ENGLISH U-19 CHAMPIONSHIPS

Lindum Club, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear

Saturday 20th May 2000

Robin Wilson regains the under-19 title with an impressive performance.

The final of the English U-19 Billiards Championship eventually took place as part of the EASB "Finals Week-end" at the Lindum Club, Gateshead, on Saturday 20th May alongside the concluding stages of various EASB snooker competitions.

The one-hour match brought together Teesside rivals Robin Wilson and Martin Shutt, both of whom have show significant improvement this season, and a keen contest was anticipated. A preliminary view of the match-table however, cast some doubts on the expected fluency of scoring as it appeared to have significantly undersized pockets. These doubts seemed justified as early attempts by both players failed with the ball "rattling" the jaws.

Alf Nolan presents the Runner-up award to Martin Shutt.

During this period a break of 35 by Martin Shutt established a lead of 40 points before Wilson came to life with a fine break of 65—the highest of the match. With the difficulties of the table suddenly disappearing, there followed a golden spell which saw him make runs of 47, 32, 33 and 32 in rapid succession to lead 222-89 after 30 minutes. Shutt would have needed to produce something special to have won from this point, but he continued to play well below his best as Wilson cruised to a comfortable win, seeming to relax his efforts in the second part of the match. A stylish break of 61 by Wilson in the final minutes, and composed mainly of top-of-the-table play, rounded off an impressive display. Shutt shrugged off what must have been a deeply disappointing performance and characteristically refused to offer any excuses for his failure.

The trophies and £50 winner's prize money were presented by EABA President, Alf Nolan, who gave his usual entertaining speech. Nolan reminded his audience of snooker enthusiasts that some of the best- known snooker professionals had won the under-19 billiards title at the start of their careers. To emphasise the connection between the two games he pointed out that the impressive English Amateur Snooker Trophy, which was on display in the room, was inscribed with his name—against the date of 1950!