Tommy Coulton Invitation Billiards Tournament
South Bank St. Peters Club, Middlesbrough
Tuesday 3rd & 10th July 2001
Teesside is privileged not only to have some of the best amateurs in the country living within it's boundaries, but also some of the World's best professional players. The annual Pro-Am event at South Bank St. Peter's Club, in Middlesbrough gave a rare opportunity to see them all in action over two consecutive Tuesday nights in July.
The Amateurs were in action first on 3rd July as eight players competed to find the four who would face professional opposition the following week. On an overpoweringly hot summer evening a full house witnessed the matches which were played simultaneously on two adjacent tables. There was a major upset when Jeff McKeown managed to eliminate English Champion, Lee Lagan 255-211. Lagan was sadly out of touch but still managed to stay in contention until the last 15 minutes when McKeown had the best of the game to claim an unexpected victory. Neither player had a break over 40.
English No.2, Darren Kell was another unexpected casualty when he went out to Tony Mackinder 235-126. Mackinder looked confident on the Club's notoriously tight "billiard" table and established a lead of 40 with less than 15 minutes remaining. He then added a run of 66 leaving Kell with no chance of recovery.
Robin Wilson started his match against Mark Hatton with a brisk 50 break, but thereafter it was Hatton who took control. Breaks of 52 and 62 clinching a good 236-195 victory. Last year's winner, Geoff Charville, made up the four qualifiers as he strolled through his match against Simon Snee. Breaks of 80 and 50 highlighting an emphatic 321-74 win.
Tuesday 10th July saw the entry of the professional players to the competition which included a welcome appearance by Teesside exile Mike Russell. As it transpired, his involvement, together with most of the professionals, would not last very long.
Paul Bennett, now ranked World No.16, could make no impression on Hatton who built upon the 150 points he was being conceded to finish with a winning margin of 206.
This was a magnificent display from Charville who put together back- to-back centuries to leave the World Champion in a hopeless position after 35 minutes of their match. Although Gilchrist replied with speedy contributions of 78 and 121 he never looked like making up the deficit and Charville finished winner by 234 points. His match average of 33.3 would have been pleasing to many professional players.
Russell, who has recently acquired a new cue, raised a few eyebrows when he chose to play this match in stocking feet. "I felt a twinge in my back after the first shot" he explained "so took off my shoes to allow a lower stance". He certainly encountered a few problems with the club "billiard" table, his first eight visits yielding just 12 points! Mackinder meanwhile steadily added to his 150 points start before a fine run of 144 by Russell brought him within 60 points of the ex-CIU Champion. From this point nerves seemed to take over for both players with many opportunities ending in an unexpected miss. Eventually, Mackinder held on to win by just 30 points.
David Causier saved the whitewash for the professional players by easing past Jeff McKeown with a top break of 113.
Charville was always in front in this match, a sound tactical strategy successfully denying Causier the opportunities he needed to develop a rhythm. With Causier unable to make any impression, Charville, for the second time that night, confidently disposed of a top professional by more than his start.
Hatton, who has improved his game noticeably over the last year, totally dominated this match. His performance highlighted by a break of 87. The scoreline would have looked even worse for Mackinder except for a contribution of 47 at his final visit.
As with his semi-final, Charville slowed the tempo of the game from the start and when an all-round contribution of 54 gave him a 106-39 advantage after 30 minutes, he looked to be well on the way to retaining the title he won last year. At this point Hatton showed his resolve, and with consecutive breaks of 31 and 75 took the lead for the first time. Adding another run of 53 a little later, he progressed to a well- deserved victory by 88 points.
Hatton collected £200 and Charville £100. The highest break prize of £50 went to Mike Russell for his 144.
Mike Russell and Peter Gilchrist explained that their lack of current form was due to the enormous pressure of having a WPBSA disciplinary hearing hanging over them for the last two years. This case, in which they are jointly accused of "fixing" a 100-up billiards match in the Australian “Lindrum Masters” multi-cue tournament in 1999, eventually began its hearing in London on Friday 6th July, but was immediately postponed again for tapes of the matches to be obtained from Australia.