ABC Stoke

The Reardon, Stoke on Trent (Sunday 18th April 1999)

Fresh from their starring roles in the English Amateur Championships, Lee Lagan and Phil Welham both came down to earth with a bump in the last ranking tournament of the season. Lagan, having won his preliminary game, lost heavily in the first round to Jim McCann, who included a top break of 99 in his one hour aggregate of 435. Phil Welham also lost in the first round to Derick Townend, although by the narrow margin of 18 points. Top performances of the first round came from Neal Rewhorn who had breaks of 120 and 84 in a total score of 431, and Peter Shelley whose breaks of 116 and 76 gave him an identical total.

Paul Bennett made the highest aggregate of the day in the second round, his 572 total being helped by breaks of 121, 100, 69, 62 and 57. Continuing in top gear, Bennett then knocked in another three centuries in his quarter-final match, including a 155 which was the highest of the day. Stephen Crosland also had a break of 113 in his quarter-final victory, but in the semi´s he was unable to match the consistency of Darren Kell, losing by almost 200 points.

Paul Bennett, who later admitted to feeling "burned out" after the performances of the previous rounds, also found it hard going against Peter Shelley. In an exciting finish, Shelley came from behind with an unfinished break which gave him victory by 29 points. Peter had less trouble in the final, where breaks of 151 and 71 helped him to a 215 points win over Teessider Darren Kell. Shelley received the winner´s cheque of £120, and Kell took £60 as runner-up.

Phil Welham had some recompense for his early departure from the main competition when he won the Plate event, defeating Paul Dunning in the final.

Ranking Positions