The North Harbour Open Billiards was held on March 11 and 12 at snooker World, Royal Oak, Auckland. Much interest centred on the performance of Grant Hayward. Hayward is a former New Zealand Snooker Champion and a former Billiard player of some repute, having scored centuries in competition. For the last few years Hayward has concentrated on 8-ball and 9-ball and is currently ranked number 1 in New Zealand 9-ball. Over the last few months, he has taken to Billiards again, playing matches with Wayne Carey, the current New Zealand Billiards champion.
Hayward performed below par in his first match of section play, losing by a big margin to Merv Stewart. He bounced back in his next two matches, winning both and qualifying sixth for post-section play. However, he was stopped in the first round of post-section, again losing to Merv Stewart 484-346.
Wayne Carey, winner of his last 12 New Zealand tournaments, started as favourite for the tournament, but was well beaten by Paul Stocker 554-341 in the semi-finals. Carey's score included a break of 114 made when the match was lost, which also proved to be the highest of the competition. Stocker went on to win the title, beating Darcy Boyce 650-388 in the final. Stocker was well pleased with his win - since winning the New Zealand Championship in 1996 and representing New Zealand in the 1997 and 1998 IBSF World Billiards Championships, other commitments have meant he has had little time for Billiards. Report: Philip Sharp. sharp@scitec.auckland.ac.nz