Forty-eight competitors attended the fourth ABC of the 2002-03 season, held at Sealand Leisure, Queensferry on Sunday 12th January with the kind permission of the Corbetts Group.
England Internationals Darren Kell and David Burgess were immediately into their stride, both recording centuries in the Preliminary Round.
Darren with breaks of 126 and 82 defeated Macclesfield's Norman Routledge, while David with runs of 81 and 100 accounted for EABA referee Bob Slee.
Darren's high scoring continued in the next round where visits of 96, 82 and 64 unfinished carried him to a comfortable win over Terry Azor.
Steve Crosland registered the only century of the first round, helping him to a victory over Bill Andress. The most significant pairing of this round was Phil Welham and Brian Harvey, Phil being successful by almost 100 points. John Hartley also put up a good performance, running up an impressive hourly total of 383 against John White. Paul Dunning made three breaks over 50 and needed all of them to overcome the challenge of Lincoln's Robert Hall who on this showing must be considered one to watch for the Junior Championship.
In the last 16, David Burgess made the day's highest break of 146 during his win over Dennis Marr, while Darren Kell produced a faultless performance in his 430-118 demolition of the in-form Mark Hatton.
Darren's one-hour total being the best of the day. Mark's description of "not being given a shot" was very apt as Darren once again exhibited his proficiency of true matchplay. EABA President Alf Nolan moved into the quarter-finals with a hard fought victory over David Rees, and John Hartley had a good win over the experienced Jim McCann.
In the quarter-finals, David Burgess matched Darren Kell's tactical know-how to record a slim 17 point success. Steve Crosland was the most emphatic winner, running up a 423-151 scoreline against Tony James, and Eddie Fielding put an end to Alf Nolan's good run, winning by 24 points in a low-scoring match. Paul Dunning completed the semi-final line-up with a 276-162 victory over John Hartley, despite the highest break of the match (52) coming from the Teessider.
Steve Crosland quickly stamped his authority on his semi-final clash with Eddie Fielding making a break of 94 on his second visit, and thereafter was always in control to end the excellent run of Eddie in the event. The second semi-final saw neither Paul Dunning nor David Burgess in particularly good form. Paul commented to David after their game that they had both been given enough chances to win six ABCs! Paul ultimately won a game that neither would want to remember for too long.
Steve Crosland was again quickly off the mark in the final, an early 61 break giving him a lead which he was able to maintain throughout the match. Dunning threatened to close the gap at one stage but crucially missed a pot red when on 71 and in good top of the table position. Steve's victory ensured the fourth different winner of this season's ranking events emphasising the openness of the current Amateur game.
Derick Townend closed the day's proceedings by thanking all referees for their hard work, but in particular EABA Minutes Secretary Harry Wah for all his work at the club and Gateway to Wales Hotel leading up to the event.
The Plate Final was hardly a local derby as it was contested by Huddersfield's Tony Clegg and Paul Stocker all the way from New Zealand! Paul was playing in his second ABC during his short stay and all friends old and new wished him a safe journey home. The game itself was an excellent encounter between two good players—Tony running out a narrow 301-282 winner.