Amateur Billiards Circuit: Stoke

Seventh Event: 14th June, 1992

Reardon Snooker Centre, Hanley

Goodwill clinches the top spot

The season's seventh and last A.B.C. Tournament was held at the Reardon Centre, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, mine host -Peter Shelley. There is no better club on either ABC or Mini-Prix circuit. The bar area is first class, the catering exceptional and very reasonably priced. Playing conditions are generally good though many players found the tables much faster than they were used to. This may have been due to the dry warm weather, certainly the tables seemed faster than the last time we were there. There were 36 entrants which was good for the time of year and 6 better than the Middlesbrough Mini-Prix. There were 7 professionals at the Mini-Prix and so, from an amateur point of view, the Stoke turnout was 13 better. There must be a message there somewhere.

We meet again

Events can sometimes be perverse. The one draw that no-one wanted, least of all the players involved, was first out of the hat. Goodwill v Causier - again.

Centuries for Goodwill and Shelley

The two favourites both had centuries. Peter Shelley nearly had three adding breaks of 92 and 97 to his 129. Tom Terry gave David Burgess something of a run for his money after the Portsmouth player had had breaks of 82 and 52.

Burgess beats Shelley

The match of the round was that in which David Burgess met Peter Shelley. Shelley won the last event at his own club and could reasonably have hoped to repeat his success. But Burgess struck fine form and, helped by a century break, was a comfortable winner.

Bennett progresses

17-year-old Paul Bennett from the Teesside boys league had made steady progress to this stage and went on to reach the Semis with a nice - if narrow - win over Norman Routledge. A 68 from Burgess was just about the difference between him and Brian Harvey, whilst Bill Andress was overwhelmed by a spate of medium sized breaks from Martin Goodwill.

Goodwill was just a little too good for Dave Burgess this time. Brian Hoole, who had had an excellent win in the quarters, might have expected to reach the final, but Paul Bennett played very well to win by about a hundred. The draw had been one which put the most likely winners all in one half and Bennett took full advantage of the easier half to reach the final in his first ABC tournament.

Goodwill too good

Goodwill was quickly into his stride and with an early break of 170, the highest of the day, effectively killed off the game as a match Bennett tried hard and, though well beaten, was by no means disgraced. He is a good young player and no-one would be surprised to see him take yet further honours to Teesside.

Stoke Plate

Causier runs riot

Paul Dunning could only watch as David Causier piled up the remarkable score of 343 in half-an-hour with breaks of 134, 85, and 60. Paul scored 71 - he couldn't have had very much time at the table to do it in.

Another big score for Causier

David Causier rushed up another fine half-hour total but the best match was that in which Arthur Johnson just scraped past John Barker by 2

Causier goes. Good break from Jock

John Smith of Cheltenham is a good player as the English Amateur Champion discovered though the difference was a mere four points. Jock McGregor beat John Barker by just 10 and must have been delighted with his break of 60.

Terry puts the brakes on Jock

A man who makes 60 breaks has to be taken care of without a doubt and the BQR editor effectively stopped Jock McGregor with some wicked double baulks and some well-chosen off-putting comments. Newcomer Paul Adams from Portsmouth had done very well in his first ABC but found John Smith a little too good.

Good play by Smith

The match was close until near the end when the BQR editor missed a speculative pot red - cannon. This left Smith with a chance from which he played out time with 72 unfinished for a well deserved victory.

The curtain was thus rung down on the first season of this new venture. There is little or no doubt that the Amateur Billiards Circuit tournaments will be the major events of the amateur billiards season virtually equalling in importance the Championship itself and providing regular tournament opportunities for all classes of player. Derick Townend is to be congratulated on this enterprise and deserves the gratitude of all amateurs.

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