English Amateur Championship

On Sunday 16th March 2003, Tony James, who will be seventyone in October, became the oldest player in the history of the English Championship to win the title, defeating twenty year-old Matthew Sutton in the four-hour final at the Whitworth Institute, Darley Dale.

Outstanding as it is, this achievement is not a World record. That distinction belongs to the great Bob Marshall who was 76 years-old when he won the Australian Amateur Billiards Championship for the last time in 1986, but the fact that we need to compare this accomplishment with one of the all-time greats of the game, speaks for itself.

It was a crowning success for James' long billiards career, although with typical down-to-earth modesty, he had consistently dismissed his chances of lifting the ultimate prize in English Billiards.

The final may not have been a classic, but with both players making their first appearance at this stage of the competition it could have been anticipated that neither would produce their very best form. Even so, the match attracted a full house to the Whitworth Billiard Room and play was sufficiently engrossing to ensure that the seats remained filled throughout the two sessions.

Sutton's play in earlier rounds was probably enough to have installed him as pre-match favourite, but the tenacity and fighting qualities of James gave the expectation of a close battle. The result, which turned out to be an unexpectedly comfortable win for James, was not only a personal triumph for the likeable "Geordie" from North Shields, but also great encouragement to all Amateur billiard players, who were given an excellent example of how dedication and determination can produce rewards of the highest order.

It had always been likely that this Championship would be one of the most open for many years, but as the favourites progressively dropped by the wayside it became apparent that predicting a winner would require the psychic abilities of "Mystic Meg". The shocks had begun in the second round, and Tony James was once again a central figure.

Second Round Qualifying Groups

Sunday 16th February 2003

Round-robin groups to reduce the field from 32 to 16 were played at various national locations on 16th February. With all games 90 minutes duration the top two players in each section would qualify for the next round.

Lincoln

The Championship had not started particularly well for Tony James, who only progressed from the opening round in Teesside as a runnerup.

However, at Lincoln he excelled by defeating two of the tournament favourites in Dave Burgess and Jim McCann. Bob Patterson was equally impressive to duplicate this feat, both he and James going through at the expense of the more fancied players.

Kidderminster

Some fine performances at Kidderminster saw Richard Lodge the unlucky loser on aggregate after a three-way tie with Steve Crosland and Phil Welham in Group B. Steve Crosland topped this group, recording the highest break of the round with 175 in his victory over Phil Welham, who secured the runner-up position. Phil Mumford continued to impress as he was undefeated in Group A, although Jack Hedley ran him to within two points in their heat. Hedley also progressed as group runner-up.

Cambridge

Matthew Sutton came through the Cambridge qualifiers undefeated, recording the top break of 148 (timed at 32 minutes!) and his slow play drew some adverse comment from those present. There is no doubt however, that he has now graduated from the junior ranks to become a force within the senior game. Paul Dunning was runner-up in the group with the improving Matthew Peaker missing out on this occasion.

Arthur Reeve and Michael Wright progressed from the second group which was depleted by the absence of Michael White.

Nuneaton

At Nuneaton, Jimmy Chambers was undefeated in Group C, although time ran out in his game with Michael Donnelly as after 90 minutes he could only equal the score of the Teessider. The draw ensured Donnelly a place in the last 16 by the narrowest of margins. The absence of John Ingleby reduced Group B to three players, and when both Darren Kell and Billy Bousfield defeated Geoff Lingard, their progression to the next round was assured. The tie between this pair, although largely academic, saw Kell produce the highest break of the group with 122 to complete a decisive victory. Group A was closely contested with Brian Harvey and Tony Clegg coming out on top.

Last 16

The excellent facilities of the North-East Derbyshire Snooker Centre provided the eight tables necessary to play all the matches in this round simultaneously. The outstanding player on the day was Phil Welham who fairly sped around the table to compile 1,621 points in the allocated four hours. His opponent, Tony Clegg, could do little to stop the flow although he contributed four 50+ breaks in his total of 829.

Sixteen year-old Michael Donnelly was just one of the youngsters to make their mark on the senior championship.

In stark contrast on the adjoining table, Matthew Sutton caused an upset by defeating another of the competition favourites, Darren Kell, by 821-604. The unusually slow style of play which has been developed by Sutton in recent years was again the subject of several comments, including one from his opponent which must remain unprintable. A spectator observed that Phil Welham had made 28 points while Sutton was feathering his shot! Admittedly, Welham at this time was in a particularly high gear at the top of the table, but even a casual comparison of play on the other tables showed three or four strokes being taken by other players to each completed by Sutton. Whatever the impression of spectators and opponents, the formula certainly seems to work for Sutton, who made a series of good breaks and was striking the ball very well.

Also striking the ball very well was Steve Crosland who put up an impressive performance to demolish the hopes of Bob Patterson. His 1416-793 win included two centuries and five other 50+ breaks.

Jack Hedley had a memorable win over Steve Crosland to reach his first English semi-final.

Jimmy Chambers made the top break of the day with 157, but this was not sufficient to win his match against Phil Mumford. The ex-snooker professional, who, in his opening season, is proving to be one of the most effective players on the English billiards circuit, going through in a low scoring game.

Paul Dunning had similar problems as he put in a run of 152 against Brian Harvey, but still finished some way behind the West Country Champion.

The battle of the youngsters saw sixteen year-old Michael Donnelly overcome Billy Bousfield, two years his senior, by a comfortable margin of 282 points. This included a good break of 125 which represented his personal record in competitive play.

The quarter-final line-up was completed by Jack Hedley and Tony James, who both had easy wins against Michael Wright and Arthur Reeve, respectively.

Quarter-finals

The closing stages of the Championship now moved to the two tables of the Whitworth Institute which are lovingly maintained in a pristine state by Jim McCann. Despite the conditions, there was little in the way of inspiring play although the day did produce two more major shocks, as both Phil Welham and Steve Crosland were dumped out of the competition.

Matthew Sutton was responsible for the elimination of his former coach, Phil Welham. Careful and meticulous preparation for each shot was again the feature of Sutton's play and responsible for the lowest scoreline of the round as he triumphed 825-782. Welham was always struggling in this match. His highest break of 110 took him temporarily into the lead in the first session, but Sutton immediately restored his advantage by making the most of a fluke to compile a run of 117, his best of the match. After this, Sutton always looked in command. Although late breaks of 97 and 49 by Welham reduced his arrears to 36 with 9 minutes remaining, Sutton allowed no further opportunities and completed a 43 point victory.

In contrast, Steve Crosland always appeared to be completely in charge of his match against Jack Hedley. Leading by exactly one hundred points at the interval everything appeared to be going smoothly until the last 40 minutes. Then, from a position of being 167 in front, he became completely frozen out of the game, with scoring opportunities being virtually non-existent. Hedley made the most of the turn in fortunes and surged into the lead, scoring some 240 points without reply. Now under unexpected pressure, Crosland could not recover the deficit, and Hedley with some anxious glances at the clock, held on for a narrow 21 point win.

A slow first session of the match between Michael Donnelly and Tony James saw the experienced James carve out a slim 49 point advantage at the end of the first two-hours. The session ended with Donnelly self-declaring a foul and from the spotted position James started the second session with a break of 52. Quickly adding a run of 136 he established a lead of over 200 points, which would prove to be too great a handicap for young Donnelly. Breaks of 61 and others in the high forties did bring him to just 44 points behind James at the conclusion, but it was never quite enough. Even so, the showing of Donnelly promises better things to come in future Championships.

Brian Harvey had perhaps the easiest time as Phil Mumford failed to display the accuracy of potting which normally distinguishes his game.

Always behind, Mumford briefly threatened a come-back early in the second session when he produced breaks of 59 and 75 in quick succession. However, this only brought him to 183 points behind and he would get no closer as Harvey held his advantage to win 1,076-800.

Semi-finals

Brian Harvey's semi-final appearance was the furthest he had gone in the English Championship.

Forecasts of this being "anyone's" championship did not quite extend to having all four semi-finalists reaching this stage of the competition for the first time. Yet this was the situation as play commenced on the final week-end.

Tony James was quickly in command of his match against Jack Hedley a break of 110 with his second scoring contribution giving him a lead he would not relinquish. The game was a rather slow affair, the occasional good break punctuating long periods of low scoring. One such highlight in the first session saw James add contributions of 151 and 66 in consecutive hands to extend his lead to over 300 points. Hedley managed to reduce this deficit to 150 at one stage, but this was as close as he came to James who ultimately completed a comfortable victory.

Matthew Sutton eliminated a number of the more fancied players on his way to the final.

Brian Harvey started well against Matthew Sutton in the other semifinal, an early break of 92 giving him the advantage. Sutton took some time to get into his stride, but a break of 141 took him into the lead and the match was subsequently called level at 281. Harvey now began to struggle and seemed to be visibly upset with the slow pace of the play.

With increasing confidence Sutton produced three more centuries in a particularly productive spell which effectively settled the match. He concluded with another run of 112, fluently played at the top of the table, which remained unfinished at the bell.

Final

Sutton, as in earlier rounds, began the final with pronounced deliberation over each stroke. However, James was also playing cautiously and there was little to separate them on the scoreboard after the first hour.

From this point James began to slowly draw away from his young opponent, breaks of 72 (his best of the match) and 55 taking him to an advantage of 200 points shortly after the start of the second session.

Sutton seemed incapable of replicating the accurate striking which had seen him produce five centuries the previous day, although he did manage one finely played break of 104 which briefly threatened the prospect of a come-back, reducing the deficit to 150 with 50 minutes remaining.

At this stage of the match Sutton had almost completely abandoned his slow, deliberate cueing, and for the first time in the competition was now looking positively sprightly as he moved around the table! The prospect of another century in ten minutes putting him on the heels of James looked a distinct possibility, but the recovery proved short-lived and James quickly restored his 200 point lead, holding this until the end.

The last ten minutes, with the game decided, resulted in the first loose play of the match. Although this did little to help the averages, it was surely of little consequence to James who was assured the most important win of his billiards career.

The trophies were presented by EABA President, Alf Nolan, who plays in the same team as James in the Newcastle Veteran's League.

This season the prize money was at a record level of £1,000 thanks to the generous personal sponsorship of Eric Gratton. Of this, Tony James collected £250 in addition to the magnificent "Herbert Beetham" Trophy. Matthew Sutton took £150 as runner-up although few can doubt that it is only a matter of time before his name is also engraved on that trophy. The highest break of the Championship was 209 made by Phil Welham in the opening group qualifiers at Newmarket.

The final was refereed by the Tournament Director, Clive Scott, with Peter Cooper marking the board and Dave Richardson the Recorder.

Matthew Sutton and Alf Nolan hold the Herbert Beetham Trophy, with EABA Chairman Peter Shelley at the back and the Champion, Tony James, to the right.