Tommy Arnott Memorial Billiards Handicap

Ironopolis Social Club, Middlesbrough

Lee Lagan overcame heat-wave conditions and a top-class field to win the annual Tommy Arnott Pro-Am billiards competition at the Ironopolis Club, Middlesbrough, on 7th August. Lagan (rec.25) had defeated David Causier (scr.) by just 38 points in a memorable semi-final encounter, before accounting for local league player, Mark Graham (rec.200) in the final.

This was the tenth anniversary of the competition which was established in memory of Tommy Arnott, a popular billiards coach in the earliest days of the Teesside Boys' Billiards League, who instructed many of the players who today rank amongst the best in the world.

This year, the event was staged over a series of four evenings at the Ironopolis Club and involved the largest ever field of 24 players. These included most of the region's best exponents, and of the local professionals only Peter Gilchrist was absent, due to his overseas work commitments. There was also a record level of prize-money on offer, with the total fund amounting to £1,300.

The most notable feature of the tournament was undoubtedly the performance of Mark Graham, who originally had been listed only as a reserve, but having secured his place due to the absence of others, he made the most of his +200 handicap to come through the qualifying rounds and record excellent victories over Chris Shutt (scr.) and Paul Bennett (+25) in the quarter and semi-finals respectively.

In the other half of the draw, Lee Lagan appeared to have his work cut out in his quarter-final match against Darren Kell. Conceding the ex-CIU Champion 125 points over 90 minutes, this allowance was soon increased to daunting proportions as Kell added a run of 88 at almost his first scoring opportunity. However, two century breaks from Lagan were enough to pull back the deficit and he proceeded to an ultimately comfortable win.

Lagan having resigned his membership of the WPBSA may be officially designated as an "amateur" but he was still handicapped only 25 points behind World No.3, David Causier, and their semi-final clash promised to be the match of the tournament. In this, the spectators were not disappointed, as Causier started in spectacular fashion, wiping out the meagre handicap with an 85 break at his first visit. A 70 by Lagan was immediately countered by 81 from Causier, but Lagan's response was a fine run of 168. This equalled the highest of the tournament, which had been set by Causier in his quarter-final against Michael Donnelly. At this stage Lagan held the advantage by 277-207 and the players were averaging 42.0 and 41.4 respectively! Breaks of 50 and 87 re-established a narrow lead of 31 points for Causier, but with time running out, Lagan reversed the position with a timely 80 break, holding on to win an exciting game by 38 points.

The final proved to be something of an anti-climax as Graham's 175 points start proved sadly inadequate to test Lagan who had caught and passed his opponent with less than half the two-hour game completed. Obviously motivated by the high break prize of £100, Lagan still managed to finish with a flourish, making three centuries in the game and was seemingly well on his way to another when he was interrupted by the call of "time".

Lagan collected £400 as winner and an additional £50 as his share of the high break prize. Unusually, the break prize for "amateurs" was also shared. This stood at 88 which was jointly made by Darren Kell and young John Hall who had qualified for the competition through a special Junior section. As usual, raffle proceeds and other contributions where passed to the Teesside Boys' Billiards League.

Junior Qualifiers (Best of five 50-up)

Senior Qualifiers (90 minutes)

Thursday 24th July 2003

Final Stages

Thursday 31st July 2003

Thursday 7th August 2003