IBSF WORLD BILLIARDS CHAMPIONSHIP
17th-26th August 1999 - The Ivy Rooms, Carlow, Republic of Ireland
The Players
Australia David Collins John McKay Joe Millen Austria Clemens Kunkel Franz Mészáros England Terry Azor Paul Bennett Stephen Crosland Brian Harvey Darren Kell Tony McKinder David Nichols Alf Nolan Gary Rogers Peter Shelley Ernest Shorney Bob Slee John Smith Derick Townend Phillip Welham Malta Paul Mifsud New Zealand Wayne Carey Malcolm Cooke Derek Gibb Northern Ireland Tony Buttimer Sammy Clarke Sammy Currie Paddy Donnelly Jimmy McLaughlin John McIntyre Davy Pogue Republic of Ireland Dick Brennan Lee Byrne Larry Codd Larry Drennan Eugene Hughes Phil Martin Tommy Martin Timmy Murphy Aidan Murray Anthony O'Flaherty Victor O'Gorman Singapore Chye Hian Soh Teik Chong Puan Sri Lanka K.H. Sirisoma Thailand Praprut Chaithanasakun Udon Khaimuk Wales Joseph Bird
An impressive entry of 48 players commenced the Group qualifying sections of the 1999 IBSF World Championships on Tuesday 17th August. The tables at the Ivy Rooms in Carlow had been specially recovered for the event, providing playing conditions which competitors described as "superb".
English Champion, Lee Lagan, who had intended to compete, unfortunately suffered an accident at work and was unable to travel. The Australian entry was also modified to include John McKay, after Neil Croft and Joe Minici announced that they would not be making to trip.
Before a ball was struck there were even more changes as English representative Paul Dunning was forced to withdraw on the eve of the tournament due to a family illness, and S. M. Shaharwardi of Sri Lanka failed to appear without explanation. These last-minute vacancies in the draw gave an unexpected opportunity to John Smith and Bob Slee, who had arrived purely with the intention of being spectators and now found themselves drafted into action. Fortunately, both of these English enthusiasts had brought along their cues in the hope of "a knock", but certainly not anticipating being tested against the World's best amateurs. For the preliminary stages, players were divided into eight groups of six, which were roughly arranged to disperse nationalities and players of known abilities. Matches were round-robin format of 3 hours duration, with the winner and runner-up in each group progressing to the knock-out stages. At this point the competitors would be re-seeded based on their results, and the draw structured accordingly.
| David Collins 252, 193, 83, 68 | 928 | (21.1) | Darren Kell 98, 90, 75, 66 | 710 | (16.1) |
| David Collins 99, 74, 63, 53, 53, 53 | 1089 | (16.5) | Tony Buttimer 82, 65, 59 | 854 | (13.1) |
| David Collins 144, 108, 106, 84, 70, 62 | 1421 | (22.5) | Larry Drennan 59, 59, 56 | 481 | (7.6) |
| David Collins 125, 122, 99, 72, 69, 57 | 1236 | (17.7) | Terry Azor 53, 58unf 65 | 515 | (7.5) |
| David Collins 218, 116, 106, 103, 102 | 1483 | (14.8) | Liam Byrne 90, 80, 53 | 345 | (4.7) |
| Darren Kell 130, 112, 112, 108, 85, 84, 83 | 1342 | (26.3) | Liam Byrne 74, 66 | 261 | (5.1) |
| Darren Kell 91, 84, 67, 63, 51 | 803 | (10.6) | Tony Buttimer 70, 56 | 724 | (9.7) |
| Darren Kell 183, 138, 118, 107, 58, 58, 53, 52 | 1247 | (25.4) | Larry Drennan 57 | 469 | (9.8) |
| Darren Kell 162, 123, 108, 79, 76, 64, 50 | 1067 | (22.7) | Terry Azor 58 | 544 | (11.3) |
| Tony Buttimer 62, 51, 51 | 872 | (10.8) | Terry Azor 50 | 623 | (7.6) |
| Tony Buttimer 184, 136, 101, 92, 69, 60 | 1282 | (17.3) | Liam Byrne | 387 | (5.1) |
| Tony Buttimer 79, 51 | 870 | (12.1) | Larry Drennan 76 | 745 | (10.3) |
| Terry Azor 70 | 705 | (8.6) | Larry Drennan 51 | 587 | (7.1) |
| Terry Azor 70, 69 | 757 | (9.7) | Liam Byrne | 472 | (6.1) |
| Larry Drennan 67, 66, 58 | 1012 | (13.1) | Liam Byrne | 400 | (5.1) |
Playing in the first match of their Group, Darren Kell seemed to be in control for much the time against Dave Collins, but a late break of 252 followed by another of 193 by the Australian Champion were too much for the English No.3 who finished 218 points in arrears. This early result effectively decided the winner and runner-up in the group as both Collins and Kell then went on to complete comfortable victories in their other matches. Tony Buttimer had the distinction of making a personal record break of 184 in his match against Lee Byrne, a feat which would be achieved by several other competitors during the course of this tournament, giving testament to the excellent playing conditions.
| Paul Bennett 210, 121, 119, 108, 93, 85, 71, 68, 57, 55 | 1455 | (26.9) | Victor O'Gorman 62 | 503 | (9.3) |
| Paul Bennett 246, 135, 130, 126, 101, 93, 65, 63, 60, 55 | 1499 | (32.6) | Sammy Currie | 237 | (5.2) |
| Paul Bennett 148, 136, 106, 89, 83, 71 | 1364 | (20.7) | Malcolm Cooke | 543 | (8.2) |
| Paul Bennett 193, 161, 146, 143, 129, 125, 113, 88, 81, 84, 65, 60, 120unf | 1799 | (36.7) | Clemens Kunkel | 127 | (2.6) |
| Paul Bennett 191, 139, 126, 122, 73, 72, 70, 64, 53 | 1355 | (24.2) | John Smith 103 | 371 | (6.6) |
| John Smith 98, 67 | 803 | (12.0) | Malcolm Cooke | 581 | (8.9) |
| John Smith 80, 57 | 911 | (11.8) | Clemens Kunkel | 232 | (3.1) |
| John Smith 94, 85, 50 | 745 | (9.6) | Victor O'Gorman 58 | 702 | (9.1) |
| John Smith | 736 | (11.7) | Sammy Currie | 512 | (8.1) |
| Sammy Currie | 544 | (5.0) | Clemens Kunkel | 202 | (1.9) |
| Sammy Currie 54 | 676 | (8.3) | Malcolm Cooke | 529 | (6.6) |
| Victor O'Gorman 90, 83, 83, 59 | 963 | (12.3) | Sammy Currie | 532 | (6.8) |
| Victor O'Gorman 81, 77, 65, 65, 55, 52 | 1098 | (13.2) | Malcolm Cooke | 726 | (8.3) |
| Malcolm Cooke 78, 50 | 870 | (4.5) | Clemens Kunkel | 271 | (1.4) |
| Clemens Kunkel | w/o | Victor O'Gorman | scr. |
Paul Bennett was in outstanding form throughout his five Group B matches, winning them all with ease. He put together breaks of 210 and 246 in his first two games against Victor O'Gorman and Sammy Currie respectively, and demolished Clemens Kunkel—running in eight century breaks in a total of 1,799 points. The entry of Kunkel, and his Austrian team mate Franz Mészáros came as surprise to many who did not realise that any devotee's of the English game existed in that bastion of three-cushion billiards. Kunkel, who has a highest practice break of just 47 was predictably overwhelmed by the talent on show in this event, but his appearance as a representative of one of the lesser-known billiards playing nations, was nevertheless very welcome. He returned home with the consolation of at least a “paper” victory over Victor O'Gorman, who was forced to concede his final match against the Austrian to attend a doctor´s appointment.
If anyone thought they would have an easy time against John Smith, who had effectively been drafted in from the audience, they would soon be disillusioned. In a borrowed waistcoat and bow tie, he first defeated Malcolm Cooke, then the 1996 Irish Champion Victor O'Gorman; sailed past Clemens Kunkel, and dismissed the challenge of the experienced Sammy Currie. Going into his last match against Paul Bennett, he knew that these four wins were already enough to qualify from the group, which amongst the many outstanding performances of these championships, must rank amongst the best. Although totally out-gunned by Bennett, he still managed to produce a memorable moment by compiling a break of 103.
| Phillip Welham 176, 103, 89, 77, 59 | 1064 | (12.5) | Joe Bird 56 | 541 | (6.1) |
| Phillip Welham 80, 55, 53, 50 | 770 | (10.7) | Eugene Hughes 118, 89, 61, 55 | 717 | (10.0) |
| Phillip Welham 107, 81, 61, 54, 50 | 794 | (11.0) | Joe Millen 90 | 645 | (9.0) |
| Phillip Welham 62, 58 | 693 | (9.6) | Alf Nolan 60, 54, 51 | 624 | (8.7) |
| Phillip Welham 76, 65, 57, 53, 52 | 833 | (10.8) | Davy Pogue 52 | 602 | (7.9) |
| Eugene Hughes 123, 101, 81, 80, 67, 63, 59, 56 | 941 | (20.0) | Joe Millen 121, 64 | 667 | (14.2) |
| Eugene Hughes 185, 114, 112, 104, 98, 87, 85 | 1151 | (16.9) | Davy Pogue | 477 | (7.0) |
| Eugene Hughes 173, 109, 105, 90, 64, 63, 58, 57, 54, 51, 51unf | 1400 | (22.2) | Joe Bird 51 | 458 | (7.3) |
| Eugene Hughes 77, 65, 52, 51 | 691 | (14.7) | Alf Nolan 93, 77 | 656 | (13.7) |
| Davy Pogue 78, 76 | 602 | (8.9) | Alf Nolan 102 | 469 | (6.9) |
| Davy Pogue 53, 51 | 572 | (7.4) | Joe Bird 67 | 541 | (7.0) |
| Alf Nolan 64, 57, 53 | 595 | (9.3) | Joe Millen | 572 | (8.9) |
| Alf Nolan 62 | 594 | (7.4) | Joe Bird | 574 | (7.2) |
| Joe Millen 67 | 620 | (9.4) | Davy Pogue | 584 | (8.8) |
| Joe Millen 75unf | 988 | (12.4) | Joe Bird | 519 | (6.5) |
Eugene Hughes was the only professional player to enter, having received special dispensation from the general WBA ban. Ranked No.23 in the Professional billiards ranking list, he warmed up for the event by representing the Republic of Ireland against Wales at snooker; which was played at the same venue immediately before the billiards. Although he managed to qualify from Group C, he did not perform as well as many had expected, his 134 break in the earlier snooker match only being bettered twice on the billiard table.
Phillip Welham topped the group, winning all his matches. The most important of these was a victory over Hughes by 53 points. Another close finish came against the veteran Alf Nolan, who despite advancing years retains a great enthusiasm for the game. He also showed that he retains some of the skills which at one time ranked him alongside the World's billiards elite. Despite his somewhat eccentric use of the short rest to assist with his cue action on some shots, he recorded wins over Joe Millen and Joe Bird, and was only narrow defeated by the two qualifiers, Phillip Welham (69 points) and Eugene Hughes (35 points).
| Udon Khaimuk 117, 87, 71, 67, 66, 65, 63, 62, 60, 57, 52 | 1229 | (18.6) | Franz Mészáros | 187 | (2.8) |
| Udon Khaimuk 101, 97, 83, 75, 66, 63 | 863 | (13.9) | Phil Martin 70, 50 | 635 | (9.9) |
| Udon Khaimuk 80, 63, 59 | 648 | (13.2) | Derek Gibb 101, 72 | 560 | (11.7) |
| Udon Khaimuk 72, 70, 58, 54 | 786 | (15.1) | Peter Shelley 117, 96, 78, 53 | 765 | (14.7) |
| Udon Khaimuk 218, 172, 96, 91, 91, 71, 60, 56 | 1229 | (22.7) | Ernest Shorney | 224 | (4.1) |
| Peter Shelley 163, 76, 75, 68, 67 | 1324 | (13.5) | Franz Mészáros | 237 | (2.5) |
| Peter Shelley 150 | 872 | (11.3) | Phil Martin 51 | 686 | (9.0) |
| Peter Shelley 132, 102, 94, 81, 74, 72, 69 | 984 | (22.4) | Derek Gibb 79, 59 | 579 | (13.2) |
| Peter Shelley 92, 73, 68, 60, 58, 54, 52, 51, 51 | 1240 | (18.8) | Ernest Shorney | 511 | (7.7) |
| Derek Gibb 65, 51 | 833 | (11.4) | Phil Martin 116 | 423 | (5.8) |
| Derek Gibb 55 | 631 | (7.1) | Ernest Shorney | 429 | (4.9) |
| Derek Gibb 121, 95, 91, 72, 65, 59 | 1161 | (15.1) | Franz Mészáros | 159 | (2.0) |
| Phil Martin 57 | 1175 | (13.8) | Franz Mészáros | 244 | (2.9) |
| Phil Martin 88 | 807 | (8.2) | Ernest Shorney | 533 | (5.4) |
| Ernest Shorney | 803 | (7.7) | Franz Mészáros | 246 | (2.4) |
The lesser-known member of the Thailand team, Udon Khaimuk, turned in a solid performance to top Group D. This included a personal best break of 218 in his match against Ernest Shorney—the first time he had exceeded the double-century in match-play.
The key encounter of the group was Udon's last game, where he met Peter Shelley; both players being undefeated to this point. Although Shelley made the only century of the match (117) he went down by the narrow margin of 19 points. However, with Shelley picking up his last game in the round-robin series against Ernest Shorney, he also qualified from the group as runner-up.
| Paul Mifsud 191, 129, 117, 76, 62, 53 | 994 | (24.2) | Stephen Crosland 101, 87, 68, 59, 56 | 813 | (20.8) |
| Paul Mifsud 241, 211, 90, 72, 71, 71, 60, 57, 54, 54, 52 | 1490 | (31.0) | John McIntyre | 381 | (8.1) |
| Paul Mifsud 194, 145, 123, 86, 64, 62, 59, 55, 54, 54 72, 62 | 1281 | (26.7) | Dick Brennan | 626 | (10.8) |
| Paul Mifsud 260, 201, 157, 153, 141, 140, 128, 92, 76, 53 | 1897 | (42.2) | John McKay | 325 | (7.2) |
| Paul Mifsud 136, 124, 101, 83, 81, 79, 74, 70, 67, 65, 63, 58, 56, 55, 56unf | 1757 | (23.7) | Larry Codd | 363 | (4.9) |
| Stephen Crosland 80, 66, 60, 59, 58, 54, 52 | 1127 | (15.2) | Larry Codd 59 | 519 | (7.0) |
| Stephen Crosland 55, 55, 52, 50 | 817 | (14.3) | John McIntyre | 518 | (9.4) |
| Stephen Crosland 72, 65, 57 | 709 | (11.4) | Dick Brennan 150, 61 | 690 | (11.1) |
| Stephen Crosland 125, 93, 92, 79, 68, 61, 52, 52, 51, 51, 50, 123unf | 1455 | (27.5) | John McKay | 311 | (5.8) |
| Dick Brennan 59, 160unf | 1054 | (11.1) | Larry Codd | 433 | (4.6) |
| Dick Brennan 103, 77, 57, 54, 50 | 1090 | (13.1) | John McKay | 521 | (6.3) |
| Dick Brennan 89, 56, 54 | 710 | (11.5) | John McIntyre 71, 60 | 638 | (10.1) |
| John McIntyre 104, 72, 61 | 960 | (12.8) | John McKay | 429 | (5.6) |
| John McIntyre 119 | 833 | (8.7) | Larry Codd 54 | 491 | (5.1) |
| Larry Codd | 769 | (7.3) | John McKay | 645 | (6.1) |
Paul Mifsud had won this competition twenty years ago, and was still considered good enough to start this event as one of the favourites. This status was confirmed as he turned in some impressive performances to dominate the group. This included two double centuries against John McIntyre, and a repeat performance against John McKay. In this latter match, Mifsud established the biggest aggregate score of the three-hour games with 1,897.
Stephen Crosland came the closest to the Maltese champion, but was still defeated by 181 points. This however, was his only set-back as Crosland won all his remaining games to go through in second place.
Dick Brennan threatened to better his personal match break of 179 when he completed his win over Larry Codd with a run of 160 unfinished.
| Paddy Donnelly 98, 76, 55 | 700 | (13.0) | Wayne Carey 64 | 621 | (11.7) |
| Paddy Donnelly 130, 115, 59, 57 | 1175 | (15.7) | Bob Slee | 197 | (2.6) |
| Paddy Donnelly 119, 118, 96, 57, 51 | 976 | (18.8) | Tony McKinder 101 | 502 | (9.7) |
| Paddy Donnelly 120, 96, 78, 73, 65 | 1094 | (16.8) | Timmy Murphy | 354 | (5.5) |
| Paddy Donnelly 138, 86, 83, 79, 59, 58, 54 | 960 | (19.2) | Gary Rogers 66, 56 | 436 | (8.7) |
| Wayne Carey 97 | 702 | (12.3) | Gary Rogers | 520 | (9.1) |
| Wayne Carey 92, 89, 76, 57, 55, 53 | 937 | (9.7) | Bob Slee | 264 | (2.8) |
| Wayne Carey 60 | 568 | (6.5) | Tony McKinder 64, 52 | 507 | (5.7) |
| Wayne Carey 115, 92, 79, 64 | 949 | (15.3) | Timmy Murphy 54, 52 | 566 | (9.0) |
| Tony McKinder 238, 56 | 679 | (13.3) | Gary Rogers 69 | 524 | (10.3) |
| Tony McKinder 125, 80, 65, 57 | 1009 | (15.8) | Timmy Murphy 88, 59 | 524 | (8.0) |
| Tony McKinder 158, 142, 134, 129, 117, 100, 84, 68, 66 | 1706 | (24.0) | Bob Slee | 203 | (2.9) |
| Gary Rogers 102, 66 | 804 | (11.8) | Timmy Murphy | 465 | (6.7) |
| Gary Rogers 93, 81, 51 | 943 | (12.7) | Bob Slee | 256 | (3.5) |
| Timmy Murphy 87 | 1031 | (10.0) | Bob Slee | 283 | (2.7) |
This group was perhaps the most open of the tournament, but the player in form turned out to be Northern Ireland Champion, Paddy Donnelly. Apart from Wayne Carey, who he defeated by the relatively narrow margin of 79 points, he despatched all of his opponents with some ease.
English National CIU Champion Tony McKinder, showed flashes of his best game, producing a break of 238 against Gary Rogers and running in six centuries against Bob Slee. However he failed to reproduce this form at a consistent level, losing to both Donnelly and Wayne Carey. This latter defeat ensured that it would be the New Zealand Champion who took runner-up position in the Group and a place in the last sixteen.
| C. Praprut 155, 146, 110, 65, 52, 50 | 955 | (24.5) | Brian Harvey 226, 112, 54, 51 | 726 | (18.2) |
| C. Praprut 369, 156, 155, 137, 118, 102, 74, 71, 55, 52 | 1800 | (56.3) | Soh Chye | ||
| C. Praprut 303, 145, 143, 121, 109, 81, 80, 75, 64, 55 | 1567 | (60.2) | Jimmy McLaughlin 69, 60, 59 | 410 | (15.2) |
| C. Praprut 226, 133, 102, 91, 89, 71, 67, 59 | 1091 | (28.0) | Aidan Murray 51 | 431 | (11.1) |
| C. Praprut 225, 193, 170, 103, 95, 81, 78, 69, 53 | 1265 | (40.8) | David Nichols 80, 68, 59, 50 | 490 | (16.3) |
| Brian Harvey 66, 54, 53 | 937 | (12.5) | Jimmy McLaughlin 53 | 574 | (7.7) |
| Brian Harvey 89, 75, 58, 53 | 913 | (12.9) | David Nichols 79, 74, 58 | 719 | (10.1) |
| Brian Harvey 67, 67, 65, 56, 55 | 803 | (13.8) | Soh Chye 102, 94, 60, 54 | ||
| David Nichols 92, 74, 66, 61, 57 | 769 | (17.5) | Aidan Murray 50 | 395 | (8.8) |
| David Nichols 66, 61, 53 | 832 | (12.2) | Jimmy McLaughlin | 588 | (8.6) |
| David Nichols 103, 78, 77, 68, 65 | 1011 | (20.6) | Soh Chye 107, 75 | ||
| Aidan Murray 90, 61 | 591 | (11.8) | Soh Chye 91, 54, 52 | ||
| Aidan Murray 75, 55 | 590 | (10.4) | Brian Harvey 65, 60, 52 | 585 | (10.4) |
| Jimmy McLaughlin 101, 62, 50 | 651 | (15.1) | Aidan Murray 75, 61, 50 | 600 | (14.0) |
| Jimmy McLaughlin 51 | 771 | (9.6) | Soh Chye | ||
| C. Praprut 155, 146, 110, 65, 52, 50 | 955 | (24.5) | Brian Harvey 226, 112, 54, 51 | 726 | (18.2) |
| C. Praprut 369, 156, 155, 137, 118, 102, 74, 71, 55, 52 | 1800 | (56.3) | Soh Chye | ||
| C. Praprut 303, 145, 143, 121, 109, 81, 80, 75, 64, 55 | 1567 | (60.2) | Jimmy McLaughlin 69, 60, 59 | 410 | (15.2) |
| C. Praprut 226, 133, 102, 91, 89, 71, 67, 59 | 1091 | (28.0) | Aidan Murray 51 | 431 | (11.1) |
| C. Praprut 225, 193, 170, 103, 95, 81, 78, 69, 53 | 1265 | (40.8) | David Nichols 80, 68, 59, 50 | 490 | (16.3) |
| Brian Harvey 66, 54, 53 | 937 | (12.5) | Jimmy McLaughlin 53 | 574 | (7.7) |
| Brian Harvey 89, 75, 58, 53 | 913 | (12.9) | David Nichols 79, 74, 58 | 719 | (10.1) |
| Brian Harvey 67, 67, 65, 56, 55 | 803 | (13.8) | Soh Chye 102, 94, 60, 54 | ||
| David Nichols 92, 74, 66, 61, 57 | 769 | (17.5) | Aidan Murray 50 | 395 | (8.8) |
| David Nichols 66, 61, 53 | 832 | (12.2) | Jimmy McLaughlin | 588 | (8.6) |
| David Nichols 103, 78, 77, 68, 65 | 1011 | (20.6) | Soh Chye 107, 75 | ||
| Aidan Murray 90, 61 | 591 | (11.8) | Soh Chye 91, 54, 52 | ||
| Aidan Murray 75, 55 | 590 | (10.4) | Brian Harvey 65, 60, 52 | 585 | (10.4) |
| Jimmy McLaughlin 101, 62, 50 | 651 | (15.1) | Aidan Murray 75, 61, 50 | 600 | (14.0) |
| Jimmy McLaughlin 51 | 771 | (9.6) | Soh Chye |
Praprut and Udon had arrived from distant Brunei just hours before the start of the competition. Here they had been competing in the South East Asian Games, winning gold medals at billiards for the singles (Praprut) and pairs. With every right to feel effected by "jet-lag" he still produced a good performance in his first game, when he overcame Brian Harvey to win by 229 points despite a late break of 226 by the Wessex Champion.
From this point onwards he was untouchable. In his match against Soh Chye—another competitor at the SEA Games—he produced a personal record break of 369, the first triple century of the event. He followed this with another (303) in his next match. His averages of 56.3 and 60.2 for these games would have done justice to a top professional.
David Nichols needed to beat Praprut in his final game to be certain of going through as runner-up in the Group. Although this may have seemed a tall order, it began to look like a distinct possibility when Praprut failed to turn up at the appointed time. The match had been switched to a 10.00am start and this had apparently not been communicated to Praprut, who does not speak English. Hurried phone calls located him and Praprut arrived 27 minutes late—just 3 minutes before he would have forfeit the match. The drama seemed to have no effect on Praprut who won by a 775 point margin. Brian Harvey, largely due to having received the lightest "drubbing" from Praprut, therefore qualified in second place after finishing level on games won with David Nichols.
| K.H. Sirisoma 119, 60 | 758 | (12.2) | Teik Chong Puan | 626 | (10.1) |
| K.H. Sirisoma 59, 56, 76unf | 701 | (11.5) | Sammy Clarke 116, 103 | 699 | (11.5) |
| K.H. Sirisoma 99, 95, 81, 68, 65, 58, 58, 57, 55 | 1210 | (16.8) | Derick Townend 51 | 643 | (8.8) |
| K.H. Sirisoma 148, 106, 88, 61, 59, 58, 57, 54, 53 | 1259 | (21.7) | Tommy Martin | 507 | (8.7) |
| K.H. Sirisoma 119, 86, 69, 53, 52, 51, 51 | 1100 | (12.9) | Anthony O'Flaherty 85 | 512 | (6.0) |
| Teik Chong Puan 70, 55, 51, 50 | 911 | (13.6) | Derick Townend | 650 | (9.6) |
| Teik Chong Puan 59 | 697 | (11.1) | Anthony O'Flaherty 64, 61 | 492 | (7.9) |
| Teik Chong Puan | 667 | (17.6) | Sammy Clarke | 316 | (8.5) |
| Teik Chong Puan 66, 64, 52 | 748 | (10.5) | Tommy Martin | 495 | (7.0) |
| Derick Townend | 905 | (9.6) | Anthony O'Flaherty | 515 | (5.6) |
| Derick Townend 54, 53 | 798 | (8.8) | Sammy Clarke | 604 | (6.6) |
| Sammy Clarke 81 | 775 | (11.4) | Tommy Martin 92 | 488 | (7.2) |
| Sammy Clarke 77, 61, 59, 55 | 724 | (12.1) | Anthony O'Flaherty 59, 54 | 627 | (10.3) |
| Tommy Martin 65 | 626 | (7.1) | Derick Townend | 561 | (6.4) |
| Tommy Martin 58 | 670 | (8.9) | Anthony O'Flaherty | 563 | (7.4) |
The two Asian representatives, K. H. Sirisoma (Sri Lanka) and Teik Chong Puan (Singapore), proved to be a cut above their European opposition in this group. Drawn together early in the programme of matches, Sirisoma's victory, set him on the road to five consecutive wins.
However, things could easily have turned out differently as in his next match against Sammy Clarke he found himself 74 points in arrears with just 3 minutes remaining. Incredibly, he ran in an unfinished break of 76 to snatch a most exciting victory.
Sammy Clarke was again centre of attention in a later match against Teik Chong Puan, when, overcome by heat and fatigue, he was forced to concede with an hour of the match remaining.
Fortunately he had recovered sufficiently to complete his remaining fixture against Derick Townend the following day.
| Paul Bennett 116, 104, 100, 91, 57 | 1026 | (20.5) | Brian Harvey 89, 71, 62, 56 | 627 | (12.5) |
| Peter Shelley 187, 99, 89, 80, 73 | 1123 | (15.3) | Phillip Welham 78, 73, 65 | 651 | (8.9) |
| Paddy Donnelly 108, 63, 62, 57, 52 | 852 | (21.8) | Eugene Hughes 83, 74, 72, 70 | 751 | (19.2) |
| David Collins 220, 73, 66, 65, 59, 58 | 1163 | (18.8) | Wayne Carey | 615 | (11.2) |
| C. Praprut 247, 123, 86, 60, 57, 53, 53, 52 | 1071 | (27.5) | Teik Chong Puan 68, 51 | 541 | 14.2 |
| Udon Khaimuk 156, 97, 90, 67, 54 | 779 | (20.5) | Stephen Crosland 114, 83, 75, 59, 55 | 689 | (18.1) |
| Darren Kell 88, 72, 70, 67, 55, 53, 50 | 921 | (15.9) | K.H. Sirisoma 75, 54, 50 | 611 | (10.5) |
| Paul Mifsud 214, 137, 111, 100, 86, 68, 52 | 1291 | (23.5) | John Smith 94, 69, 64 | 346 | (9.8) |
The knock-out stages were seeded according to earlier results, with the group winners arranged one to eight, in order of games won and aggregate score. The runners-up were seeded 9 to 16 using the same criteria. On this basis the top four seeds were Bennett, Mifsud, Praprut and Collins. Highest seed was drawn against lowest.
The only group winners who failed to progress to the quarter-finals were Phillip Welham and K. Sirisoma who were defeated by Peter Shelley and Darren Kell respectively. Double century breaks were produced by David Collins (220), Praprut (247) and Paul Mifsud (214). Paul Bennett also eased past Brian Harvey to ensure the top four seeds were represented in the next round.
| Paul Bennett 295, 181, 119, 106, 89, 88, 86, 82, 61, 52 | 1642 | (29.3) | Peter Shelley 135, 57 | 627 | (11.2) |
| Paddy Donnelly 188, 107, 114, 79, 79, 63, 63, 54, 50 | 1240 | (24.8) | David Collins 121, 117, 116, 114, 60 | 1053 | (21.1) |
| C Praprut 415, 133, 115, 111, 82, 61, 59, 57, 54 | 1417 | (35.4) | Udon Khaimuk 124, 106, 99, 71, 71, 57, 53 | 953 | (23.2) |
| Paul Mifsud 172, 167, 133, 83, 75, 68, 62, 60, 56, 52 | 1319 | (19.1) | Darren Kell 98, 83, 74, 56 | 985 | (16.7) |
Bennett started in top gear against Peter Shelley, beginning the first session with a break of 181 and completing it with a run of 295 unfinished. This was his highest break in competitive play and gave him an advantage of 650 points at the half-way stage. Bennett, having left himself with a tricky shot, was unable to add to his break on the resumption, but still cruised to an impressive win.
There may have been a general expectation of a Bennett-Collins semi- final, but this was not shared by Paddy Donnelly, who produced another first-class performance to eliminate the Australian Champion, despite four century breaks from Collins.
Before this tournament, Praprut´s highest competitive break had been 341. Having earlier recorded a couple of triple centuries, he now extended his personal best into the fourth century with a run of 415 against team-mate Udon Khaimuk. The Thai No.2 has demonstrated much improved form over his previous appearance last year in Australia, but it was insufficient to overcome Praprut who progressed to the semi- finals. As generally anticipated, he would meet Paul Mifsud, who proved to be too powerful for Darren Kell.
| Paul Bennett 148, 101, 83, 71, 65, 52, 51, 50 | 1678 | (16.1) | Paddy Donnelly 174, 97, 78, 69, 63 | 1239 | (11.9) |
| C. Praprut 327, 315, 175, 172, 165, 114, 97, 81, 78, 77, 75, 72, 61, 56, 53 | 2441 | (42.1) | Paul Mifsud 101, 221, 185, 144, 97, 83, 76 | 1401 | (24.2) |
With the players now on a routine of six hours play each day, it was perhaps not surprising that neither Bennett or Donnelly reached the heights they had both achieved in earlier rounds. Bennett established a lead of 300 points after the first session and thereafter did just enough to maintain his lead until the end.
Both Praprut and Mifsud on the other hand, seemed to revel in the conditions. Mifsud started strongly, a break of 221 taking him to a 70 points lead after the first session. But Praprut struck back with breaks of 315 and 327 to increasingly dominate the game, eventually winning by over a thousand points; Mifsud falling away as the match progressed.
| C. Praprut 471, 313, 259, 196, 186, 152, 148, 146, 140, 134, 85, 75, 72, 68, 65, 62, 56, 50 | 3201 | (40.0) | Paul Bennett 130, 129, 92, 91, 89, 81, 76, 75, 73, 68, 52 | 1657 | (20.7) |
Praprut began the final well, establishing an advantage of almost 300 points after the first of the two sessions to be played on Wednesday. However, it was in the second session that Praprut put the match beyond Bennett´s reach. At his first scoring visit he put together a break of 471, the highest in the competition and another personal best. With his last visit of the session producing 186 he had established an overnight lead of 900 points. Bennett battled on to the end, but never looked like improving his position to any significant degree.
There is no doubt that Praprut was consistently the top performer in this championship and was a worthy champion. He was the only player to make a break in excess of 300, achieving this feat seven times. His average over the ten day event, played on a range of different tables, was 38.5 for 36 hours match-play. This is high class billiards by any standard. Considering these fine performances, it is incredible to think that he only took up billiards two years ago. His conversion followed a visit to Thailand by Peter Gilchrist who gave him a month´s coaching in the finer points of the game. It certainly speaks volumes for the ability of the player—or perhaps the coach—that it has taken so little time to reach this pinnacle in the amateur game. Praprut is better known to his green baize fans in Thailand by his nickname Rom Surin.
In closing, it came as a welcome surprise to the competitors to find that prize money would be awarded, as this had not been advertised prior to entry. Praprut took a cheque for IR£1,100 (£957) which included IR£100 for the highest break. Bennett took IR£500 with cash being proportionally allocated down to the losing quarter-finalist. All competitors were given a certificate and the winner and runner-up also received a cut crystal trophy.