Amateur Billiards Circuit
English Ranking Tournaments - All games one hour
Spondon
Paul Dunning emerged victorious from a field of 40 competitors at the third of the season's EABA ranking tournaments, held at the Spondon Snooker Centre on 12th December. The 30 points gained from his win boosted him to equal fourth in the latest ranking list, although Stephen Crosland—despite losing out in the quarter-finals of this event— retains the top spot.
Lee Lagan started his campaign at Spondon in much the same manner as he had finished at Nuneaton, producing breaks of 169, 87 and 83 in his preliminary round win over John Castle. Dick Watts was also in good form, breaks of 117 and 58 giving him a fine victory over Tony James.
The first round brought together those Teesside rivals Darren Kell and Lee Lagan. A break of 76 by Lagan helped him to established a commanding lead and although Kell came back with a fine break of 103, he was unable to close the gap as Lagan held on to win by 51 points.
Stephen Crosland's break of 179 against Derick Townend proved to be the highest of the day although Phillip Welham wasn't too far behind as breaks of 154 and 67 helped him through to the second round. Fifteen-year-old Billy Bousfield almost made his first appearance in a senior competition one to remember. In a game which was close throughout, he had every chance to defeat England International Paul Dunning, falling just 17 points short of his vastly more experienced opponent.
David Nichols provided the surprise of the second round when—helped by a break of 109—he edged out Lee Lagan by just one point in an exciting finish. Also going down to the last shot was Paul Dunning's encounter with Joe Bird, the former getting home by two points. Richard Lodge, who had made breaks of 83 and 66 in his first round match, continued his good form against Dick Watts, completing a comprehensive victory with runs of 90, 71 and 55.
| R. Lodge 90, 71, 55 | 417 | D. Watts 58 | 128 | ||
| P. Dunning | 213 | J. Bird | 211 | ||
| G. Rogers | 309 | M. Kaye | 136 | ||
| P. Welham | 293 | B. Andress | 200 | ||
| J. McCann 85 | 305 | J. Ingleby | 127 | ||
| S. Crosland | 329 | P. Shelley | 185 | ||
| G. Dickson | 223 | D. Rees | 159 | ||
| D. Nichols 109 | 248 | L. Lagan | 247 |
| Paul Dunning 55, 53 | 273 | Richard Lodge 54 | 194 | ||
| Phillip Welham 91, 68 | 248 | Gary Rogers 64, 59 | 218 | ||
| Jim McCann 65, 58 | 288 | Stephen Crosland 52 | 202 | ||
| David Nichols | 319 | Gerry Dickson | 149 |
With Richard Lodge having shown some great form in the earlier rounds, it was an excellent performance by Paul Dunning to come through this match in such a convincing manner. An equally good result came from Jim McCann, who continued his good run with a very meritorious victory over Stephen Crosland. Phillip Welham edged out Gary Rogers in a hard-fought match while David Nichols progressed more comfortably against Gerry Dickinson.
| Paul Dunning 92, 56 | 309 | Phillip Welham | 157 | ||
| Jim McCann | 285 | David Nichols 93 | 216 |
Breaks of 92 and 56 where the highlights of a fine performance by Paul Dunning as he dominated his semi-final match against Phillip Welham, the winner of the season's first tournament at Liverpool. Jim McCann's consistency was the key to his progression to the final, even a break of 93 by Nichols proved insufficient for the talented 23 year-old.
| Paul Dunning | 239 | Jim McCann | 176 |
With two new faces in the final, a "surprise" winner was guaranteed. Perhaps understandably, the match did not reach the heights of some earlier rounds, but nevertheless, Dunning crowned a very satisfying day by remaining unbeaten. Jamie Moore won the plate, making a break of 109 in the one hour final where he defeated Middlesbrough's Mark Hatton 342-196.