Daniel “Papa John” Adams
They competed in two matches, hot seat and the opening set of a true double-elimination final. Normally, negotiations for a split of the top two cash prizes occur when the undefeated occupant of the hot seat is set to face the winner of the semifinals and they agree to opt out and split the cash, leaving the hot seat occupant as the official winner of an event. This past weekend, Saturday, August 5, David Parker and Daniel Adams agreed to play the opening set of a Strokers Pool Tour’s double-elimination final and then, opted out of a second set, leaving both competitors with a single loss. Since no one went undefeated, they shared the cash and the victory. The $500-added, 9-ball handicapped barbox event drew 26 entrants to the Clubhouse Sports Bar & Grill in Lynchburg, VA.
Both men were coming off what had been their best (recorded) earnings year, although while Adams’ best was recorded last year, Parker’s best had occurred seven years ago, in a variety of locations, including Canada (Parker’s base location), Texas, Oklahoma and Mississippi. This past weekend was Adams’ second (recorded) cash finish of the year. It was Parker’s first since 2016.
Adams started strong, giving up just a single rack in his first two matches against Amanda Lethcoe (1) and Barrett White (0), before running into Collin Hall, who put up a double-fight that eventually did advance Adams to a winners’ side semifinal against Robert Cuneo. Parker was awarded an opening-round, bye and got by David Reynolds 6-2 before running into and eventually defeating Larry Hughes, double hill. This put Parker against James Clay in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Adams got into the hot seat 7-4 over Cuneo and was joined by Parker, who’d sent Clay to the loss side 6-2. Parker started the hot seat match with a single ‘bead on the wire’ in a race to 7. The rack score at the end was 6-6, with Parker’s ‘bead’ winning it and leaving him in the hot seat.
David Parker
On the loss side, Clay picked up Hall, who’d followed his loss to Adams with wins over Eric Stanton 7-2 and Jonathan Ailstock 7-4. Cuneo drew David Shipman, who’d lost his opening-round match to Clay and gone on a five-match, loss-side winning streak that had recently eliminated two straight opponents, double hill – Barrett White and Mike Haygood, with a forfeiture by Larry Hughes between the two.
Clay and Shipman did not get a second shot at each other. Hall downed Clay 7-3, while Cuneo was eliminating Shipman 6-2. Hall took the subsequent quarterfinal match 7-3 and had his loss-side streak ended by Adams in the semifinals 7-5.
With the same provisions in play (Parker with a ‘bead on the wire’ in a race to 7), Adams took command and won the first, and as it turned out, only set of the final 7-3. The negotiations for the split got underway and their shared victory went into the books.
A $50 prize for the top female finisher was to be awarded, but four women were eliminated at the same time (17th through 24th) and a ‘playoff’ round was held. Jennifer Smith won the playoff round and took home the cash.
Tour director Tim Bryant thanked the ownership and staff at The Clubhouse for their hospitality, along with PremierBilliards. The next stop on the Strokers Pool Tour, scheduled for the weekend of August 12-13, will be a $500-added, 9-ball handicapped event, hosted by Wolf’s Den in Roanoke, VA.
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