Morrison celebrates birthday with GSBT win

Tony Morrison came back from a defeat in the hot seat match to take both sets of a true double elimination final and celebrate his own birthday with a win on the Great Southern Billiard Tour. The $1,500-added event, hosted by G Jay's Sports Bar in Inman, NC on the weekend of November 28-29, drew 55 entrants.

Morrison began his final, four-match trek to victory with a shutout versus Jeff Baumgarner from among the winners' side final four. Justin Price, in the meantime, sent Brian White west 7-6 (not a hill-hill match; in the handicapped format, White had to get to 10 games). In what was a hill-hill match, Price gained the hot seat with a 7-8 win (Morrison needed to win nine games) and then waited for his return.

On the one-loss side, Eddie Adams and Josh Newman were waiting for White and Baumgarner, respectively. Adams had defeated Harold McAbee 9-8 and Brian Davis 9-1 to draw White, as Newman advanced past Mike Vasha 9-4 and Zach Robbins 9-3. White advanced to the quarterfinals with a 10-5 win over Adams, as Baumgarner was dispatching Newman into the tie for fifth place 7-8. Baumgarner got into the semifinals against Morrison with a 7-5 win over White in the quarterfinals and then ran into something of a juggernaut when Morrison dropped him into third place 9-1.

Morrison had been sent to the one-loss side in a hill-hill struggle and came back to win it with back-to-back, hill-hill victories (9-6; Price needed to reach seven) in the true double elimination final.  The $1,000, first place prize gave Morrison more than enough to celebrate his own birthday in style.