Smith Sails to Victory on Great Southern Billiards Tour
Great Southern Billiard Tour / Asheboro, NC

by Lea Andrews

Two first-time finalists met up at the June 5-6 stop of the Great Southern Billiard Tour, and it was Brad Smith who emerged the first-time winner. Smith and runner-up Jerry Hilton faced off at Zoo City Billiards in Asheboro, NC, where 32 entrants vied for the $1,500-added purse.

Having coasted through the winners’ side, B-ranked Smith pushed aside fellow B-player JR Poste to reach the hot seat match against AA-ranked Derek “Chew” Leonard, who’d sent A-ranked Adam Stanton west 10-4. Smith’s strong 7-6 victory over Leonard earned him the hot seat, while Leonard moved over to the semifinals to try for the rematch.

On the left side of the bracket, B-ranked Wayne Briles ousted AA-ranked Jeff Abernathy 7-1 and A-ranked Chris Adams 7-7 to meet up with Poste. Meanwhile, B-ranked Hilton, who’d taken a second-round hill-hill 10-6 loss to Abernathy, notched solid wins over A-ranked Glenn Russell 7-6 and B-ranked James Blackburn 7-1 to reach Stanton. Holding Stanton one game shy of his goal of 9, Hilton advanced 7-8 to the semifinals against Briles, who’d edged out Poste 7-6. Dealing Briles his own 7-6 loss, Hilton moved on to Leonard in the semifinals, where another hill-hill match ensued. Once again, Hilton came out on top, advancing to Smith in the finals 7-9.

Riding his winning momentum into the true double-elimination final match, Hilton eased through the first set, sailing to a comfortable 7-2 victory over Smith. But in the second set, Smith fought back, taking control of first-time finals nerves to mark up the final game in the hill-hill set, earning his first GSBT win 7-6.

Results:
1st Brad Smith $1,000
2nd Jerry Hilton $500
3rd Derek Leonard $300
4th Wayne Briles $150
5th Adam Stanton $55
JR Poste