THE WHITWORTH BILLIARDS TOURNAMENT
Sunday 14th November 1999
The Whitworth Centre, Darley Dale.
The professional players who are lucky enough to be invited to take part in annual Darley Dale tournament appreciate not only the opportunity for some match practise before the start of the English season, but also the excellent condition of the tables which are maintained to the highest standard by tournament organiser Jim McCann. The event, which was for so many years a showcase for the talents of the late Norman Dagley, was held for the first time without the participation of this famous player. However, to commemorate his involvement, a new trophy bearing his name was introduced for the highest break. As events unfolded, the new trophy was inaugurated in the best possible way, as in his match against Mike Russell, Peter Gilchrist made a record break for the tournament, and personal best, with 707 unfinished.
Chris Shutt was also in the line-up, as was Paul Bennett, who will soon be joining the ranks of the professionals. In recognition of his current amateur status Bennett was conceded 100 points by the other players in the round robin format of 50 minute matches. After a nervous start, he put up a great fighting performance to come out on top of this very select group. Although his 300 point allowance over the three games was the deciding factor in his clinching overall victory, his two wins against Peter Gilchrist and Chris Shutt were achieved on merit, winning by over 100 points in each case.
| Chris Shutt 109, 98, 74, 72 | 460 | (41.8) | Peter Gilchrist 91 | 248 | (22.5) |
Peter Gilchrist appeared with a brand new cue, having recently discarded the one which he had used since he was 14 years old. However, he never really threatened to win this opening match as Chris Shutt, starting with a break of 98 at his second visit, drew steadily away. A break of 91 by Gilchrist closed the gap a little, but an immediate response of 74 by Shutt restored his dominant position. A final effort of 109 recorded the first century of the day and sealed a comfortable win for Shutt.
| Mike Russell 255, 81 | 436 | (36.3) | Paul Bennett (rec.100) | 238 | (11.5) |
| Paul Bennett (rec.100) 131, 67, 57, 72unf | 489 | (55.6) | Peter Gilchrist 163 | 237 | (29.6) |
Bennett stayed at the table to meet Peter Gilchrist, and started this game in altogether different mood. His first three visits produced runs of 28, 131 and 67 to put him in a commanding lead. Gilchrist threatened to get back in touch with a break of 163, but Bennett closed the match with consecutive visits producing 57 and 72 unfinished.
| Paul Bennett (rec.100) 98, 54 | 454 | (35.4) | Chris Shutt 80, 64, 67 | 235 | (23.5) |
Bennett completed his programme by defeating Chris Shutt, again by a greater margin than his allotted start. Starting slowly, Shutt was always behind but finished strongly, his last three visits producing breaks of 80, 64 and 67. Bennett however, responded with 42, 47 and 98 to maintain his advantage.
| Peter Gilchrist 707unf | 709 | 354.5 | Mike Russell 126 | 126 | 63.5 |
At first, Mike Russell seemed to be well in command of this game. Responding with a miss to Gilchrist's opening double-baulk, he took advantage of his opponent's failure to score by putting together a break of 126. However, this was to prove his last chance, as Gilchrist monopolised the remainder of the session to complete an magnificent unfinished break of 707. Continuing after the bell, he took the break to 917 before losing position and failing at an attempted thin cannon against the nap. Gilchrist, with just two completed visits in the game (one of them the break-off) returned a rather impressive average of 354.5 For his part, Russell may well have established a modern-day record by being on the losing end of a match with an average of 63.0 ! Prior to this, Gilchrist´s best match-break had been 647, made under the baulk-line rule, which was not a requirement on this occasion.
| Chris Shutt 121 | 329 | (13.7) | Mike Russell 83, 55 | 303 | (12.1) |
For the final game of the series, both Shutt and Russell needed victory to equal Bennett's two wins in the competition. Chris Shutt would pass Bennett's aggregate if he scored 487, and Russell needed to win with more than 619 points on the scoreboard. Both targets were not outside the bounds of possibility for such prolific scorers, but shortly into the game both seemed to give up the chase, conceding overall victory to Bennett. In a non-too-serious conclusion, Shutt just had the better of matters against the World Champion.
Bennett earned £125 for his day's work, receiving the cheque and trophy from the event sponsor's T. Nutt & Sons who operate a firm of local carpet fitters. Results : Bennett, 2 (1181 pts); Shutt, 2 (1024 pts); Gilchrist, 1 (1194 pts); Russell, 1 (865 pts).