The L & L Property Contractors Snooker League regular season has drawn to a close.
But with play-offs, team and individual cup games still to be played over the coming weeks, the 2023/24 campaign is far from done.
As Workington Golf Club A were already confirmed as Division One champions, and without a match this week, the focus was on the teams below them as they jockeyed for play-off positions.
Flimby has a slim chance of making second place in Division One, however as they went down 3-2 at home to Station Road Club they finished in third with their opponents confirming fourth.
The match started with Darren Lawson winning a close frame to put Station Road Club 1-0 up and in frame two Tom Thompson produced one of his best performances of the season to defeat Kevin Kirkham.
It was a result that saw the Flimby cueist miss-out on winning tier one’s leading player award as result, a position he had held since the very first game of the season.
Frame three proved to be another close affair but with Station Road firmly with their foot on the gas Mark Robertson finished off the frame nicely to make it 3-0.
As the chance of a second place finish was now gone Flimby needed to dig deep as the danger of slipping into fourth, only to be replaced by their opponents, was a real possibility.
Stepping up next Flimby’s Geoff Banton did just that, and even though the frame was decided on a re-spotted black the Social captain ensured third place was still to fight for in making it 3-1.
The victory also saw Banton claim the tier three leading player averages with a played 18 won 13 win ratio.
The final frame of the fixture needed another top performance if Flimby were to hang on and even though Dan Long went into the game as second favourite the Social super sub delivered with aplomb to pull the match score back to 3-2, saving third place in the process.
Workington’s Veterans Club A may have already claimed the Division Two title a couple of weeks ago but this didn’t stop them pushing for another home win as they defeated Whitehaven’s Rack Shack 3-2.
A much-improved season ended on a high for Craig Davies, as not only did he win the first for 1-0 but he also claimed the tier two high break prize with a contribution 43 made earlier in the season.
The second frame produced another season’s best showing for a Vets A player with Mark Tunstall amassing a 112 points total for a 2-0 scoreline with a 31 break to boot.
In the next, breaks of 30 and 33 were enough for Vets A’s Kevin Basnett to make it 3-0 and in adding the contributions to his total the Division Two winning captain took the tier one highest aggregate break (20 breaks in 20 frames equalling a total of 887), highest break (101 made in round 12) and the leading player titles (19 wins out of 20) in the process.
Adam Morilla paid no attention whatsoever to the Vets A’s heroics in the frames leading up to the fourth and with a win against the tier two leading player the Rack Shack cueist pulled one back for 3-1.
The last frame of the match could not change the outcome of either teams league positions with the Rack Shack now guaranteed the last Division Two top four play-off place. However, this didn’t stop Chris McKelvey competing at the top of his game and with a gusty win the Whitehaven player ended the match for his team with a very respectable 3-2 scoreline.
Division One’s United Club A made sure their second-place spot could not be challenged as they won 4-1 at home to fellow Workington townies, Division Two’s Veterans Club B.
A thumping victory for Dave Chapman ensured the Division One side went 1-0 in front and with a victory for team mate Clive Lister the match score advanced to 2-0.
Peter O’Hagan saved his biggest contribution of the season for frame three as a superb break of 73 took the United Club A to 3-0.
However, Adam Hodgson demonstrated yet again why he has been Vets B’s most difficult player to beat this season and with another win he reduced the deficit to 3-1.
Frame five saw normal service resume as Andrew Mitchelhill won easily to finish the match 4-1 and secure a home tie in next week’s play-off semi-finals.
Workington Conservative Club may have beaten Division Two’s United Club B 5-0 in their final fixture but it’s been a disappointing campaign to reflect on, with relegation from the top tier for the very first time.
Wins for Julian Plaza and tier two break aggregate champion Dave Holland (4 breaks for a total of 129) made it 2-0 to the Cons outfit and with an emphatic victory for team mate Ryan Barker in the next Cons moved 3-0 in front.
Two-times county champion Alan Moore played solidly to make it 4-0 and as Brian Kendall repeated the sort of display he delivered last week the Cons cueist completed the whitewash for 5-0.
Finally, Maryport Social took all five frames against Workington Golf Club B to finish in a Division Two third spot and will now face United Club B away in their top four semi-final next week.
Andrew Sharp’s contribution of 48 early in the season remained unchallenged in the tier three break department and with another recordable break later in the season the Maryport cueist also claimed the tier three break aggregate prize with a total of 85.
Tables (Final league placings)
Division 1
1. W’ton Golf A P20 W17 Pts69 (P)
2. United A P20 W15 Pts68 (P)
3. Flimby Social P20 W14 Pts61 (P)
4. Stat Rd P20 W14 Pts59 (P)
5. W’ton Cons P20 W10 Pts56 (Rel)
Division 2
1. Vets A P20 W15 Pts64 (P) & (Prom)
2. United B P20 W9 Pts46 (P)
3. M’port Social P20 W6 Pts41 (P)
4. Rack Shack P20 W6 Pts34 (P)
5. Vets B P20 W1 Pts26
6. W’ton Golf B P20 W2 Pts16
P = Playoff place
Prom = Promoted
R = Relagated
Leading Player Break / High Break / Break Agg Winners
Tier 1 (0 to 20 Handicap Category)
Leading Player – Kevin Basnett, P20 W19
Highest Break – Kevin Basnett, 101
Break Aggregate (+30 breaks) – Kevin Basnett, 20 breaks/Total 886
Tier 2 (21 to 35 Handicap Category)
Highest Break – Craig Davies, 43
Break Aggregate (+30 breaks) – David Holland, 3 breaks/Total 129
Tier 3 (35+ Handicap Category)
Leading Player – Geoff Banton, P18 W12
Highest Break – Andrew Sharp, 48
Break Aggregate (+30 breaks) – Andrew Sharp, 2 breaks/Total 85
Top 4 Playoff Semi-Final Draw:
Div 1
W’ton Golf Club A v Station Rd Club
United Club A v Flimby Social
Div 2
Vets A v Rack Shack
United Club B v Maryport Social
