Until the weekend of March 11-12, Jeff Young had cashed in only three Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball events; two in 2016, including a runner-up finish in November, in which he took the opening set of a true double elimination final, only to be defeated in the second set. He finished in the tie for 7th place last month (February) in Hickory, NC. On the March 11-12 weekend, he brought his game to Corner Pockets in Fayetteville, NC and went undefeated through a field of 44 entrants to claim his first major title.
Young had to get by Ron Canterbury twice to claim that title. They met first in the hot seat match, after Young had sent Stevie McClinton to the loss side 5-2 in one winners' side semifinal, and Canterbury had survived a double hill battle versus Chris Baumann in the other. Young, for the first time, found himself as the proverbial 'last man standing' after defeating Canterbury 5-3 in the hot seat match.
On the loss side, McClinton picked up Andy Bowden, who'd defeated Doug Flynn 5-2, and Kimberly Young (Jeff's wife), double hill, to reach him. Baumann drew Daniel Adams, who'd eliminated Justin Clark and Wayne Miller, both 7-3.
McClinton got right back to winning work with a 7-2 win over Bowden, but Baumann fell to Adams 7-4. Adams and McClinton locked up in a double hill quarterfinal that eventually sent Adams to the semifinals against Canterbury.
In those semifinals, Adams ended up on the wrong side of his second straight double hill match, which sent Canterbury back for a re-match against Young in the hot seat. With Canterbury racing to 6, Young completed his first win, undefeated, at 5-4.
Tour director Herman Parker thanked the ownership and staff at Corner Pockets, as well as title sponsor Viking Cues, Delta 13 Racks, AZBilliards and Professor Q Ball. The next stop on the Viking Cues' Q City 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for this weekend (March 18-19), will be hosted by Breaktime Billiards in Cary, NC.
