulton was sent to the one-loss side by regional tough guy Larry Kressel in round two by a score of 9-6 and then sent packing by Jeff Abernathy 9-0 on the flip side. It was quite obvious by all in attendance that Daulton was not up to par as he was feeling a bit down in the dumps. We look forward to seeing another match-up soon between these two so get to feeling better Shannon.
Back to the main man of the weekend – Nevel yet again went undefeated through the field with a close 9-6 win over J.R. Rossman for the hot-seat match. On the one-loss side, Rossman would have to wait for his opponent, which would ultimately be “Iron Mike Davis”. Davis scored a win over Mark Parlier in the quarter-finals to match up with Rossman in the semis where the match remained close throughout. According to Davis, the set was a bit sloppy on both of the player's parts, but they pushed through to conclusion. Although Davis made it to the hill first at 8-7, the flip-flop play of the next couple of racks proved to be his undoing as Rossman finished out the set on top for a chance to avenge himself against Nevel.
But, the final set was proof to those in attendance that Nevel was here to stay as he bested Rossman without hesitation and in a very speedy set of 9-1 to snag yet another GSBT title. In addition to kudos to Nevel, we can't forget an honorable mention that goes out to Christy Norris for her consistent play and for taking home highest female placing and $50 in prize fund.
In the second chance event, the bracket filled with twenty-one players, but in the end Jeff Abernathy sealed the win over Daniel Gambrill and Jim Jennings. Congratulations to all three players for their excellent play this weekend!
To catch the tour in action, stop into Diamond Billiard Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the weekend of July 12th-14th for another $1500 added guaranteed main event and $250 added second chance tourney (with 16 players, Sunday only).
