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NORTHERN SC SUMMER OPEN

Peter Lines was the winner of the Northern Snooker Centre Summer Open and with it £1,000 with a 4-1 victory over Accrington’s Chris Norbury in the final.

Lines started the finals day by beating Brett Miller 4-0 but only edged James McGouran 4-3 in the quarters before beating Anthony Parsons 4-1 in the semis.

Norbury, who beat UK Championship quarter finalist Mark Joyce 4-3 in qualifying, ousted Jamie McArdle 4-2, Allan Taylor 4-1 and Michael Wild 4-2 to reach the final.

The finals were the culmination of weeks of qualifying satellites, and special mention must go to Trevor Smith and Brian Pritchard, who despite not qualifying made their own mark on the event. Drawn together in qualifying event 1, Pritchard prevailed 4-3 on the pink after a battle lasting over 4 hours, a new club record!

Last 16 (£25):
Damien Wilks 4-1 Oliver Lines
Anthony Parsons 4-1 Gavin Lewis
James McGouran 4-2 Kamran Ashraf
Peter Lines 4-0 Brett Miller
Allan Taylor 4-0 David Grace
Chris Norbury 4-2 Jamie McArdle
Craig Steadman 4-3 Kevin Firth
Michael Wild 4-3 Shaun Wilkes

Quarter Finals (£50):
Parsons 4-3 Wilks
Lines 4-3 McGouran
Norbury 4-1 Taylor
Wild 4-1 Steadman

Semi Finals (£200):
Lines 4-1 Parsons
Norbury 4-2 Wild

Final (£1,000/£400):
Lines 4-1 Norbury

WORLD BILLIARDS CHAMPIONSHIP

Mike Russell was again crowned World Billiards Champion beating a new face in the final, young Indian Dhruv Sitwala 1738-1204. Russell top scored with 450 and that break proved to be the difference in the end.

Russell began the group stage beating home clubs Ian Williamson but suffered a shock defeat to amateur Robert Marshall to leave his very qualification in doubt with a match against Peter Gilchrist still to come. But he overcame this obstacle and then defeated Rupesh Shah in the quarters, making a tournament high 589 break in the process. He made breaks of 305 and 371 in beating David Causier 1529-1279 in a fast and furious semi final.

The other semi final however was the match of the championship. Indian legend Geet Sethi facing Sitwala, the match was nip and tuck all the way, with Sethi in play with just a couple of minutes to go he trailed by 58. Unbelieveably, he made 57 unfinished to the bell to lose by just a single point after 4 hours play.

PAUL HUNTER ENGLISH OPEN

Robbie Williams followed up his victory in the first Pro-Ticket event of the season by winning the Paul Hunter English Open, beating Stephen Craigie 6-4 in the final. Williams also constructed the highest break of the event 137 during the final.

Williams was in superb form throughout the event, topping his group comfortably before a 4-0 win over Tom Maxfield highlighted by a break of 96. He then made breaks of 68 and 85 in a 5-3 win over Michael Rhodes, before hitting top gear against former winner Matthew Couch, making breaks of 54, 59, and 123. Although outscored by number one seed Daniel Wells, he still emerged a 5-3 victor before beating Kuldesh Johal, again 5-3, with breaks of 72, 79 and 128 to reach the final.

Craigie in the group stage found himself in the bizarre position of having qualified before he started due to two no shows, but took full advantage in the knockout stages beating Ryan Mears and Richard Beckham, before an epic 5-4 win over Craig Steadman in the last 16. He then stepped up a gear crushing Chris Norbury 5-0 with breaks of 52, 88 and 88, before beating ex pro Andrew Norman 5-2 in the semis.

A total entry of over 100 was highly satisfactory considering the event was played mid week and with the PTC’s draining the financial resources of some. Perhaps this explained the disappointing entry from the professional ranks, just 5 pros entering.

Of the local hopes, Johal fared the best by reaching the semis, Peter Lines and David Grace both exited at the last 16 stage, to Chris Norbury and Jamie Barrett respectively.

PRO-AM

David Grace won the latest midweek Pro-Am from a high quality field of 35 that included 4 professionals and a number of PTC players. Grace survived deciding frames in his closing four matches, to collect the £120 first prize.

Irish Professional Michael Judge, practising at the club in the build up to the World Open qualifiers, was first to bow out, losing 3-2 to Dane Hall, and was soon followed into the plate by Jimmy Michie, who was beaten by Doncaster’s Chris Keogan. Young James Jagger posted a personal best performance beating PTC player Damien Wilks 3-1.

Three of the quarter finals went the distance, Grace edging improving Gene Lam from 2-1 down, Lam’s younger brother Sanderson, the English U16 & U19 runner-up, beating Mitchell Travis, and Simon Bedford edging his fellow professional Kuldesh Johal.

The semi finals again saw Grace record a narrow 3-2 victory over Craig Steadman, while Bedford ended Lam’s run 3-0. The final, reduced to best of three due to the lateness of the hour, was nevertheless of the highest quality.

Grace opened with a run of 107, only for Bedford to respond with 14 reds, 14 blacks, before misjudging his positional shot for the last red with a maximum in sight. In attempting to take the cue ball in and out of baulk, he missed the final red on 112. Bedford struck first in the decider with 68, but missed match ball red. Grace cleared to the yellow, snookered his opponent and from the resulting in-off cleared for victory.

Judge recovered from his early defeat to win the plate, beating Farakh Ajaib in the final.

WORLD OPEN QUALIFIER

James McGouran won a coveted spot in the World Open with a 3-0 win over Liverpool's Allan Taylor in the final of the pre-qualifying event at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds.
With the winner's entry fee of £300 guaranteed to be paid by the club, a total of 45 entrants lined up, with the goal of going through to the professional qualifying rounds to be staged at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield from August 21-24.

McGouran trod a precarious route, edging both Jamie Barrett and Chris Norbury 3-2, before beating Charlie Walters 3-1 and Leighton Gauci 3-0 to reach the final.

Taylor was also made to work hard, recording 3-2 wins over Robbie Williams and David Grace followed by a 3-1 win over Andy Lee in the semis.

McGouran, from Hull, is a former Pontin's Open winner and recently reached the last 32 of Star Xing Pai Players Tour Championship Event 2. He now has the chance to battle for a place in the televised stages of the World Open, to take place from September 18-26 in Glasgow.

With the number of entrants exceeding expectations, a plate competition was organised for first round losers. Mitchell Travis collected a £50 consolation prize beating Farakh Ajaib in the final.

Quarter Finals:
Leighton Gauci 3-2 Shaun Wilkes
James McGouran 3-1 Charlie Walters
Andy Lee 3-1 Curtis Lewis
Allan Taylor 3-2 David Grace

Semi Finals:
McGouran 3-0 Gauci
Taylor 3-1 Lee

Final:
McGouran 3-0 Taylor

SLAM-NAV

Sanderson Lam was outplayed in both of his recent English Junior finals, but his cause was not helped by getting lost on his way to the Academy at Sheffield and being docked the first frame. His opponent Joel Walker then went on to a blitz of scoring, making a break above 50 in every frame topped by a century to win 6-0 in the Under 16s.

The following day in the Under 19s final Sanderson this time managed to find the venue on time, and produced a much better display, leading Kamran Ashraf 4-3 at the interval before losing 8-4. Neither defeat takes anything away from his outstanding performance to reach two English Junior finals in the same year.

SANDERSON SLAMS HIS WAY INTO TWO FINALS

15 year old Sanderson Lam made a staggering breakthrough to reach the finals of both the English Under 16 and the English Under 19 Championships at the Northern SC.

In an unfortunate draw, Lam was paired with another NSC junior, Oliver Lines in the last 16 of the U16s, and emerged a 4-3 winner before dispatching Zac Barton and Jordan Rimmer by 4-2 scorelines to reach the final. He will face Joel Walker, the reigning champion, who recently was crowned Ronnie O’Sullivan Star of the Future, a competition for Under 16s for which he will receive coaching and advice from Ronnie himself. Sanderson certainly has a tough game on his hands!

His most impressive win came in the semis of the U19s, beating PIOS player Sam Craigie 5-1. He will face Kamran Ashraf in this final, both of which will be played during the EASB finals weekend on 22nd/23rd May at Sheffield’s World Snooker Academy. We of course wish him all the best in both matches.

Also appearing in the finals weekend amongst others will be Shane Castle and Adam Bobat, two highly rated youngsters from the South coast, in the final of the U14s. James Pearson, who receieved the club’s Steve Prest Scholarship to further his fledgling career, reached the quarter finals. Exeter will face West Midlanders in the final of the Team Championship.

COMPETITION ROUND-UP

Damien Wilks secured his first ever tournament win, beating Oliver Lines 5-4 in the final of the latest Under 21 Open to be held at NSC. Due to low entry numbers the entrants were split into two groups of round robin snooker, with the top two comprising the semi finals. Wilks beat Sanderson Lam to reach the final while Lines desposed of PIOS player Darren Burns.

Lines, son of Main Tour professional Peter Lines, was also in form at the April midweek Pro-Am, recording one of his best ever wins in reaching the final. He defeated professional Craig Steadman 3-0, receiving just 18 points start. His run was ended in the final with a 3-0 defeat by David Grace, who collected his 3rd first prize in the Pro-Am series since the turn of the year. Richard Binns lost to Grace in the first round but made a superb 126 in the plate competition. 

PRO-TICKET STAGE 2 EVENT 1

Stephen Craigie triumphed in the first event of the second phase of this years Pro-Ticket Tour with a 6-3 win over local hero Kuldesh Johal in the final. Craigie played solidly building a 5-1 advantage, before a touch of clinchers disease set in, only to slam the door firmly shut with a century break in the final frame.

Johal now takes the lead at the top of the rankings as most of his challengers for the number one spot fell by the wayside early in the tournament.

FEBRUARY COMPETITION ROUNDUP

Richard Binns and Blackpool’s Robert Valiant were the finalists in the February Open, unfortunately having played best of 7’s all day due to a slightly lower entry were forced to share the prize money due to the lateness of the hour. Binns had produced a mammoth recovery from 3-1 down to former pro Steve Meakin in the semis, while Valiant saw off the challenge of Chris Hall in the other semi.

Kuldesh Johal won the February midweek Pro-Am, with a convincing display all day. Johal made 7 breaks above 60 during the day, rounding off with a 3-0 win over regular finalist David Craggs.

The Under 21 Open was affected severely by the decision to hold the Leeds Under 18 Championship on the same day, but still attracted a number of keen youngsters, who were split into two groups to maximise the days play. Emerging from the groups were Gareth Green, Oliver Lines, Daniel Womersley and Ryan Hickman, who scored a notable win over Gene Lam in their group decider. It was Green who beat Lines 3-2 in the final to collect the prize money.

JANUARY MIDWEEK OPEN PRO-AM

David Grace was the winner of the latest midweek Pro-Am at Northern SC, beating David Craggs 3-0 in the final.

Grace was in good scoring form in the semis, compiling breaks of 111, 54 and 51 in beating Joel Walker 3-0, and followed up with 71, 95 and 59 in the final against Craggs. Walker had crushed Richard Binns 3-0 in the quarters with breaks of 63, 68 and 75.

EASB PRO-TICKET EVENT 4 NORTH

Kyren Wilson won the fourth event on the EASB’s new look Pro-Ticket Tour with a 5-3 win over Stephen Craigie in the final.

Wilson, who recently made a 147 maximum break in a junior tour event in London, was relatively untroubled on day one as he made his way into the quarters. He seemed set for another comfortable passage when he led Northern’s David Grace 3-0, but Grace showed great tenacity to battle back to 3-3. However, it was Wilson who had the last laugh edging the decider. In the semis he beat David Craggs, who had produced a recovery of his own in coming back from 3-0 down to beat Leeds’ Jonathan Bagley 4-3 in their quarter.

Craigie, who has dominated on the junior tour this season, winning 5 out of 5 events so far, beat Stuart Carrington in the quarters and Adam Duffy in the semis to reach the final.

Rankings leader Kuldesh Johal survived a scare, going 3-1 down to young prospect Gene Lam before winning 4-3, but the exhersion caused him to lose in the next round 4-2 to Steve Judd. He does however go on to the final three elite events, incorporating the top 16 from the north and south rankings. Grace unfortunately will not be among them, a first round exit from the English Amatuer not helping his cause.

YORKSHIRE JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Oliver Lines added the Yorkshire Under 15 title to his already impressive list of tournament victories which include the English Under 14s and an EASB regional junior tour event.

Meanwhile, Damian Wilks edged Bradford rival Anthony Green 2-1 to win the Yorkshire Under 19 Championship, his first Yorkshire title. Wilks came close to losing in the semi finals, surviving a decider against Daniel Womersley.

EASB PRO-TICKET EVENT 3 NORTH

Kuldesh Johal followed up his final in event two with winning event 3 to soar to the top of the North rankings, beating Jamie O’Neill 5-3 in the final. Johal led Kyren Wilson 3-1 in the semis before being taken to a decider but held firm to win 4-3.

Johal made breaks of 63 and 62 as he brushed aside Stuart Carrington in the quarters, and beat Stephen Craigie 4-0 for the second event in sucession. However, his most important result was a 4-2 win over David Lilley in the second round, a massive win in the context of the rankings as it was Lilley who had been number one.

O’Neill beat Anthony Parsons 4-2 in the semis, Parsons appearing in his third consecutive semi so far this season, and was pushed to 4-3 by both Alan Taylor and Jeff Cundy on the first day of the event.

Our other players failed to make any impact on the event, David Grace losing 4-1 to James McGouran in the first round. Grace’s 125 stood as the highest break of the weekend, but proving scant consolation for desperately needed ranking points.

PRO-AM ROUNDUP

The popular Pro-Ams continue to attract sizeable fields of quality, and provide good match practise for players at all levels during normally quiet spells of the season.

Jamie Barrett defeated Robert Valiant 3-0 in the final of the November Midweek event, while Castleford’s Pete Raby was perhaps a surprise winner of the next Sunday event, beating junior Anthony Green in the final. Raby however was good value for his win, defeating Main Tour professional Craig Steadman in an earlier round.

December 23rd brought almost 32 players in desperate need of some extra Christmas money and it was David Craggs who departed with a little extra festive cheer beating David Grace 3-0 in the final to collect £120, restricting Grace to just two potted reds in the whole match.

Daniel Womersley produced his finest performance to date to win the first event of 2010 with a 3-1 win over Damien Wilks. Both players recorded fine wins earlier in the event, Womersley beating Kuldesh Johal in the semis while Wilks beat Peter Lines 3-1 in the second round.

REGIONAL JUNIOR TOUR EVENT 2

Oliver Lines, last years English Under 14 Champion, produced a quality performance in a much higher age group in winning the second Regional Junior Tour event of the season at Northern SC, Leeds.

The tour includes players up to the age of 20, and Lines’ win means he is in with a good chance of promotion to the Premier Junior Tour for next season. Lines beat Chris Keogan (Doncaster) 2-0 in the final at almost 11pm to complete a long days snooker which began at 10am. He also made the two highest breaks of the day, 75 and 71 to underline his supremecy.

Anthony Green (Bradford) was also in fine form, making five breaks over 40, but was edged 2-1 in the semis by Keogan.

EASB PRO-TICKET EVENT 2 NORTH

David Lilley soared to the top of the fledgling EASB Pro-Ticket North rankings after victory in event two. Lilley, who reached the quarter finals of event one, thrashed a tired Kuldesh Johal 5-0 in the final.

Incredibly, Lilley dropped just three frames all weekend and they all came in his opening round 4-3 win over Lee Shanker. He won his other 5 matches without losing a frame.

Johal struggled on day one edging Scott Raper 4-3 in round one but hit form on the second day, restricting Stephen Craigie to a handful of points in a 4-0 drubbing, then beating Jamie O’Neill 4-1 in the semis.

Craigie was responsible for the exit of David Grace in the highest quality match of the weekend, Grace making breaks of 61, 94 and 60, Craigie compiling runs of 81, 54, 84 and 100. Adam Duffy made the highest break with 128 but was beaten 4-2 by Gareth Green.

Ben Harrison won the Southern Event two, beating Alfie Burden in the final. Burden made a maximum 147 break in an earlier round.

PRO-AM ROUNDUP

The Pro-Am Series at the club is still going strong, regularly attracting 40+ entries. Mitchell Travis edged David Grace 3-1 to win the October event, having earlier beaten Kuldesh Johal 3-0. Grace made a break of 127 in an ealrier round against Gene Lam and made a 61 clearance to edge Kevin Firth in his semi final.

David Craggs was a familiar winner of the midweek October event, but Richard Binns was a surprise finalist. Binns however showed his potential with wins over Main Tour Simon Bedford and Grimsby’s Jamie Barrett in the semis.

David Grace got back to winning ways with a 3-1 defeat of Craig Steadman in the November event. Grace recovered from 2-0 down to edge Jason Stockton in the semis, with Steadman surviving a tough route to the final beating Binns, PIOS player John Whitty, Craig Barber and Gareth Green in the semis, Green having beaten Johal for the 2nd time in recent events in round two.

EASB PRO-TICKET EVENT 1

David Craggs, from the North East but a regular visitor to the club for pro-ams and other events, won the first Pro-Ticket North event of the season with a 5-2 victory over local hope Jonathan Bagley.

Craggs set off with a 4-1 demolition of Pontins Plate winner Jake Nicholson, and was in fine form on the second day, defeating three times English Amateur Champion David Lilley 4-1. He reserved his best performance of the weekend for Robbie Williams in the semis, who sat out a quickfire break of 113 as Craggs romped home 4-0.

Bagley made a break of 121 against Shaun Wilkes on day one, but was pushed all the way for his final place, coming from 2-3 and 1-3 down to beat Ian Burns and Anthony Parsons respectively.

Bagley also led 2-0 in the final, winning a black ball second game with a terrific pot on the final ball, but Craggs turned on the style once again. Breaks of 52, 76 and 52 ensured Bagley did not register again, coasting away to a 5-2 result.

Bagley’s final appearance was the shining light on a weekend when the other local hopes failed to impress. Kuldesh Johal and David Grace, both on the professional tour last season, were beaten on day one. Robbie Williams beat Johal 4-1 while Mitchell Travis beat Grace by the same score.

Richard Binns and Gene Lam both lost to tough opponents, Binns going down 4-1 to vastly experienced Jeff Cundy and Lam whitewashed by Stephen Craigie, another player to fall off the Main Tour last season. Thomas Wealthy made his debut in a Pro-Ticket event but was beaten 4-1 by Joel Walker.

This season sees the Tour initially split North and South, so while Craggs was winning in Leeds, Rob James defeated Adam Wicheard to win the first Southern event. The top 16 after four events in each region will then converge for the final 3 events to decide the pro-ticket and England team selections.


WORLD BILLIARDS CHAMPIONSHIP

Pankaj Advani (above) caused one of the biggest shocks in the history of the modern game in defeating 9 times champion Mike Russell to win his first World Billiards Championship. The 24 year old from India claimed victory by a margin of 2030-1253 to deny Russell his 10th title. Advani had previously won the World Amateur Championships in both billiards and snooker, so his pedigree was well known, but to step up so spectacularly against the undisputed world number one was especially impressive.

A massive undersog at the start of the final, Advani compiled breaks of 132, 170, 226, 101 and 106 in storming away to a first session lead of 1070-418, and although Russell countered with runs of 100, 219 and 129 in the evening, he could never make any serious inrodes into his deficit. Advani maintained his supremecy with breaks of 136, 147 and 106 in averaging 44.1 for the match.

Advani qualified from his round robin group 2nd after defeat to fellow Indian Dhruv Sitwala, although he defeated last year’s runner-up Geet Sethi which meant that Sethi failed to qualify, the only major shock of the group stages.

He then progessed through the quarters with a narrow 896-782 win over David Causier, and was again pushed all the way, recording an even closer 1037-972 win in his rematch with Sitwala to make his first World Professional final.

Russell had started the event in ominously good form, making the tournament high break of 545 against Ian Williamson, and 528 against B Bhaskar in the quarters. However, he struggled in the first session of his semi against another young Indian, Rupesh Shah, trailing by 410-608 at the half way stage. Shah, however could average only 11.8 in the second session as Russell eventually ran out a comfortable winner.

Home club’s Ian Williamson could not emerge from a very strong group, including Russell, Shah and Devendra Joshi, but did reach the semis of the Open event, losing narrowly to Joshi who played out time with a break of 90. Sethi went on to win the Open, defeating Joshi in the final.

Present at the final was Jim Williamson, who opened the Northern Snooker Centre 35 years ago. Jim has not been in the best of health but received a rapturous round of applause and heart felt praise from beaten finalist Russell, who paid tribute to the contribution Jim has made to the game of billiards over the years. Jim is pictured below congratulating the 2009 World Porfessional Billiard Champion, Pankaj Advani.

TOURNAMENT ROUND-UP: CRAIGIES TAKE OVER!

Geordie brothers Stephen and Sam Craigie have been dominating the recent events at Northern SC, with 5 final appearances between them. Younger brother Sam was first to taste success, winning a Pro-Am and beating his older brother in the final, after coming from 2-0 down to beat Scott Raper in the quarters. Craigie junior was also involved in the final of the inaugural U18 Open, although this time he had to settle for 2nd prize as the consistent Mitchell Travis beat him 3-1.

Stephen, who enjoyed some fine wins in his debut on the professional tour last season whilst just failing to retain his place, was next to step into a final in a Pro-Am event. However, he too was edged 3-2 by serial Pro-Am specialist Craig Steadman. This event saw some superb snooker, Steadman blasting in breaks of 57, 78 and a magnificent 141 against Gene Lam in round 1, and 64 and 126 against Ashley Hugill in the quarters. Craigie also registered a century, 111, against travelling partner Steven Gregson. Pete Fisher also weighed in with 109.

The last midweek Pro-Am of the summer was an all Grimsby affair, with Jamie Barrett beating his travelling partner Craig Waddingham 3-1 in the final. Main Tour player Lee Spick mdae the journey up from Mansfield and only just edge young Oliver Lines 3-2 before being ousted in the quarter finals by Barrett.

A superb entry of 44 lined up for the end of August Pro-am, and included Main Tour Matt Couch, PIOS number 1 Liam Highfield as well as Scottish International Anthony McGill. Barrett was quick out of the blocks in his first round clash with Alan Trigg making 125 in the first frame of the day, but Trigg’s experience saw him recover to win 3-1. Kuldesh Johal also posted a ton, 117 in his opening win over Daniel Womersley. Highfield was upset 3-1 by Paul Deane but recovered to win the plate competition.

Into the quarters, McGill edged David Grace 3-1 although he needed a snooker at 2-1 before Grace managed to angle himself in trying to free the blue and McGill gratefully potted blue pink and black to advance. Stephen Craigie beat Damian Wilks 3-1, the same scoreline by which David Craggs beat Paul Metcalf. Mitchell Travis edged Johal 3-2, after Johal had ended Couch’s dream in the previous round.

The semis saw the North East pair Craigie and Craggs progress to the final and it was Craigie who ensured more success for the household with a 3-1 victory.

WORLD SNOOKER PRO CHALLENGE

World number 2 Stephen Maguire (right) beat his fellow Glaswegian Alan McManus 5-2 to win the first World Snooker Pro Challenge Event at Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds.

World Snooker announced the series to supplement the ranking events, and the event was welcomed by 40 players from Main Tour, who relished the chance for some match practise the week before the ranking season started.

Maguire beat Ben Woollaston 5-2 in the semis while McManus beat Ken Doherty 5-1. Home club professional Peter Lines beat Tom Ford 4-3 but lost 4-1 to Dave Harold next time out.

Maguire was the only top 16 player to enter, but former World Champions Doherty and Graeme Dott embraced the event although Dott was using a new cue after his old one was broken by baggage handlers and was beaten in the first round. Jimmy White was also due to appear but unfortunately had to withdraw due to another commitment.

A full photo gallery is available to view on the Photo Gallery page.

SILVER FOR GRACE IN TAIWAN

David Grace made his long trip to Taiwan worthwhile by picking up a silver medal at the 2009 World Games. Although beaten 3-0 by former World Finalist Nigel Bond in the gold medal match, he was quite content with silver after being a ball from defeat in his first match.

Grace cleared the colours to edge Main Tour professional Atthasit Mahitthi 3-2 on the final black in the last 16, before beating local favourite Shu Hung Lin 3-1 to reach the semi finals. There, he made a break of 103 in beating Iran’s Soheil Vahedi 3-1 to secure a medal.

However, he was frozen out in the showpiece final by Bond, who gained revenge for Grace’s win in the final of last years Pontins Open. The Cue Sports events included men’s and women’s 9 Ball Pool, and Carom, which is similar to Billiards but is played on an 8 foot table with no pockets. The women’s Pool was won by former ladies World Champion Allison Fisher, who is now based in America on the lucrative 9-Ball circuit.

The World Games are a prestigious multi sports event, held every 4 years, and includes sports which are seeking Olympic status. Snooker was one of the more high profile sports taking place, among such other events as sumo wrestling, water skiing and extreme frisbee.

PAUL HUNTER ENGLISH OPEN

Stuart Bingham, pictured above with EASB Director John Hartley, collected the prestigious English Open trophy after a 6-0 victory over Simon Bedford in the final.

Bingham was in imperious form throughout the event, and stamped his mark on the final immediately with a break of 124 in the first frame. Further breaks of 55, 62 and 95 carried him into a 4-0 lead and he wasted no time completing victory winning the final two frames.

Bingham ended the group stage with one of the best four records, earning him a bye into the last 32, where he beat Pete Fisher 5-0 with breaks of 54, 68, 71, 106 and 116. Bingham did not hit those heights in the last 16 but still disposed of home favourite Peter Lines 5-1. Into the quarters, Bingham added a break of 101 as he beat Michael Holt 5-2. His semi final was a much closer affair, edging Gary Wilson 5-3 despite Wilson’s first frame 91.

Bedford began the knockout rounds with a 4-2 win over fellow Bradford cueman Gareth Green, before beating local hope Richard Binns 5-2, Binns making 63 and 51 in the frames he won. He then edged the popular Tony Drago 5-4 in a thrilling last 16 clash before fighting back from 3-1 down to beat Chris Norbury 5-3, making breaks of 97 and 77 in the last two frames. Breaks of 62, 65, 80 and 126 were forthcoming in the semi finals, but he still only edged Robbie Williams 5-3. Williams showed great form beating three Main Tour players to reach that stage, Ben Woollaston, Rod Lawler and Mark Joyce.

With the strongest field yet since the event was revived in memory of the late Leeds cueman Paul Hunter, there were numerous centuries, with home club coach Kuldesh Johal making a personal best 145 in the group stage. Despite this he failed to qualify after losing to Drago.

OPEN PRO-AM

David Grace emerged victorious for the first time in this series of pro-ams with a 4-0 win over Jamie Barrett in the final. Grace was first to admit that he rode his luck in the final, but was delighted to be back in the winners enclosure and £100 better off.

Grace opened with a 4-2 win over world number 68 Simon Bedford, before a comfortable 4-1 win over Callum Waite. He then beat Ian Burns by the same score to reach the final.

Barratt beat Luke Gilboy 4-0 before his closest match, 4-3 over the previous event winner Kuldesh Johal. He then progressed past Gene Lam and Kevin Firth with relative ease to reach the final.

Lam had provided the shock of the day with a 4-2 win over regular pro-am winner and new professional Craig Steadman in the first round, despite Steadman’s breaks of 50, 60 and 113.

Lee Shanker beat Richard Binns to win the plate consolation prize.

UNDER 21 OPEN

Mitchell Travis won the second Under 21 event to be held at the club defeating home favourite Gene Lam 3-1.

Travis reached the final in comfortable fashion, beating brothers Anthony and Gareth Green in the quarters and semis respectively.

Lam, who works at the club part time to earn free practise, beat Joe Roberts and recovered from 2-0 down to beat Oliver Calland 3-2 to edge into the final.

Previous event winner Damian Wilks was beaten in the quarter finals by Gareth Green, the player he had beaten to win the first event.

OPEN PRO-AM

Kuldesh Johal won the latest pro-am event to be held at the club, defeating Sheffield’s Mitchell Travis 3-1 in the final to collect the £90 first prize.

Johal had earlier beaten Lee Shanker 3-1 before ending Peter Lines’ monopoly on the series with a 3-2 win in the quarters, before beating Daniel Womersley to reach the final.

Travis reached the final through beating Gene Lam, Jason Stockton, Tony Massey and Michael Gaughan in the semis, Gaughan having put out three of Bradford’s finest to reach that stage. Oliver Lines, the reigning English U14 Champion, made his second competitive century, 101, but was edged 3-2 by Massey.

Shanker recovered from his first round loss to win the plate competition, beating young Dylan Mitchell in the final.

OPEN PRO-AM

Peter Lines returned to winning ways in the most recent Pro-am to be held at Northern SC. Lines emerged unscathed from a field of 36 runners to collect the £150 first prize with a 3-0 defeat of Simon Bedford.

Lines began with a 3-0 win over Callum Waite, before his biggest test, coming from 2-0 down to beat non other than his son, Oliver Lines, 3-2. He was then untroubled in reaching the final with 3-0 wins over Chris Hall and Tommy Doherty.

Bedford survived a test from the events in form player, Kuldesh Johal to win 3-1 in the semis. Johal had preoduced breaks of 114, 110, 115 and the events highest break, 140 in reaching the semis before running out of steam.

Shock of the day must go down as Anthony Green’s 3-0 win over David Grace in the preliminary round, and Grace was also defeated in the plate semis by Gene Lam who went on to collect the £40 consolation prize.

UNDER 21 OPEN

A pleasing entry of 22 entered the first Junior Open event at Northern SC, with some of Yorkshire’s most promising youngsters battling it out. Despite half the field being club regulars, it was Damian Wilks who emerged the 3-1 winner in an all-Bradford final with Gareth Green.

The first round saw Luke McEvoy recover from 2-0 down to edge Sanderson Lam 3-2, while newly crowned English U14 Champion Oliver Lines beat Gene Lam 3-1. Into the second round, the only real shock saw young Dillon Mitchell upstage Jake Nicholson, who competes on the PIOS tour 3-2. Wilks was then too experienced for Mitchell winning 3-0 in the quarters. Anthony Green, younger brother of Gareth, ensured 3 out of the 4 semi finalists would hail from Bradford beating Carl Mottershaw 3-1.

Daniel Womersley flew the flag for Leeds in the penultimate round but lost out to Gareth Green, with Wilks edging Anthony Green 3-2 to make the final. Wilks then forced Green snr to settle for the £50 runners up prize while he collected £90. Tommy Doherty beat Sanderson Lam to win the plate competition. Entries are expected to rise and more Junior Open dates have been added to the calendar, see above.

PRO-AM ROUNDUP

David Craggs won the latest midweek pro-am to be held at Northern Snooker Centre beating Tom Kerslake in the final. Craggs, who reached the final of the English Amateur Championship and came within a ball of the Main Tour in the EASB Play-offs, came through a field of 22 to claim the prize money.

Craig Steadman, a regular winner on the pro-am circuit, was again in the money in the previous event, sharing the prize money with Scott Raper in the final. Raper edged favourite Peter Lines 3-2 in the semis.

ENGLISH FINALS WEEKEND



Oliver Lines (left) emerged victorious in the final of the English Under 14 Championship with a 5-2 victory over Darryl Hill (right) during the EASB finals weekend at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield.

Lines and Hill had already reached the final (see below) and it was Lines, son of professional Peter Lines, who made the better start, winning three of the first four frames to surge into a 3-1 lead, impressively winning the second frame 81-0 including a break of 31. Hill reduced his arrears after the interval but Lines stole the next despite a break of 35 from Hill, the highest of the final.

Lines then completed his 5-2 victory in the next frame to clinch his first national title. Lines follows in the footsteps of such players as Judd Trump, who won the title as a junior and is now ranked in the top 32 in the world.

Lines’ success was the first match of a weekend of finals which brings the main EASB season to a close. Sam Craigie beat Tom Maxfield 6-3 to win the Under 16’s event, while Liam Highfield defeated Stuart Carrington 8-3 to win the Under 19s.

At the other end of the age scale, Mark Rowing, a former English Amateur Champion and professional, edged Colin Norton 6-4 to win the English Seniors (40+) title. Another experienced campaigner, Mike Faulkner, was beaten 5-0 by Alex Dunkley in the final of the Club Players Championship. Manchester (Craig Steadman, Michael Wild, Chris Norbury) were 5-3 winners over West Midlands (Daniel Ward, Rob James, Lee Payne) in the English Team Championship.

The English Amateur Championship is the oldest competition in the history of the game, having been staged first in 1916 and been won by many of the greats of the game, including Ray Reardon, John Spencer, Terry Griffiths and Jimmy White to name but a few.

David Craggs and Jimmy Robertson, having come through the North and South finals, were left to contest the title and it was Robertson who emerged 9-8 in a tense finale on the pink.

Club Coach Ian Williamson presented the trophies to the various winners, representing Northern Snooker Centre, the EASB events main sponsor.

ENGLISH UNDER 14 & UNDER 16: LAST 16

Oliver Lines (above) will play Darryl Hill in the final of the English Under 14 Championship after progressing through the Last 16 stage at the Northern Snooker Centre.

Lines made a break of 50 in a 4-0 win over Haydon Pinhey before beating Liam Clark 4-2, despite a break of 40 from the loser. He then defeated the favourite, Shane Castle 4-2 to reach the final. Castle became one of the youngest players ever to produce a match century break at the tender age of 11 two years ago.

Hill’s run to the final included comfortable 4-1 victories over Jordan Winbourne and Joseph O’Connor, making a break of 51 in the latter match. He then progressed to the final with a 4-2 win over Adam Bobat, making the highest break of the finals, 64.

Lines was also in action the following day in the finals of the English Under 16 Championship as he attempted to conquer a much higher age group.

He made breaks of 41 and 48 in an opening 4-2 win over Andrew Smith before seeing off Martin Ball by the same scoreline. However his great run was ended by Tom Maxfield 4-1, although the match was much closer than the scoreline suggests, with Lines potting the blue and going in-off to level at 2-2.

Maxfield will play Sam Craigie, younger brother of Main Tour Professional Stephen Craigie, in the final after he beat Sam Harvey 4-1.

The finals will be played during the EASB finals weekend on 23rd/24th May at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield.

OPEN PRO-AM SUNDAY 12TH APRIL

Peter Lines made a triumphant return to the Pro-Am series beating Scott Raper 3-2 in the final. It was a closely fought affair, Lines securing victory on the colours in the last frame.

Lines opened with a pre-lim win over Mick Savery, followed by wins over Brian Pritchard and Craig Steadman. He then beat Steve Donner 3-1 to reach the semis where he faced James McGouran, who he beat in the previous final. However a century break helped Lines to a 3-0 win.

Raper was taken the distance three times on his way to the final, opening with a 3-0 win over Chris Hart, but then extended to 3-2 in his other three matches. Firstly against Jamie Barratt, then Sadj, and finally against Mark Livingstone in the semis.

Barry Frankland and Farakh Ajaib shared the money in the final of the plate.

OPEN PRO-AM WEDNESDAY 8th APRIL

With the Easter holidays in full swing, a strong field of 35 was attracted to the Northern SC although previous event winner Peter Lines was not among them due to work commitments.

The remaining pros in the field were given a rough time, David Grace just edging Mark Livingstone 3-2 after both players made breaks in excess of 80, but shock of the round was Callum Waite’s 3-1 win over Kuldesh Johal.

Simon Bedford did survive the opening round but was then edged 3-2 by James McGouran. Grace was also put to the sword 3-0 by Craig Steadman. Richard Binns posted a break of 105 but was beaten 3-1 by Liam Thewlis, who had also beaten him in the quarters of the Leeds City Championship. Waite could not match his first round form and lost 3-0 to Mitchell Mann.

Into the quarters, Gene Lam opened with a break of 68 and pushed Steadman all the way before succumbing 3-2. In the first round Lam had beaten his younger brother Sanderson 3-2, ironically the siblings have been paired together in the first round 3 times since the pro-ams were re-initiated.

Scott Raper edged Mann 3-2 despite Mann’s breaks of 50 and 58, and McGouran beat Ian Burns 3-0. Gyles Behbood was also a winner, 3-0 over Thewlis. Behbood had taken a couple of years out of the game but now appears to be returning to the form with earned him England junior caps.

The semi finals saw Steadman edge Raper 3-2 and McGouran beat Behbood 3-1, and the finalists opted to share the prize money. Shaun Wilkes beat Daniel Womersley to win the plate competition.

ENGLISH U19 LAST 16

Stuart Carrington will meet Liam Highfield in the final of the English U19 Championship after both players came through the final stages.

Carrington was pushed hardest by PIOS finalist Jack Lisowski, who he beat 5-4 on the final black in the semis, while Highfield eased to a win over Shahrukh Nasir.

Of the local hopes, Sanderson Lam was beaten by John Roberts while Daniel Womersley beat Damian Wilks to reach the quarters, before being edged 4-2 by Nasir.

OPEN PRO-AM

Peter Lines won his second Pro-am in a row, beating James McGouran in the final. However, after losing only one frame in the Midweek Open (see below), he had a much tougher ride this time.

In fact, four of his five matches went to deciding frames, beating Richard Binns, Sanderson Lam, Gareth Green and McGouran all 3-2. There were notable runs from senior Brian Pritchard, who reached the quarter finals, and Tony Massey, who beat David Grace on his way to the semis, losing 3-0 to Lines.

McGouran had recoverd from 2-0 down to Scott Raper to win 3-2 in the semis and reach his second final at the club in recent weeks following his capture of the EASB Pro-Ticket event (see below).

Quarters (£10):
Tony Massey 3-1 David Grace (-18)
Peter Lines (-18) 3-2 Gareth Green (-10)
James McGouran 3-0 Brian Pritchard
Scott Raper 3-1 Gene Lam
 
Semis (£35):
Lines 3-0 Massey
McGouran 3-2 Raper
 
Final (£150/£75):
Lines 3-2 McGouran
 
Plate Final (£30):
J.Barratt 2-1 G.Spalling

MIDWEEK OPEN

Peter Lines was the winner of the second Midweek Open event for a high quality field of 17 players. After not losing a frame in reaching the final, Lines defeated Kuldesh Johal 4-1 for the title.

Nigel Bond was the highest ranked player to enter but after edging David Grace 4-3 he was on the wrong end of a decider as Johal beat him 4-3. Johal certainly had value for money winning 4-2, 4-3, 4-3, 4-3! Gene Lam was the most unfamiliar of the quarter finalists, losing 4-0 to Lines.

Quarters:
Nigel Bond 4-3 David Grace
Kuldesh Johal 4-3 Lee Spick
Peter Lines 4-0 Gene Lam
Chris Norbury 4-2 Simon Bedford
 
Semis (£40):
Johal 4-3 Bond
Lines 4-0 Norbury
 
Final (£150/£80):
Johal bt Lines
 
Plate final (£30):
Mitchell Travis 2-0 Richard Binns

ENGLISH AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP REGIONAL QUALIFIERS

The premier event in the English Amateur calendar got underway recently with the regional qualifiers for the prestigious English Amateur Championship. A total of 7 players made it through to the next stage which will see 16 players in the North and 16 in the South battle to gain a place in the final.

The pre-lim rounds saw Chris Melling record a 4-1 win over his Bradford team mate Sajid Khan, while the closest finish saw Damien Wilks edge Richard Binns 4-3 on the pink in a titanic tussle.

Wilks however lost next time out 4-1 to Lee Postil, while his namesake Shaun Wilkes (no relation), was ousted by James McGouran by the same scoreline. Shaun Parkes scored heavily, breaks of 87, 75 and 62 to beat Anthony Kerr 4-0, while Stuart Carrington posted three breaks over 80 in beating Gyles Behbood 4-2. Jake Nicholson was a 4-3 winner over Sam Thistlewhite on the final blue, while Gene Lam scored a notable scalp beating Sheffield’s Dave Portman 4-2.

The third and final round saw Scott Raper surge into a 3-1 lead over Paul Hunter Scholar Adam Duffy, but Duffy produced breaks of 91, 78 and 58 to recover to win 4-3. Lam lost 4-1 to Carrington while Melling’s run was ended by Jonathan Bagley 4-2. The other qualifiers were, Ian Glover, James McGouran, David Birley and Jamie Barratt.

EASB PRO-TICKET EVENT 5

James McGouran won the 5th event in the EASB Pro-Ticket series with a nailbiting 5-4 win on the final black over Sean Bullock in the final. McGouran is a former professional who completed the notable double of the Pontins Spring and Autumn Opens a few years ago. Bullock had led 4-1 in the final before McGouran’s come back.

In the quarter finals he edged Rob James 4-3 and followed up with a 4-2 win over Sam Baird in the semis. Bullock enjoyed a 4-0 win over Callum Downing in the quarters followed by a 4-2 win over Stuart Carrington, who had the opportunity to take the lead in the rankings had he won the event.

Scott Raper fared best of the local hopes, reaching the quarter finals but was beaten 4-0 by Carrington. The event was depleted however by an unfortunate clash of dates with the PIOS tour at Pontins, which started the same day. This left many of the top players with a dilemma, particularly those who ranked highly on both tours, and many were forced to choose the PIOS and scratch from this event.

Jimmy Robertson still tops the rankings despite a quarter final exit to Baird. However, with the English Amateur Championship counting as double points, the top spot and the Main Tour place that goes with it is still up for grabs. The next 32 players will compete in the play-offs for a second place on the professional tour.

ON THE RIGHT LINES



Peter Lines (above) came through a strong field to win the Open Pro-am on Wednesday of the half term school holidays, with a 3-0 win over surprise package Joel Walker.

42 entries were recorded, including no less than 6 Main Tour Professionals topped by Nigel Bond and Jimmy Michie. Bond however was eliminated at the first round stage with a 3-1 reversal to Craig Steadman while Michie was edged 3-2 by Callum Waite after disposing of another pro, Kuldesh Johal.

In a cruel twist of fate, the first round draw saw Lines v Lines as Peter played son Oliver, although Lines snr showed no mercy winning 3-0 with a 104 along the way. Early rounds also saw David Grace scrape past Richard Binns and Wayne Cooper both 3-2 before being blown away by Steadman in the last 16.

After Callum Waite’s great win over Michie, he then fell 3-2 to Mitchell Travis in the quarters while Joel Walker overcame Gene Lam by the same scoreline. Walker had earlier beaten former Leeds and Yorkshire Champion Scott Raper 3-1. Steadman fell 3-1 to Ian Burns while Lines beat Anthony Green 3-0.

Into the semis, Lines beat Burns 3-1 while Walker was again taken the distance but prevailed 3-2 over Travis. The plate event was won by Johal, who beat Bond on his way to collecting a £40 consolation.

Please note the next event in the £10 series has changed, due to a clash with the University Championships. It will now be a week later on Sunday 22nd March. The next event is the preceding Wednesday, 18th March, £20 entry and handicaps for professionals and PIOS players removed.

SLAM-DUNK!



Sanderson Lam (above) won the 4th event on the EASB Regional Junior Tour on home turf at Northern SC, Leeds. Lam, who made his debut for the England Junior team in last years friendly with Scotland, came through a large field to prevail at gone midnight after a long days play.

Lam finished second in his qualification group after winning 4 of his 5 matches, losing only to Ashley Hugill 3-0. The group was topped by another Northern SC prospect, Daniel Womersley ahead of Lam and Elliot Slessor, a young potter from the North East.

Into the knockout rounds, Lam then made short work of Oliver Lines and Zac Barton before a narrow 2-1 win over John Roberts put him through to the final. He faced Sean Pritchard, who had beaten Jack Orrell and Womersley 2-1 before a 2-0 win over Slessor in the semi finals.

But despite the late hour and the hard days play Lam was not to be denied and triumphed 2-0 to collect his first Regional title. He follows fellow NSC player Thomas Wealthy who won back to back events last season. Although the cream of English Junior snooker compete on the Premier Junior Tour, Lam’s achievement is still remarkable considering his tender age of 15 in a field open to anyone under the age of 21.

Of the other local hopefuls, Mark Lunn finished 4th in Group C while Will Byrne was 5th in Group D. Wealthy was disappointed to finish 3rd in Group E and Sanderson’s brother Gordon finished 5th in the same group. Daniel Womersley scored the highest break with 76 while Chris Keogan made 74.

EASB PRO-TICKET EVENT 4

Adam Wicheard was the winner of the 4th event in the English ranking series after a 4-2 win over Jimmy Robertson in the final. That Wicheard is even playing at all is a real inspiration after undergoing a major operation to remove a tumor on his spine 2 years ago. At the time doctors feared he may never even walk again yet this victory proves he is back to full strength.

Wicheard was relatively untroubled in reaching the last 16, making breaks of 112 and 113 in a 4-1 win over Alan Taylor to qualify. Returning on the Sunday, he beat Northern SC ‘A’ team member Scott Raper 4-1, making a break of 96 along the way. Raper made a break of 104 in the only frame he won. He then beat Sam Thistlewhite 4-2 and came from 2-0 down to beat Stuart Carrington 4-3 to reach the final.

Robertson, who finished top of the Pro-Ticket rankings two seasons ago but did not keep his place on the Main Tour, came into the event in 1st position after winning the second event and reaching the semis of the third. He survived a titanic struggle against England International Matt Wilson in his opening match, making breaks of 98 and 84, Wilson replying with 86 and 81 until 3-3. In the decider, Wilson made a break of 64 but Robertson cleared in two visits to win in the black.

Reprieved, Robertson comfortably reached the quarter finals where he beat Jeff Cundy 4-1 with a 113 break, and beat Sean Bullock 4-1 in the semi finals. He retains the lead in the rankings by 130 points from Stuart Carrington, with Alfie Burden 3rd another 100 points adrift. Wicheard moves up to 8th after his win.

Of the local players involved, Raper and Jonathan Bagley reached the last 16, while Callum Waite lost 4-2 to Bullock in the last 64 and Richard Binns lost 4-3 to Greg Batten in the first round.

OPEN PRO-AM EVENT 1

Craig Steadman and Paul Metcalf shared the prize money at the end of another successful £10 Pro-am event at the Northern SC.

With Alex Crum celebrating his 75th Birthday, congratulations Alex, the Tournament Director role was filled by Peter Jackson, and he was on his toes from the off with 48 runners in the field.

Early rounds saw James McGouran post the highest break of the day with 114 in a 3-0 demolition of Barry Frankland, and shock of the day Bradford’s Gareth Green ousting Main Tour Kuldesh Johal 3-1 receiving just 8 start. Wayne Cooper, another entrant from the professional circuit, was knocked out by Paul Metcalf from Grimsby.

Into the quarters, David Grace was pushed all the way by a determined Richard Nelson before winning 3-2, while Steadman beat Mike Walsh 3-1. Metcalf overcame Scott Raper 3-0 and Halifax’s Luke McEvoy scored an impressive 3-1 win over McGouran.

McEvoy’s run came to an end in the semi finals losing out 3-0 to Metcalf, although his run to the last 4 will be a huge boost in confidence after making the decision to leave education and pursue a professional career in snooker. Steadman beat Grace 3-1 although Grace missed a pink on a break of 54 in the 3rd frame and eventually lost it on the black to put Steadman 2-1 up.

With Steadman already in the final and the second semi not even under way, the players opted to share the prize money again. The plate event saw Malcolm Bilclough triumph over Barry Frankland in the final, after Frankland had ensured Kuldesh Johal’s miserable day continued with a 2-1 semi final win.

Quarters (£20):
David Grace (-18) 3-2 Richard Nelson
Craig Steadman (-10) 3-1 Mike Walsh
Paul Metcalf 3-0 Scott Raper
Luke McEvoy 3-1 James McGouran

Semis (£50):
Steadman 3-1 Grace
Metcalf 3-0 McEvoy

Final (£160/£80):
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