Stop four of the Great Southern Billiard Tour just finished up at Diamond Billiard Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After a fun filled weekend, Rick Powers came out on top of the main event; Jeff Click took home top honors from the Friday night mini-tournament; and Jared McGee snagged the Saturday night ring game dough.
Backing up just a bit, Friday night the tour hosted a mini-tournament. A whopping thirty-players made it in to take a stab at the first place finish. First place went to Jeff Click, with a respective second finish going to Danny Smith.
Saturday night, six men threw their names and a $200 entry into the hat, but only two came out on top of the ring game. The player's roster held Scott Hafley, Jared McGee, Robert Wilkerson, Russ Edwards, Jonathan Tedder, and Jeff Click. Each player started with ten chips and after thirty minutes, the bet gets doubled and the order re-drawn. The big finishers ended up being top guy Jared McGee $800; and second place went to Russ Edwards $400.
The $2000 added main event brought in a total of fifty-two players. Top names included Landon Shuffett, Russ Edwards, Josh O'Neal, Mike Laney, Daniel “Lil D” McKeeney, and Jared McGee. Sunday started with the final sixteen as follows (with eventual scores) – four sets went double-hill – great matches to watch!:
Winner's:
Daniel McKenney d. Gabe Apollos 8-7
Josh O'Neal d. Dave Crockett 8-4
Kendall Frazier d. Daniel Stites 8-6
Rick Powers d. Jarrett McPherson 8-4
One-Loss:
Mike Laney d. Scott Hafley 8-1
Jamey Hickman d. Robert Wilkerson 8-7
Jeff Tabet d. Jack Mayhue 8-7
Jared McGee d. Russ Edwards 8-7
This round marked the end of the road for the 13th-16th place finishers – although one out of the money, these players earned a free entry fee into any open or amateur regular tour stop event. Congrats to Scott Hafley, Robert Wilkerson, Jack Mayhue, and Russ Edwards.
Rounding out the 9th-12th places were Jared McGee, Darrell Stites, Jeff Tabet, and Jamey Hickman. These matches played out as follows:
Mike Laney d. Darrell Stites 8-5; Jarrett McPherson d. Jamey Hickman 8-6; Gabe Apollos d. Jeff Tabet 8-6; Dave Crockett d. Jared McGee 8-6. McPherson and Apollos were eliminated in the following round in 7th-8th respectively.
On the winner's side of the board, the men were dwindling down with the final four ending with identical scores Daniel McKenney d. Josh O'Neal 8-4; and Rick Powers d. Kendall Frazier 8-4 setting up a hot-seat match between McKenney and Powers – Powers finished off McKenney to wait it out in the final arena.
The 5th-6th place positions were then decided: Mike Laney d. Josh O'Neal 8-6; and Dave Crockett d. Kendall Frazier 8-5. Laney then pushed past Crockett in the quarters and McKenney in the semis for his opportunity at Powers, knowing he had to beat him twice.
The race was to eight, alternating breaks – it took only one set for Powers to seal the deal as he finished off Laney in a close set 8-6 for the win. Great play by all involved.
The tour thanks Dave Crockett (owner of Diamond Billiard Club) and his staff; and all of the sponsors that continue to stand behind the tour and help to make it such a success: Nick Varner Cues & Cases, AZBilliards.com, Inside Pool, Billiards Digest, Master Chalk, and Professor Q-ball.
The fifth stop of the season will be held this next weekend, October 4th-5th, at Smokehouse Billiards in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. There will be a $1500 added guaranteed open nine-ball event (Saturday/Sunday) and a $250 added second chance tourney (Sunday). For more information, contact Shannon Daulton directly at (865) 850-4572 or email greatsouthernbilliardtour@yahoo.com
