Workington’s Kevin Basnett and Cockermouth’s Andrew Mitchelhill regained the Cumbria County Doubles Snooker Championship title in a thrilling tournament.
Held at Carlisle’s QZone it culminated in a tense 4-3 final win against Barrow’s Danny McDonald and Kyle Brown.
The QZone sponsored event, which had been put on hold over the last two years due to COVID-19, saw the 2018 champions from West Cumbria deliver a second title as a pair and a 14th for Basnett in total.
The final proved to be a late night affair, and it certainly delivered plenty of drama, but as the first frame developed it was the Barrow pairing who eventually grasped early control of the match with a 75-40 frame win.
Frame two started with a couple of good pots and some excellent defensive play from McDonald and Brown but as Mitchelhill forged a chance with a first-rate safety shot Basnett stepped in to clear the table with a brilliant 106 break to win the frame 115-9.
At 1-1 the third frame took a more tactical approach as both parings looked to craft an important opportunity. Racking up the points in small contributions it was Basnett and Mitchelhill who edged away and even though the Barrow duo tried hard to hang on they went down 67-47 to trail 2-1.
The fourth frame saw some good all round snooker from both sides, however as the game developed the Barrow duo broke free with McDonald producing a break of 56 to tie the match a 2-2 with a 86-65 win.
In the next McDonald and Brown started to look the stronger of the two sides and with some slick cueing the Barrow pairing delivered a 71-40 victory for a 3-2 lead.
The momentum was now with the Barrow lads and in taking full advantage they fashioned a small sixth frame lead. Facing a mid-distance pot with a real possibility that the next mistake could be their last the West Cumbria duo had no room for error, nevertheless with a fine pot and a 47 break later it was Basnett who ensured the match went to a decider with a 69-26 win.
The final frame started with some fine safety from both pairings however it was Mitchelhill who put the Barrow team in trouble with a particularly fine effort. In creating the all-important deciding frame opportunity.
It still required a cool head to convert and with a contribution of 56 Basnett did just that as he guided the West Cumbria paring to the title with a 72-33 frame and match win.
In the first of the semi-finals McDonald and Brown supplemented each other brilliantly as some fine safety play galvanised with some superb potting was more than enough to take them through 4-2 against Carlisle’s Mike Nixon and Paul Wright.
The other semi-final saw Basnett and Mitchelhill produced a tactical masterclass to defeat former champions and fellow West Cumbrians Peter and Stephen O’Hagan, 4-0.
The highest break of the championship came from Carlisle’s Mike Nixon with a contribution of 110 in a 4-0 first round win over close friends Mally Lancaster and Rob Woods.
The event also saw a plate competition held for all first match losers with Flimby’s Kevin Kirkham and Whitehaven’s Gavin Simpson presiding over Carlisle’s Mally Lancaster and Rob Woods 2-0. The highlight of the plate final came in the form of a break of 53 from Kirkham.
Results
Prelim
Ismay (50 break) & Barker (Maryport) beat Moore (Workington) & Jackson (Workington), 4-0.
R Kirkham (Whitehaven) & Evitts (Carlisle) beat Stoton (Carlisle) & Armstrong (Carlisle), 4-3.
Nixon (Carlisle) & Wright (Carlisle) beat Lancaster (Carlisle) & Woods (Carlisle), 4(Nixon 110 break)-0.
Forrester (Carlisle) & Oates (Carlisle) beat Thwaites (Keswick) & Austin (Keswick), 4-1.
Basnett (Workington) & Mitchelhill (Cockermouth) beat Garroway (Workington) and Tatton (Workington), 4-0.
P O’Hagan (Workington) & S O’Hagan (Workington) beat Cowing (Carlisle) & Sloane (Carlisle), 4-3.
Quarter finals
McDonald (Barrow) & Brown (Barrow) beat Ismay & Barker, 4(McDonald 57 break)-0
Nixon & Wright (Nixon 67 break) beat R Kirkham & Evitts, 4-0.
Basnett & Mitchelhill beat Forrester & Oates (Carlisle), 4(Basnett 69 break)-0.
P O’Hagan & S O’Hagan beat K Kirkham & Simpson, 4-3.
Semi finals
McDonald & Brown beat Nixon & Wright, 4-2.
Basnett & Mitchelhill beat P O’Hagan & S O’Hagan, 4 (Basnett 54 break)-0.
Final
Basnett & Mitchelhill beat McDonald & Brown, 4-3.
Frame scores: 40-75, 115(Basnett 106 break)-9, 67-47, 65-86(McDonald 56 break), 40-71, 69-26 & 72(Basnett 56 break)-33
Plate Final
K Kirkham & Simpson beat Lancaster & Woods, 2(Kirkham 54 break)-0.
