It’s ‘been a minute’ since we last saw Chris Bruner’s name appear on our payout lists; 1 million, 36 thousand and 223 of them to be precise (rounded down to the nearest whole minute). That’s calculated from his 7th place finish at a VA Barbox 9-Ball Championship on March 31, 2024, to this day, as we’re preparing a report on his undefeated run to claim the 2026 VA State 9-Ball Barbox Championship, held under the auspices of the REVAMP Tour this past weekend (March 14-15). The last time he recorded an event win with us was in 2022, when he won a Virginia State 9-Ball Championship, held under the banner of the Virginia Pool & Billiards Association. This year’s 9-Ball Championship drew 47 entrants to Peninsula Billiards in Newport News, VA.
Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but it does not appear to have much of an affect on an absentee’s skills at the table. In recording his first (known) win of 2026, Bruner ran into a few familiar faces (not all of them in a match), players who were around and competing in the days when he recorded his last payout and last known victory; among them – Nilbert Lim, Rob Leeper, Joey Mastermaker and the player with whom he competed twice to claim this most recent Barbox title, Nathan Childress (who finished in the tie for 5th in the ’22 9-Ball Championships).
In straight-up races to 9, Bruner faced Lim in his opening round, downing him 9-4 and going on to defeat Josh Craig 9-5, Frank Leahy 9-2 and draw Jonathan Hernandez in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Childress, in the meantime, got by Bud Osborne 9-3, Eric Barber 9-2 and Lucas Courtney 9-4, to pick up Rob Leeper in the other winners’ side semifinal…