Gary South
Though the tour directors of the Viking Cues’ Q City 9-Ball Tour – Herman and Angela Parker – tend to work together, the tour’s stop on Saturday, July 11, was run solo by Angela Parker. Herman, in the meantime, was recovering from a “dissected aorta,” for which he had to be airlifted to Duke Medical Center last week. Doctors told him that he was lucky to be alive, as untreated, the problem could have led to a massive heart attack. As Angela noted in a Facebook post last Thursday, “doctors said that he should be fine.” As Angela made the trip to Newport, TN, where JAC’s Billiards hosted a $500-added event that drew 37 entrants, Herman had himself a few days off. Word from the Parkers, at present, is that Herman might have to undergo surgery, but they’re concentrating for the moment on getting and keeping his blood pressure down.
“The show must go on,” wrote Angela in Thursday’s Facebook post. And “go on” it did.
Gary South picked up his second win on the tour and is probably thankful that it wasn’t anywhere near like his first one (held on the weekend of March 7-8), when he and Junior Gabriel battled three times, both in search of their first tour victory. They played 31 games, over three matches. Gabriel won 20 of the games and two out of the three matches to go undefeated and claim that first title. This past weekend, the event slipped into an early Sunday morning, before Gary South completed his second undefeated run, downing Brady Brazell twice; hot seat and finals.
They met first, after Brazell had defeated Matt Marrisette 7-1 in one of the winners’ side semifinals and South had sent Daniel Autry to the loss side in a double hill battle. South staked his claim for a second tour victory with a shutout over Brazell in the hot seat match.
On the loss side, Marrisette picked up Justin Duncan, who’d defeated Robert Ingold 6-2 and, in the first money round, Eric Roberts 6-7 (Roberts racing to 10). Autry drew Dalton Messer, who’d recently eliminated Jose Irizarry and Jeff Elder, both 6-3.
Duncan shut Marrisette out 6-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals, where he was met by Autry, who’d defeated Messer 6-3. Duncan and Autry battled to double hill before Duncan prevailed (6-5) for a shot at Brazell in the semifinals.
After advancing to his first hot seat match and being defeated by South, Brazell wanted a second chance at chalking up his first event title. And he got that chance by defeating Duncan 7-5 in those semifinals. South, though, was just as anxious to chalk up his second event title and did so with a 7-4 win over Brazell in the finals.
Angela Parker (and in absentia, Herman) thanked the ownership and staff at their new venue, JAC’s Billiards, officially known as JAC’s All-American Billiards, Brews & More, for their hospitality. She also thanked title sponsor Viking Cues, Bar Pool Tables, Delta 13 Racks, 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 (July 18-19), will be hosted by Randolph’s Billiards in Hickory, NC.
