Rice Rebounds for Victory
Great Southern Billiards Tour / Duluth, GA

by Lea Andrews

A late loss to Billy Kuykendall didn’t stop David Rice from powering through to ultimate victory at the March 27-28 stop of the Great Southern Billiards Tour. Rice and Kuykendall, who faced each other three times, were among the field of 60 that gathered at The Pool Room in Duluth, GA, for the $1,500-added amateur event.

A-ranked Rice got past recent winner Josh Newman 9-6 to meet A-ranked Sean Davis in the hot seat match. Davis, who’d just breezed past B-ranked Jack Cavalier 9-4, fell just short of his goal against Rice and moved to the west side 9-8.

On the one-loss side, B-ranked Kuykendall was on a mission to get back to Rice, who’d edged him out 9-6. Kuykendall took care of B-ranked Amy Chen 7-4 to face AA-ranked Benny Conway Jr., who was coming off a big 11-1 win over fellow AA-player Brian White. Conway fell 7-7 in the weighted race, landing in seventh while Kuykendall moved on to Cavalier. Meanwhile, B-ranked Curtis Hale moved past A-ranked Robert South 7-7 to meet B-ranked Richard Andrews, who’d gone hill-hill 7-10 with AA-ranked Danny Smith. Another hill-hill match was up next for Andrews, but it went the wrong way this time, and he finished in seventh 7-6. Hale moved on to Newman, who dealt him a 9-4 blow to reach the quarterfinals against Kuykendall, who’d blown through Cavalier 7-1. A strong 7-5 win over Newman put Kuykendall into the semifinals against Davis, who couldn’t mark up the final two games and finished in third 7-7.

In the first set of the true double-elimination final match, Kuykendall got a taste of revenge, notching the final game in the hill-hill set to push another set 7-8. Fatigue was wearing on both players in the second set, which began a couple hours into Monday, and the two took advantage of each other’s errors to stay even through their third hill-hill set of the tournament, but the all-important final 9 ball belonged to Rice.

A late loss to Billy Kuykendall didn’t stop David Rice from powering through to ultimate victory at the March 27-28 stop of the Great Southern Billiards Tour.

Results:
1st David Rice $1,000
2nd Bill Kuykendall $600
3rd Sean Davis $400
4th Josh Newman $200
5th Jack Cavalier $100
Curtis Hale
7th Benny Conway, Jr. $70
Richard Andrews
9th Brian White $45
Amy Chen
Danny Smith
Robert South

Great Southern Billiard Tour Kicks Off 2010 Season January 9

The Great Southern Billiard Tour kicks off the 2010 series January 9, 2010 at the POOL Room Sports Bar in Duluth, GA. The Great Southern Billiards Tour has been steadily increasing in size and popularity over the last few years and is on its way to becoming the premier tour throughout the South.

The Great Southern Billiard Tour kicks off the 2010 series January 9, 2010 at the POOL Room Sports Bar in Duluth, GA.

The Great Southern Billiard Tour was founded and is operated by Shannon Daulton and Marge Cooper. Their dedication to the sport of billiards is a major factor in the success of the tour. The tour has become a favorite of pool room owners and players due to the low fees and player-friendly prize funds.

The POOL Room Sports Bar in Duluth, GA is a popular tour stop and will be hosting as many as eight (8) stops on the Great Southern Billiard Tour in the 2010 season. The action this week will be streamed on the Great Southern Billiard Tour channel at Ustream and at the Great Southern Billiard Tour web site.

Monday Sweeps Great Southern Tour
Great Southern Billiard Tour / Sanford, NC

by Lea Andrews

Sam Monday, an extremely familiar face in the late rounds of the Great Southern Billiard Tour, went undefeated November 7-8 through a talented field to earn his first win on the tour this season. Monday and 71 other players gathered at Speakeazy Billiards in Sanford, NC, for the $1,500-added event.

AA-ranked Monday breezed past A-ranked Larry Faulk 11-2 to arrive in the hot seat match versus B-ranked Scott Johnson, who’d gone hill-hill 7-8 against A-ranked Eric Charlton, who was racing to 9. Cruising to victory once again, Monday allowed Johnson just two games to claim the hot seat.

On the left side of the bracket, Chuck Cuneo eased by James Blackburn 7-2 to face Michael Fuller, who’d ousted room owner Jimmy Bullis 11-6. Getting past Fuller 7-7, Cuneo moved on to Faulk and moved on 7-7 once again to the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, B-ranked Kevin Boggs edged out last stop’s winner Adam Pendley 7-10 to face another previous winner, B-ranked Brad Shearer, whom he held to 2 games. Boggs didn’t fare as well against the next former winner he faced, Charlton, who advanced hill-hill 9-6 to meet Cuneo, who’d been on a west-side mission to the finals since falling to Boggs in the first match he played. Cuneo wasn’t about to stop, and he moved decisively past Charlton 7-4 to face Johnson, managing to hold him at bay 7-6 to face Monday.

On the way to the finals, Monday had given up, on average, not even two games per match. Cuneo, therefore, did very well to manage four games in the only set of the true double-elimination finals. Cuneo’s valiant effort earned him second place, while Monday’s stellar play all weekend earned him first. Another winner, Terri Faulk, earned $50 as the highest-finishing lady.

Sam Monday, an extremely familiar face in the late rounds of the Great Southern Billiard Tour, went undefeated November 7-8 through a talented field to earn his first win on the tour this season.

Results:
1st Sam Monday $1,000
2nd Chuck Cuneo $500
3rd Scott Johnson $400
4th Eric Charlton $200
5th Kevin Boggs $125
Larry Faulk
7th Brad Shearer $75
Michael Fuller
9th Jack Miller $50
Adam Pendley
Jimmy Bullis
James Blackburn