Flimby’s Paul Vickers finished the L & L Property Contractors Snooker League season on a high by taking the Singles Handicap title with a superb 4-2 victory over The United Club’s Peter O’Hagan.
The final, hosted by Maryport Social, had many twists and turns but in applying maximum pressure after the interval Vickers plotted his way to a first singles title in the league’s most difficult competition to win.
The first frame saw Vickers (+21 handicap) in first and by adding to his start advantage the Social player crafted a 30 point lead.
Slowly chipping away O’Hagan (+5) dragged himself back into the frame but with an unfortunate shot on the green Vickers had a chance to close the game out.
A subsequent pot on the green led to a Vickers’ miss on frame ball brown as O’Hagan now looked to steal. As the next two colours were deposited by O’Hagan the win looked on but with an unlucky in-off on the pink it presented the frame to Vickers for a 67-43 victory and a 1-0 match lead.
Another early 30 point lead in frame two put Vickers in control again but in demonstrating great resilience O’Hagan hung on.
In amongst the balls O’Hagan made the most of what was his first real opportunity and with a break of 22 he eventually clawed his way back to just 15 behind with two reds left.
Producing a great snooker O’Hagan was starting to build up some momentum in the safety stakes but as the red dropped in the disappointment was obvious. A few shots later and Vickers fortunately fluked the yellow and in following it up with the green the frame looked over.
However a miss on the brown led to O’Hagan potting the next three balls but in failing to get on the black he left a double in to the middle pocket. Crunching the black in Vickers tied the frame for a dramatic re-spotted black with the scores sitting at 53 each.
A safety shot to the side cushion from O’Hagan left another double for Vickers but with this one to the corner pocket the difficulty factor was much greater. Vickers was quick to the table but in playing the shot a little harder than was needed the Flimby cueist then had to stand back as O’Hagan cooly slotted it home for a 60-53 win.
In again first Vickers grabbed the advantage with a fine break of 28 but with three reds and blues from O’Hagan the United Club player pulled it back to just 16 behind with two reds remaining.
A brilliant safety shot on the penultimate red by Vickers looked to be an important one but with an equally excellent escape from O’Hagan the current county doubles champion was still in it.
The subsequent safety exchange needed something special to break the deadlock and with a fine pot on the second to last red Vickers was in. Needing the last two reds with high value colours to leave O’Hagan needing snookers Vickers did just that and although O’Hagan made a courageous effort in trying to extract the penalty points he required Vickers took the frame 73-39.
At 2-1 down and with the thought of Vickers’ quick starts in the previous three frames in his mind O’Hagan dropped the white into the pack off the break shot.
This was a tactic that ultimately paid off as the United Club player was able to gradually build a lead for the first time in the match. Getting stronger O’Hagan picked off some nice pots and with just one red left he led by 27.
A fantastic snooker by Vickers yielded six points and in following it up with red, green, yellow and a further superb green to the middle pocket a winning clearance was on.
A cool brown to the corner followed and as the blue went in a 3-1 Vickers lead looked to be the order of the day.
Good position on the pink needed the same on the black but in potting the pink Vickers left the white in the middle of the table with only a safety shot on. Clearly frustrated Vickers still managed to get the black relatively safe however in leaving a long pot up for O’Hagan on his next shot the United Club cueist duly obliged to take the frame 60-57 for a 2-2 interval scoreline.
As the fifth frame started Vickers still seemed to be carrying thoughts of what could have been as O’Hagan got his nose in front.
With the balance of the match looking to have shifted, out of nowhere Vickers sprung into life again, a 22 break later and Vickers was invigorated leading by 25 with five reds left.
Wasting no time the Social player cracked in another good red and with a 19 break he led by 43 with 43 points remaining. A small safety exchange then developed but soon enough the inevitable concession was delivered as Vickers went 3-2 up with a 63-20 victory.
The sixth, and what turned out to be the final frame of the match, begun with O’Hagan dropping the white into the pack of reds off the break again.
As a long red eventually presented itself Vickers made an attempt but left O’Hagan in amongst the balls. The very first shot looked to be a crucial one due to the reds being spread well around the black. Needing to thread the white in between the reds to finish on the black O’Hagan unfortunately missed out by millimeters with a safety shot now his only option.
Even though O’Hagan was disappointed he dug in and with some excellent safety he created another good chance for himself.
On a break of 23 the United Club cueist looked calm but in missing a relatively easy blue Vickers hit straight back with 17 for a 12 point lead. Not letting this affect his game O’Hagan refocused and with two pinks the United Club cueist went 2 points in front with two reds left.
Just a few shots later, and with both reds down, Vickers laid an excellent snooker.
Not only did O’Hagan fail to escape but he also left Vickers with a chance to close out the match. A calm pot on the yellow, followed by a good shot on the green left frame ball for Vickers at 17 points up.
Taking his time Vickers stroked the brown in to leave O’Hagan needing snookers and even though the Division One’s leading player made a valiant effort to overturn the deficit Vickers claimed the frame 67-45 in an impressive title clinching victory.
