Update 25th March Knockout Stages

 

Well, after a quite intriguing set of fixtures from last 32 onwards we are just about down to the semi final stage!!

A terrific days snooker Im sure you’ll agree, and it was pleasing to say the least that so many of the days matches went to the wire. God knows what it must have felt like for the players, as for most of those watching, it was unbelievably tense!

 

Some stand out matches worth special mention include:

 

Last 32

Jimmy Jenkins in electrifying early form with an outstanding display, hitting a 64 and 98 (could have been tournament highest) on his way to a 4-0 win over Jeff Robinson. Hes certainly had his extra weetabix in the morning thats for sure!! J

 

A clash of the titans battle between the experienced John Burns and Neil Johnson! This match was a classic, and in the end, with only one frame in it all the way, Neil just managed to get his nose in front when it mattered at the end taking it 4-3.

 

Jamie Jones v Chris Achilles blink and you would have missed this one! It was a pleasure to watch their free flowing styles clash, and it felt like youd have been watching a light middleweight boxing match, with both trading blows with one another with some off the lampshade shots! Jamie it was who prevailed in the end 4-2, with Chris as ever being a gentleman in defeat saying how well young Jamie had played.

 

Joe Ginley v Andy Molyneux – youth v experience this one! Joe went 2-0 ahead in this one, after initially taking a great mini clearance in the first. Back though came Andy, taking the next 3 frames to take the impetus 3-2 ahead. Not to be outdone though, Joe forced a decider and hit a frame winning 59 break, taking a superb match

4-3.

 

Adam Brown v Paul Edwards – these guys know each other very well indeed, and was always going to be close. At 2-2, and clearly looking like it could go either way, Adam took the colours, including an amazingly tough pink, with white in jaws of middle pocket to go 3-2 ahead. In the last, he had the composure to close the match out 4-2 and progress to the last 16.

 

Pat Horne v Colin Malone if you havent been there, try playing Pat in this form! Colin came up against a whirlwind of a performance, though at the same time knew he had chances he simply didnt capitalise on. That said, the match didnt even quite get to an hour long! 4-0 to Pat in the end, and the only disappointment from this match was an anonymous complaint regarding what they felt was deliberate fast play’!! Pat, be warned!

 

Josh Mulholland v Roy Bennett – two guys who again know each other very well, and Roy just recently starting to come into some great form. In the first frame proved pivotal in this one, with Roy going in off on the black ball after looking like hed take it. Josh then raised his level to surge 3-1 ahead before a great 77 from Roy pulled one back. Josh though didnt let a comeback materialise and closed out this one with the fifth to take the match 4-1.

 

Chris Whitfield v Ste Winstone – this was fascinating to watch. A long match, though intriguing too! At 3-3, and

30 points down, Chris then takes what looks to be an unbelievable clearance with a few reds left. Hes on 52, decides to try continue to pot the last pink, but goes in off. With one snooker now required, Steve plays a peach

of shot, tight in behind the black and claws his 6 points back. Now able to win, and after putting Chris back in

with a brave decision, he gets another chance and takes pink and black for the match!

 

Last 16

Clayton Humphries v Neil Johnson what a match!! 3-0 down Neil was, and looking down and out against his teammate, practice partner, and prodigy. Back he came though, with a minor adjustment to his game, and step by step drew the contest level at 3-3. This one was immensely tense, and yet it was Clayton in the end who just managed to get ahead enough in the last to leave Neil requiring snookers. A closely fought 4-3 win for Clayton, and for Neil, if he was going to lose to anyone, he’d have probably picked Clayton!

 

Jimmy Jenkins v Pat Horne – arguably the best match of the tournament so far!! Jimmy, picking up from where he left off in his last match was 3-2 ahead after hitting 86 and two 50+s. Back though came his close friend Pat to draw

level, before then taking a tense last frame with a clearance of immense quality on the colours to pink. Super spectacle this one was and just a pity someone had to lose. Great credit to Jimmy for such a great display too.

 

Jamie Jones v Brian Robertson terrific prospect of a great match, and so it proved. Jamie surged 2-0 ahead in this one to have Brian rattled. Back though came Bri to take frame after frame and prove that little bit extra in the safety ranks can prove the difference in these types of matches. $-2 it finished though Jamie will hold his head high with a great display throughout the whole event!

 

Joe Ginley v Chris Jones – this one broke all records!! Joe, buoyant from his win over Andy Molyneux, was not to be overawed by the more experienced Chris and this proved a real tactical battle to say the least! An unbelievably tense fifth frame saw Joe take it and move 3-2 ahead. Back though came Chris to level things up, before we moved onto a deciding frame which had everything! A re-rack with 8 reds left to begin with, and then the frame seemed to last an eternity. Tension for both players was unreal, and it was with huge relief to Chris that he managed to take it for a huge

4-3 win. Credit to both players though for endurance! Lee Evans & Ronnie Wynne will both be extremely pleased that their club record of 4 ¾ hours for a five framer had been matched by Joe/Chris!! A staggering 5 hours 25 mins! Well done guys, and commiserations to Joe too as hed had a terrific tournament.

 

Two players it should be said, aside from the above mentioned matches, were looking ominous to say the least!! Reigning champion and three times finalist John Welsh had won 4-0 v Bob McCune in the last 32, and then had another 4-0 win v one of this seasons form players, Adam Brown. A quarter final clash with Pat awaited. Mouth watering!

 

Another maestro of the baize, Ian Brumby, had similar results himself against Roy Bird, and then Ste Winstone, including a tournament high break of 131 in the last frame. A terrific clearance that was, and sets himself up nicely for next weekend in his quarter final clash with Josh Mulholland.

 

Quarter Finals

 

Two matches were played at the finish:

 

John Hughes v Clayton Humphries John had taken out two very good players in a tough side of the draw (4-2 v Anthony Jeffers and 4-1 v Craig Murdoch) and so was looking good coming into this one. Clayton though probably saved his best performance of the day for this match, and whilst there werent the high level of breaks wed expect from these two, it was still a high quality match. Claytons long game proved key here as he took the match 4-1 to progress to the semi finals next week.

 

John Welsh v Pat Horne a fitting match at any stage of a comp! And it most certainly didn’t disappoint! In quick fire fashion, Pat raced 2-0 ahead, before John then came back at him with some assured play of his own to tie the match 2-

2. Pat then took the next to move 3-2 ahead, and yet again John came back at him with a lovely 52 to take the match to

a decider. The last frame here literally could have gone either way, and with John on a break with two reds left near

the black, he took the slightly more difficult one and it amazingly rattled in the jaws! Not still the easiest of clearances, Pat took the balls he needed to close out the match 4-3. From a spectators point of view, and rivaling the previous

Jimmy Jenkins/Pat Horne match for game of the tournament, it was an absolute pleasure to watch. Huge credit to both

players!

 

 

 

For everyone whos entered this year, can I just say a huge thank you to you all for participating. I hope you enjoyed it (certainly seems so!) and will look forward to seeing you again very shortly.

 

As regards the major stage of the tournament now, it would be great to see as many people there as possible on Sunday. Semis kick off at 10.30am and then the final from around 2pm. Peter Williamson and Bob Williams will be refereeing on Sunday which will be nice, and I for one am looking forward to seeing who prevails from some fabulous players on show. Best of luck to them all!

 

Kind Regards, and thanks for your support,

 

Lee Evans

(Event Organiser)

 

 



Update from Day 1 – Sunday 27th January

A pretty good day yesterday I felt, and generally ran as smoothly as I could have wished for. A huge turnout, and so a big thank you to all of you for your keenness and dedication to the tournament. Onwards we go to next Sunday with it all still to play for. Already you can see some of the groups are shaping up nicely, and look immensely hard to call!

 

As regards high breaks, some terrific break building was on show and it’s Brian Robertson who leads the way at the moment with a wonderful 107. Well done Brian – the challenge has been set! Clayton gets the award for the funniest moment of the day – I’ll let him tell you! J