The English Amateur Under 19´s Championship

Sunday 14th & 21st November - Fakenham & Teesside

Thirty-seven entries for the under-19 championship were arranged into two regional groups at Teesside and the Eastern Counties, representing the main centres for junior billiards in the country. All games were one hour duration.

EASTERN COUNTIES

Sunday 14th November

The Eastern Counties Area qualifying stage was held at Pot Black Snooker Centre, Fakenham. The fifteen youngsters included three who had also taken part in the under-16 event which was held on the same day.

England´s junior international player, James Chambers, was quickly into action, posting the highest break of the day with a run of 50 in his match against Nathan Mann.

Matthew Sutton was awarded a walk-over when his opponent failed to turn up. Following on from his high break in the previous round, James Chambers added the highest aggregate of the day with his 310 points against Darren Bensley. The closest match saw Paul Gifford edge out Fraser Adams by just six points.

Calvin Daws, who had already qualified for the under-16 event, failed in his attempt at the double as he was overwhelmed by Gary Lewis, who produced breaks of 42 and 41. James Chambers and Matthew Sutton also managed comfortable wins, to qualify for the final stages.

TEESSIDE

Sunday 21st November

The Teesside qualifying stage was held at Rileys SC, Middlesbrough. As he did last year, Allan Taylor travelled across from Liverpool, being the only competitor from outside the immediate area.

Martin Shutt, now playing with some success at the highest level in the senior leagues, looked in a class by himself as he dominated his game against Mark Coates. Jason Robinson, who has also represented his club at a senior level this year, was also untroubled by the challenge of Danny Thompson.

Lee Evans was the only player not to appear, although Allan Taylor almost didn´t make it, his driver having taken a wrong turn from the motorway. Arriving ten minutes after the scheduled start, it was not the best preparation to face the defending champion Robin Wilson, and although he kept in touch for the early apart of the match, the heavier scoring came from the champion, who drew away to win comfortably. Martin Shutt was again in impressive form as he ran in over 400 points in his allotted hour.

Qualifier: Martin Shutt

Qualifier: Stephen Hassack

Robin Wilson had celebrated his 16th birthday on the previous Sunday and now came within seven points of celebrating a century break against Michael Wright. After several good recovery shots which had kept him going when position seemed hopelessly lost, he eventually broke down at 93 on a relatively simple in-off from hand. An additional break of 50 helped him to a one-hour aggregate of 484, giving his opponent no chance of recovery.

Martin Shutt was the only other player to make a break over fifty in the qualifying round. His 57 just making the difference as Jason Robinson ran him close for much of the match, eventually falling 44 points short.