2010 ANNUAL BLACKBALL POOL TOURNAMENT
MON 12TH APRIL 2010 TO WED 9TH JUNE 2010
TO BE HELD AT THE WHEATSHEAF AND FRAMES CLUB, LEAMINGTON
SPONSORED BY WARWICKSHIREPOOL.COM AND LEAMPOOL.CO.UK
GRAND FINAL - MAIN EVENT REPORT - DHESI LANDS MASTERS 2010
A match up between two of the best pool talents in the area was certainly a match to savour, Rob Butterworth started the better as a super finish in the first frame gave him an early lead, a soft break from Harj Dhesi in the second frame was a foul break, Rob re-racked the balls and preceded to break dish to grab a 2-0 lead.
Harj then pulled off a masterstroke in slow playing the match from the third frame, no doubt to slow down Rob and put him off his stride, this worked the oracle as three tactical frames went the way of Harj to hand him a 3-2 lead, a close sixth just went the way of Rob to level at 3-3.
The seventh frame proved to be the turning point in the match as Rob pulled off a superb clearance only to see the white go in off after a great pot on the black, Harj then sensed an opportunity and a break dish handed him a 5-3 lead.
Rob then made a couple of critical errors in running out of position in two of the next three frames but to his credit nearly resurrected the clearances only to see two fantastic attempts jaw in the bag to hand Harj the advantage at 7-4, the twelth frame saw Harj reel off probably his best clearance of the night bearing in mind the pressure as he won frame and match and the 2010 Masters by an 8-4 scoreline.
GRAND FINAL - PLATE EVENT REPORT - HOOD CLAIMS 2010 PLATE TITLE
A quite unbelievable final between Alex Hood and Adam Ellis, Alex making numerous errors in the first three frames to hand Adam an easy 3-0 lead, Adam then reciprocated the favour back to Alex as some costly misses from Adam saw Alex claim the next five frames to lead 5-3.
Adam recovered to pull off two of the best clearances of the final to level at 5-5, in the eleventh Alex accidentally potted the black whilst on a finish to hand Adam a 6-5 lead, Adam then broke off for the match, potted a ball of the break but leaving the black precariously over the middle bag, Adam then preceding to pot a ball and unbelievably cannon the black in to level at 6-6.
The decider was a comedy of errors as Alex had a guilt edge chance to finish but completely fluffed it to hand Adam an even easier chance with two remaining reds over the bag and the black on the spot, he potted the reds but left the white in the middle of the side cushion to leave a difficult black, the black jawed and the white went in off leaving Alex a simple yellow and black to claim the Plate title 7-6.
SEMI FINALS - MAIN EVENT REPORT
Harj Dhesi lined up against Nigel Whittaker in the first semi at the Wheatsheaf, Harj took a 1-0 lead and then two bad errors in the next two frames from Nigel with frames at his mercy giftwrapped a 3-0 lead to Harj, a couple of tactical frames then went the way of Harj to put him firmly in command at 5-0 up, Nigel to his credit pulled off a massive clearance in the next and then break dished to reduce the deficit to 2-5, Harj put Nigel through the grinder in the next two frames to claim the match cosily 7-2.
Former Masters winners Dave Lane and Rob Butterworth matched up in the other semi, Dave winning the lag but going in off on the break in the first frame and Rob clearing up to lead 1-0, Dave then levelled 1-1 after a miss on a long black from Rob, this didn't phase Rob as he took the next two frames to lead 3-1, Dave pulled off a couple of great finishes to level the match up at 3-3, Rob then strung together four faultless frames as he put Dave to the sword and grabbed a place in the final against Harj Dhesi with a 7-3 victory.
SEMI FINALS - PLATE EVENT REPORT
Former plate winner Paul Riches lined up against Alex Hood at the Railway but Paul struggled to get a foothold in the match and soon gifted Alex a 5-2 lead, Paul started the comeback trail to reduce the lead to 4-5, a pivotal frame then just went the way of Alex and he was on the hill at 6-4, Alex held his nerve to win the eleventh frame and the match 7-4.
Chris Poole faced Adam Ellis in the other semi and both players are renowned for their attacking play, this match was never going to be a tactical encounter and Adam pulled off some massive clearances albeit with a few lucky shots here and there to see him through to the final with a 7-3 victory in less than an hour.
QUARTER FINALS - MAIN EVENT REPORT
Dan Buckingham met Nigel Whittaker in the first of the money stage quarter finals at the Wheatsheaf, Dan took the opening cagey frame but Nigel took full control in the match as he assembled around five break/dish and dishes off Dan's break to keep Dan in his chair as he steamrollered through the next seven frames with consumate ease to cement a breathtaking 7-1 victory.
Harj Dhesi took on Matty Smith at Frames Club and took the first three tactical frames to open up a 3-0 lead, the tight pocketed table has claimed the scalps of many a good player recently and Matty struggled to get a foothold in the match against Harj who is probably the most tactically astute player in the area, Matty eventually succumbing to a heavy 7-2 defeat.
Masters holder Rob Butterworth looked to have a battle on his hands against Pash Jugpal after the opening exchanges at the Sheaf, Pash taking out some great finishes to open up a 2-1 and 3-2 lead, a great chance to go 4-2 up was missed by Pash and Rob levelled 3-3, again Pash should have took the seventh frame but again let it slip to give Rob the lead at 4-3, Pash never really recovered and Rob took full advantage and clinical finishes in the next two frames put him 6-3 up, an outrageous full length double on the black was the icing on the cake for Rob in the tenth as he completed a 7-3 win.
A mouthwatering clash between former Masters winner Dave Lane and last years Masters runner up Adam Prewitt was drawn on the tightest table in the area at Frames Club, both players struggling to take out early chances but Dave held the upper hand with his accurate potting to take a 4-1 lead, a fantastic clearance from Dave in the sixth frame scuppered Adam's chance of a comeback, balls on the cushions were Adam's undoing on the night and he was denied a clear seventh frame as the black failed to drop despite hugging the cushion on it's way to the pocket, this was the last straw as Adam conceded the eighth frame and so the match 7-1 to Dave.
QUARTER FINALS - PLATE EVENT REPORT
Paul Riches was up first against Ted Sohal at the Wheatsheaf and Paul had the better of the opening battle as he led 1-0, 2-1 and 4-3 going into the last few frames, a resurgence from Ted gave him the next two frames as he led for the first time in the match at 5-4, a great finish under pressure from Paul forced the decider, a dry break from Ted proved to be his last shot as Paul took out the dish to gain a 6-5 victory.
Alex Hood met Stu Higgins at Frames Club and both players showed their nerves as dozens of opportunities were wasted in the early frames, Alex stepped up a gear to gain the momentum as he qualified through to the money stages with a 6-2 win.
Paul Crossley seemed to have the beating of Adam Ellis at the Sheaf as he opened up a deserved 4-2 lead, a mistake from Paul not realising he had two shots whilst on an easy finish let Adam back in to trail 3-4, Paul found his composure to take a 5-3 lead going into the last three frames, Adam battled back 4-5, a dish from Adam on Paul's dry break forced the decider and Adam completed the comeback with another fantastic clearance to gain an unlikely 6-5 victory.
Plate hot favourite Damo Dowds met Holly Bush team mate Chris Poole in the last quarter final at Frames Club, Chris sticking with Damo as they levelled at 2-2, the difficult table surprisingly unsettled Damo and this enabled Chris to take half of the next six frames to force yet another decider, Chris then pulled off the upset of the tournament so far as he took the decider to gain a superb 6-5 win and a place in the Semi's.
LAST 16 - MAIN EVENT REPORT
Dan Buckingham looked to have a tight match on paper against Paul Price and so it seemed as it went 1-1 but Dan found another gear as he opened up a 4-1 lead, Paul pulled back a frame at 2-4 but a couple of cool finishes under pressure gave Dan a well deserved 6-2 victory, meanwhile Matty Allan started poorly against Nigel Whittaker losing the first four frames, a mini comeback from Matty taking the next two frames was to no avail as Nigel took frames seven and eight to wrap up a comfortable 6-2 win, Jon Garnett took on Harj Dhesi and four break dishes from Harj put him firmly in control as he cruised through 6-2 on the night, Dave Nash started brightly as he went 4-2 up against Matty Smith but Matty has proved his comeback qualities in previous tournaments and so it proved again as he took the next four frames to cement a 6-4 victory.
Sparky Smith and Pash Jugpal both opened up with break dishes each to level at 1-1, then the match swung either way as Pash led 2-1 but Sparky replied to lead 4-3 and 5-4, Pash levelled the match at 5-5 to force a decider, a missed black in the middle bag from Sparky which seemed to roll off slightly proved costly as Pash cleared up to go through 6-5, Brian Higgins went in off on the opening break and Rob Butterworth cleared to take an early lead, a 40 minute frame then went the way of Brian to level at 1-1, Brian then had two chances in the next two to go ahead but couldn't finish as Rob led 3-1, Brian then pulled back to 2-3 but Rob took command as he sailed into a 5-2 lead, a clinical finish and a break dish brought Brian back to 4-5 but Rob left the best till last as he pulled off a monster break dish to seal victory 6-4.
Adam Prewitt has not showed great form so far in the knockout stages as he started badly yet again as he trailed Loz Plant 3-1, he soon recovered to level the match at 4-4, two sublime finishes in the next two frames saw Adam edge through 6-4, Dave Lane met youngster Luke Barnes and Dave made his tournament experience tell as he completely overwhelmed Luke as he strolled through 6-2 into the quarter finals.
LAST 16 - PLATE EVENT REPORT
Adam Ellis met Neil Dickens and the opening frames were fairly even as Neil led 3-2, but some rash shots from Neil gave Adam the initiative in the match and Adam eventually won 6-4, Dom Pratt started like a house on fire against Paul Riches as he went into a 4-1 lead but Paul finally found his stride as he made the most from missed chances from Dom to take the next five frames on the spin and gain a 6-4 win, Alex Hood took on Nino Episcopo and played a patient match as he took control in every frame to go through easily 6-0, Dave Cleaver served up some great finishes as he led Chris Poole 3-1 but some excellent clearances from Chris put him firmly in the driving seat as he took the next five frames to go through 6-3.
The tie of the round saw plate favourite Damien Dowds take on another main contender in Billy Morton but Damo showed he will be a difficult man to beat in this year's Plate KO as he won through 6-3, Danny Cleworth started well against Paul Crossley leading 2-0 and he kept up the momentum to lead Paul 5-3 going into the last three frames, Danny looked to have the jitters as Paul pulled a mighty comeback to take all three and go through 6-5, Stu Higgins had a surprisingly comfortable win against former plate finalist Andy Rowlandson as he strolled to a 6-2 victory, Ted Sohal took complete command against Dave Megeney as he led 5-1 but Dave had pulled off a comeback in the previous round and he did so again here as he won the next three frames to trail 4-5, Ted held his nerve in the tenth to go through to the quarter finals 6-4.
LAST 32 - MAIN EVENT REPORT
John Burke became the first big name casualty of the Last 32 as he crashed 6-3 to Danny Buckingham, in the Last 16 Danny will meet comeback king Paul Price who came from 4-0 down to triumph 6-4 over Daz Hynes, Matty Allan and Lee McNamara tied at 2-2 but Matty took frames five and six to assert 4-2 and eventually won through 6-4, Nigel Whittaker led pre-tournament gamble Martin Kirby 3-0 but Martin replied 2-3, Nigel then went in off the black at 4-3 up to level the match at 4-4, Martin then led for the first time 5-4 but Nigel had the last word as he took the last two to win through 6-5.
Harj Dhesi looked to have an easy task on paper as he met surprise qualifier Wayne O'Connor and so it proved as Harj rattled off a 6-0 win, Jon Garnett stormed into an early 3-0 lead against Dan Conroy and despite having some guilt edge chances Dan couldn't fight his way back as he crashed out 6-2, Matty Smith took advantage of some sloppy finishing from Kev Ward with a 6-2 win and he meets Dave Nash in the Last 16 after Dave had a flattering 6-0 victory over Ryan Gardner who missed a catalogue of chances.
Brian Higgins met Johnny McDaid and went 1-0 up but Johnny replied to lead 2-1, a missed yellow in the middle at 3-2 down seemed to rattle Johnny and he eventually lost 6-3, Dean Davies took the first frame against Sparky Smith but Sparky responded by taking five out of the next six to lead 5-2, a mini comeback was halted by Sparky in the ninth frame as he won through 6-3, Pash Jugpal looked to have a tight match against Simon Gilbert but Pash had a very bright start with two clinical finishes early on and he never looked back as he breezed through 6-1, Ian Grindrod met current title holder Rob Butterworth and a missed ball in the first frame with the frame at his mercy seemed to unsettle Ian and Rob took full advantage as he cleared and then won the next four on the trot to lead 5-0, Ian then won his first frames to trail 2-5 but Rob won the eighth to win 6-2.
Adam Prewitt was big favourite to qualify against Franc Woodcock and soon sailed into a 3-0 lead, Franc against the odds took the next three to tie 3-3, Franc then missed two big opportunities to take the lead in the match, so Adam led 5-4 and took a tight tenth to seal a 6-4 victory, Loz Plant shared the first four frames against Gaz Murphy but soon found his stride as he took the next four to triumph 6-2, Rob Loveridge sprinted into a 2-0 lead against Luke Barnes, Rob seemed ill at ease with the Frames tables as the youngster responded by taking six out of the next seven frames to turn the match around and win through 6-3, Justin Hardy and Dave Lane both had bright starts as they tied at 2-2 but Dave looks a force in this year's tournament and he cemented his place in the Last 16 by taking the next four frames to seal a 6-2 victory.
LAST 32 - PLATE EVENT REPORT
Paul Crossley met Tony Poynter and it was a real battle as both players tied at 5-5 but a missed black in the middle by Tony gift wrapped the match to Paul 6-5, Dave Megeney had a nightmare start against Ash Ellis as he trailed 4-1 and 5-3, then a massive pot on the black by Dave in the middle pocket led the comeback and he took the next two frames to seal a 6-5 win, Paul Riches took under an hour to take apart Neil Kenny 6-1 and Nino Episcopo took advantage of numerous misses by Anthony Smart to coast through 6-0.
Stu Higgins had a hard fought match against Manny Ponchaux and just edged it 6-4, Billy Morton comfortably disposed of Sam Dunne 6-1 and he will meet Damien Dowds in the tie of the Last 16 as he went through 6-0 after Liam Ryan conceded the match, Dom Pratt is also through to the Last 16 but had to work overtime to get past Brad Riches 6-3.
Adam Ellis took out some big finishes as he swept Gman Virdi away with a 6-1 victory, Ted Sohal had a nervous start against Terry Babb losing the first frame but soon steadied the ship as he eased through 6-2, Danny Cleworth took on former Frames team mate Chris Smith in a tense match but edged through 6-4, Andy Rowlandson and Neil King shared the first eight frames with all eight frames won against the break, Rolly held his composure to take frames nine and ten to go through 6-4.
Dave Easson started well against Chris Poole as he took a 2-0 lead but then Chris took six frames on the spin to progress by a 6-2 scoreline, Dave Cleaver made mincemeat out of luckless Pete Cosgrove and condemned Pete to a frameless tournament 6-0, in one of the ties of the round Alex Hood went to the wire with Loz Williams at 5-5 but Alex held it together in the decider to win 6-5, Neil Dickens had a surprisingly easy passage through after he demolished Chris Garforth 6-0.
Prize money will be paid out as follows :-
Main Event Winner = £480 + Trophy
(trophy to be in winners possession for one year)
Main Event Runner Up = £240
Losing Semi Finalists Main Event = £120 x 2
Losing Quarter Finalists Main Event = £60 x 4
Plate Event Winner = £140 + Trophy
(trophy to be in winners possession for one year)
Plate Event Runner Up = £80
Losing Plate Semi Finalists = £40 x 2
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY = £1500 (£1280 entries plus £220 sponsorship)
Sponsorship :-
www.warwickshirepool.com have kindly offered £110 sponsorship to add to the prize fund, many thanks to Franc (PAID).
www.leampool.co.uk have kindly offered additional £110 sponsorship to add to the prize fund, many thanks to Lee, Lon and Laws (PAID).
Format :-
16 groups of 4 people will be RANDOMLY drawn (Group A thru to Group P) and these group matches will be played on eight dates from the 12th April 2010 up to and including 5th May 2010 (Mon Night or Wed Night), PLEASE NOTE THAT EACH PLAYER WILL PLAY ALL OF THEIR THREE GROUP GAMES ON ONLY ONE OF THESE DATES, all games in the group stage will be best of 7 frames.
Top two group finishers will progress into the Main Event and the bottom two in each group will progress into the Supplementary Plate Event, in the event of a tie for group positions then legs aggregate will count, if still a tie on legs then the result of the match between the two tied players will count
Seedings will come into effect for the knockout stages in terms of where you finish in your group and every player will have a pre-determined path to the final, these draws will not be known to any players until after the completion of the group stages (except for the tournament organiser and tournament sponsor), it will be impossible for any player to meet one of their group stage opponents until the grand final in both events (therefore if you get a group of death then you will not meet any of them in the last 32, last 16, quarters or semi finals, just to clear that up).
Last 32 Supplementary Event matches to be played on Mon 10th May & Wed 12th May, best of 11 frames (SIXTEEN THIRD PLACE FINISHERS TO PLAY AGAINST THE SIXTEEN FOURTH BEST GROUP FINISHERS).
Last 32 Main Event matches to be played on Mon 17th May & Wed 19th May, best of 11 frames (SIXTEEN FIRST PLACE FINISHERS TO PLAY AGAINST THE SIXTEEN SECOND BEST GROUP FINISHERS).
Last 16 matches of Supplementary Event and Main Event to be played on Mon 24th May and Wed 26th May respectively, best of 11 frames.
Quarter Final matches of Supplementary and Main Event to be played on Wed 2nd June, best of 11 frames in Plate and best of 13 frames in Main event.
Semi Final matches of Supplementary Event and Main Event to be played on Mon 7th June, best of 13 frames.
The Finals in both Supplementary Event and Main Event to be played on Wed 9th June, best of 13 frames Plate and best of 15 frames in Main event.
Rules :-
All tables will be on FREE PLAY for the duration of the tournament.
All games to be played to current 'BLACKBALL' rules, as played in the Warwick and Leamington leagues.
Both players to lag for choice of whether to break in the first frame, break shot will then alternate for the remainder of the match, both in the group stages and ko stages
In the event of a foul, oncoming player to ask permission from their opponent to pick the cue ball up (only if the white ball has not been potted).
A player going in off and catching the white ball in the jaws of the bag will NOT lose the frame.
No referees except for the final in both events.
Fixtures will be issued out to each player by way of this website or text message.
Confirm your entry by text to 07846 845861 or alternatively by email to brian.higgins1@ntlworld.com
Brian Higgins (Tournament Director), all tourney queries to Brian on 07846 845861 or alternatively by email to brian.higgins1@ntlworld.com
Entry List :-
1. Brian Higgins(PAID) 2. Neil King(PAID) 3. Simon Gilbert(PAID) 4. Paul Crossley(PAID)5. Matty Smith(PAID) 6. Adam Prewitt(PAID) 7. Peter Cosgrove(PAID) 8. Franc Woodcock(PAID)
9. Neil Kenny(PAID) 10.Paul Price(PAID) 11.Wayne O'Connor(PAID) 12.Johnny McDaid Jr(PAID)
13.Kev Ward(PAID) 14.Dan Buckingham(PAID) 15.Gaz Murphy(PAID) 16.Justin Hardy(PAID)
17.Ian Grindrod(PAID) 18.Loz Williams(PAID) 19.Dave Easson(PAID) 20.Loz Plant(PAID)
21.Dave Lane (PAID) 22.Dave Nash(PAID) 23.Pash Jugpal(PAID) 24.Sam Dunne(PAID)
25.Andy Rowlandson(PAID) 26.Nigel Whittaker(PAID) 27.Ted Sohal(PAID) 28.Chris Poole(PAID)
29.Rob Butterworth 30.Ryan Gardener(PAID) 31.Stu Higgins(PAID) 32.Harj Dhesi(PAID)
33.Martin Kirby(PAID) 34.John Burke(PAID) 35.Danny Cleworth(PAID) 36.Paul Riches(PAID)
37.Chris Garforth(PAID) 38.Dave Megeney(PAID) 39.Billy Morton(PAID) 40.Liam Ryan(PAID)
41.Brad Riches(PAID) 42.Ash Ellis(PAID) 43.Lee McNamara(PAID) 44.Adam Ellis(PAID)
45.Manny Ponchaux(PAID) 46.Neil Dickens(PAID) 47.Matty Allan(PAID) 48.Alex Hood(PAID)
49.Nino Episcopo(PAID) 50.Dean Davies(PAID) 51.Tony Poynter(PAID) 52.Daz Hynes(PAID)
53.Dommy Pratt(PAID) 54.Jon Garnett(PAID) 55.Rob Loveridge(PAID) 56.Anthony Smart
57.Terry Babb(PAID) 58.Damien Dowds(PAID) 59.Sparky Smith(PAID) 60.Dave Cleaver(PAID)
61.Luke Barnes(PAID) 62.Dan Conroy(PAID) 63.Chris Smith(PAID) 64.G-Man Virdi(PAID)