UNITED KINGDOM BILLIARDS CHAMPIONSHIP
The Harrogate Spa Hotel, West Park, Harrogate
23rd-26th November 1999
The Players and Seedings
Australia: Robby Foldvari (4)Belgium: Martin SpoormansEngland: Paul Bennett David Causier (3) Roxton Chapman (8) Bob Close (14) Brian Dix Peter Gilchrist (5) Mark Hirst Mike Russell (1) Andrew Sage Peter Sheehan (11) Chris Shutt (6) Mark Wildman Rex Williams (16) Ian Williamson (12)India: Arun Agrawal (15) Balachandra Bhaskar Michael Ferreira Manoj Kothari (13) Devendra Joshi (10) Nalin Patel (7) Geet Sethi (2) Ashok Shandilya (9)Malta: Joe GrechRussia: Ashot PotikyanThailand: Rom Surin (Am)
The United Kingdom Championship is one of the oldest in the professional calendar having been established in 1934, when it was first won by Joe Davis. This year, the Championship was the first event on the agenda as the professional tour reached England, and once more, the venue was the re-named, but otherwise familiar, Harrogate Spa Hotel.
Awaiting the players were two new Riley's tables with a pocket design which had been specially developed by Rex Williams in conjunction with the manufacturers, to be "a true test of billiards". Abandoning the official WPBSA templates, the new pockets were based on the old B&SCC templates which positions the fall of the slate much further into the pocket than those currently used for professional snooker. Further adjustments to the undercut and pocket dimensions meant that the utmost concentration was required at all times by the players. The tables will be used for the remainder of the professional tournaments.
Following his success in the IBSF World Championship, Praprut Chaithanasakun had accepted an invitation to join the tour and competed under his more widely used name of Rom Surin. It is assumed that he will officially join the professional ranks at some point in the season, but for the first two tournaments at least, he will compete as an amateur.
The 1997 IBSF Champion, Joe Grech had also intended to make an appearance, but withdrew at the last minute, informing the organisers that he had an "allergic reaction" which prevented him from travelling. Mike Ferreira was also absent from the line-up, he was still suffering from the bad back which was evidently causing him so much discomfort during the recent World Professional Championship.
Early matches were all of 2 hours duration, with semi-finals extended to three hours, and the final four hours.
| B. Dix 50, 67, 74unf | 454 | (8.9) | M. Spoormans | 412 | (7.9) |
| R. Surin 173, 116, 71, 56, 103unf | 715 | (26.5) | A. Potikyan | 215 | (7.7) |
| P. Bennett | w/o | J. Grech | scr. |
Brian Dix recorded a rare win in his first round match against Martin Spoormans, a timely run of 74 unfinished securing victory for the Northampton player.
Rom Surin struggled to find his touch in the early part of his game against Ashot Potikyan, but seemed to settle after a break of 116 and went on to record an easy victory in his first professional match. Paul Bennett had made the difficult early-morning trip from Teesside to Harrogate only to find that he had no opponent for his debut match at 10 o'clock, and was obliged to sit around the venue until his next scheduled game at 5.30pm.
| A. Agrawal 93, 74, 72 | 479 | (10.6) | M. Hirst 50, 106 | 462 | (10.3) |
| B. Close 67 | 586 | (12.0) | B. Dix | 251 | (5.1) |
| P. Bennett 104, 76, 73, 53 | 688 | (17.6) | M. Kothari 101, 95 | 322 | (8.1) |
| I. Williamson 77, 55 | 473 | (12.8) | A. Sage | 184 | (5.0) |
| P. Sheehan 282, 194, 174, 170, 74, 70, 55 | 1172 | (53.3) | M. Wildman 60 | 255 | (12.1) |
| R. Surin 110, 95, 86, 76, 71, 67 | 716 | (24.7) | R. Williams 65, 64 | 226 | (7.8) |
| A. Shandilya 146, 58 | 616 | (14.3) | B. Bhaskar 53 | 396 | (9.2) |
| D. Joshi | w/o | M. Ferreira | scr. |
Mark Hirst almost recorded a memorable victory over Arun Agrawal, a late break of 106 putting him some fifty points ahead of the much improved Indian player. Agrawal's immediate response of 72 set up some tense final minutes as Hirst, having eventually secured an opening and in play with 11 unfinished, was halted by the bell just 17 points short of his opponent's total.
Paul Bennett started his professional career with a break of 73 at his first visit to the table and thereafter was untroubled by Kothari, who for most of the match seemed incapable of scoring a twenty break. Late in the game, he started to produce the type of fluent billiards of which he is capable, but his runs of 95, 101 and 40 did nothing more than improve his final score.
Peter Sheehan's display, on the other hand, was distinctly impressive. Consecutive breaks of 174, 194 and 170 left Mark Wildman trailing, and when he followed these with a run of 282 a few visits later, his match average was up to an impressive 88.0 and the remainder of the contest a mere formality.
Rom Surin overcame the challenge of the experienced Rex Williams without too many problems, although the game never rose to any great heights. The impressive potting ability of Surin seemed at times to make a mockery of the tight pockets, but even he was caught out on several occasions, missing reds from the spot when in good position.
| P. Gilchrist 130, 108, 92, 63, 56, 51 | 783 | (27.0) | B. Close 84, 59, 58 | 459 | (15.8) |
| R. Chapman 208, 142, 117, 76, 67 | 738 | (36.9) | P. Bennett 121 | 337 | (16.0) |
| D. Causier 174, 124, 102, 67, 58 | 690 | (21.6) | I. Williamson 90, 55 | 391 | (12.6) |
| P. Sheehan 136, 111, 81, 68, 50 | 758 | (21.7) | N. Patel 61 | 387 | (10.8) |
| C. Shutt 151, 108, 84, 67, 65, 52 | 712 | (31.0) | R. Surin 232, 101, 58 | 548 | (23.8) |
| R. Foldvari 133, 61, 56 | 458 | (14.3) | D. Joshi 122, 85 | 328 | (10.6) |
| M. Russell 383, 139, 137, 122, 98, 88 | 1111 | (44.4) | A. Agrawal 86 | 291 | (12.1) |
| G. Sethi 108, 104, 98, 75 | 611 | (14.5) | A. Shandilya 119, 104, 67, 64 | 562 | (13.1) |
The third round saw the entry of the top eight seeds into the competition, and they were generally successful in their efforts. The exception was No.7 seed Nalin Patel, who came across the in-form Peter Sheehan. Runs of 68, 111, 50, 48 and 136 carried Sheehan to an early lead of over 200 points after 40 minutes. With Patel unable to raise an effective challenge, he built upon this to win with plenty in hand.
Geet Sethi had been reported to have "put in plenty of practise" for this tournament, but looked far from confident as he struggled to a narrow win against Ashok Shandilya. With 30 minutes remaining Sethi held an advantage of over 250 points, but a late break of 119 brought Shandilya to within 60 points of the World No.2 and thereafter Sethi desperately defended his advantage. In a match which could have gone either way, Sethi held on to win by 49 points.
Paul Bennett started well against Roxton Chapman an early break of 121 giving him a lead of 140 points. This was cancelled by an almost immediate reply of 142 from Chapman who gradually drew away. Breaks of 208 and 117 in the space of three visits ensured that Bennett always had too much to do.
David Causier struggled for most of his game against Ian Williamson.A late break of 102 edged him in front of the Leeds professional for the first time. Following this with runs of 124 and 174 he finished the match well in front, although the margin of victory hardly reflected the closeness of the contest.
Peter Gilchrist had an altogether easier time against veteran Bob Close, putting in a string of useful breaks to lead 565-99 before Close managed his highest run of the match, an 87. Although playing much better from this point, Close never threatened Gilchrist, who eased to a comfortable win.
In more ways than one, Rom Surin's biggest test to date came in the shape of Chris Shutt. The 6' 7" Teesside player dwarfed the diminutive Thai in stature, but not at the table, where Surin put up a great fight. Consecutive breaks of 101 and 232 saw him leading by 150 points despite replies of 65 and 108 from Shutt. Further contributions of 52 and 151 from Shutt, against a 58 from Surin, saw him edge in front for the first time at 491-470. From this point Surin just seemed to stop scoring, and a relieved Chris Shutt progressed to the quarter-finals with a 164 point victory.
Mike Russell was looking distinctly stale at the start of his match against Arun Agrawal. Despite early breaks of 88 and 98 he handed out plenty of chances to his opponent. Agrawal however, seemed incapable of taking them and almost inevitably Russell's dry run ended in dramatic fashion when he crafted a magnificent break of 383. If this in itself didn't secure the match, then following up almost immediately with runs of 139 and 137 surely did. For good measure he added 122 at his final visit to increase his match average from 16.0 at the start of this sequence, to 44.4.
| M. Russell 221, 185, 125 | 676 | (28.2) | P. Gilchrist 144, 90, 83, 64 | 511 | (21.3) |
| R. Chapman 296, 114, 94, 92, 57 | 814 | (54.3) | R. Foldvari | 177 | (11.1) |
| G. Sethi 204, 131, 113, 79, 72, 51 | 885 | (27.7) | C. Shutt 135, 104, 62, 54 | 533 | (16.7) |
| D. Causier 121, 121, 117, 94, 87, 66, 64 | 843 | (24.1) | P. Sheehan 245, 91 | 585 | (16.7) |
Breaks of 185 and 125 at his first two scoring visits gave Mike Russell an advantage he would hold to the end of his match against Peter Gilchrist, although at times he looked far from his normal fluent self. At one point Gilchrist staged a recovery, but, as he edged nearer, the World Champion responded with a run of 221 which stood by itself amongst a string of mediocre scores. Breaks of 144 and 90 by Gilchrist again closed the gap, but Russell held off his challenge with some careful safety play.
Roxton Chapman was in blistering form against Robby Foldvari, making the experienced and multi-talented Australian look like a novice—which is no mean feat for any player. An unstoppable opening sequence of 46, 57, 94, 296, 114, 92 and 48 took him to a lead of 753- 90 and an average of just under 70. Easing down towards the end he still finished with a fine match average of 54.3
It took Geet Sethi some time to establish a lead over Chris Shutt, consecutive breaks of 131 and 113 eventually opening a gap of some two hundred points. A run of 135 threatened to put Shutt back in the game, but Sethi responded with 204—his first double century of the tournament—to draw clear again. Despite a reply of 104 by Shutt, it was too little, too late, as Sethi completed a 352 point victory. After an unusually tentative opening exchange, it was David Causier who found his touch first, as Peter Sheehan continued to struggle. Breaks of 94 and 121 by Causier were quickly followed by another of 117 to open up a gap of over three hundred points before Sheehan's first substantial contribution of 91. Warming to his task, Causier surged ahead with runs of 64, 87 and 121 in the space of four visits, before Sheehan reminded everyone of his class with a terrific break of 245. Even with this contribution he was still just over 200 points in arrears, and could do nothing thereafter to close the gap, Causier ultimately extending the winning margin to 258 points.
| D. Causier 215, 98, 96, 93, 71, 51, 62unf | 1165 | (24.8) | G. Sethi 130, 103, 100, 98, 84, 72, 63, 56 | 990 | (21.1) |
| R. Chapman 204, 188, 137, 94 | 911 | (24.6) | M. Russell 150, 97, 92, 81 | 751 | (19.8) |
David Causier looked in fine form as he established an interval lead of 334 points against in his semi-final against the World No.2 Geet Sethi. Starting with a phenomenally consistent period which saw consecutive contributions of 71, 51, 63, 98, 96 and 93, the highlight was a wonderfully crafted break of 215 towards the end of the first session. Sethi hung on with two century breaks of his own and at the half-way mark was 334 points in arrears. The final 90 minutes saw a sudden change come over Causier's game as he consistently failed to score, leaving plenty of chances for his opponent to close the gap. Surprisingly, Sethi also failed to produce the big break that he needed, although he steadily edged towards Causier's total, setting up a tense climax. With time running out, another failure when in good position proved to be Sethi's last chance, as Causier—knowing that the match was his— rattled in a rapid-fire 62 unfinished to seal a notable victory. Roxton Chapman has always been something of an enigma in billiards. Hugely talented, he seems to change from brilliant to bad within the space of a single visit to the table. Certainly, the odds looked stacked against him in his semi-final against Mike Russell as the World Champion established a 227-36 advantage, helped by breaks of 97 and 81. But then, amazingly, Russell just stopped scoring, his next 17 visits producing only 82 points ! Two flashes of elusive brilliance from Chapman produced breaks of 188 and 137, these alone giving him an advantage of 178 after 90 minutes play. The interval did not help Russell as he continued to struggle in the second session. A break of 92 put him back in range, before another inspirational and timely break of 204 by Chapman opened a gap of exactly 300 points. With time running out, Russell responded immediately with a break of 150—his best in the match—but Chapman coolly put together a break of 94 to restore his advantage and held onto this until the end.
| R. Chapman 490, 135, 125, 108, 101, 100, 77 | 1382 | (43.2) | D. Causier 288, 188, 103, 91, 88, 82, 51, 180unf | 1293 | (40.4) |
Such has been the dominance of Mike Russell and Geet Sethi in recent years, that the last time neither player appeared in the final of a ranking tournament was the Gold Flake Grand Slam, way back in February 1996. Coincidentally, David Causier was also a finalist in that event, which he won by defeating Robby Foldvari. Chapman's last victory in a ranking tournament was also in 1996 when he took the British Open title. Both players therefore had a long-awaited opportunity to improve on their record.
Chapman started the match in magnificent form. His third visit produced a break of 125 and he immediately followed this with another of 101. With Causier struggling to get going he then compiled a magnificent run of 490—the highest in the competition—and following this with breaks of 108 and 77 he left Causier trailing by over 860 points at 950- 89. This was Causier's lowest point, and he may have been forgiven for giving up the chase, but to his credit, he turned what could have been a formality into a thrilling finish. Starting the second session he had confided to a friend "I can still do it, I am cueing really well". With 60 minutes to go and still 634 points behind, he must have been the only person who believed this. Thirty-five minutes later, everybody in the room believed it ! The change came with a superb break of 288 played at break-neck speed, followed at his next visit be an equally rapid 188, narrowing the gap to just 185. Now with a generous 23 minutes on the clock, Causier fought to find the opening he needed, but instead, an attempt at a difficult cannon handed the opening to Chapman. With great caution, Chapman amassed a match winning run of 101 which occupied 12½ of the remaining 20 minutes. Needing 270 points in 7½ minutes, nobody told David Causier that he might as well give up. He raced around the table like an Olympic sprinter, using the remaining time to rattle in a massive 180 unfinished, earning an ovation from the crowd at the final bell. Looking somewhat relieved, the victorious Roxton Chapman said after the match "I scored three centuries in the final session, and I could still have lost!"
This could well be a turning point for both of these players, having overcome the “big two” of the modern game, they will undoubtedly meet future encounters with renewed confidence. Peter Gilchrist, in his capacity as Chairman of the WBA Billiards Committee presented Chapman with the trophy and first prize of £6,000. His break of 490 being worth an additional £500. David Causier took £3,000 as runner-up.