Childress goes undefeated to claim VA State 9-Ball Barbox Championships in Newport News
Liz Taylor goes undefeated, downs Reagan Wallace twice to claim Ladies title After winning two straight Billiards Education Foundation Junior National Championships in 2015 and 2016, competing both times in the ’14 and Under’ division, Virginia’s Nathan Childress took a beat or two before stepping into the ‘professional’ arena of regional tours. When he took […]
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Nathan Childress and Brian Bryant
Liz Taylor goes undefeated, downs Reagan Wallace twice to claim Ladies title
After winning two straight Billiards Education Foundation Junior National Championships in 2015 and 2016, competing both times in the ’14 and Under’ division, Virginia’s Nathan Childress took a beat or two before stepping into the ‘professional’ arena of regional tours. When he took that step (at least in terms of whether his efforts resulted in a cash payout), it happened in a tough year; 2020, when the pandemic was just settling in for a long visit.
The first entry into his newly-created personal profile here on AZBilliards occurred when he went undefeated to the hot seat in the Action Pool Tour’s January season opener that year. He’d defeated Action Pool Tour regular Reymart Lim in that hot seat match and after Lim defeated the tour’s 2019 champion, Chris Bruner, in the semifinals, Lim came back for a second shot at him. Though the teenager battled the much more seasoned veteran to double hill in that event final, Lim prevailed to make Childress’ first (recorded) payout in a regional tour, a runner-up finish.
Later that year, Childress chalked up his first recorded regional tour win at On The Hill Productions’ 9-Ball Fall Shootout in Glen Burnie, MD. He downed Shaun Wilkie in the hot seat match of that event and earned that first recorded win with a 7-2 victory in the final over NYC Tri-State area veteran Raphael DaBreo. Childress and fellow junior competitor Shane Wolford combined a month later, at the same location, to win a Scotch Doubles event. In a reflection of the extent to which the pandemic affected attendance at pool tournaments around the country and the world that year, Childress ended his first year at the tables at #60 in our AZBilliards Money Leaderboard. The following year (2021), he cashed in nine events, including a victory at the VA State 9-Ball Championships.
The ‘kid’ didn’t just break out of the gate of his pool career clean, he came out of it like a Saturn missile headed for the moon. He’s still en route.
Last weekend (March 29-30), at a stop on the REVAMP Tour, Childress recorded his third cash payout of this year, going undefeated at the 2025 VA State 9-Ball Barbox Championships, downing a competitor who’s been contributing to his own AZBilliards’ profile for over 20 years, Brian Bryant. The event drew 50 entrants to Peninsula Billiards in Newport News, VA and included the competitor he’d defeated in the hot seat match on his way to his first win five years ago, Shaun Wilkie. The event also played host to a number of veteran Mid-Atlantic competitors including Mike Davis, Jr., Paul Oh and Kevin West, to name just a few.
And now, before Nathan Childress’ career gets too much longer, let’s talk about the latest chapter and a few of those involved. It was no ‘walk in the park.’ He faced five opponents, one of them twice (Bryant) and was challenged, double hill, three times. It started out calmly enough, as he defeated fellow junior competitor and friend Brent Worth 9-1. Scott Roberts tossed an almost-double-hill challenge at him in the second round (9-7), before Kevin West tossed him a ‘real’ one. He survived that to draw Bryant in one of the winners’ side semifinals.
Tim Colvin, in the meantime, also headed for the hot seat, had his own share of ‘challenge’ issues, as he would end up facing seven opponents, and like Childress, face three of them that battled him to double hill. Also like Childress, Colvin opened with a 9-1 victory (Tim McClure) before winning two straight, double-hill matches against Garrett Vaughn and James Blackburn. Jalen May then chalked up seven against him, allowing him (Childress) to advance to the other winners’ side semifinal, against Shaun Wilkie.
In their first of two, Childress downed Bryant 9-6, while Colvin was busy sending Wilkie to the loss side 9-7. Childress and Bryant battled to double hill before Childress claimed the hot seat.
On the loss side, Wilkie joined in and picked up Greg Taylor, who’d lost his third match to Bryant and then, defeated James Blackburn and Kevin West 7-4; in effect, removing two rather competent and thus, dangerous ‘pieces’ off the game board. Bryant drew Nilbert Lim, who’d lost a third-round match to West and then defeated Steve Buchanan and Scott Roberts, both 7-5. Lim shut out Kenny Marple and then leapfrogged over a ‘withdrawn’ Paul Oh to meet Bryant.
Wilkie downed Taylor 7-4 and advanced to the quarterfinals where he was joined by Bryant, who’d eliminated Lim 7-2. Bryant won his next two, defeating both Wilkie in the quarterfinal and Colvin in the semifinal 7-5.
In an extended race-to-11, Bryant put up a double-hill fight in the opening set of a true, double-elimination final. Childress closed it out, avoiding a second set and claiming his first 2025 title at the VA State Barbox 9-Ball Championships.
Liz Taylor and Reagan Wallace
Taylor picks up speed through first matches, shuts out two of five she faces to claim Ladies title
After winning two matches 6-3 against Jackie Atwood Catlett and Kassandra Johnson in the opening rounds of play in the 26-entrant Ladies tournament for an aggregate score of 24-6, Liz Taylor shut out her next two opponents, Tina Nash, and in a winners’ side semifinal, Kaitlyn Giddens.
In the hot seat match, their first of two, Taylor squared off against Reagan Wallace, who’d run through her first four opponents by a better aggregate score than Taylor, 24-4. She’d opened with a 6-2 win over Kathy Repass, shut out Jackie Rivera and given up one each to Kaley Sullivan and, in the other winners’ side semifinal, Kelly Wyatt. Taylor packed her off to the semifinals and claimed the hot seat 6-2.
On the loss side, Wyatt picked up Rivera, who’d followed her loss to Wallace with two 5-1 victories over Cassandra Frisby and Kailen Beckner, with ‘bookend’ double-hill wins over Pat Eubank and Tina Nash. Giddens drew Kaley Sullivan, who’d lost her third-round match to Wallace, as well, and then survived a double-hill battle versus Millie SanJuan and an almost-double-hill match (5-3) against Rene Marple.
Wyatt survived a double-hill match against Rivera and was joined in the quarterfinals by Sullivan, who’d eliminated Giddens 5-3. Wyatt gave up just a single rack to Sullivan in those quarterfinals, only to have Wallace restrict her to two racks in the semifinals.
The Taylor/Wallace rematch was on, accompanied (one would presume) by anticipation of a strong battle in the one, possibly two sets, however it turned out. Taylor had held Wallace to two when the race was to 6. In the final’s opening, and as it turned out, only set necessary in an extended race to 8, Wallace fought back to within three at the end. Taylor chalked up the eight she needed to claim the Ladies 9-Ball Barbox title.
The next event on the REVAMP Tour calendar, scheduled for the weekend of July 26-27, will be the VA State 8-Ball Championships and will bring the tour back to Peninsula Billiards in Newport News, VA.
Tour representatives extended a ‘huge thank you’ to Mike Phillips and his Peninsula Billiards staff for their hospitality, with additional thanks to tournament director, Rob Leeper, Luke Diehl and TJ Krohn for “helping everything run smoothly and getting us through this weekend.” They also thanked the tour’s sponsors for their continuing support; Tillage Automotive, Larry King P.C. (Professional Legal Services), Captain George’s Seafood Restaurant, Platinum Plumbing, EFM Billiards, ECC (East Coast Contracting), East Coast Landscaping, Inc., All-Out Uniforms and Tees, Clean as a Jewel Housekeeping, Big Dave’s Plumbing, Moose Billiards Service, and Get It Poppin’ Billiard Apparel.
