ENGLISH GRAND MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Atack Snooker Club, Nuneaton
Sunday 24th March 2002 (All games two-hours)
Once again the EABA is indebted to Bob Coales of the Atack Snooker Club for allowing the use of his premises. The eight quarter finalists included the familiar names of Steve Crosland, Peter Shelley, Jim McCann, Brian Harvey and Tony James and these were joined by Dave Burgess, Jerry Conba, and Richie Evans. Sadly Tony James had to withdraw due to personal reasons.
Clive Scott was tournament director and the referees on duty were Dave Smith, Dave Richardson, Peter Cooper, John Richmond and Colin Patimore. As always Clive and his team did an excellent job.
Quarter-finals
| Jim McCann | 456 | Jerry Conba | 335 | ||
| Steve Crosland 110,106,60,58 | 682 | Dave Burgess 122 | 461 | ||
| Brian Harvey 97,77,63,63 | 730 | Richard Evans | 302 | ||
| Peter Shelley | w/o | Tony James | scr. |
Jim McCann had a comfortable victory over Jerry Conba with neither player hitting anything like top form. Brian Harvey got off to a flyer against Richie Evans with three breaks over fifty in the first half hour. Harvey continued to score heavily throughout the two hour session to win by over four hundred. The pick of the quarter finals was Crosland versus Burgess. Crosland had two centuries in his points total of 682 with Burgess also contributing with a century of his own. Crosland backed up his centuries with regular useful contributions and won by over 200. Dave Burgess is beginning to show glimpses of his old form and appears ready to present a serious challenge to anyone on the circuit.
Semi-finals
| Jim McCann 127,59 | 674 | Steve Crosland 70,51 | 355 | ||
| Peter Shelley 56,50 | 586 | Brian Harvey 65 | 464 |
The semi-finals pairings were McCann v Crosland and Harvey v Shelley. Shelley played consistent billiards and kept his nose in front for most of the game with Harvey always threatening but never able to dominate. Jim McCann played a blinder against defending champion Steve Crosland and won by the impressive margin of some 320 points. He had a top break of 127 backed up by numerous smaller but telling breaks. Crosland, who didn't play badly, found it impossible to stop his opponent scoring even when the balls ended up in positions normally regarded as being safe.
Final
| Peter Shelley 66,52 | 496 | Jim McCann 54 | 483 |
The final turned out to be a close encounter with the result in doubt right up to the final seconds. Both played steadily but neither managed to take a decisive hold on the game. With under a minute to go Peter Shelley had a slender lead of 9 points. McCann was at the table and potted his opponents ball reducing the deficit to 7. He then double baulked Shelley who went to disturb the balls and hit the red in such a way as to knock it out of baulk and the cue ball followed through into the baulk pocket. The lead was now 10 and Shelley played one more in-off red out of hand before the bell sounded and he won the game by 13 points.
Had Jim McCann, after potting Shelley's ball, not opted to double baulk but instead taken an easy in-off red he may just have had time for two more scoring shots from hand to win by two points. However this was not to be and Peter Shelley recorded his fourth success in this popular tournament. Report: Steve Crosland
The early stages of the competition involved several regional groups who all played on Sunday 3rd February to find the eight players who would contest the competition proper at Nuneaton. The results were as follows:
Qualifying Stages
South-East - Newmarket (13 entries 2 qualifiers)
Group A Round 1: Colin Summers 425 Robert Shanks 441; Michael Wright (51) 665 Albert Beard 228; Richie Evans (86) 437 Ivan Stevenage 260. Round 2: Keith Lloyd 442 Robert Shanks 432; Richie Evans 574 Michael Wright 356. Qualifying Round: Richie Evans 406 Keith Lloyd 405
Group B Round 1: Jerry Conba (66) 471 Gareth Wakeford (53) 379; Steve Russell (72,50) 476 Jock McGregor 221. Round 2: Jerry Conba 612 Chris Ross 436; Steve Russell 416 Morris Carden 318. Qualifying Round: Jerry Conba (51,60) 577 Steve Russell 474
North - Bradford (16 entries, 3 qualifiers)
Group A Round 1: Ron Whitten 475 Dave Richardson 354. Round 2: Richard Lodge (61,63,69) 681 Ron Whitten 323; Jim McCann 496(59) Branson Hoole 407(54). Qualifying Round: Jim McCann (103,50) 531 Richard Lodge 407
Group B Round 1: Brian Cousen 394 Alf Nolan 254. Round 2: Brian Cousen (60,56) 490 Brian Watson 308; Tony James (109) 576 Ronnie Haigh 332. Qualifying Round: Tony James (60) 493 Brian Cousen (60) 247
Group C Round 1: Steve Crosland (108,75,74,52) 783 Lawrence Torn 224; Rodney Sims 492 Tim Godolphin 293. Round 2: Steve Crosland (135,92,73,53) 605 Steve Kershaw (62) 428; John Ingleby (50) 482 Rodney Sims (61) 379. Qualifying Round: Steve Crosland (66,62,59,57,54,54) 707 John Ingleby (63,62,59) 426
South-West - Taunton (5 entries, 1 qualifier)
Round 1: John Howell (61)451 Geoff Lingard 385. Round 2: Bill Andress (73,60) 477 John Howell 427; Brian Harvey (73,71) 743 Dick Watts 407. Qualifying Round: Brian Harvey (97,65) 719 Bill Andress (73,60) 477
South - Southampton (5 players, 1 qualifier)
Round 1: Martin Phillips w/o John Smith scr. Round 2: Martin Phillips 355 Ernest Shorney (50) 311; David Burgess (81,78,78,52) 654 Terry Azor (60,54) 394. Qualifying Round: David Burgess (113,91,65,58) 671 Martin Phillips 291
North-West/Midlands - Sealand (5 entries, 1 qualifier)
Round 1: Peter Shelley (148,118) 635 Dennis Marr 475. Round 2: Peter Shelley 810 (108,104,95,81,67,64,57,53) Norman Routledge (64) 458; David Rees (65) 360 Eddie Fielding 280 Qualifying Round: Peter Shelley 523 David Rees (94,50) 454