Collin Hall
They met twice before opting out a final match. Collin Hall and Reid Vance have been veteran competitors on the PremierBilliards.com’s Q City 9-Ball Tour for a number of years now, Hall a little longer than Vance. But they’ve been on something of a ‘cash prize’ hiatus recently. This past weekend (Sat., Aug. 17), as they stepped to the tables to compete in the tour’s latest stop, only Vance had recorded an ‘in the money’ finish at a 2024 event; he tied for 9th place at the Brunswick East Coast Tour’s event at Janet Atwell’s Borderline Brunswick Arena in Bristol, TN earlier this month. At the $500-added, Q City 9-Ball Tour stop that drew 21 entrants to the Clubhouse in Lynchburg, VA this past weekend, Hall went undefeated to the hot seat, after downing Vance in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Vance returned from the loss side to challenge him, but after a single set, they opted out of a second and agreed to a split of the top two prizes.
Hall started out by giving up just a single rack to Mike Johnson, before his opponents started gaining on him, match by match. He gave up three to Jeff McConville and four to Jonathan Ailstock to draw Vance in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Meanwhile, bound for the hot seat match, Chuck Cuneo (looking for his first recorded cash finish since he won a stop on the Q City 9-Ball Tour in 2018) got by James Boddy (1) and Tyler Wood (2) to draw Jordyn Worley (looking for her first recorded cash finish in over four years) in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Six ‘eyes on the prize’ of a recorded 2024 cash finish, with the other two (Vance) looking for his second. Hall diverted Vance to the loss side 7-3 and advanced to the hot seat match. He was joined by Cuneo, who’d defeated Worley 6-3. Hall claimed the hot seat 7-4 in what proved to be his last match.
Coming over to the loss side, Vance picked up Lee Staton, who’d lost his opening match to Ron Frank 8-3 and then won four straight, opening with a double-hill win over Robert Cuneo (brother to Chuck), followed by victories over Shane Monroe (2), Tyler Wood (1), and Josh Barker (3). Worley drew Ailstock, who’d followed his loss to Hall with two wins, against Daniel Adams (3) and James Boddy (4).
Worley leapfrogged to the quarterfinals when Ailstock forfeited. Vance survived a double-hill challenge by Staton to join her. Vance defeated Worley 8-2 in those quarterfinals, allowing her to chalk up that first recorded cash finish in four years.
Already assured of his first (recorded) cash finish in six years, Chuck Cuneo put up a double-hill fight in the semifinals for more. Vance, in the final match of the event, stopped the bid in the last possible game of the match.
Vance and Hall played the first set of what was to have been a double-elimination final, won by Vance 8-2. They negotiated a split of the top two prizes and designation as the event ‘winner,’ which went to Hall.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked Chris England and his Clubhouse staff for their hospitality, along with title sponsor PremierBilliards.com, BarPoolTables.net (Randy Tate), Breaktime Billiards in Winston-Salem, NC, TKO Custom Cues and Realty One Group results (Kirk Overcash), Dirty South Grind Apparel (Angela Harlan-Parker), Federal Savings Bank (Alex Narod), CHC Underground (Chris Clary), Run Racks Worldwide Apparel (Wanderer Kelly) and AZBilliards.
The next stop on the PremierBilliards.com’s Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (Aug. 24-25), will be a $500-added Open event for Q City 9-Ball handicaps of 7 and under, which will feature scaled entry fees, dependent on a competitor’s handicap and straight-up races to 7 on the winners’ side and 6 on the loss side. The event will be hosted by Janet Atwell’s Borderline Brunswick Arena in Bristol, TN.
0 comments