The English Amateur Championship 1993

David Causier retains the Title

English Amateur Championship Area Results

There were 125 entrants for the championship. These were divided into five groups on a geographical basis. Last year's Champion and Runner-up, David Causier and Denis Watson, were exempted to the last 16. Preliminary stage matches were over 2 hours.

Southern Region and West

This was a large and a strong area. The competitors were divided into three groups. Group A included Terry Colby, David Burgess, and Arthur Winn, all of whom reached the last 16 last year but Chris Ross, Roy Bacon, and John O'Neil were also strong contenders. Brian Harvey must have started favourite to take the place from Group B but in the event was rather surprisingly beaten by Ernest Shorney, well done Mr. Shorney. Group C looked likely to be decided between Dick Watts and Bill Andress.

Group A

Group B

Group C

North East and Scotland

A very strong area with many players from the Teesside Boys and entrants of national repute. The area also included Scotsman Tom McFarlane. There have been many entrants from Wales over the years and quite recently a Welsh Champion (David Edwards.) It does not seem unreasonable that entrants from Scotland should be accepted. Forecasting winners from this area was difficult indeed. In the event, of the BQR's fancies, only Lee Lagan came through.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Yorkshire and North West

Another strong area divided into three groups. Group A looked wide open with any one of the players a possibility. It was the 17-year-old Peter Sheehan, showing fine form, who eventually took the place. Group B was very strong with Branson Hoole, Tony Done, Geoff Seddon, and Paul Dunning all in with a chance. Steve Crosland looked good for Group C but scraped through the final by a very narrow margin indeed.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Midlands

Peter Shelley seemed favourite for Group A though the Stoke player has recently had some severe eye problems. The place eventually went to Jim McCann with a narrow victory over Arthur Reeve. Martin Goodwill was the clear favourite for Group B. He did not have it all his own way against John Hills in the first round, but found his form in the final with a 224 which eventually proved to be the highest of the championship.

Group A

Group B

Midland Counties and East

There were some very experienced players in Group A but the eventual winner was newcomer Neil Rewhorn - an excellent performance from him. Ken Shirley started favourite for Group B but it was Alan Orton who made the breaks and came through.

Group A

Group B

Amateur Championship Intermediate Stage

All of the last sixteen matches were of four hours duration and all were played at the Dudley Snooker Centre where the 14 qualifiers were joined by the exempted players - David Causier and Dennis Watson. There were upsets for Steve Crosland, Jim McCann, and Watson - who might have been expected to beat Peter Sheehan. Alan Orton put up a great fight against Martin Goodwill. The other matches went much as predicted. It is a heartening fact for the game that five of these last sixteen players were under the age of twenty. Breaks at this stage of the Championship are unfortunately not available.

It was likely that Goodwill would beat Simon Snee and that Causier would beat Bill Andress. The other two games were far less predictable and both, in terms of a four hour game, were fairly close. It must be said that the averages do not point to a very high standard of play. The best average was that of Causier (14.8) against Bill Andress, yet the defending Champion scored over 2000 points which is very good for an amateur in four hours play. Andress scored 879 which is not too bad under the circumstances. I did not see this game but it must have been a pretty hectic affair. The players had 140 visits each and went to the table on average every 102 seconds. Those who have seen these two play will not be surprised.

Martin Goodwill v Geoff Charville

Geoff Charville had excelled himself to arrive at the semi-final stage and was clearly nervous in the opening stages of his match with Goodwill, so much so that after less than an hour the County Durham player had, almost unbelievably, not reached fifty, whilst Goodwill had piled up over 400. Charville began to make more of his chances and reached the two hundred mark being in play on 55 at the interval. Goodwill, though scoring freely, had a best of only 96.

David Causier v Peter Sheehan

Peter Sheehan from Widnes who will not be 18 until August had done wonderfully well to reach this stage. David Causier was expected to win this match and delighted his supporters with some typically dashing play. He knocked up a rapid century and added a string of smaller breaks to take a lead of 400 within the hour. There was little that Sheehan could do but he persevered and was rewarded with a beautiful break of 180 which most spectators considered to be the best of the whole tournament in terms of quality. This break was virtually all at the top-of-the-table and Sheehan showed a delicacy of touch and control that even Mike Russell would have been pleased with. He also proved himself to be very good at potting with varying degrees of screw, stun, and side. This was Sheehan's highest break in competition and he broke down at a delicate cannon from the top cushion which missed by the proverbial coat of paint. This break cut into Causier's lead but he still remained over 400 in front at the interval.

Causier resumed at breakneck speed and knocked up another 900 points, it is sometimes exhausting just watching the Middlesbrough player. Sheehan continued to play an attractive, uncompromising game. Uncompromising in the sense that he continually sought to take the balls to the spot end in as few strokes as possible, sometimes from positions where a Russell or a Sethi would have played several more shots in working the balls to the top. This boy must be just about the best prospect outside the North East.

David Causier v Martin Goodwill

Sunday 9th May, Dudley Snooker Centre, saw the two best amateur players in the country contest the final of the English Championship. Defending champion David Causier was making his second appearance in the final, whilst Martin Goodwill, champion in 1990 and '91, was contesting his fourth consecutive final.

In retrospect it could be said that the game was lost and won at the very first visits. Goodwill broke and failed to get the red into baulk. This left Causier a short jenny into the right middle, not an easy one, but one which a player of his class would mostly expect to score. He duly scored and took his break to 107 before leaving Goodwill safe. The Middlesbrough man then added a 59 and took a lead of just over 200 after only fifteen minutes. There are few players who can give Causier 200 start in four hours. It was early days and Goodwill would certainly have his chances, but Causier too, would have more chances. The older player tried hard but seemed a little out of touch and several times chose the easier stroke when the position called for something different; this was particularly noticeable when he was faced with the choice of an easy cannon or a more difficult, but positionally correct, pot. His first significant effort came on the hour - a break of 113. Causier was playing a mixture of brilliant strokes including some wonderful pots and some hair-raising deep screws, but his billiards at this stage was not very constructive. His best run after such a good start was a mere 56. Goodwill was able to get back into the game to the extent that he was in the lead by 2 at the interval and in play with 7 unfinished.

On the resumption David Causier continued to play in a manner which the writers of text books never thought about, whilst Goodwill plodded on and began to build up something of a lead. It looked as if there might be a triumph of orthodoxy over improvisation. It was not to last. It seemed as though the young Middlesbrough player suddenly realised that he could quite easily lose the game. He at last got his head down and produced a very fine 166 mostly at the spot-end and with the floating white. Some smaller efforts gave him back his 200 lead. But with some twenty-five minutes to go all was not yet over. Goodwill made a sterling effort of 129 but just when it looked as if the RAF man might have found the rhythm for a real big one - he missed an easy pot in the middle on his way back to the spot end. Causier spent the last ten minutes of the game getting the best of a tactical battle, adding a dozen here and a dozen there to retain his championship by 151 points. How Goodwill must have wished he could have had his break-off shot again.

David Causier thus became champion for the second year running, deserving winner of an entertaining game in which the outcome was in some doubt until quite near the end.

EABA Chairman Derek Townend made a short speech thanking all those involved and particularly the owners of the Dudley Snooker Centre. The trophies, lent by the WPBSA for the occasion, were presented by Councillor Bill Webb, Mayor of Dudley. BQR would like to add its congratulations to those involved in this year's championship. Despite certain difficulties, the organisation could hardly have been better, the Refereeing and Recording was highly professional, and the games, certainly those that I saw, were played in the very best sporting spirit.

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