Mike Davis Starts Year With Back-To-Back Wins on Jacoby Tour

Sharks-N-Shooters in Rocky Mount, North Carolina hosted the fourth stop on the 2008-2009 Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour January 24-25.  A twenty-eight player field turned out for the $1000 guaranteed added Main Event in which Mike Davis defeated Michael Fuller, earning $1000 in his second victory in 2009 on the Jacoby Tour.

To kick things off, an Early Bird Tournament was held on Friday night.  Michael Fuller defeated Russell Sasser (7-2) in the final match.  Results for this event were:  1st Michael Fuller, $125; 2nd Russell Sasser, $40; 3rd Sidney Champion, $50; and 4th Trey Sprye $25.

On Sunday, there were three mini-tournaments.  First place in the Junior Tournament went to Chris Bruner, who defeated Andrew Coley (7-4) in the final match.  Bruner received $50, while Coley settled for $30.  Top honors in the Ladies' Tournament went to Katie Cowan, who defeated Karen Webb (7-2), claiming $40 for her effort.  

In the last mini-tournament on Sunday, Phillip Richardson took first place in the Second Chance Tournament, defeating Katie Cowan (7-5).  Results of this event were:  1st Phillip Richardson, $120; 2nd Katie Cowan, $65; and 3rd-4th Jay Calhoun and junior player Palmer Richardson, $35.

In the Main Event, each of Davis' opponents put up a fight to keep him from getting to the hotseat.  Davis was determined, however, and managed to defeat the likes of Mac Wiggins (7-3), junior player Chris Bruner (7-5), Chad Pike (7-5), Russell Sasser (7-4) and Steven Page (7-6).

Meanwhile, Fuller squeaked by Danny Mastermaker (7-6) before being sent west by Leroy Bryant (7-2).  Fuller then marched through the one-loss side, defeating Karen Webb (7-2), Belinda Calhoun (7-2), Phillip Richardson (7-1), Chad Pike (7-4) and Sidney Champion (7-1).  Fuller avenged his earlier loss to Bryant (7-4) and breezed by Steven Page (7-2), who had just lost a tough, hill-hill battle with Davis, setting up a Fuller-Davis final.

Davis won the lag and seemed poised to take the first game.  The 9-ball hung in the corner pocket on a long bank for Davis, however, and Fuller stole the cheese.  Fuller took a 3-1 lead but Davis tied the score at three games apiece thanks to scratches by Fuller in the fifth and sixth racks.

After Davis came up empty on the break in the seventh rack, Fuller went on a tear.  He cleared the rack and broke-and-ran the next two to take a 6-3 lead.  Fuller would not score another game, however, as Davis won the next six, including two break-and-runs of his own.  Final score:  9-6.

On Saturday evening, WPBA Hall of Famer Belinda Calhoun entertained the crowd with a Play-the-Pro session in which fans had the opportunity to challenge Calhoun in a game of 9-ball.  Everyone who participated received an autographed photo of Calhoun and a chance in two drawings.  Carly Pitt won a cue ball that was signed by the top three finishers in the Main Event and junior player Andrew Coley won a 30-minute player analysis with Calhoun, a certified instructor with Colliding Spheres.

Congratulations to cue raffle winner Eric Page, who was the lucky winner of a Limited Edition cue from Jacoby Custom Cues.

Rock City Promotions wishes to extend special thanks to the staff and ownership of Sharks-N-Shooters and to OB-1 Cues for supporting the Jacoby Tour.

The next stop on the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour will be February 14-15 at All Star Billiards in Raleigh, NC.  The event will guarantee $1000 added with $1000 for 1st place.