by Joshua Johnson, Inside POOL
Tony Williams made quick work of Brad Shearer by the margin of 7-2 in the finals of the Great Southern Billiard Tour’s Upstate Amateur Classic at World Cup Billiards in Greenville, SC, to take the trophy and $1,000 first-place prize. Williams, after defeating AA-rated player Josh Roberts 7-8 in his first match on Sunday, only lost three racks in his last two matches to take down the tournament. He defeated John Thompson to win the hot seat match to move on to the finals by a score of 7-1 before coasting through Shearer in under 45 minutes.
Williams reached the finals by defeating Rich Cole 7-4, Danny Turner 7-2, Sidney Champion 7-7, Marty White 7-4, David Rice 7-6, and Thompson. Williams from Raleigh, NC, stated that he really wanted to defeat Shearer, also from Raleigh, so he would not have to hear Shearer brag to him on the ride back to Raleigh. The tournament win for Williams continues a trend on the GSBT this season, as they have not seen a repeat winner yet.
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Shearer recorded his best finish in a GSBT event by placing second. His road to the finals took him through Tony Daves 7-4 and Robert Langford 7-1 before losing to Josh Roberts 11-5. Once in the one-loss bracket he ended Landon Shuffett’s bid to repeat on the GSBT by defeating him 7-5, then bested JR Poste 7-5, David Rice 7-5, Matt Mancini 7-2, and John Thompson 7-1 to meet Williams in the finals. Thompson placed third and Mancini rounded out the top four places.
Tony Williams made quick work of Brad Shearer by the margin of 7-2 in the finals of the Great Southern Billiard Tour’s Upstate Amateur Classic at World Cup Billiards in Greenville, SC, to take the trophy and $1,000 first-place prize.
Results:
1st Tony Williams $1000
2nd Brad Shearer $500
3rd John Thompson $300
4th Matt Mancini $150
5th Josh Roberts $100
David Rice
7th Mike Basha $60
JR Poste
9th Marty White Free Entry
Chris Zayas
Landon Shuffett
Sidney Champion