Fuller goes undefeated in Carolina Tour Stop

Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour / Greensboro, NC
Mike Fuller worked his way through a field of 40 entrants on the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour stop at Fast Eddie’s in Goldsboro, NC, the weekend of April 26-27. He sent Larry Faulk to the one-loss side of the bracket with a decisive shut-out in the round of 8 and defeated him again in the finals to capture the first-place prize.

Larry Faulk worked his way through two opponents on the west side before meeting Arnold Hamlet in the quarterfinals. He won all but 5 of the next 19 games, dropping 2 versus Hamlet and 3 against Liu in the semifinal.

The final match-up was something of a waltz, played out three steps at a time. Fuller and Faulk danced their way one game at a time to a 3-3 tie before Fuller decided that he wanted to lead the dance and jumped out 6-3. Faulk responded with his own three steps and tied it at 6-6, but it was Fuller who brought the waltz to a three-step finale to finish the dance.

The tour stop also featured a Friday night early bird tournament with 9 entrants, a second chance tournament Sunday with 11, and a small junior tournament with 3 entrants. Cary Dunn took the early bird, defeating Wade Crane, with Michael Fuller in third place. Mike Triplett defeated Shane Barnwell 7-1 to take the second chance first prize; Peaches Fuller and Charlie Brinson took third and fourth place, respectively. Justin Ward defeated Tiffany Leonard in the finals of the three-player junior tournament, taking the lead in points for the race to qualification to the Junior Nationals.

Results
1st Michael Fuller
2nd Larry Faulk
3rd Qi Liu
4th Arnold Hamlet
5th Younger Chapman
Wade Crane
7th Sidney Champion
Chris Vollmar
9th Cary Dunn
Mike Frowein
Charles McClung
John Hernandez

Ussery Takes Home Two in a Row
Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour / Chapel, Hill, NC
by Skip Maloney
B.J. Ussery picked up his second straight tournament win of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour the weekend of April 5-6, defeating Michael Fuller 9-5 in the final at Oscar’s Q and Bar in Chapel Hill, NC. In addition to the $1,000 first-place prize in the $1,000-added event, Ussery won his second free entry fee into the Carolina Open, set for October.
The field was down to eight on Sunday morning as Ussery squared off against Leroy Bryant on the winners’ side of the bracket. Fuller, also undefeated, faced Arnold Hamlet, another previous winner on the tour. Ussery and Fuller both advanced and faced each other in the final winners’-bracket match-up. Ussery took the match 7-3 to earn the hot seat.
Meanwhile, over on the one-loss side, Eddie Little defeated David Tickle 7-5 and went on to defeat Hamlet 7-4. Cary Dunn bested Brian Overman 7-2 before falling to Leroy Bryant by the same score. Little then defeated Bryant 7-2 but lost to Fuller 7-3, securing the third place and setting up the finals rematch between Fuller and Ussery. Ussery, however, was unimpressed with Fuller’s prowess, soundly drilling him 9-5 in the final match. Fuller, who was the tour’s Player of the Year in 2005-2006 and continues to lead the field in points for this year’s award, went home with the second-place prize, having already picked up his own two entry fees to the Carolina Open with previous wins on the tour.
The tour stop featured both an eight-player early bird tournament Friday night and a four-player last chance tournament Sunday afternoon. Terry Champion took home the first-place, $100 early bird prize, defeating Chris Vollmar in the final 7-2. Peaches Fuller earned the $80 prize in the last chance final match-up on Sunday, defeating Joe Meskey 7-1.
Results:
1st B.J. Ussery
2nd Michael Fuller
3rd Eddie Little
4th Leroy Bryant
5th Cary Dunn
Arnold Hamlet
7th Brian Overman
David Tickle

Ussery Puts Down Park
Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour / Winston-Salem, NC

by Rock City Promotions
Break Time billiards in Winston-Salem, NC, hosted the March 8-9 stop of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour. A field of 42 players came out for the $1,000 guaranteed added main event, where B. J. Ussery held off Ron Park in the final match.
To kick things off, an early bird tournament was held Friday night, in which Mike Davis defeated Mike Maurer 7-4 in the final match. In the junior tournament Sunday, Marcus Pendley defeated his younger brother Adam Pendley 7-4 in the final match. Also on Sunday, a second chance tournament was won by Peaches Fuller, who defeated Ed Killough 7-5.
In the main event, Park drew a bye and made his way to the hot seat by defeating Tim Morton 7-2, Marcus Pendley 7-4, Andy Hutchens 7-2, Robert Ray 7-4, and Michael Fuller 7-4. Meanwhile, Ussery also drew a bye and struggled to defeat Charles McClung 7-4, Jeff Abernathy 7-5, and Killough 7-6. After being sent to the one-loss side by Michael Fuller 7-2, Ussery held off Abernathy for a second time and by the same score as before. A win over Brian White 7-4 set up a rematch with Fuller. This time it was Ussery who came out on top 7-3 and moved on to meet Park in the final. The lopsided final match saw the players trade the first few racks, but then Ussery pressed on to win five games in a row to take the win 9-3.
Results:
1st B.J. Ussery
2nd Ron Park
3rd Michael Fuller
4th Brian White
5th Jeff Abernathy
Robert Ray
7th Cary Dunn
Adam Pendley
9th Mike Maurer
Mike Davis
Ed Killough
Andy Hutchens

Monday Makes Quick Work of Fuller
Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour / Rocky Mount, NC

by Rock City Promotions
Sharks-N-Shooter in Rocky Mount, NC, hosted the February 9-10 stop of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour, drawing a field of 23 players for the $1,000 guaranteed added main event. Sam Monday defeated Michael Fuller in the final match, earning $1,000 for first place plus entry into the 2008 Carolina Open, courtesy of Fast Eddie’s in Goldsboro, NC.
To kick things off, an early bird tournament was held Friday night. Montez Lloyd held off Younger Chapman 7-6 in the final match. In the junior tournament Sunday, Mac Harrell defeated Trey Sprye 9-5 in the final match. Also on Sunday, a second-chance tournament was won by Phillip Richardson, who defeated Steven Page 7-6 in the final match.
In the main event, Monday began his quest for the title down 2-0 to junior player Andrew Coley. Monday quickly righted the ship and defeated Coley 7-2 and two other junior players, Mac Harrell 7-2 and Trey Sprye 7-1. Monday then faced Sidney Champion, having to come from behind to take the hill-hill match. This set up the hot seat match in which Monday sent Fuller to the one-loss side 7-3.
Fuller’s tournament began with victories over Scott Crandall 7-4, Jim Faircloth 7-1, Jeff Pruitt 7-3, and Eddie Little 7-1. After Fuller’s loss to Monday in the hot seat match, he defeated Little for a second time 7-4 to set up a rematch with Monday.
In the final match, both players stumbled coming out of the gate. Missed shots and bad position led to an eventual 4-2 lead for Monday. Fuller broke the seventh rack, and from there it was all Monday. It took exactly eight minutes for Monday to run the table, break and run twice, make the 9 ball on the break, and break and run a third time for the win 9-2.
Results:
1st Sam Monday
2nd Michael Fuller
3rd Eddie Little
4th Sidney Champion
5th Jeff Pruitt
Cary Dunn

Hamlet Holds off Pureza
Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour / Fuquay Varina, NC

by Rock City Promotions
On The Snap billiards in Fuquay Varina, NC, hosted the January 19-20 stop of the Jacoby Custom Cues Carolina Tour. A field of 42 players braved the cold weather and threat of snow for the $1,000 guaranteed added main event, in which Arnold Hamlet held off a much younger Brandon Pureza in the final match.
To kick things off, an early bird tournament was held on Friday night, where Pureza defeated Craig Wolfe 7-2 in the final match. In the junior tournament Sunday, Jackson Jeffries defeated Andrew Coley 9-5 in the final match. Also on Sunday, a second-chance tournament was won by Robert Ray, who managed a 7-6 win over Chris Vollmar.
In the main event, Hamlet drew a bye but then had his work cut out for him. He scored wins over Shane Winters 7-5, Paul Scarboro 7-3, and Jeff Pruitt 7-5 before losing to Rodney Strickland 7-4. On the one-loss side Hamlet defeated Johnny Griffin 7-6 and Mike Davis 7-6 to set up a rematch with Strickland, this time finishing on the positive side 7-1.
Meanwhile, Pureza ran through his first five opponents with little difficulty, defeating Deamon Dawson 7-2, Mae Beale 7-1, Anthony Barrington 7-3, Johnny Griffin 7-3, and Michael Fuller 7-3. Then, in the hot seat match, Strickland took Pureza to the hill before falling 7-6.
The final match saw Hamlet take an early 5-1 lead before Pureza finally got a break—an empty one for Hamlet. Pureza ran the rack and was poised for a comeback. Midway through the eighth rack, however, Pureza missed a crucial 5 ball, and Hamlet cleaned the table. Pureza then locked up a 2-ball in the ninth rack to give Hamlet a 7-2 lead.
In the tenth and eleventh racks, Pureza pulled to within three games by taking advantage of Hamlets’ misses, which included a 9 ball left in the jaws of a corner pocket. A dry break put Hamlet back in charge, and he inched his way to a 9-5 win.
Results:
1st Arnold Hamlet
2nd Brandon Pureza
3rd Rodney Strickland
4th Mike Davis
5th Michael Fuller
Johnny Griffin
7th Anthony Barrington
Ron Park
9th Larry Faulk
Jeff Pruitt
Robert Ray
Sam Monday