2000 ENGLISH AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Qualifying Rounds. All matches 1½ hours
Sunday 28th November 1999
NORTH EAST
Riley's Snooker Centre, Middlesbrough (9 entries; 4 qualifiers)
With the club's match tables reserved for players on the professional tour, which was visiting the town the following day, the championship contenders were relegated to the "lesser" tables for the qualifying competition.
Alf Nolan was competing in his 53rd English Amateur Championship. Having first entered in 1946 he has appeared in every one since. This year he had undergone an operation less than three weeks before the competition and was still in considerable discomfort, but determined to compete, he made the long journey down from Newcastle to take part.
Lee Lagan looked to be in a class by himself as he cruised past his two opponents with plenty in hand. A string of breaks against Alf Nolan concluded with an unfinished run of 185 which occupied just 9 minutes. Darren Kell's failure to progress to the next stage of the competition was a major surprise. He is still considered by many to be second only to Lagan amongst the region's amateur players, but today it was Robin Wilson who took the starring role. Having turned 16 the previous week, he seems to have come of age in his first attempt at the senior competition. The margin of Kell's defeat at his hands ensured that John Hartley was the surprise 4th qualifier from the region, his score difference being exactly 100 points better than Kell.
| Lee Lagan 90 | 707 | Martin Shutt | 443 | ||
| Lee Lagan 102, 87, 73, 56, 185unf | 678 | Alf Nolan | 185 | ||
| Martin Shutt | 386 | Alf Nolan | 355 |
| Robin Wilson 73, 52, 50 | 516 | Steve Best | 379 | ||
| Robin Wilson 70, 80 | 541 | Darren Kell | 317 | ||
| Darren Kell 58 | 485 | Steve Best | 310 |
| Tony James | 350 | John Hartley | 266 | ||
| Tony James | 411 | Martin Stephenson | 266 | ||
| John Hartley | 422 | Martin Stephenson | 287 |
NORTH WEST
George Scott Snooker Club, Liverpool (9 entries; 4 qualifiers)
The surprise results started in the very first round when Tony Done defeated Peter Shelley to win Group A, only a massive scoreline against Eddie Fielding allowed Shelley to qualify as best runner-up. In Group B, Dennis Marr qualified at the expense of Paul Dunning and Norman Routledge, While Joe Bird did well to eliminate Jim McCann from the competition.
| Tony Done 51 | 419 | Peter Shelley 61 | 307 | ||
| Tony Done | 303 | Eddie Fielding | 282 | ||
| Peter Shelley 81, 74, 71, 55 | 611 | Eddie Fielding | 204 |
| Dennis Marr | 401 | Paul Dunning | 231 | ||
| Dennis Marr | 344 | Norman Routledge 58 | 314 | ||
| Paul Dunning | 366 | Norman Routledge | 269 |
| Joe Bird 74, 58 | 438 | Clive Bernstone | 257 | ||
| Joe Bird | 321 | Jim McCann 76 | 260 | ||
| Jim McCann | 393 | Clive Bernstone | 212 |
EAST
Breaks Snooker Club, Lincoln (9 entries; 4 qualifiers)
A keenly contested Group A was won on aggregate count-back by Mick Johnson, with Jamie Moore performing sufficiently well to take a place as best runner-up. The remaining groups went with general expectations, as English Internationals Phillip Welham and David Nichols were undefeated in their groups.
| Mick Johnson | 365 | Jamie Moore 81 | 299 | ||
| Jamie Moore 93, 73 | 459 | Alan Edmunds 70 | 347 | ||
| Alan Edmunds 95 | 364 | Mick Johnson | 359 |
| David Nichols 68 | 443 | Jim Temple | 339 | ||
| David Nichols 50, 50 | 529 | Branson Hoole 56 | 350 | ||
| Branson Hoole 60 | 396 | Jim Temple | 325 |
| Phillip Welham 64, 69 | 517 | Simon Bean | 233 | ||
| Phillip Welham 92, 72 | 619 | Ian Dennis | 245 | ||
| Simon Bean | 330 | Ian Dennis | 301 |
SOUTH
Southampton & Newmarket (16 entries; 6 qualifiers)
The Southern area was split into two regional centres at Southampton and Newmarket. The Southampton section was badly affected by absentees which meant that only four of the intended twelve matches were actually played. The five competitors who turned up were reduced to three qualifiers. Albert Beard and Dion Baker being the ones who missed out.
Southampton Executive Snooker Club
| Terry Azor | 399 | Albert Beard | 148 | ||
| Derek Hodges | scr. | | |||
| Gareth Wakeford | scr. | |
| Trevor Thorn | 401 | Dion Baker | 216 | ||
| Trevor Thorn | 353 | Dave Smith | 291 | ||
| Dion Baker | 336 | Dave Smith | 312 | ||
| Ernest Shorney | scr. | |
Newmarket
Newmarket fielded a full contingent of competitors, with Chris Ross looking particularly impressive in Group B. His high score of 597 against Colin Ross was the highest of the day and included three breaks over fifty.
All players in Group A finished with two wins apiece and the winner on count-back was Michael Wright. Jerry Conba also qualified from this group as best runner-up. Two nerve-tingling wins by Steve Russell—by one point and eight points respectively—may have provided good entertainment, but were insufficient to get him through to the later stages.
Midlands Area :
Northern Area :
Intermediate Stages
The Intermediate Stages of the English Amateur Billiards Championship were played on 6th February 2000 at four regional centres to reduce the field from 32 to 16. Continuing the round-robin format all games were 90 minutes duration, with the winner and runner- up in each group going through to the final stages at Darley Dale.
Final Stages. All matches 4 hours
18th March - 2nd April 2000
The Whitworth Institute at Darley Dale was the venue for the final stages of the English Championship as the remaining sixteen competitorsentered the knock-out stages which were played over three consecutive week-ends from Saturday 18th March to Sunday 2nd April.
Last 16
Saturday 18th/25th March
The sensation of the first round was the disqualification of the reigning Champion, Lee Lagan, who had lost his way on the scenic country tracks leading to the venue. He eventually arrived some 45 minutes after the scheduled start of his match against Robin Wilson, only to find it had been awarded to his opponent. The surprise elimination made sure that a new name would appear on the trophy this year, with only three of the remaining players - Peter Shelley, Phillip Welham and Neal Rewhorn - having previously reached a final.
Of the remaining matches, Jamie Moore was particularly impressive against Jack Hedley. He has recently been receiving some tuition from Jack Karnehm and was certainly putting the lessons from the master to good use. A break of 154 took him away to an early lead, and although Hedley stayed in touch for the first two hours, further breaks of 123 and 98 saw Moore through to a comfortable win.
Peter Shelley and David Nichols struggled throughout their match to produce anything like their best form. Nevertheless, the spectators were compensated by an exciting finish as Shelley drew upon his greater experience to raise his game when it mattered most, and win by the narrow margin of 19 points.
An even closer finish came in the match between David Rees and Dennis Marr. With neither player putting together any big breaks, the match was always evenly poised. Ultimately, David Rees just managed to edge out Marr by a slender 7 points.
In total contrast, Stephen Crosland was at his brilliant best against Tony James. Breaks of 188 and 168 were complemented by a string of 50+ contributions to leave James far behind. Crosland eventually winning by almost half the game.
Early contributions of 122 and 48, quickly followed by runs of 63 and 65 established a lead of almost 300 points for Tony Done against England International Gary Rogers. After this Rogers was always struggling to catch up and never really threatened to do so. Done's final winning margin being 243 points.
Richard Lodge continued his good form this season, defeating Neal Rewhorn in a game of fluctuating fortunes. Rewhorn started well, putting together breaks of 115, 80 and 63 to establish a lead of 89 points at the interval. Resuming with a break of 93, it looked as if the Nuneaton player would run away with the game, but crucially, Lodge then came back with breaks of 126, 44 and 89 in the space of four visits. This took him past Rewhorn and established an advantage of over 100 points which he held to the end.
Robert Marshall carries one of the most famous names in the history of amateur billiards, and at one stage in his game against Phillip Welham he looked as though he might even live up to the standard of the Australian ex-World Champion, as he put together consecutive breaks of 52, 91 and 100. This took him from 100 points in arrears to 100 points in front, but he was unable to keep up the momentum as Welham, with breaks of 67 and 99, brought himself back on level terms at the interval. The game remained tight until the final hour when Welham slipped into a higher gear and with runs of 130, 62, 70 and 54 unfinished eased into the quarter-finals.
| Jamie Moore 154, 123, 94, 60, 59 | 1138 | (n/r) | Jack Hedley 54 | 929 | (n/r) |
| Peter Shelley 98, 76, 58, 57, 50 | 1083 | (n/r) | David Nichols 94, 75, 74, 54 | 1064 | (n/r) |
| David Rees 65 | 810 | (n/r) | Dennis Marr 65, 61, 50 | 803 | (n/r) |
| Stephen Crosland 188, 168, 64, 63, 59, 51 | 1263 | (n/r) | Tony James | 714 | (n/r) |
| Tony Done 122, 65, 65, 63 | 1036 | (13.8) | Gary Rogers 85, 67, 55, 50 | 793 | (10.6) |
| Richard Lodge 126, 89, 66, 58 | 1019 | (14.8) | Neal Rewhorn 115, 93, 80, 63 | 934 | (13.5) |
| Phillip Welham 130, 99, 70, 67, 64, 62, 54unf | 1281 | (15.4) | Robert Marshall 100, 91, 67, 52 | 947 | (11.4) |
| Robin Wilson | w/o | Lee Lagan | scr. |
Quarter-finals
Sunday 19th/26th March
"Magnificent" was the word used by one spectator to describe the performance of Jamie Moore, as he romped to an impressive victory over the normally consistent Stephen Crosland. With red-ball play prominent, he put together early breaks of 116 and 124 to leave Crosland trailing by some 200 points at the interval. Moore continued to play well in the second session, with "ten hazards" being called regularly by the referee. His winning margin of 367 over a player at the very top of the English rankings, was indeed a fine performance.
A run of 113 was the best of no fewer than 10 breaks over fifty from Peter Shelley as he produced a sparkling performance to record a comfortable win over David Rees.
Richard Lodge and Tony Done were locked together for most of their four- hour match, with Lodge generally holding the advantage, but unable to break away completely. This all changed in the final hour as Lodge put together runs of 57, 72, 86 and 62 without significant reply from his opponent, eventually cruising to a comfortable win.
Having been awarded his game in the previous round, Robin Wilson's quarter-final match against Phillip Welham was his first ever at the Darley Dale venue. If the initial result could be considered good fortune, then his luck certainly deserted him in the opening two-hour session of this match, the balls running very badly. Resuming some 220 points in arrears, nobody would have given him a chance against such an experienced campaigner as Welham, but finding his touch he put together runs of 44, 31, 73, 66 and 44 in the space of seven visits, closing the gap to within fifty points. Sensing an upset, some spectators moved across from the other table to watch this match, but Welham held on, late breaks of 51 and 72 opening a gap which Wilson had no time to close. Nevertheless, a good performance from the new Teesside star on his debut in these Championships, and certainly a name we will see again.
| Jamie Moore 162, 124, 116, 89, 75, 61 | 1275 | (n/r) | Stephen Crosland 79, 61, 58, 51 | 908 | (n/r) |
| Peter Shelley 133, 91, 90, 73, 69, 64, 64, 62, 53, 50 | 1305 | (n/r) | David Rees 105 | 888 | (n/r) |
| Richard Lodge 86, 84, 62, 57, 52, 52, 50 | 1154 | (12.0) | Tony Done 52 | 709 | (7.4) |
| Phillip Welham 76, 72, 63, 61, 54, 54, 51 | 1241 | (13.3) | Robin Wilson 73, 66 | 1096 | (11.6) |
Semi-finals
Saturday 1st April
After the fine performances by both Peter Shelley and Jamie Moore in their quarter-final matches, a great contest was anticipated between these two for a place in the final. Unfortunately the match did not live up to expectations, with many unlikely failures coming from both players. After the best part of an hour the highest break was just 25 and the players were tied together with the dismal average of 5.8. Things did then brighten a little with breaks from Moore (61) and Shelley (83) in rapid succession, but this standard was not maintained as long spells of moderate play predominated. One highlight was a fine break of 105 by Moore, made when 140 in arrears, but Shelley then drew clear again, and a break of 77 towards the end of the match was just too much for Moore to overcome, Shelley eventually winning by 227 points. Phillip Welham and Richard Lodge also made a slow start to their game, there being little between them approaching the end of the first session. At this stage Welham came to life with breaks of 81 and 94 - the latter being unfinished at the interval - which propelled him into a lead of just over 100 points. Being in bad position, Welham chose to terminate his 94 break with a safety stroke when play resumed, but he was soon in action again as just four visits later he added 96. Lodge was now struggling to find the openings he needed, any good fortune which was on offer seeming to fall in the direction of Welham. A rare opportunity brought Lodge 54, but this was immediately cancelled out by an 84 from Welham, who a few visits later also rattled in a break of 139 to extend his lead to over 300 points. This always looked as though it would be enough, and so it proved, as Welham completed the match with a 51 unfinished, looking the pick of the players in action on the day.
| Peter Shelley 83, 77, 57, 52 | 1071 | (12.9) | Jamie Moore 105, 61, 61 | 844 | (10.2) |
| Phillip Welham 139, 96, 94, 84, 81, 75, 51unf | 1295 | (18.0) | Richard Lodge 54 | 834 | (11.6) |
Final
Sunday 2nd April
Peter Shelley and Phillip Welham had both previously been this close to the dream of becoming English Champion only to see the prize taken from them at the last hurdle. As might be expected in these circumstances, they appeared to start this match a little nervously. After 30 minutes the highest break had been just 22, but then a timely fluke cannon gave Welham the opening for a break of 60. Shelley immediately responded with 61 and the game had eventually come to life.
Unfortunately not for long. Almost an hour had passed before the next significant break - 103 from Welham - which also proved to be the highest of the match. He followed this at the next visit with a run of 58 and a little later with contributions of 82 and 64. This was a significant period, as Shelley, although he did manage a break of 67, offered little else in return and went to the interval 278 points in arrears. Having become used to the conditions on the match table, it would have been a reasonable expectation that the players would pick up the pace in the second session. In fact, the reverse was true, as even with the absence of any significant safety play, both players struggled to put any sort of break together for the first 45 minutes. Then Shelley, by now nearly 400 points behind, seemed to find his touch and in his brightest spell of the match produced breaks of 61, 68, 65 and 54 in the space of six visits closed the gap to 160. For a player well capable of breaks over 200, this put him right back within striking distance. Welham now looked to defend his lead for the first time and as the opportunities dried up, so did the scoring. With 15 minutes to go, Welham still held an advantage of 200 points and with the match looking safe, made absolutely certain by putting together a nice break of 73, which was by far his best of the session.
| Phillip Welham 103, 82, 73, 64, 60, 58 | 1157 | (12.3) | Peter Shelley 68, 67, 65, 61, 61, 51 | 930 | (10.0) |
Phillip Welham took the winners cheque of £300 and Peter Shelley received £200 by way of consolation. Lee Lagan's break of 265, made in the qualifying section at Stoke, was the highest of the competition, earning him a £50 prize. The trophies and other prizes were presented by our Editor, Derick Townend, and EABA President Alf Nolan made his traditional closing speech to bring the 2000 Championships to an end. John Richmond, the Tournament Director, was singled out for praise, having successfully managed the event for the second consecutive year. The final also had an element of local interest, as the match referee, Mike Billinge, was born in Darley Dale, although he now lives in Exeter.