Sharks-N-Shooters in Rocky Mount, North Carolina hosted the 10th stop on the
Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour May 16-17, drawing a field of 39 players
for the $1000 guaranteed added Main Event. Michael Fuller defeated Phillip
Richardson in the final match, earning $1000 for first place. Richardson
settled for $500 plus entry into the 2008 Carolina Open, courtesy of Fast
Eddie's. Fuller had already qualified for both the one pocket and 9-ball
tournaments, so the qualifier went to Richardson. The 2008 Carolina Open is
set for October 8-13 at Fast Eddie's.
The festivities began on Friday night with a Pro-Am Tournament that featured
the likes of One Pocket Hall of Famer Grady "The Professor" Mathews, former
Mosconi Cup team member Mike "Babyface" Gulyassy, former World 8-Ball and
9-Ball Champion Wade "BoomBoom" Crane, former #1-ranked 3-cushion billiard
player Bill Smith, WPBA touring pro Gail Grecar, former player of the year
on the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour Michael Fuller and former U. S.
Amateur Champion Ron Park.
After a catered Meet and Greet Social, a select few VIP amateurs were paired
with the professionals in a Scotch Quads 8-Ball Round Robin. For two and
one-half hours, it was fun-filled chaos and mayhem as each team tried to
make as many balls as possible in the time allotted. After the dust
settled, it was Team Chico's Mexican Restaurant that came out on top.
Winning team members included Palmer Richardson, Mac Harrell and Peaches
Fuller, plus Ron Park as their pro. A professional photographer took team
photos as well as candid shots throughout the evening and a camera crew was
on hand from local TV station WHIG to get footage for a future broadcast of
the event.
In the Junior Tournament on Sunday, D. J. Outlaw defeated Andrew Coley (7-5)
to qualify for Junior Nationals. Coley, however, qualified as well by
narrowly edging Justin Ward in the points race. Junior players scored
points which accumulated for the first 10 events on the tour. The top point
winners in each division qualified for the 2008 Junior Nationals in Tuscon,
AZ. Other regulars on the Jacoby Tour who will join Outlaw and Coley at
Junior Nationals include Trey Sprye, Mac Harrell and Jackson Jeffreys.
Also on Sunday, a Second Chance Tournament was won by Cary Dunn, who
defeated Russell Sasser (7-2) in the final match to earn $90 for his effort.
In the Main Event, Fuller drew a bye and made his way to the hotseat by
defeating Chris Adams (7-1), Jeff Pruitt (7-6) Mac Harrell (7-2) Rob Krull
(7-1) and Phillip Richardson (7-5).
Meanwhile, Richardson also drew a bye but had his hands full with Larry
Kressel and Cary Dunn. Richardson won both matches hill-hill and chalked up
two more wins against Peaches Fuller (7-3) and Delton Howard (7-2) before
losing to Michael Fuller in the hotseat match (7-5). On the one-loss side,
Richardson defeated Robert Ray (7-4) to earn a rematch against Fuller.
The final match was a single race to 9 and started well for Richardson.
After winning the lag, he jumped out to a 4-0 lead before scratching on the
3-ball in the fifth rack to give Fuller ball-in-hand and an easy run-out.
In the sixth rack, Richardson used every trick in the book, including a
carom, bank and combination, to take a 5-1 lead. An empty break followed,
however, and Fuller ran the table. Just as in the fifth rack, a mistake by
Richardson in the eighth rack gave Fuller ball-in-hand. Fuller ran out from
the 2-ball and trailed by two games at 5-3.
In the ninth rack, Fuller was on his way to a break-and-run when he over-cut
the 6-ball in the side pocket. Fuller later stated that he was still
adjusting to the balls, which had been given a quick cleaning prior to the
final match. The mistake put Richardson back up by three games at 6-3.
Richardson missed a ball late in the tenth rack which left Fuller a
combination down the side rail that he executed perfectly and got out.
Fuller didn't make a ball on the next break, however, and Richardson ran the
table to inch closer to the hill at 7-4.
Fuller capitalized on a late miss by Richardson in the twelfth rack and then
broke-and-ran to trail by only one game at 7-6. Actually, the run was only
two shots as the 2-ball lined up for a combination on the nine. As luck
would have it, Richardson made his own 2/9 combination in the next game and
was on the hill.
In the fifteenth rack, Richardson scratched on the break and Fuller ran out.
Then, in a botched safety attempt in the sixteenth rack, Fuller pocketed the
5-ball in the side and was left with a long shot on the 6-ball. Cool as a
cucumber, Fuller made the six and got out to join Richardson on the hill.
The case game was a safety battle that turned in Fuller's favor when
Richardson's final attempt at defense proved to be one too many. Fuller's
kick shot left Richardson snookered. Richardson's hit was good but Fuller
ran out, nevertheless, to take the match by the score of 9-8.
Congratulations to Butch Carpenter who was the lucky winner of the raffle
cue, a $750 Limited Edition (#5 of 12) from Jacoby Custom Cues.
Special thanks to room owner James Gray and the entire staff of
Sharks-N-Shooters for their hospitality. Also, Rock City Promotions wishes
to thank OB-1 Cues for supporting the Jacoby Tour.
The next stop on the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour will be June 7-8 at
Babineau's Billiards in Raleigh, NC. The event will guarantee $1000 added
with $1000 for 1st place plus entry into the 2008 Carolina Open, courtesy of
Fast Eddie's.
