The Strachan U.K. Professional Billiards Championship

Radion Plaza, Sheffield, January 26th - 30th

Robby Foldvari Retains the Title

The Strachan U.K. Professional Billiards Championship returned to the Radion Plaza Club, Sheffield. It is generally agreed that the Radion Plaza is, for a variety of reasons, just about the best venue for present day professional billiards. It is certainly very convenient, being handy for three major motorway routes.

There were twenty-eight entries including 6 players from India. The competition also saw the welcome return of Rex Williams. Williams is acknowledged as one of the great post-war billiard players and those enthusiasts who were able to attend were looking forward to seeing him play. The format, for the second year running, was to be the controversial 7 x 150, and the games would be played under a 100 point baulkline rule. There were to be 12 first round matches, the winners to join four seeded players - Foldvari, Gilchrist, Russell, and Sethi. Robby Foldvari, as defending champion, was seeded No.l with World Champion Geet Sethi as No.2. Mike Russell was 3 and Peter Gilchrist 4. In the event Bernard Bennett withdrew (unwell) and Fred Davis O.B.E. withdrew (date mix-up) giving Mark Wildman and Ian Williamson free rides into the last 16.

Dave Seddon, like so many of the players, was quite clearly short of match practice. Patel's solid red-ball game stood him in good stead.

Manoj Kothari gave Norman a fright. The deciding game was a real nail-biter.

Dave Barton took a 2 - 1 lead. The young Liverpool player showed improved form but it was always going to be a hard game against the experienced Close.

It must be a little disappointing for the Indians when they are drawn together in the first round. Agarwal started favourite but Joshi showed good form.

An interesting return to the match arena of the ex-World Champion, the player who revived the championship when he challenged McConachy for the title back in 1968. Both players were clearly short of match practice but William's class was evident in a couple of 90 breaks.

A 5 hours 42 minutes marathon. The Derby man had his chances only to see the Snooker Scene editor snatch the match with a 75 unfinished in the last game.

Caven is an excellent cueman but not an experienced billiard player and, though putting up a fight, was no match for Nimmo.

The young Peterborough professional played well against a Ferreira whose game, by his own admission, was hardly of local league standard.

Cavney is primarily a snooker player but his billiards is greatly improved and he did well to take Murphy all the way.

Howard Griffiths played sound billiards to beat Des who must have been disappointed not to run the Welshman closer.

The Professional Players Committee Chairman started well, but a string of good breaks from Dagley settled the matter.

This was a wonderful result for the young Indian player though Close should have won the fifth.

Rex Williams had his first real taste of short format play and hardly knew what had hit him. He looked a little thoughtful after the game and one could sense that such a battering would not be allowed to happen again.

Everton did well to win one game

Hugh Nimmo went 3 -1 up and can count himself unfortunate not to have won 4 -1. Spectators thought that the Yorkshireman was a lucky winner but there is no denying that he fought back well.

Chapman made centuries in the first three games and still led only 2 -1. He made a good break of over 50 in all the remaining games - and lost. These figures demonstrate just how well Murphy played.

Sethi was not quite at his very best, even so Griffiths did well to win a game.

A very high standard of play. Norman should perhaps have levelled at Sail.

Joshi took the first but was afterwards outplayed by the world No.4.

Williamson's slow play and safety tactics had no effect whatever on Russell who won comfortably.

Murphy played well to take the third but Sethi turned on the heat with two big run-outs in 4 and 5.

Defending Champion gets through. Sethi and Russell in an all-time great match

Foldvari, giving away absolutely nothing, ground his way to a 3 - 0 lead at the interval. Gilchrist remarked during the break that he did not feel out of it and demonstrated his confidence by taking games 4 and 5 to get to 2 - 3. The Middlesbrough man was first in in the 6th but the Australian had the better of a safety exchange and built up a methodical 127 unfinished to take the match 4 - 2 and reach the U.K. final for the second year running.

This superb match will never be forgotten by those who were lucky enough to be there and will go down in the history of the game as one of the greatest ever short-format matches. Russell broke in the first, Sethi scored the cannon and reached 67 before failing at a spot-end pot. Russell ran out and that was that, Russell two visits Sethi one. Russell's splendid 150 unfinished included a wonderful screw back in-off after he had lost position at the top. Russell was desperately unlucky not to score the cannon from Sethi's break in the second. The Indian scored 88. Russell missed and Sethi ran out with 62 unfinished. Sethi three visits Russell two. These first two games were over in just 29 minutes. After Sethi had scored 24 in the third Russell got in and made 61 just missing a rather wide drop-cannon. This was the only shot reasonably on that was missed in the whole match. It was a disastrous miss for the Englishman as Sethi immediately ran out with 126 unfinished. Games 5 and 6 were magic. It was laughable (though not for Mike) as the Indian waved his cue at the balls making them run into position as if attached to the tip by pieces of elastic. They clung together around the top spot as if magnetised. It would have taken a Lindrum to have produced anything better. Russell could only watch as his opponent took the match with two 150 unfinished runouts. The whole affair took a mere 1 hour and 20 minutes including a 15 minute interval. Billiards enthusiasts in general would prefer longer games which offer the possibility of seeing bigger breaks. But such a match as the one described must convince even the most dyed-in-the-wool long game enthusiast that there is a case for at least one short-format tournament in the professional calendar.

Sethi frozen out as Foldvari Triumphs

After his brilliant display in the semi-final, there were those who though that Geet Sethi might run away with the final. There were also those who, knowing Foldvari, were quite sure that he would not run away with it. There were those who were shrewd enough to take Foldvari to retain the title but it is certain that no-one foresaw such a dismal performance from the Indian. The match was televised live on Screensport and the quantities of cable necessary to feed the cameras and monitors meant that the outside doors of both matchroom and monitor room had to be open. There was no other way to get the cables in. There was heating and the club was in no way to blame but it was very cold. Sethi was plied with cups of hot tea, not too drink, but to warm his hands on. It was the same for both players but Foldvari's concentration is such that he probably never even noticed, whilst the Indian's game deteriorated to such an extent that he missed several quite simple middle pocket losers. The Australian played his usual solid billiards based on very high class cue-ball control, unerring selection of shot, the ability to get in with a great pot, a solid top-of-the-table game, a no-risk strategy in the safety department - and, perhaps above all, a degree of determination to win found in few players. A clearly disappointed (and half-frozen) Sethi made no excuses saying only that he would have liked to have produced something like his best for the spectators both those present and those watching on the telly. It is a pity that he did not. Foldvari's game is for the knowledgeable watcher.