by InsidePOOL Staff

It was a grind, but ultimately Shannon “The Cannon” Daulton took home the top prize at the October 8-9 installment of the Great Southern Billiard Tour over Keith Bennett. The stop opened up to allow pros as well as amateurs to their U.S. Open warm-up event, hosted by Speak Eazy Billiards in Sanford, NC, and the $1,500-added prize purse attracted a field of 71 hopefuls.

Ranked as an AAA player, Daulton raced to 13 against double-A-ranked B.J. Ussery in the winners’ side final four, sending him to the one-loss side with a 13-8 win. AA-ranked Bennett and A-ranked Tony Morrison raced to 11 in the other winners’ side match, with Bennett routing Morrison 11-3. In the following round, Daulton and Bennett went head to head for the hot seat, where Bennett eked out an 11-11 win.

Larry “The Truth” Nevel was taking advantage of the opportunity to warm up for the Open, eliminating Carlos Cruz at seventh place 13-8. Tying with Cruz was Sam Monday, who was sent home by Mike Fuller 11-4. Nevel went on to dominate Ussery 11-2, while Morrison ousted Fuller at fifth 9-10. In the quarterfinal match, Morrison held Nevel back from reaching the required 13, winning there 9-11.

It was a grind, but ultimately Shannon “The Cannon” Daulton took home the top prize at the October 8-9 installment of the Great Southern Billiard Tour over Keith Bennett.

Eagerly awaiting an opponent after his hot seat match loss, Daulton devoured Morrison 13-2 in the semifinals to earn a rematch with Bennett in the double-elimination finals. The first set saw Daulton win over twice as many racks as Bennett did to take it 13-6 and force a second set. There Daulton again dominated, winning this time by the score of 13-8.

Results:
1st Shannon Daulton $1,100
2nd Keith Bennett $600
3rd Tony Morrison $425
4th Larry Nevel $325
5th Mike Fuller $160
B.J. Ussery
7th Sam Monday $90
Carlos Cruz
9th Antonio Slaydon $50
Mike Higgins
Steve Page
B.J. Hucks

by Lea Andrews

Josh Newman, who’s notched Great Southern Billiard Tour wins first as a B player and then as an A player, earned his first win as an AA player the weekend of March 26-27. Undefeated Newman topped a strong 74-player field at the $1,500-added event, which was held at Speak Eazy Billiards in Sanford, NC.

Newman, who’s notched Great Southern Billiard Tour wins first as a B player and then as an A player, earned his first win as an AA player the weekend of March 26-27. Pic: from l to r: Jimmie and Jenny Bullis (owners of Speak Eazy Billiards), Josh Newman, BJ Ussery, and Shannon "The Cannon" Daulton

Following back-to-back, hill-hill wins over past winners Tony Morrison and Sidney Champion, both A players, Newman faced yet another past winner, AA-ranked B.J. Ussery. Edging out Ussery 11-10, Newman went on to the hot seat match against A-ranked Glenn Russell, who’d sent C player Jack Miller west 9-4. It was Newman earned the hot seat 11-7, sending Russell over to the semifinals to try to fight his way back.

On the left side of the bracket, Morrison and Champion were making their own efforts to get back to Newman. Morrison ousted A-ranked Mike Basha 9-1 and B-ranked Vernon Rogers 9-2 to face Ussery, while Champion took care of B player Walter Newsome and C player Mike Walker to reach Jack Miller. Champion easily handled Miller 9-2 to earn his spot in the quarterfinal match, but Morrison managed just two games against Ussery to land in fifth. Both Ussery and Champion were determined to be the one to move on, fighting their way to hill-hill 10-8, but it was Ussery who marked up the final game to move on to the semifinal match against Russell, and it was Ussery who played his way into the finals 11-5, leaving Russell behind in third.

View the Great Southern Billiard Tour Speak Eazy Billiards tournament brackets

In the true double-elimination final match, Newman and Ussery stayed fairly even until they’d reached seven games apiece, but a few bad rolls and errors on Ussery’s part allowed Newman to pull ahead 9-7, and an accidental 9 ball in the next rack allowed him to reach the hill 10-7. Ussery took the next game, but when he snookered himself on the 6 and missed the kick, Newman went back to the table to clean up what was left and put another GSBT victory under his belt.

Results:
1st Josh Newman $1,000
2nd B.J. Ussery $600
3rd Glenn Russell $420
4th Sidney Champion $320
5th Tony Morrison $160
Jack Miller
7th Vernon Rogers $90
Mike Walker
9th Taz Holliday $50
Mike Basha
Mike McMillian
Walter Newsome

by InsidePOOL Staff

B.J. Ussery rebounded from a late loss at the January 30 stop of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour to best Mike Davis in the finals and take top honors. The $1,000-added event was hosted by On The Snap Billiards in Fuquay-Varina, NC.

The first time Ussery and Davis met was in the hot seat match, after Ussery had sent Ty Bissett to the one-loss side 8-2 and Davis defeated Chris Turner 8-5. Their meeting turned out to be a lopsided match that saw Ussery head west after an 8-1 routing by Davis.

Charlene and Mike Harvey were relegated to a seventh-place tie after being ousted by Tony Morrison and Arnold Hamlet, respectively, both 8-3. Hamlet in turn was sent home in fifth place by Chris Turner 8-6, while Bissett tied with Turner after an 8-5 loss to Morrison.

Morrison and Turner ended up colliding in the quarterfinal match, with Morrison advancing by an 8-2 win to face Ussery in the semifinals. But Ussery was determined to wreak revenge on Davis for his hot seat loss and turned Morrison away 8-3. It was an epic struggle in the finals, but eventually it was Ussery who eked out the 11-10 victory.

Results:
1st B.J. Ussery $1,000
2nd Mike Davis $400

by Lea Andrews

To earn his most recent Great Southern Billiards Tour win, A-ranked Tony Morrison had to get past a string of the best the South has to offer. Not one slowed him down in the slightest, though, and he went undefeated at the $1,500-added event, which drew 60 players to Speakeazy Billiards in Sanford, NC, the weekend of December 18-19.

To earn his most recent Great Southern Billiards Tour win, A-ranked Tony Morrison had to get past a string of the best the South has to offer.

To reach the hot seat match, Morrison first had to deal with AA-ranked Michael Fuller, whom he sent west 9-8 to meet up with recent Carolina Open winner Brian White. White, who’d just held the open runner-up, A-ranked Alex Olinger, to six games, could only mark up six of his own against Morrison.

On the other side of the bracket, a couple of White’s earlier victims, B-ranked Vernon Rogers and AA-ranked B.J. Ussery, were making the long trek towards the later rounds. Rogers ousted A players David Brown 7-8 and Delton Howard 7-6 to face Olinger, another A player, while Ussery took care of Shawn Ray 11-6 and AA-ranked Sam Monday 11-8 to face Fuller. Rogers and Ussery each kept their opponents three games shy of their goals, earning themselves spots in the quarterfinals 7-6 and 11-8, respectively. While both men were seeking a rematch with White in the semifinals, it was Ussery who earned it 11-5, leaving Rogers behind in fourth. In the semis, Ussery notched a strong 11-5 revenge win over White to nab the spot in the finals against Morrison.

But in the true double-elimination final match, Ussery’s big-win streak came to halt. Showing once again that he didn’t need the two-game spot he was given, Morrison finished up his undefeated weekend with a strong 9-4 victory.

Daulton, Morrison, Ussery, and Speakeazy Billiards Owner Jimmy Bollis

Results:

1st Tony Morrison $1,000
2nd B.J. Ussery $550
3rd Brian White $350
4th Vernon Rogers $200
5th Alex Olinger $105
Michael Fuller
7th Delton Howard $75
Sam Monday
9th David King $45
David Brown
Shawn Ray
Ryan Stone

by InsidePOOL Staff

In a battle of Brians, Brian Capps bested Brian White in the finals of the Ozone Billiard Tour’s December 4-5 event to take the title.

In a battle of Brians, Brian Capps bested Brian White in the finals of the Ozone Billiard Tour’s December 4-5 event to take the title. The $1,500-added event was hosted by Randolph’s Billiards in Hickory, NC, featuring a $1,000-added 9-ball tournament that kicked off Saturday, as well as a $500 guaranteed 8-ball tournament Sunday.

The 9-ball tournament attracted 54 players, but it was Capps and White battling it out Sunday for the top-place prize. Capps had won the hot seat by defeating Sam Monday. In the semifinals White, who had been sent to the one-loss side earlier in the event by Monday, made a comeback to defeat Monday in a hill-hill match to reach the finals and face Capps.

In the double-elimination finals White bested Capps in the first set 9-6, but Capps won the second 9-8 to take home the first-place prize money. Capps’ path to the finals began by defeating Skip Coffey 9-5, Mackie Lowery 9-4, Dan Madden 9-6, Mark Meyers 9-6, and Monday 9-8.

The 8-ball tournament kicked off Sunday with a full field of 32 players. Tony Morrison claimed the first-place prize by defeating Jeff Abernathy. Morrison worked his way through the top half of the bracket defeating Chris Steele 5-2, Brad Gates 5-1, Jason Ray 5-4, Dan Madden 5-4, and Jeff Abernathy 5-3. In the finals Morrison lost the first set 5-3 to Abernathy but made a comeback in Set Two 5-4 to claim the win.

9-Ball Results:
1st Brian Capps $1,140
2nd Brian White $700
3rd Sam Monday $500
4th Josh Newman $300
5th Adam Pendley $150
Mark Meyers
7th Jeff Abernathy $70
Eddie Little
9th Tony Morrison $50
Clint Clark
Lay Thammavon
Darren Shaffer

8-Ball Results:
1st Tony Morrison $250
2nd Jeff Abernathy $125
3rd Jody Musselman $75
4th Mike Bumgarner $50

by Lea Andrews

Despite a strong push by fellow A-player Danny Mastermaker, Sidney Champion held his ground to take his first top-place finish on the Great Southern Billiard Tour. The $1,500-added event drew 37 players to Greentop Billiards in Rocky Mount, NC, the weekend of December 11-12.

Despite a strong push by fellow A-player Danny Mastermaker, Sidney Champion held his ground to take his first top-place finish on the Great Southern Billiard Tour.

Champion sent past winner Tony Morrison west 9-6 to reach the hot seat match against Mastermaker, who’d come out on top of a weighted race against AA-ranked Sam Monday 9-9. Champion claimed the hot seat as his own with a decisive 9-5 victory, sending Mastermaker over to the semifinals.

On the left side of the bracket, Michael Fuller, who’d fallen earlier to Monday 11-6, had the unfortunate luck of running into his father, A-ranked Peaches Fuller, though he was lucky enough to be the one to advance 11-1 and move on to an 11-4 win over Younger Chapman to meet up with Morrison. Facing Monday was A-ranked David Trest, who’d had lopsided wins over Vernon Rogers 9-3 and Scott Howard 9-0, but Monday put an end to his streak 11-6, planting him in fifth and moving on to the quarterfinals against Fuller, who’d had his own 11-6 win over Morrison. Fuller wasn’t able to avenge his earlier loss, though, and he finished in fourth 11-7, allowing Monday to move on to his own rematch with Mastermaker, but it was a repeat of their earlier match, and Monday ended his run in third 9-9.

In yet another rematch that followed in the true double-elimination final match, Mastermaker was able to level the playing field by pushing the second set 9-6. But Champion, who recently suffered a work-related back injury, was looser in the second set, and he sailed to his first GSBT win 9-2.

Results:
1st Sidney Champion $800
2nd Danny Master maker $500
3rd Sam Monday $350
4th Michael Fuller $250
5th Tony Morrison $100
David Trest
7th Younger Chapman $50
Scott Howard

The tour goes to Speak Easy Billiards in Sanford, NC and the free live stream will be provided by Inside POOL Magazine. Check InsidePOOLmag.com for details.

by Lea Andrews

An amateur player, AA-ranked Brian White, fought his way through a field dotted with pros to emerge the undefeated winner at the Great Southern Billiard Tour Championship event, which also served as the 9th Annual Carolina Open. The $7,500-guaranteed purse 9-ball event, which was run alongside mini-tournaments and a one-pocket event November 10-14, drew 60 tough players to Fast Eddie’s Sports Bar and Grill in Goldsboro, NC.

An amateur player, AA-ranked Brian White, fought his way through a field dotted with pros to emerge the undefeated winner at the Great Southern Billiard Tour Championship event, which also served as the 9th Annual Carolina Open.

White made his way through several amateur players before coming upon last year’s third-place finisher, Shawn “Big Bubba” Putnam. Putnam, who was racing to 13, rushed out to an 8-1 lead, but White fought his way back to take the match 11-12 and proceed to the winners’-side final four, where he faced Larry “The Truth” Nevel. This time, the two game spot lent him no assistance, and White moved on 11-8 to the hot seat match against Alex Olinger, who’d managed his own big win over the defending champion, Hall-of-Famer Johnny “The Scorpion” Archer 9-8. In the hot seat match, it was White giving up the two games, but he held back Olinger 11-7 to become the last man standing on the winners’ side.

On the other side of the bracket, tour director Shannon “The Cannon” Daulton, who’d fallen in the third round to Nevel 13-10, plowed his way through Josh Newman 13-6, Chris Bruner 13-8, Ryan Buck 13-6, and Evan Lunda 13-1 before facing Nevel once again. Meanwhile, Putnam ousted Sam Monday 13-9 and Tony Morrison 13-6 to meet up with Archer, but it was the end of the road for him. Coming up two racks shy, Putnam landed in fifth, while Archer moved on to the semifinals against Daulton, who’d exacted his revenge on Nevel 13-11. But that score got flipped on him against Archer, and he finished in fourth 13-11. Archer soon followed though, as Olinger managed the honor yet again of pocketing the final 9 ball in a match against a legend, advancing to a finals rematch against White 9-9.

Olinger would need to win the first set of the true double-elimination final match to put the two on even ground, and though he managed more games than he had in their first meet-up, he still came up one game shy of his goal of 9. White finished the match in one 11-8 set to become the undefeated Carolina Open champion.

View the Great Southern Billiard Tour Handicap Carolina Open 9-Ball tournament brackets

View the Great Southern Billiard Tour Handicap Carolina Open One Pocket tournament brackets

In the 20-entrant one-pocket event, which featured a staggered entry fee based on skill level, Shawn Putnam shut out Sparky Ferrell 3-0 to reach the hot-seat match against Nick Varner, who’d sent Shannon Daulton west 3-1. Edging out Varner 3-2, Putnam claimed the hot seat while Varner moved over to the left side of the bracket, where Larry Nevel, who’d suffered a first-round 3-0 loss to Putnam, was trying to make his way back to him. Shutting out Chris Adams, Mike Basha, Sidney Champion and Adam Towery, Nevel seemed well on his way, but he hit a Daulton-shaped roadblock and landed in fifth 3-1, as did Brian White, thanks to Ferrell. In the quarterfinal match, Daulton held Ferrell to one game to advance to Varner, whose company, Nick Varner Cues and Cases, is one of the tour’s sponsors. The seasoned players battled it out, but Daulton, who is accustomed to being behind-the-scenes on his normally amateur-only tour, enjoyed a rare opportunity to earn a spot in the finals, which he did 3-1, putting Varner in third. To reach the winner’s circle, though, Daulton would have to win both sets of the true double-elimination, and he did just that. He took the first set over Putnam 3-1 and finished the tournament in style with a 3-0 shutout.

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Open Results:
1st Brian White $2,500
2nd Alex Olinger $1,500
3rd Johnny Archer $1,000
4th Shannon Daulton $600
5th Larry Nevel $400
Shawn Putnam
7th Evan Lunda $250
Tony Morrison
9th TJ Moore $150
Ryan Buck
BJ Hucks
Sam Monday

One-Pocket Results:
1st Shannon Daulton $600
2nd Shawn Putnam $350
3rd Nick Varner $170

by Lea Andrews

Sam Monday, who last won a Great Southern Billiards Tour Event in November, nabbed his second event this season the weekend of September 11-12. Monday and 52 other competitors gathered at Fast Eddie’s in Goldsboro, NC, for the $1,500-added event, which was sponsored by Nick Varner Cues and Cases and Andy Gilbert Custom Cues.

Monday, who last won a Great Southern Billiards Tour Event in November, nabbed his second event this season the weekend of September 11-12.

AA-ranked Monday breezed by A-ranked Larry Faulk 11-6 to reach the hot seat match against recent winner Steve Page, who’d sent another past winner, A-ranked Tony Morrison, west 9-2. Monday claimed the hot seat 11-7, leaving Page to try fight his way back from the semifinals.

On the one-loss side, Chris Vollmar got past fellow A-players Chris Adams 9-1 and Montez Lloyd 9-8 to face Faulk, while AA-ranked Michael “Bulldawg” Fuller, who’d taken a third-round hit from Adams, notched up his own solid string of wins. Fuller took care of B-ranked Dillon Whaley 11-4 to meet up with A-ranked Greg Taylor, whom he ousted 11-3 to face Morrison. Their face-off landed Morrison in fifth 11-4, while Fuller advanced to the quarterfinals against Faulk, who’d edged out Vollmar 9-8. Another hill-hill match ensued for Faulk, but he was on the wrong end of this one, and he finished in fourth 11-8, while Fuller moved on to Page in the semifinals. On a roll, Fuller held Page to seven games to earn the right to face Monday in the alternate break, true double-elimination final match.

The first set was undeniably Fuller’s—he ran out nearly every time he broke and took advantage whenever Monday scratched on the break to push the second set 11-1. Monday gained control, though, and he got ahead and stayed there to earn a decisive 11-4 win.

Results:
1st Sam Monday $1,000
2nd Michael Fuller $500
3rd Steve Page $300
4th Larry Faulk $200
5th Tony Morrison $125
Chris Vollmar
7th Greg Taylor $75
Montez Lloyd
9th Dillon Whaley $50
Mike Frowein
Darrin Blitch
Chris Adams