Hank Powell
In his final three matches in the January 30 stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, Hank Powell won all but seven of the 28 games in those matches, which, with a little of that ‘factoring’ that we all used to do in high school, means that in the end, when it counted, he was winning (on average) three out of every four games he played. He finished undefeated to chalk up his first tour win since a tour stop on the 4th of July last year; a win he shared with junior player Landon Hollingsworth. The $1,000-added event in the final weekend of January this year, drew 46 entrants to Sonny’s Billiards in Princeton, WV.
As the event came up to its final 14 matches, Powell found himself facing off against another junior player, Cole Lewis, in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Dustin Lackey and Michael Howell squared off in the other one.
By identical 7-3 scores, Lackey downed Howell and Powell defeated Lewis. Powell then claimed the hot seat 7-2 over Lackey and waited on what turned out to be the return of Lewis.
On the loss side, both of the opponents that Lewis and Howell drew had just won two straight double hill matches to reach them; first, in advancing to the money round in the 9/12 matches and then, in the first money round itself (7/8). Scott Howard had downed Travis Guerra (7-5; Guerra racing to 6) and Jeff Underwood (7-4; Underwood racing to 5) to reach Lewis. Reid Vance had eliminated Adam Ratcliff 7-4 and Keith Young 7-5 to draw Howell.
Vance chalked up a third straight double hill win (7-4) against Howell. Lewis, in the meantime, eliminated Howard 6-2 to join Vance in the quarterfinals. Lewis repeated his previous score in sending Vance to the proverbial showers.
Lackey and Lewis squared off in the finals, with Lackey downing the junior player 7-3 and earing himself a second shot at Powell in the hot seat. The two duplicated the score of their earlier hot seat match, with Powell winning 7-2 a second time to claim the event title.
The Parkers thanked the ownership and staff at Sonny’s Billiards, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Bar Pool Tables, JB Magic Templates, AZBilliards, Tickler Pool Ball Washing Machine, Skyline Construction, Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division and Dirty South Grind Apparel Co. The next stop on the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend, Feb. 6-7, will be hosted by West End Billiards in Gastonia, NC.
