Thomas Sansone
Ideally, it’s the one thing that pool players try to avoid; thinking about anything but the ball at which they take aim when they step to the table. But, of course, they’re human, which makes mastering that ‘focus’ task arguably harder than the development of any pool-shooting skills that will ultimately put that ball into that hole.
Thomas Sansone and Ikey Maynard signed on to a stop on the Q City 9-Ball tour this past weekend (Sat., Jan. 4), each looking for their second outright victory on the tour. Sansone shared a title with two others in March of last year, when, as occupant of the hot seat at the time, he split the top three prizes with two other competitors. He won his only outright title, with an undefeated run back in August of 2022 in what remains as his best earnings year of the four that he’s recorded with us here at AZ since 2021. Maynard has recorded (with us) only four (now five) total tournament payments (all with the Q City 9-Ball Tour) and until this past weekend had not recorded any of them since August of 2018. His one and only victory on the tour put him into our AZBilliards database for the first time, almost exactly eight years ago (Dec. 17, 2017).
It’s doubtful that either of them had these ‘history’ dynamics anywhere near the forefront of their thinking as they squared off in the finals of the $250-added stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour that drew 32 entrants to Janet Atwell’s room, the Borderline Billiards Arena in Bristol, TN. It was definitely there, though. In them, somewhere, and just the sort of thing that stream commentators look for when talking about the competition dynamics at play in a given match, especially a final.
That final didn’t disappoint. It came within a game of going double hill and when it was over, Sansone had his second undefeated victory on the Q City 9-Ball Tour. Maynard chalked up his best finish on the tour since winning that stop, seven years ago.
Together, the two of them had to face Eric Roberts three times. Sansone and Maynard both defeated Roberts, while Maynard faced him, twice, losing the first time and winning the second.
Racing to 6 throughout, Sansone got by Brandon Helton (2) and survived a double-hill challenge from Bear Mullins in his second round. He then downed Ricky Bingham (3) and drew Cliff Stout in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Roberts, in the meantime, racing to 11 and giving up ‘beads on the wire’ in all six of his matches, defeated Richard McClurg (3), David Jenkins (1), and Corey Cooper (2). In his winners’ side semifinal, he drew Ikey Maynard, who hadn’t given up more than two racks in any of his first three matches against Sydney McLean (2), DJ Cordia (1), and Anthony Keen (2).
Sansone defeated Stout 6-2 and advanced to the hot seat match. Maynard and Roberts locked up in a double-hill fight that eventually sent Roberts to meet Sansone and Maynard off to a three-match, loss-side trip during which they would meet again. Sansone, with Roberts racing to 11, claimed the hot seat 6-7.
On the loss side, Maynard picked up Ricky Bingham, who’d followed up his loss to Sansone with a double-hill win over Jonathan Brockman and a 6-1 victory over Scott Jones. Stout drew Anthony Keen, who’d lost his winners’ side quarterfinal to Maynard before eliminating Jamie Sparks 5-1 and Corey Cooper 5-3.
Once Keen had knocked out Stout 5-2 and Maynard eliminated Bingham 6-1, the quarterfinal rematch was on. Maynard downed Keen a second time, 6-3, in those quarterfinals and then, locked up in a double-hill fight against Roberts in the semifinals. Maynard got four ‘beads on the wire’ in the race to 11 against Roberts and needed all of them in a 6-10 win that gave him a shot at Sansone.
The final was a straight up race to 6, which almost made it to double hill. Sansone, though, edged out in front near the end to claim the event title 6-4.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked Janet Atwell and her Borderline Billiards staff for their hospitality, along with sponsors BarPoolTables.net, Break Time (Clemmons), TKO Custom Cues, Realty Group One Results, CHC Undeground, Digitalpool.com, Dirty South Grind Apparel, Federal Savings Bank Mortgage Division and AZBilliards.
The next stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend, Jan. 11-12, will be hosted by Mickey Milligan’s in New Bern, NC.
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