Jason Martin went undefeated on the weekend of February 8-9 to win his first stop on the Great Southern Billiard Tour. He had to get by Darren "Gilligan" Blitch, looking for his second win on the tour, twice to complete the victory. The $1,000-added, 9-ball event drew 50 entrants to Shore Thing Billiards in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Martin and Blitch met first among the winners' side final eight, where a 6-6 win (Blitch racing to 8) movEd Martin into a winners' side semifinal against Guy Faulk, while Blitch moved to the losers' bracket. Joey Stevens and Ray Floyd met in the other semifinal. Martin downed Faulk, double hill, while Floyd defeated Stevens 5-3. Martin got into the hot seat with a 6-4 win over Floyd.
On the loss side, Blitch began his five-match march back to the finals with an 8-4 win over Matt Collins. He followed it with an 8-5 victory over Todd Kiser, which set him up to face Stevens. Faulk drew David Tootle, who'd gotten by B.J. Hucks 6-4 (Hucks racing to 9), and survived a double hill fight against Phillip "Ski Bo" Britt.
Blitch downed Stevens 8-3, and in the quarterfinals, met up with Faulk, who'd eliminated Tootle 4-2. Blitch then dropped Faulk into fourth place 8-2, and survived a double hill match against Floyd to earn his second shot against Martin. For the second time, Martin defeated Blitch 6-6 to claim the event title.
Marge Cooper, filling in for the absent Shannon Daulton (in Vegas for WPBL duty), thanked Brent Hudgins and his staff at Shore Thing Billiards, along with sponsors Nick Varner Cues & Cases, Delta-13, Ozone Billiards, Tiger Products, Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Lomax Cues, and Universe Clothing. The next stop on the GSBT, a $2,000-added double-event (8-ball & 9-ball), is scheduled for February 21-23 at Michael's Billiards in Fairfield, OH.
