Action in the Derwent Valley Asbestos Removals Individual Snooker League moved into the penultimate round of league fixtures this week, with both divisions leaders having opportunities to secure the titles.
Division One leader Kevin Basnett was matched against his nearest rival, Ryan Ismay, and produced a sensational display of snooker to wrap up the title.
Breaks of 32 and 39 took Basnett into a 1-0 lead and he dominated the scoring again to extend the lead to 2-0, quickly followed by the third frame with the help of a further break of 39.
Ismay produced a spirited display to snatch the fourth frame, but Basnett delivered an evening high break of 52, to conclude a clinical match and title winning performance.
Also in Division One, in a battle over relegation places, Dave Chapman came out on top against Mark Tunstall with a narrow 3–2 victory.
Chapman started brightly taking the opening frame with some tidy scoring and confident long potting. However, Tunstall responded strongly, levelling the match in the second frame with a solid performance.
In the third frame Chapman held his nerve on the colours to edge it and regain the lead at 2–1. Tunstall, showing his resilience, hit back to take the fourth, and force a decider.
In the final frame, it was Chapman who took control producing his best snooker of the night, to seal a hard fought 3–2 win.
In the only Division Two tie of the week, Stephen Jackson sprinted towards the title, with an emphatic 5–0 victory over Paul Smith.
The first frame proved to be a close encounter, but it was Jackson who was stronger in the closing stages to edge it.
Jackson then laid down a marker with a dominant performance in the second to extend his lead to 2-0.
Smith demonstrated his fighting qualities in the third, and looked to be on course to reduce the deficit, but once again Jackson kept his cool with a composed final black to secure match victory at 3-0.
Another commanding performance followed in the fourth, this time aided by an excellent break of 40, and Jackson’s lead quickly extended to 4-0.
At this point Smith faced an uphill task to arrest the momentum, and a resilient display ensured that the final frame was another close affair.
Once again, it came down to the final black to decide proceedings, but Smith couldn’t quite land the telling blow and a confident Jackson completed the clean sweep to round off a polished performance, and also wrap up the Division Two title in style.
