Robin Wilson, whose debut in the professional ranks was imminent, took the time to sweep all before him in the opening Junior tournament of the season at Riley's (Stockton) in October. His early position at the top of the rankings will soon to become meaningless when he rules himself ineligible for English Amateur duty by virtue of his professional status.
Of the twenty-six entries, only two braved the journey from the southern areas, emphasising the reluctance to travel which had resulted in the circuit being split into North and South last season. Early evidence is that this particular problem has still to be overcome.
In the tournament Wilson cut a swathe through the field with one-hour aggregates of 553, 523 and 519 in his first three rounds, including breaks of 152 and 149. The latter run was made against Michael Donnelly in the quarter-final, who himself managed a fine break of 90, but was simply out-gunned by a player who has developed into a very polished performer. Donnelly was the only other player to pass the 500 aggregate when he knocked in a total of 542 in his opening match.
The final hurdle for Wilson came in the form of Dominic Mulhall, who is another Teesside player, like Donnelly, who is beginning to realise his early promise. However, a break of 116 by Wilson was sufficient to win the match with little more difficulty than he had the previous rounds. Other good showings came from John Hall, who had a break of 85 on his way to winning the Plate, and Trevor Snaith whose continued improvement was reflected by him reaching the semi-finals of the main competition.
Full results