In the Carlisle and District Snooker League, Spencer Street A and Qzone finished level on points during the 2025 season.
Spencer Street A won the First Division title due to winning more matches, and the fixture computer threw out the quirk of the top two playing each other on the final day of the 2026 season.
This season was different though, as last time Spencer Street A only needed three points on the final day to win the title, but this season Qzone were five points ahead, with both teams losing two matches all season.
It meant Spencer Street A needed to win 5-0 to retain the title, a tall order against a team who had never lost 5-0 before in its decades long existence.
The opening frame saw Spencer Street A’s Mike Griffiths face off against Qzone’s Paul Wright, and he won it with a 32 break and some tight safety leading to a 67-8 success.
The second frame was a very similar affair, with Spencer Street’s Ste Charters beating Ian Pattinson 58-10, a 32 break helping towards the win.
The third frame between Spencer Street’s captain Rob Woods and Qzone’s Giles Finegan was the most brutal of the night, with both players playing what can only be described as world class safety play against each other.
Woods got in with a clever pot red off another red, and the 29 break put him in charge, before another break in the 20s saw the lead extended.
A miscue whilst reaching over another ball put Finegan in a position to hit back, and some steely pots under pressure allowed the gap to close, and the tension was piled on when Finegan put Woods in a horrific snooker behind the yellow with one red on the table.
Woods left Finegan in, but a couple of pots later a tough green was missed by Finegan, and Woods floated a beautiful long green into the bottom pocket and cleared up from there to put Spencer Street three to the good.
Frame four saw a strong start for Qzone’s Paul Corbishley against Gary Carruthers, establishing an early 14 point lead. Carruthers then hit back with an excellent 31 break to get his nose in front.
It was punch and counter punch from then on, with both players potting some excellent balls, and the key phase arrived on the final blue. Corbishley sank the brown, and attempted a doubled blue into the middle pocket, only to miss by the smallest margin imaginable.
That set the scene for an extraordinary pot blue from Carruthers to leave snookers required. Corbishley pushed hard for the penalty points needed, but Carruthers sank another excellent long pink to set up the final frame decider perfectly.
So, after 17 league matches with 89 frames per team, it was 4-0 on the final night and the title came down to a one frame decider.
Up stepped Gary Lee for Qzone and Robert Barbour for Spencer Street A. Both players started with a mixture of excellent long pots, lost position, and excellent safety, with Lee taking an early lead.
Barbour showed his fighting spirit and bottle, especially with a classy green in the middle pocket in the midst of a good break, and established a strong lead going into the colours.
Barbour hit an 18 break, two red and blacks with the final yellow, to leave Lee needing snookers, and after a good attempt, Barbour potted the pink to secure the most amazing 5-0 win and the First Division title for Spencer Street A!
In the remaining First Division matches, Southend R secured third place with a 4-1 win over Longtown, who finished seventh.
Team KO winners Ex C secured fourth despite a 4-1 reverse against their final opponents RAOB A, who jumped from 8th to 6th with that result.
Fifth place went to Bluebell Annan after a 3-2 win over Denton Holme, who avoided relegation by finishing 8th.
Southend A and Harraby both went down, with Southend A securing a 3-2 win on the final day to finish 9th.
The Second Division also wrapped up with the excellent Upperby finishing their title winning season with a 3-2 win over Ex Club.
Southend ensured promotion and a 2nd place finish with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Harraby A. Qzone Originals finished 3rd after seeing off Spencer Street 4-1, and Upperby A’s outstanding debut season culminated in a 4th placed finish after beating St Margaret Mary’s 4-1 away. Southend D finished off their campaign with a 3-2 win at Eastriggs.
The league thanked all players, supporters, venues and officials for another exceptional season.
