Two finals in the Carlisle Snooker League produced a unique line-up in the Pairs Final with all four players representing the same club.
First Division champions Spencer Street A were represented by the pairing of Ste Charters and Gary Carruthers, who faced team-mates Mike Griffiths and Simon Towns.
The opening frame was a scrappy, but high-quality affair. Long potting throughout was excellent and the safety play was extremely tight, with the deciding factor simply being which side could successfully develop and convert the higher-value colours.
In the end, Griffiths and Towns edged the frame to take an early advantage.
The standard remained high in the second frame, although with the pink and black more accessible it proved to be a quicker contest.
Griffiths and Towns established an early lead before a composed 46 break from Griffiths moved the pair into a commanding 2-0 position.
The third frame proved to be the best of the evening. Charters and Carruthers raced into an early 18-11 lead, but a superb 47 break from Griffiths swung the frame decisively, securing a 3-0 victory and the title for Griffiths and Towns.
The Joe Brisco Singles Final featured Mike Griffiths, of Spencer Street Social Club, against defending champion Paul Whelan, of the Bluebell, Annan.
An early tactical safety exchange defined the opening frame before Griffiths produced a well-constructed 44 break to seize control.
A number of additional scoring visits soon ensured the frame was safely secured.
The momentum continued through the second and third frames, with consistent potting and solid break-building allowing Griffiths to establish a 3-0 lead.
The fourth frame produced the highest standard of the night. Griffiths opened with a fluent 40 break featuring five reds with blacks, before finishing in style with a superb 57 clearance to secure the title 4-0 in front of a large crowd at the Ex Club.
Attention now turns to the culmination of the Carlisle Snooker League season, with the First and Second Division Merit Championships taking place tonight followed by the Idris Randin Trophy Final between Martin Goodhead and Ste Charters on Monday 1st June, before the season concludes with the Merit Final on Presentation Night on Tuesday 2nd June.
The Carlisle Billiards League hosted its Merit Competitions on Tuesday evening, with the First Division event taking place at the Ex Club and the Second Division competition held at the RAOB Club.
Both events produced a number of high-quality breaks and excellent individual performances throughout the night.
In the First Division Merit Competition, Mike Griffiths defeated Andy Foster and Dave Turley to reach the final, where he faced Southend’s Paul Cowing.
Cowing had enjoyed an outstanding regular season campaign, finishing with an impressive record of 15 wins and just 1 defeat — that lone loss coming against Griffiths.
In the final, however, Cowing produced a superb display to secure a comfortable 100-54 victory and claim the title. Congratulations to Paul on an excellent performance.
The Second Division Merit Competition also featured some outstanding billiards from the opening rounds, with strong performances from John Greenland, Mark “Titch” Beattie, Andy Butcher and Yan Pattinson.
The semi-finals saw Beattie progress courtesy of an excellent 49 break, setting up a final against Pattinson.
A high-quality contest followed, with Beattie producing another composed display to secure a convincing 80-35 victory and claim his third Merit title in four years.
The overall Merit Final between Mark “Titch” Beattie and Paul Cowing will take place on Presentation Night at the Ex Club on Tuesday 2nd June. Best of luck to both players.
The Thursday Individual Billiards League Season 9 also got underway this week.
Scores were perhaps slightly lower than expected on the opening night, possibly reflecting the transition back from snooker to billiards for several players following the conclusion of the snooker season.
One of the performances of the evening came from season eight Reuben Queen, whose excellent 40 break helped him edge past Dave Turley in a closely fought 261-244 victory.
David Midgley and Peter Stanyer both struggled to find early rhythm, but ‘Midge’ capitalised on several favourable ball runs to secure a 252-219 win.
Andy Butcher claimed the season’s first bonus point in an impressive 335-288 victory over season 7 champion Simon Elston, while the contest between Pete Marsden and Neil Walby proved one of the closest matches of the night.
With only five minutes remaining the scores were level, before a late scoring burst from Walby proved decisive.
Nigel Lewthwaite also started strongly against league newcomer Mark ‘Ballo’ Ballantyne, racing into an early 40-point lead and compiling a fine 37 break in the process.
However, Ballo gradually settled into the match and reduced the deficit to just a handful of points by the finish, Lewthwaite emerging as a 234 to 218 victor after a VAR review!
Rob Woods faced Paul Watson in another entertaining encounter. Rob produced some excellent potting, particularly with the reds, but Paul’s increasingly effective use of “set” in-off shots allowed him to maintain control of the scoring and secure a 296-255 victory.
Last up was newcomer Donald Thorburn, returning to competitive play after 20 years.
There were plenty of signs to show Thorburn is finding his feet again as he continually found the pockets with in offs and indeed potting, having a 32 along the way to victory, with Griffiths missed a handful of starters , but also played some lovely shots featuring a 41 and a 31 despite the heavy defeat.
Upperby Social Club hosted the individual billiards league and the next set of fixtures will be held on Thursday.
