On the weekend of April 21-22, at the Gate City Billiards Club in Greensboro, NC, Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball veteran Don Lilly was looking to chalk up his fourth tour win of the year, having won in January, and twice in February. He navigated his way through the field of 40, made it to the hot seat, downing veteran competitor Mark Tademy, and waited on the return of what turned out to be one Cameron Lawhorne, who was looking for his first victory on the tour. Lawhorne had been defeated in the event’s third round, and won seven straight on the loss side, including two back-to-back double hill matches that put him into the finals. He double dipped Lilly to claim the event title.
With the eventual winner already at work on the loss side, Lilly advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Donald Williams. Tademy, in the meantime, squared off against Tyson Key.
Lilly sent Williams to the loss side 7-2 and was joined in the hot seat match by Tademy, who’d given up only a single rack in a 10-1 victory over Key. Lilly sent Tademy to the semifinals 7-5, envisioning just one more hurdle between him and his fourth tour win.
That hurdle, Lawhorne, had chalked up two of his seven, loss-side wins when he eliminated Travis Shelton 5-4 and then, Morgan Sutherland 5-1 to draw Key. Williams drew Danny Jones, who’d gotten by Brandon Stiltner (the man who’d sent Lawhorne to the loss side in the third winners’ side round) 10-5 and Don Liebes (owner of Gate City Billiards) 10-3.
In the first of two, double hill matches, Lawhorne downed Key (5-4), and in the quarterfinals, faced Williams, who’d defeated Jones 8-1. Lawhorne then defeated Williams 5-7 (Williams racing to 8).
With Tademy racing to 10, Lawhorne denied him a second shot at Lilly with a 5-8 win in the semifinals. Lawhorne went on to win both sets of the true double elimination final against Lilly (racing to 7), giving up four racks in the first set and none at all in the second.
Tour directors Herman and Angela Parker thanked Don Liebes and his Gate City Billiards Club staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta 13 Racks, AZBilliards and Professor Q Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for April 28-29, will be hosted by The Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA.
