The 1998 English Amateur Championship

Regional Qualifiers

The regional qualifiers were brought together in North and South splits, playing at Harrogate and Woking over four hours.

An open draw, without seeding, saw a repeat of last year's final as Paul Bennett was pitted against Terry Ward of York. A 143 break and seven additional efforts over 50 gave Paul a 500 point win.

There was more high scoring from Philip Welham and Peter Shelley while Steve Crosland, Mark Hirst and David Nichols all bettered the 1,000 points barrier. Mark's win was at the expense of the CIU champion Darren Kell who could have been considered a genuine title contender.

Chris Ross and Ivan Chambers scored over a thousand but ended as losers to Bill Andress and John O'Neil. Keith Giver's 83 unfinished break give him a 101 point win over Jack Hedley while Jerry Conba beat Ernest Shorney by only 80 points.

NORTH

Manhattan Club, Harrogate

Sunday 1st March 1998

SOUTH

Woking Snooker Centre

Sunday 1st March 1998

Competition Proper

Atack Snooker Centre, Nuneaton

Play switched to the Atack Snooker Centre at Nuneaton for the conclusion of the tournament with defined weekends allocated for the first round proper and quarter final activity.

Mark Hirst had nine fifty plus breaks and a century when beating Jerry Colby while Paul Bennett made his personal best break in tournaments of 204 in his win over David Nichols. Paul's two other centuries took him to the round's highest score.

With no major breaks Jerry Conba kept the Scoreboard ticking over and lost by only 64 points to Richard Lodge, Peter Shelley and Brian Harvey were involved in another tremendous match, the Stoke man won through.

Peter was again comfortable when beating Richard Lodge while Paul Bennett had the better of Mark Hirst to move into the semi finals.

Returning to first round action, Steve Crosland lost out by a mere 2 points to Philip Welham, John O'Neil and Bill Andress were in prolific scoring mood in a game that produced over 2,700 points.

Keith Olver beat Charlie Gay and Neal Rewhorn made his best ever tournament break of 284 when beating Derrick Townend.

Neal maintained his form in the quarter final with two centuries when beating Keith Olver, while Bill Andress and Philip Welham were separated by only 141 points.

14th March 1998

21st March 1998

15th March 1998

22nd March 1998

The Final Stages

Saturday 4th April 1998

Sunday 5th April 1998

For the third consecutive year the Atack Snooker Centre at Nuneaton provided the venue for the final stages of the championship and, once again the efficiency and friendliness of manager Bob Coales and his staff provided the perfect complement to the administrative skills of Derick Townend and his organisational team.

After all the if's and but's and hard luck stories of the previous rounds, Saturday April 4th dawned with only 4 players still left in contention Peter Shelley, Paul Bennett, Bill Andress and Neal Rewhorn. The Billiards feast was about to begin!

The Hors D'oeuvres: The semi-finals

The draw threw up the intriguing pairings of youth against experience as Rewhorn met Andress and Bennett met Shelley.

Both games went to the wire. Neal Rewhorn, after being 350 points behind during the first 2 hour session, eventually overcame Bill Andress by 77, the final score being Rewhorn 1,123 (64,84,50,77,130) - Andress 1,046 (57,50,76,59).

The second semi-final saw a similar result with Paul Bennett edging out Peter Shelley by only 84 points with the final tally Bennett 1,062(53,63,58,71,71,85) - Shelley 978 (81,152,61, 62,168,124). In this game however it was Peter Shelley who twice overcame huge deficits eventually to fall just short.

The Main Course: The Final

The Players

The domination of the championship by the younger players continued with the 22-year old Bennett pitted against the 27-year old Rewhorn.

Although the younger of the two, Paul Bennett already had an impressive pedigree as the current champion, an England international, and always a strong performer on the ABC and junior circuits. Neal Rewhorn, currently a CIU finalist and a top-of-the-table player in the Dagley mould, was however, a dangerous opponent, with the current tournament top break of 284 and let's not forget the local boy playing in his own backyard.

The Game

After some initial sparing, it was Bennett who was first into his stride with a nicely-compiled run of 140 after some 45 minutes play. Rewhorn at this stage was unexpectedly finding difficulty in judging the pace of the table and the throw of the balls. This pattern continued into the second half of the session with Bennett collecting further breaks of 62 and 75 and not only scoring more frequently in the lower ranges but also having the better of the safety exchanges. Rewhorn, whose cueing style and shot selection promised much, still could not get into gear.

The interval came with Bennett showing a healthy lead of some 350 points but still by no means home and dry, as Rewhorn had amply shown his powers of recovery from such a position only the day before.

Rewhorn desperately needed a good start but it seemed that the omens were against him when a foul was called shortly after the commencement of the session when it was discovered that he had started with the wrong ball!

Despite this, he slowly got his game together and ran in a swift 98 after 25 minutes play. Bennett meanwhile did not score any breaks over 50 but got some useful lower scores and also slowed the game down with some astute safety play. As a consequence, although Rewhorn made a 58 break at the session mid-point Bennett, was still some 300 points ahead.

It was a tall order for Rewhorn, whose plight was further exacerbated by a Bennett 109 which put him 400 points a head with only 40 minutes left. As so often happens in such situations, the knife was then even more cruelly twisted by the man ahead enjoying all the running as Bennett, aided by an 87 break eventually coasted home by over 600 points.

A fully deserved win for the current champion, Paul Bennett, with Neal Rewhorn probably still finding it difficult to believe that he played for 4 hours on his home table without scoring a single century break!

The Dessert

The magnificent trophies were presented by Rex Williams, Chairman of the WPBSA, following which Bob Coales laid on his customary tasty buffet for the enthusiasts who had gathered at Nuneaton to enjoy the billiards fare.

No doubt, amongst the chitchat, opinions were voiced about next year's winner. Paul Bennett is certainly the man to beat but Neal Rewhorn, and other worthy contenders, will no doubt be after his crown!

Gratitude is due to all those helped to make this year's competition yet another success.

---