by Lea Andrews

A late loss at the March 6-7 stop of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina tour did nothing to slow down Larry Nevel. “The Truth” rebounded to top the tough field that gathered at Break Time Billiards in Wilmington, NC, for the $1,000-added event.

After handing Nevel his 7-4 loss, Keith Bennett moved into the hot seat match against Johnny Archer, who’d just shut out Trey Greene. Archer claimed the hot seat 7-3, while Bennett moved over to semifinals. On the west side, an early victim of Nevel’s, Michael “Bulldawg” Fuller, notched a 7-4 win over Zach Wilson and a shut-out win over Greene to reach the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, another one of Nevel’s victims, Shawn “Big Bubba” Putnam, who’d reached the finals in each of his three Jacoby appearances so far, found his streak come to an end at his fourth event as he faced Nevel once again. Nevel dropped Putnam into fifth 7-2 to meet back up with Fuller, and another 7-2 win put him into the semifinals against Bennett. Earning his revenge 7-3, Nevel advanced to the single race-to-11 final match.

Though Archer got out to a 3-0 and 5-1 lead, Nevel was able to take advantage of a scratch on the break and a dry break to gain momentum and tie it up at six games apiece, but when he made nothing on the break in the next rack, Archer regained the lead 7-6. It was his last lead, though. Another scratch on the break allowed Nevel to tie it up, and two more racks in a row put him on the hill 10-7. Archer marked up the next rack, but after pocketing three balls on the break in the final rack, he found himself without a shot on the 2 ball. Archer’s well-played safety left Nevel hooked, but Nevel’s unbelievable kick shot put the 2 ball in the pocket and left the path to the 9 ball open. Nevel pocketed the rest of the balls to earn his victory 11-8.

Nevel also took first in Friday’s 16-entrant early bird tournament, earning $150 for his 7-1 win in the finals over Zach Wilson, who took home $95. Hindu Williams earned $50 for third, while Kenny Chin earned $25 for fourth. Patty Sutherland won the ladies’ division on Saturday, while Caleb Grissom topped the juniors’. In Sunday’s second chance event, Kenny Chin earned $80 for edging out Barry Irving 7-6, while Irving earned $20. Karl Deweese took home $80 for beating out five others in the break contest, and CJ Genta became the owner of a new Jacoby Custom Cue after her name was drawn in the raffle.

A late loss at the March 6-7 stop of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina tour did nothing to slow down Nevel.

Results:
1st Larry Nevel $1,000
2nd Johnny Archer $400
3rd Keith Bennett $100

by Lea Andrews

A big obstacle—Southern superstar Sam Monday—stood in Mike Basha’s way at the February 27-28 Great Southern Billiard Tour stop, but Basha stood his ground to earn his spot in the winner’s circle. Basha and Monday were among the field of 51 that gathered at Fast Eddie’s Sports Bar in Goldsboro, NC, for the $1,500-added A/B amateur event.

B-ranked Basha got past fellow B-player Justin Ward to reach the hot seat match against B-ranked Tony Williams, who’d managed to fend off Monday, who was racing to 11, 7-9. Taking care of Williams 7-2, Basha claimed the hot seat, while Williams took his spot in the semifinals.

On the left side of the bracket, B-ranked Rick Royster made his way past B-ranked Bobby Hicks 7-6 to face recent winner Tony Morrison, who’d ousted A-player Zach Wilson 9-6. After easing past Morrison 7-7, Royster moved on to Ward. Meanwhile, AA-ranked Sparky Ferrell blew through A-ranked “Pokey” 11-1 to meet up with Larry Faulk, who’d breezed by fellow A-player Montez Lloyd 9-3. Ferrell edged out Faulk hill-hill 11-8, but that score got flipped on him by Monday, and he landed in fifth. Monday advanced to the quarterfinals against Royster, who’d squeaked past Ward 7-6, and looking for the rematch with Williams in the semifinals, Monday put Royster in fourth 11-5. Against Williams, Monday more than made up for the last match, earning his spot in the finals 11-2.

In the first set of the true double-elimination final match, Basha reached the hill first, but Monday took the next two racks to make it hill-hill 10-6. His break and run in the final rack pushed the second set, which he opened with another break and run. Allowing Basha few chances at the table, Monday stretched his lead to 5-0, but after topping a safety battle, Basha got on the board, and he took advantage of some unlikely opportunities in the next racks to keep it close at 7-3. He made it 7-4 with a 3-9 carom and 7-5 with a 4-9 combination, but Monday took three in a row to reach the hill. In the alternate-break format, Basha broke open the next rack, putting more into his final break than he’d put into others in the set, but his reward was a cue ball on the floor and what looked like no more chances at the table. The ultimate reward came late, though, as Monday missed what was, for him, a routine shot on the 6 ball, allowing Basha back at the table to make it hill-hill. It was Monday’s turn to break, and after making a delicate cut on the 1 ball, he found himself bridging behind the 8 ball for a shot on the 2. He overcut it and Basha pocketed it instead, and though he was faced with tough position on the 4, a thin cut all the way down the rail put the 4 in the pocket and the cue ball in position for the 5. Basha’s win was just a matter of staying in line, and he pocketed the rest of the balls to notch his first GSBT victory 7-10.

The next $1,500-added stop will be at Raising Cain’s in Inman, SC, March 6-7.

Basha and Monday were among the field of 51 that gathered at Fast Eddie’s Sports Bar in Goldsboro, NC, for the $1,500-added A/B amateur event.

1st Mike Basha $1,000
2nd Sam Monday $500
3rd Tony Williams $300
4th Rick Royster $200
5th Justin Ward $100
Sparky Ferrell
7th Tony Morrison $70
Larry Faulk
9th Bobby Hicks $40
Zach Wilson
Montez Lloyd
“Pokey”

by Lea Andrews

Jeff Abernathy, who last won a Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour stop in February, put another notch in his belt the weekend of July 11-12, going undefeated to take first place. The $1,000-added main event, which was competing with the Gem City Classic and the WPBA Satellite Tour for players, drew a small but strong field of 15 players to Break Time Billiards in Wilmington, NC.

Abernathy arrived in the hot seat match after sending Zach Wilson west 7-4. Challenging Abernathy for the hot seat was Larry Faulk, who’d edged past Chris Vollmar 7-6. There was no edging past Abernathy, though, and Faulk moved left 7-2.

On the one-loss side, Jay Calhoun came up short in his hill-hill match against Trey Greene, while David Tickle fell 7-4 to Sidney Champion and Peaches Fuller and Scott Crandall each fell 7-3 to Younger Chapman and Barry Irving, respectively. Chapman and Irving went on to their own decisive match, which Chapman took 7-2, while Champion knocked out Greene 7-3. Chapman then proceeded to welcome Wilson to the one-loss side with a hill-hill knockout, while Champion did the same to Vollmar, setting up the Chapman/Champion match, which also went hill-hill. It was Champion who went on to face Larry Faulk in what turned out to be his third hill-hill match—and win—in a row.

Having come off of those consecutive tough matches, Champion faced the toughest yet, and he held his own in the single race-to-9 finals for the first eight racks, at which point the score was tied at 4 apiece. It was at that same point that Abernathy turned it on and began pulling away. When Abernathy sunk the final 9 ball, the score was 9-6, and his weekend of superior play had culminated in his first-place finish.

Jeff Abernathy, who last won a Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour stop in February, put another notch in his belt the weekend of July 11-12, going undefeated to take first place.

Results:
1st $1,000 Jeff Abernathy
2nd $500 Sidney Champion
3rd $175 Larry Faulk
4th $75 Zach Wilson

by InsidePOOL Staff

The Viking Cue 9-Ball Amateur-Advanced and Amateur Tour rolled into Break Time Billiards in Wilmington, NC, the weekend of May 30-31, where 64 regional players participated in the $1,500-added events. Break Time Billiards, which houses a bowling alley, restaurant, and arcade as well as the billiard room, graciously added the monies for this event.

The amateur-advanced event was played on 9-foot tables, and the race was to 9. Local favorite Larry Faulk made his way through the bottom of the brackets undefeated and claimed first place after defeating Eddie Little 9-8 in the finals. Faulk had begun his trek to first by defeating Gabe Grisson 9-2, Gerry Shepard 9-2, Dennis Crandell 9-4, T. Adul-Ghani 9-7, and Zach Wilson 9-5. Little faced Zach Wilson in the semifinals, where he defeated Wilson 9-4 to advance to the finals against Faulk.

The amateur event kicked off Sunday and presented some equally matched competitors. The event was also played on 9-foot tables, but the race was 5. Jody Musselman from Virginia took home the first-place prize money. Musselman began his trek to first by defeating Caleb Grissom 5-0, Trey Greene 5-2, Irvin Brockman 5-2, and David Walker 5-3 before he was sent to the one-loss side by Tim Long 5-2. Once there Musselman faced Lupe Hernandez in the semifinals, where he won 5-3 for his shot at Tim Long in the finals. He had to defeat Long twice in the true double-elimination format. He breezed through the first set 5-2 and went hill-hill in the second to claim first place.

The Viking Cue 9-Ball Amateur-Advanced and Amateur Tour rolled into Break Time Billiards in Wilmington, NC, the weekend of May 30-31, where 64 regional players participated in the $1,500-added events.

Amateur-Advanced Results:
1st Larry Faulk
2nd Eddie Little
3rd Zach Wilson
4th Larry Pierce
5th Terry Faulk
T. Abdul-Ghani

Amateur Results:
1st Jody Musselman $450
2nd Tim Long $300
3rd Lupe Hernandez $170
4th Roger Williamson $100

by Skip Maloney

Ben Zimmer took the second set of a true double-elimination finals to capture first place in the Great Southern Billiard Tour stop the weekend of March 28-29. The $1,500-added, A-B handicapped event, hosted by Brass Tap & Billiards in Raleigh, NC, drew 50 entrants.

Zimmer was among the winners’ side final four and entered the hot seat match after an 11-8 victory over Ken Kerekes. Zach Wilson, in the meantime, was sending Zimmer’s eventual opponent in the finals, Sam Monday, west with a 9-9 win (Monday, with a higher handicap, had to reach 11 wins before Wilson reached 9). Zimmer then sent Wilson to the semifinals with an 11-7 victory that left him in the hot seat.

From among the event’s final 12, which included the four who’d just been sent over from the winner’s side final eight, Danny Smith and Brad Shearer emerged to face Kerekes and Monday. Smith got by Michaels Dearing and Mike Basha to challenge Kerekes, as Shearer downed Steve Murrill and Jackson Jeffries for a shot at Monday. Smith advanced past Kerekes to the quarterfinals with an 11-7 win, as Monday made short work of Shearer 11-3. Monday moved into the semifinals versus Wilson with an 11-7 victory over Smith and turned his attention to the double-elimination finals against Zimmer with an 11-5 win over Wilson.

View the Great Southern Billiard Tour Brass Tap tournament brackets

Monday repeated his 11-5 score in the semifinals in the opening set of the finals, handing Zimmer his first setback of the tournament. Zimmer rallied in the second set, winning it 11-8 to take top honors.

Ben Zimmer took the second set of a true double-elimination finals to capture first place in the Great Southern Billiard Tour stop the weekend of March 28-29.

Results:
1st Ben Zimmer $1,000
2nd Sam Monday $600
3rd Zach Wilson $400
4th Danny Smith $250
5th Ken Kerekes $150
Brad Shearer
7th Mike Basha $100
Jackson Jeffries
9th Steve Page $55
Michael Dearing
Steve Murrill
Tony Williams

by Skip Maloney

She’d told him at the outset that since it was her birthday and only the second time she’d ever seen him play, it was important to her that he win. Mike Davis delivered, offering his mom, Ingrid Davis, the birthday present she’d asked for and taking top honors in the main event of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour the weekend of January 2-4. The $1000-added main event, which drew 27 entrants to Breaktime Billiards in Wilmington, NC, was supplemented by a Friday night mini tournament, a Sunday second-chance tournament, and ladies’ and juniors’ events as well.

Davis finished the main event undefeated. From among the final four on the winners’ side, he sent Dennis Crist to the one-loss side with a commanding 7-1 victory and faced Jared McGee in the hot seat match. McGee had sent Sam Monday west after a hill-hill struggle and joined him when Davis gained the hot seat 7-2.

On the one-loss side, Scott Lewis was battling his way back to an eventual seat in the finals. He got by Zach Wilson in a hill-hill struggle and then Steve Ladner 7-2 for the right to face Crist. At the same time Michael Fuller got by Charlie Brinson 7-4 and shut out Larry Faulk for the right to square off against Monday. It was Lewis and Fuller advancing to the quarterfinals, where a 7-4 win put Lewis in the semifinals versus Jared McGee. Lewis dropped McGee into third place 7-5 and moved into the finals against Davis. In the final race to 9, Davis stayed in control, finishing it 9-5 and taking top honors.

Davis gave his mother a birthday present by winning the Jacoby Cues Tour event this weekend.

In the Friday night mini tournament, it was Michael Fuller walking away with the $200 first prize, having defeated Jim Barthule in the finals. Younger Chapman and Larry Faulk finished third and fourth, respectively. The second-chance tournament on Sunday was won by Russell Sasser, who brought home $130 for his efforts. Sidney Champion finished second, with Jay Calhoun and Larry Faulk tied for third place. Belinda Calhoun won the women’s event over Katie Cowan in the finals, while Brandon Carraway bested Caleb Grissom in the finals of the juniors’ event.

Results:
1st Mike Davis $1,000
2nd Scott Lewis $500
3rd Jared McGee $300
4th Michael Fuller $200
5th Dennis Crist $100
Sam Monday
7th Steve Ladner $75
Larry Faulk
9th Zach Wilson
Barry Irving
Russell Sasser
Charlie Brinson