Josh Roberts
Hunter White defeats him in Carolina Classic Mini One Pocket Event
In addition to hosting the $2,000-added, fifth event of the Rack Race season, which drew a season-record 85 entrants to Rack & Grill III in Aiken, SC this past weekend (March 15-17), the room held a pair of events under the banner of Rack’s Carolina Classic; a $2,500-added, Mini One Pocket event that drew 43 entrants and a $500-added Mini Scotch Doubles event that drew 15 teams of two.
First things first. In the main event, Stop #5 of the 15-event, Season 2 of the Rack Race, also becoming known as “Will anyone be stopping Josh Roberts from running the table(s) at all 15 events?” Not this past weekend, as once again, for the fifth time, Roberts went undefeated to claim yet another Season 2 Rack Race title in the largest field of the season. Roberts would go on to become runner-up in the concurrently-run Mini One Pocket event, going undefeated to the hot seat match and losing the final to Hunter White.
Robert and White tussled in the 9-ball event as well. After opening with victories over Carson O’Connor 6-2 and Enzo Brown (1), Roberts drew White, who put up a double-hill fight before being sent to the loss side, where he’d chalk up seven straight wins that took him as far as the quarterfinals. Roberts advanced to take down Michael Thompson (1) and shut out Timmy Prince, drawing Steven Wiggins in one of the winners’ side semifinals.
From the other end of the bracket, Scott Rabon’s trip to the same place almost got sidetracked twice. Matt Bulfin challenged him, double hill, in the opening round, and after defeating Lance Brewer (2) and Pete Johnson (1), Paul Bailey gave him a double-hill run for his money. He survived that to send Jimmy Lee to the loss side (1) and draw Robbie Shelley in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Josh Roberts punched his ticket to the hot seat match with a 6-1 victory over Wiggins. Rabon joined him after defeating Shelley 6-3. Roberts and Rabon, whose last known appearance together was at a One Pocket event at Grady’s in South Carolina, 16 years ago, battled to double hill for the hot seat, with Roberts claiming it.
On the loss side, it was Shelley, who drew White, six matches into his loss-side streak that had recently eliminated Nick Van Allen and Brian Timmons, both 5-3. Wiggins picked up Joe Franc, who’d sent Steven McClinton (1), Jimmy Lee (2) and Derek Leonard (3) home to reach Franc.
White and Shelley battled to double hill before White advanced to the quarterfinals. Franc joined him after defeating Wiggins 5-3. Franc put a stop to White’s loss-side streak 5-1 in those quarterfinals.
Rabon stopped Franc’s loss-side streak 5-3, earning himself a second shot at (thus far) the Rack Race’s top competitor. The wait did not appear to have phased Roberts as he downed Rabon a second time, 6-2 to claim the event title.
Hunter White
Roberts, Franc and White jumble up their finish in 9-ball to become the One Pocket’s top 3
Coming from opposite ends of the One Pocket bracket, in races to 3, Roberts and White were destined to meet (if at all) in the hot seat match, which is what happened. Roberts began by shutting out Kyle Mahon and Trent Reid, before giving up one each to Nick Van Allen and Bill Eisenhard, drawing Joe Franc in one of the winners’ side semifinals.
White opened with a shutout over Brett Underwood before being awarded a forfeit win. He moved on to shut out Dave Cook, and give up just a single rack to Matt Collins, drawing Derek Leonard in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Roberts and White downed Franc and Leonard, respectively 3-1. A double-hill match between Roberts and White got underway for control of the hot seat. It was Roberts who claimed it.
Upon the arrival of Franc and Leonard on the loss side, all four of the subsequent matches that would determine who faced Roberts in the final, went double hill. Franc drew Matt Bulfin, Leonard picked up Scott Rabon, who’d lost his opening match and embarked on a five-match, loss-side winning streak that included three, double-hill wins and two shutouts (the only possible combination of winning scores in a races to 2).
And the double-hill struggles for a seat in the final against Roberts was on. Frank and Leonard downed Bulfin and Rabon. Franc defeated Leonard in the quarterfinal and White defeated Franc in the semifinals to earn the privilege. In the final race to 4, White claimed the Carolina Classic’s Mini One Pocket event 4-2 over Roberts.
The Carolina Classic’s Scotch Doubles Mini got underway at more or less the same time as the One Pocket Mini, on Friday evening. The Scotch Doubles action finished up in about five hours, concluding (as recorded on the digitalpool bracket that governed it) at just after midnight on Friday night/Saturday morning. The One Pocket battles would continue on until after 1 a.m. on Monday morning.
The 15 Scotch Doubles teams were listed in two ways on the digitalpool bracket. Some were listed with both of the names involved, like the Brian and Christa Timmons team that went undefeated to win it. Others were listed with just a single name, like the runner-up team of (as it appeared in the bracket) Tammy Harstad. Third place went to the ‘team’ of Davy Gilliam while in the first money round, the quarterfinals, it was the Julian and Lisa team that grabbed the 4th place payout.
The next stop on the Rack Race (#6), scheduled for Saturday, April 6, will be hosted by Rack & Grill II in Augusta, GA.
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