Eastwood Open - 26 April 2008

Martin makes it two in a row

Some of Nottingham’s best amateur snooker players turned out for the second Eastwood Open, which was held at Phoenix cue sports. Former professional Wayne Martin successfully defended his title running out a three nil winner in the final against Long Eaton’s Stuart Crosswell. Runs of 20 and 26 helped Martin take a scrappy opening frame before the final came to life in the second. Martin opened up with a good 45 break but Crosswell responded immediately knocking in a 32 which would have been more but for an agonizingly under hit red which sat in the jaws of the corner pocket. This miss appeared to affect Crosswell mentally who then made several unforced errors which the experienced Martin took full advantage of to run out a comfortable winner and pocket the £80 prize fund. Earlier in the day the eventual winner had to endure a shock two nil loss to Steve Butler who knocked in a superb 52 break. The defeat was obviously the wake up call Martin needed as he went on to beat Adam Shaw, Ross Wilkin, Nav Hussain and Lee Buckle knocking in breaks of 52, 40 and 37 in the process. The highest break of the tournament was a superb 70 by Nav Hussain who was also second on the list with a 55. The next open has been pencilled in for the end of June and anyone interested should contact Steve Lally on 01773 760459.

Elimination Results: L.Richards bt D.Watson, R.Wilkin bt Yaz, M.Harmon bt A.Coulton, S.Crosswell bt S.Lally, S.Butler bt W.Martin, L.Buckle bt A.Shaw, D.Allsop bt D.Binks, N.Hussain bt D.Barker, L.Richards bt M.Ellis, S.Crosswell bt M.Harmon, L.Buckle bt S.Butler, N.Hussain bt M.Langdon, A.Coulton bt S.Lally, Yaz bt M.Langdon, M.Ellis bt D.Barker, W.Martin bt A.Shaw, D.Allsop bt Yaz, R.Wilkin bt M.Ellis, S.Butler bt D.Allsop, S.Crosswell bt L.Richards, L.Buckle bt N.Hussain, W.Martin bt R.Wilkin, N.Hussain bt S.Butler.

Finals: S.Crosswell bt L.Buckle, W.Martin bt N.Hussain, W.Martin bt L.Buckle, W.Martin bt S.Crosswell.

High Break List

70 Nav Hussain
55 Nav Hussain
52 Steve Butler, Wayne Martin
46 Stuart Crosswell
45 Laurence Richards, Wayne Martin
40 Wayne Martin
37 Wayne Martin, Nav Hussain x 2
36 Laurence Richards
33 Lee Buckle
32 Steve Butler, Stuart Crosswell
30 Lee Buckle

Paul Hunter English Open 2008

Once again this season, the Northern Snooker Centre have pledged a very generous sponsorship, and will host the event in its entirety. We hope that all snooker playing friends and admirers of Paul, both professional and amateur, will be supporting this event which will have a prize fund of £10,000 (subject to entries). For each entry received £5 will be donated to the Paul Hunter Foundation, a charity established by his widow, Lindsey, to introduce disabled and deprivileged children to snooker.

Entry to the Championship is open to ALL players of any nationality, professional and amateur, and will cost £60 for EASB members and £75 for others. This has been reduced from last season. If you would like to take part, complete the entry form on the EASB website. Payment of entry fees can also be made on the website. In case of oversubscription, entries will be taken in order of receipt.

The early stages of this competition will be played on a round-robin basis, with the 31 highest ranked entries, along with defending champion Matthew Couch, being seeded. 64 players will proceed to the Knockout stage. Round Robin matches will be best of seven frames.

The closing date for entries is Monday 30th June, 2008.

NHSL KO Plate Final

Frame 1 - Nav Hussain 40 - 45 Jonathan Mason

There was not much between these two players as both struggled to make the most of their chances. However, a 25 break from Mason helped him gain a narrow win. Peoples Hall +35

Frame 2 - Yas Abbas 28 - 75 Neil Elliott

Elliott was never in danger against Abbas as he produced some very solid play to put BCI into the lead overall. BCI +12

Frame 3 - Zed Zubair 46 - 51 Wayne Martin

Zubair did very well to keep things tight against ex-professional and Eastwood Charity Snooker Open champion Martin. There was very little between the two but it was Martin who was able to extend BCI's small lead by 5 points. BCI +17

Frame 4 - Shafiq Mohammed 64 - 28 Sam Hague

Mohammed managed to restore Peoples Hall's lead with a very good win over NHSL Pairs finalist Hague. Hague did very well at the end of the frame as, with just the colours remaining, he found himself snookered on the yellow. He showed excellent technique to swerve around the green and hit the yellow. Hague managed to fluke the green but it was Mohammed who won the frame by 36 points. Peoples Hall +19

Frame 5 - Zeb Ahmed 74 - 41 Kwok Yip

Last years NHSL Pairs champion Yip struggled to find his form against demon potter Ahmed. Neither player played at their best but Ahmed pulled off some great pots to ensure that Peoples Hall extended their lead by a further 33 points. Peoples Hall +52

Frame 6 - John Marshall 53 - 45 Steve Coleman

This frame was played in great spirits as Marshall and Coleman laughed and joked their way through it. Coleman eventually found himself 14 points in front with 22 remaining and with Marshall snookered on the brown it looked like it was going to be a victory for Coleman. However, Marshall produced an amazing shot by coming off the cushion to pot the brown. He then followed that up with blue, a brilliant pink and black for a terrific win. Peoples Hall +60

Frame 7 - Zeb Ahmed & Nav Hussain 48 - 83 Jonathan Mason & Wayne Martin

With the match slipping away from BCI it was going to take something special from Mason or Martin to give them any chance of victory. Despite the pressure, Martin played some excellent snooker and produced the highest break of the match, a terrific run of 51 to put BCI right back in the match. The BCI pair went on to win the frame by 35 points, reducing their team's deficit to just 25 points going into the final frame. Peoples Hall +25

Frame 8 - John Marshall & Shafiq Mohammed 81 - 40 Sean Parkinson & Steve Coleman

After a scrappy start to the frame Parkinson & Coleman soon found themselves leading 30 - 2. As frame 7 came to an end, news filtered through that the BCI pair had to win by 26 points to secure the Knockout Plate for their team. But then Marshall & Mohammed started to string a few small breaks together until, with one red and the colours left on the table, Parkinson & Coleman needed two snookers. Soon it was five snookers required and despite getting one of them, the task was too great and the match was conceeded with brown, blue, pink and black left on the table. Peoples Hall +66

Peoples Hall 474 (434) - 408 BCI
Nav Hussain 40 v 45 Jonathan Mason
Yas Abbass 28 v 75 Neil Elliott
Zed Zubair 46 v 51 Wayne Martin
Shafiq Mohammed 64 v 28 Sam Hague
Zeb Ahmed 74 v 41 Kwok Yip
John Marshall 53 v 45 Steve Coleman
Zeb Ahmed & Nav Hussein 48 v 83 Jonathan Mason & Wayne Martin
John Marshall & Shafiq Mohammed 81 v 40 Sean Parkinson & Steve Coleman

It was an excellent match that was played in good spirits. Every player stayed right to the end and the BCI lads were gracious in defeat.

The victory caps a remarkable debut season for Peoples Hall who also finished champions of division 2. Well done to both teams!

NNIA KO Plate Final

Congratulations to Mapperley Community Centre who, playing with a start of 28 points, beat Masters Snooker Club by 53 points in an exciting encounter at City Hospital Leisure Centre.

Frame 1 – Andy Carnell 60 - 34 Cary Davies

This frame was neck and neck right up to the colours at which point Davies potted the yellow but then went in-off. That put Carnell in front and he then compounded Davies’ bad luck by fluking a snooker which Davies was unable to get out of – 4 away. With blue, pink and black on the table, Carnell was 18 points in front so Davies could only draw. Davies potted the blue but it was Carnell who potted the pink to extend his lead to 19 points. Davies then missed the black completely giving 7 points and frame to Carnell. Mapperley +54

Frame 2 – Doug Bouch 45 - 72 Nigel Bradford

Bradford dominated this frame throughout and the winning margin could have been larger had it not been for some bad luck. Bradford put together a terrific run of 36 but then in potting a red he screwed back into the pocket. By the time blue, pink and black remained, Bradford was 45 points clear. Bouch then produced some quality snooker of his own when he potted blue, pink and a magnificent long black to reduce the deficit. Mapperley +27

Frame 3 – Geoff Merry 26 - 72 James Robinson

Robinson played some solid snooker to put Masters in front for the first time in the match. Merry did his best to try and peg Robinson back but it was the Masters player who finished the stronger and he made an excellent 18 clearance to seal the frame. Masters +19

Frame 4 – Don Merry 103 - 31 Paul Bell

Merry’s tactics were spot on in this frame as he restricted Bell to mostly half chances. Everything seemed to be against the luckless Bell and with 22 points left on the table he hit his cue on the light shade causing his tip to fly off! By the time blue, pink and black remained the scores had been calculated from the other 3 frames. Shouts of “shake his hand” followed and Bell duly conceded. Mapperley +53

Mapperley 262 (234) - 209 Masters
Andy Carnell 60 v 34 Cary Davies
Doug Bouch 45 v 72 Nigel Bradford
Geoff Merry 26 v 72 James Robinson
Don Merry 103 v 31 Paul Bell

NHSL KO Cup Final

It was a tense affair at Arnold as Lenton 'A' were trying to make it a hat-trick of wins in this competition. At one stage it looked like Arnold 'B' had it sewn up but excellent play from Adam 'Hitman' Shaw and his pairs partner Matt Savage set up a nervewracking final frame.

Frame 1 – Sean Kelly v Adam Shaw

Arnold started the match with an 80 point lead from the handicaps and the out of sorts Adam Shaw, still recovering from the shock of finding a scene from The Bill outside his front door, could only reduce the deficit by 4 points with a 60-56 win. Arnold B +76.

Frame 2 – Alan Cunningham v Joe Lunney

NHSL TV were there to film this frame and both players struggled as the pockets on the middle table were not accepting speedy entries. Cunningham did his best not to leave deadly Lunney any easy starters but he still managed to string a few small breaks together for a 71-27 win. Arnold B +32.

Frame 3 – Dave Robinson v Phil Connolly

In a low scoring frame it was Robinson who just edged this one with a 45-30 win. Arnold B +47.

Frame 4 – Bill Burton v Matt Savage

Lenton captain Matt Savage, who was treating his girlfriend to a rare night out on her birthday, led by example as he produced a solid display to reduce the large deficit with a 56-38 win. Arnold B +29.

Frame 5 – Stan Candler v Adam Goodall

Stan Candler showed what a good player he is against the multi-talented Adam Goodall (he’s a bit good at golf apparently). Candler played really well and had it not been for Goodall's fine potting at the end of the frame, Candler would have taken Arnold into a huge lead. In the end it was still a very good 68-23 win for Candler to extend Arnold’s lead once again. Arnold B +74.

Frame 6 – Andy Nicholls v Daz Hewitt

Hewitt struggled to get going in this frame as Nicholls threatened to run away with it. However, Hewitt managed to pot a few balls towards the end to restrict Nicholls to a 46-29 victory. Arnold B +91.

Frame 7 – Stan Candler & Sean Kelly v Matt Savage & Adam Shaw

Some of the crowd had already written off Lenton’s chances at this stage (mentioning no names Jim!) but when the pressure is on you can always count on Savage. Shaw did his best to get the match abandoned as he punched the table a couple of times during the frame but, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t manage to break any bones.

Shaw started to find his touch and he put a run of 47 together in no time at all. With quite a few reds still on the table and in the open, Shaw lined up a black but as he did so he touched a red which brought the break to a premature end. To his credit it was Shaw himself who called the foul and he deserved a pat on the back for this show of sportsmanship. Shaw took out his frustrations on the poor old table in the same way as local hero Michael Holt does, by hammering it with his fist. This drew a few chuckles from the crowd.

Savage produced some solid breakbuiling towards the end of the frame and as the Lenton pair high-fived each other the league Secretary quickly calculated the score. The frame score of 101-20 to Savage & Shaw reduced Arnold B’s lead to just 10 points.

Frame 8 – Alan Cunningham & Dave Robinson v Joe Lunney & Phil Connolly

The players were informed that the Lenton pair needed to win this frame by 11 points to secure a hat-trick of Knockout Cup wins. This created a really tense atmosphere as virtually every shot drew gasps and whispers amongst the crowd.

Lunney & Connolly opened up a healthy lead and it started to look like they were going to seal the win for Lenton. However, not for the first time this season there followed a little controversy and heated exchanges due to a contravention of a rule. The rule in question was Section 3 Rule 17 (e) which states:

(e) Partners may confer during a frame but not
(i) whilst one is the striker and at the table, nor
(ii) after the first stroke of the striker’s turn until the break ends.

Unfortunately Connolly conferred with Lunney during his turn and this was immediately picked up by the Arnold pair. They claimed the foul and it was duly awarded by the Referee.

A heated discussion followed but - quite rightly - the referee’s decision was final and the foul was given. This seemed to not only affect Connolly & Lunney’s concentration but it also seemed to spur Cunningham & Robinson on as they both pulled off some terrific pots to take the frame 56-40 with the black still remaining.

Well done to Arnold Civil Defence ‘B’ who, with this win, have taken the club’s prize money to £275 for the season.

Arnold 'B' 443 (356) - 410 Lenton 'A'
Sean Kelly 56 v 60 Adam Shaw
Alan Cunningham 27 v 71 Joe Lunney (WATCH VIDEO)
Dave Robinson 45 v 30 Phil Connolly
Bill Burton 38 v 56 Matt Savage
Stan Candler 68 v 23 Adam Goodall
Andy Nichols 46 v 29 Daz Hewitt
Stan Candler & Sean Kelly 20 v 101 Matt Savage & Adam Shaw
Alan Cunningham & Dave Robinson 63 v 40 Joe Lunney & Phil Connolly

NNIA KO Cup Final

In front of a reasonable crowd, both from BCI and Sherwood, J. Turner took the opening frame to reduce the 70 handicap that BCI 'C' had started with to 40. Frame scores: J. Turner 70 S. Capsey (Junior) 30.

Meanwhile on the other table A Scarborough was taking Sherwood into a lead on aggregate of 13, beating C. Kelliher by 89-36.

Frame 3 saw captain W.Bilbie increase the score to 50 with a 61-24 victory over S. Capsey(Senior).

This meant that captain S. Parkinson had to win his frame against L. Crombie by 51 points. The opening of the frame was tight but Lee won convincingly to win the K/O Cup for Sherwood.

Nazareth House Snooker League - Week 26

DIVISION 1

Pegasus Snooker Club 7-1 Cotgrave Welfare

Pegasus fell just one frame short of pushing Arnold Civil 'A' into a play-off to decide the league championship. It was a heartbreaking end to what has been an outstanding campaign for the club who have to settle for second place having only lost one game. In a tactical switch Pegasus took a strong side to Cotgrave and it very nearly came off but for a little bit of lady luck. Chris Brooks made it win number 21 with a comfortable win over Harry Briody, to go the whole season without dropping a frame is quite an incredible achievement! Mike Langdon didn't miss much as he beat Steve Richards sixty odd points to four whilst back at Pegasus Chris Piech and Scott Bates both won their frames to put Pegasus 4-0 up at the half way stage. Back at Cotgrave Anthony McMahon offered a little more resistance carving out a healthy 25 point lead against Jamie Mathers. Mathers fought himself back into contention but the balls seemed to be against him and when McMahon fluked a snooker on the green it signalled the end of Pegasus's hopes of a white-wash. To his credit Mathers dusted himself down and knocked in an excellent 38 break to help see off the Cotgrave pairing in doubles. Steve Booth continued his good end of season form with a good win to get frame number six on the board but by now the news from the Arnold match was starting to filter through. Chris Piech and Scott Bates then overcame the Cotgrave pairing to give the team a superb 7-1 victory.

Arnold Civil Defence "A" 8-0 Sherwood Social Club "B"

Arnold knew that they would have to win 7-1, or better still 8-0, to stand any chance of beating Pegasus to the title. It wasn't all plain sailing at home - Tony Hart playing Mick Salton was nip and tuck and Salton had a chance to get back into the frame, but unfortunately he went in-off the green allowing Hart to take the frame. Malc Belshaw had a comfortable win, but Brian Kinton's game against Sherwood's Paul Bell was a real thriller! Bell went in-off 3 times in his first 4 visits but clawed his way back into the frame to lead by 18 points with 18 on the table. A lot of near misses followed before Kinton took the blue into the top corner and then finely cut the pink into the same bag. The white ran away down the table but Kinton was able to play a double on the black off the top cushion and it dropped into the middle bag to take the frame to a re-spotted black. Bell gave it a thrash and the black ball was heading into the top left corner pocket but it kissed the white and Kinton was left with an easy pot to win the frame. In the pairs Hart and Belshaw beat Salton and Les Smith in a very low scoring frame.

At Sherwood John Fountain won his frame with a 43 break. Gary Spencer with the help of a 30 break beat Gareth Evans. Chris Winter won his singles and followed that with victory in the doubles with James Notman. The 8-0 victory sealed the league title for Arnold on frame difference!

Other Result:

Lenton Liberal Club "A" 5-3 Stadium Leisure

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NNIA Final League Standings

BCI Snooker Centre 'A' finished champions of Division 1, 6 points clear of the club's 'E' side.

In Division 2, Bob Wright's Masters side just lost out to Sherwood Social Club 'D'.

Nottingham & Notts Institutes Association Snooker League - Week 17

Division 1

SHERWOOD S.C.'A' 0 - 5 BCI 'A'
CARLTON LC P - P BCI.'D'
TOP SPOT 'A' 4 - -5 SPOT ON (HUCKNALL) 'B'
SPOT ON (HUCKNALL) 'A' 5 - 0 TOP SPOT 'B'
BCI 'E' 3 - 2 CITY HOSPITAL L.C.

Division 2

SHERWOOD SC 'D' 2 - 3 MAPPERLEY C.C. 'A'
MASTERS S.C. 5 - 0 SHERWOOD SC 'B'
CUE CLUB 3 - 2 BCI 'C'
BCI 'B' 4 - 1 OAKLEIGH LODGE
BLANK 0 - 0 RUDDINGTON C.C.

Nazareth House Snooker League - Week 25

DIVISION 1

Pegasus Snooker Club 6-2 BCI Snooker Centre

The Pegasus team put in a gritty performance against third placed BCI to ensure they go into the final game of the season with a chance of snatching their first league title since 2000. At Pegasus Chris Brooks warmed up for his NHSL singles final with a comfortable win over Kwok Yip. BCI’s Jonathan Mason was quick out of the blocks against Jamie Mathers building up a healthy 30 something lead, however Mathers hit back with a 31 break and then pushed on to put Pegasus two up. Steve Booth who has had a torrid time this season finally found some form winning comfortably in his frame by 55 points. Brooks and Mathers then made sure of the home legs 9th four nil win of the season by overpowering the BCI duo of Mason and Yip. The away leg were anxious after turning up to find former professional Wayne Martin warming up, which would mean Mike Langdon would have to face BCI’s usual home number one Neil Elliott. With Martin winning comfortably against Pegasus’s Chris Piech and Langdon and Scott Bates both trailing in their frames the teams season was in danger of grinding to a premature halt. However, Langdon showed real composure in his frame playing three excellent safety shots on the final black to eventually force Elliott into an error to win the frame 57-44. Meanwhile having sunk green and brown Scott Bates was distraught to see the cue ball roll behind the pink when he only required the blue for victory, credit to BCI’s Shaun Parkinson who knocked in a terrific blue and went on to win the frame on the black. Surprisingly the Pegasus pairing of Piech and Langdon had a comfortable win against BCI’s Martin and Parkinson in the pairs winning by over sixty points to tie the leg and give Pegasus an overall 6-2 victory.

Arnold Civil Defence "A" 6-2 Stadium Leisure

At Arnold, Matt Ellis lost to Tony Hart but Barry Stark won his 15th frame in a row (not lost since 4th December against Pegasus) against Brian Kinton. Pete Gormley lost to Malc Belshaw but Stark & Ellis sealed the draw with a win in the pairs (Stark's 16th frame in a row!).

Arnold sent a very talented quartet to Stadium and it showed with the away team romping to a 4-0 win. Clary Plowman lost to James Notman (Clary's first defeat since 16th October in the singles!), Mark Bradley went close but eventually lost gainst Gary Spencer. Steve Butler was well beaten by Chris Winter and Butler & Bradley then lost in the pairs to John Fountain & Spencer.

All to play for next week as the team that wins by the largest margin will be crowned league champions!

Other Results:

Lenton Liberal Club "A" 6-2 Cotgrave Welfare

DIVISION 2

Arnold Civil Defence "B" finished runners-up ahead of Mapperley Community Centre. Wollaton RBL could not play their final match against Mapperley and it was therefore agreed that Arnold B and Mapperley would compete in a play-off match to decide who would finish runners-up. Arnold B won the match 6-2 and the Arnold club will therefore have two teams in the top flight next season.