Paul pots his way to title glory

Harper, representing Maddocks from Oakengates, emerged victorious on finals night at Alveley Social Club, where spectators were treated to some excellent snooker.

Harper’s semi-final opponent was Jason Brown, from St John’s, who had the advantage of a 35-point handicap start.

But that counted for nothing in the first frame as Brown was allowed just a single red while Harper knocked in breaks of 31 and 43.

The second frame was a much closer affair and for the most part it looked as if Brown, with the aid of a modest 21 break, would level the match.

However, Harper rallied, notching a 28 break and then concluding with a 25 clearance to triumph by five points.

. Both frames were put to bed in less than thirty-five minutes. 2-0 to Paul.

Meanwhile, on the second table, a battle royal raged that took more than two hours to produce a winner.

There were no high breaks, but lots of safe play in three closely contested frames that were all decided on the final colours.

In essence the two players, Broseley’s Owen Hughes and Chelmarsh’s Ian Postans, were fairly evenly matched although Hughes had the advantage of a 14-point start.

That handicap was just enough for him to take the first and third frames, while Postans was only able to cancel out his disadvantage in the second.

In the final, Harper was expected to pull back a handicap of 28. And he set about the first frame against Hughes in a similar fashion to the first semi-final frame.

A 39 break wiped out Hughes’s advantage as he went on to bag a comfortable victory.

In the second frame, he was again on fire and knocked in a break of 40. But, like Brown earlier in the evening, Hughes potted a few balls himself and it looked likely that he would level the match.

Having potted brown, blue and pink, Hughes just needed to sink the black.

Unfortunately for him, it rattled in a corner pocket and stayed there. Harper gladly accepted the gift, winning the second frame by two points and the match 2-0.

For Hughes it was a second consecutive defeat in the final, while for Harper it was a case of rolling back the years. He last won the League’s Individuals Handicap Knockout as a youth, way back in 1989.

Harper can now look forward to collecting the Colin Ellingham Cup from former world champion Shaun Murphy at the league’s presentation night on June 24.

Results

Semi-Finals – P. Harper 2, J. Brown 0 (82-36, 73-68); O. Hughes 2, I. Postans 1 (59-50, 41-57, 66-52.

Final – P. Harper 2, O. Hughes 0 (73-43, 63-61)