WEEKLY UPDATE 23rd FEBRUAR Y 2024

Only one match to report on this week, in the Preliminary Round of the Pairs Competition, so I've taken the opportunity to populate the Past Winners and  League Officials pages leaving just the Knock Out Competition page to add shortly. There's also an interesting football story this week

First things first, and there was a very tight Pairs match at Princeville, involving new pairing John Bedford and Peter Turner, and Richard Bowes and Ralph Allan, who won this competition three time in succession immediately before the pandemic. Peter and Ralph were up first, and I understand that the early stages saw scores of no more than two points at a time for either player. Ralph eventually broke the run with a break into the high teens, and must have continued pretty much untroubled from there on, as despite starting 70 behind Peter (70 to 140) he ran out a 201 - 166 winner. With handicaps on, John started 100 points ahead of Richard (instead of the handicap difference of 135) and this advantage was further eroded by Richard's early break of 36. From then on scoring seems to have been much more even, and John must have been confident as the finishing line approached with him still about 50 points ahead. However, a further break of 32 from Richard narrowed the gap, before he ran out with a break in the high teens, leaving John stranded on 397. A good evening all round by all accounts - although John and Richard must be getting a bit tired of playing one another, after meeting not only in this competition but also in the Individual Snooker, and the Pudsey League Individual Billiards, over the past few weeks (John will get some respite by having been drawn against me in the Individual Billiards at the start of next month!!)

This coming week is the start of the Play Offs, and it's an early start at Princeville, who have numerous players across several teams unavailable on Tuesday. The Elimination Play Off between the B and C teams has been switched to Monday, to ease this situation, and the other Elimination Play Off match will be at Pudsey on Tuesday when Pudsey B take on Princeville A. There's also a Qualification Play Off match at Pudsey, where the A team take on what will be a much changed Princeville D. The other Qualification Play Off match is between the two Deaf Centre teams, with the A team having home advantage

Also a reminder that if the match score ends 2 - 2 the tie will be settled by a 'shoot out' involving the two players who have just played the last game. (See the post 3 below this one for further details)

I don't usually cover sports other than billiards, but here's a related football story. My Individual Billiards Merit game against Deaf Centre's Peter Wood was delayed from before Christmas, because Peter had 'picked up an injury playing football'. It has since come to my attention that Peter is a regular for Farsley Celtic Deaf FC, who are currently trying to raise £10,000 to cover the cost of competing in the Deaf Champions League in Athens in April. Peter will be part of the team for that tournament and I'm sure everybody across the league will want to join me in wishing him well as he competes in this prestigious event.

Stephen |Kershaw

Secretary 

 WEEKLY UPDATE 17th FEBRUARY 2024

Champions Pudsey A suffered a rare defeat, in the final round of league fixtures, away to Princeville B It didn't look like it was going that way when Peter and Ralph Allan picked up the first two points against Peter Turner and John Bedford respectively. However, in the last game I had breaks of 40 and 32, in my best performance of the season, for a big win against the visitors captain John Allan, which claimed not just the one point for Princeville B but both aggregate points as well, for a 3-2 win. It has to be said though that conditions were quite challenging for those who had been sat down for most of the evening, as on arrival it was discovered that one of the heaters had burnt out, so there was a distinct chill in the air. This result ensured that both teams picked up a home match in the upcoming play offs.

There were nine breaks over the 30 this week  - the highest number of the season - and at the Deaf Centre Gareth Kershaw recorded his first 30 break in this league - congratulations to him. It was not, however, enough to hold off Peter Wood who still came out on top for Deaf Centre B. Peter O'Connell had already picked up a point for the home team against Edward Lawson but Trevor Kershaw - not to be outdone by his son - recorded a 35 break, for a 30 point win against Ihjaz Hussain to prevent Deaf Centre B from recording a whitewash. On the other table, bottom of the league Princeville C were not so fortunate, despite fielding what looked like a strong team. Ian Ford and Brian Robinson beat the Graham Bentley and Brian Haigh before Jeremy Dixon and Paul Devitt traded 30 breaks, with the home man coming out on top to secure 5 - 0 win Deaf Centre A, and with it a second place finish and a home match in the play offs

In the other game at Princeville, home man Steve Gatenby edged out Graham Tudor by 5, in a game which seemed to have spectators saying 'good shot' to both players on a fairly regular basis. Dave Howarth then restored equality for Pudsey B, with a good 19 point win against Mick Cockcroft, and then in the final game Richard Bowes breaks of 45 and 31 looked like he might have done enough to overcome Chris Jarvis, but a 30 break by the home man  meant that he finished 33 in front, with Princeville D taking the aggregate point on the night and the double aggregate going to Pudsey B by a single point. A real close one this.

So in two weeks time (February 27th) Pudsey A and Deaf Centre A have Qualification play offs against Princeville D and Deaf Centre B respectively, with winners going into the semi finals and losers to the quarter finals, while in the Elimination Play offs Princeville B are at home to Princeville C and Princeville A visit Pudsey B. Winners into the quarter finals and losers eliminated

This coming week (February 20th) is reserved for the preliminary round of the Billiards Pairs and with only nine entries this year, there is only one match. New pairing John Bedford and Peter Turner (who had a fine win in Pudsey League pairs competition last Thursday) take on serial winners of this competition Richard Bowes and Ralph Allan at Princeville 

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary

 

 WEEKLY UPDATE 11 FEBRUARY 2024

Congratulations to Pudsey A - who were crowned champions this week, after a 4 - 1 win against Princeville D, who themselves were one of three teams sat in joint second place. Both Deaf Centre teams were also joint second and both won 4 - 1 this week, but can't now catch Pudsey A who hold a 7 point lead with only one round of fixtures remaining

After this coming week's final round of fixtures there will be play off matches, which initially involve all eight teams and which will be played on alternate Tuesdays this year, with the Individual and Pairs competitions played on the week's in between. I have had a few questions about the play offs and so there is a separate post below, explaining the format and the new 'shoot out' arrangements for settling matches which end with a 2 - 2 score.

Pudsey A's quest for the title did not get off to the best of starts, as Peter Allan struggled to pull back Martyn Britton's 25 point handicap advantage. With about a minute to go Martyn still led by 16 and Peter was racing round the table as he compiled a break 14. With the bell about to sound, he played a cannon from red to top cushion to yellow, but struck the red slightly too thick, resulting in his ball striking the side cushion a little too soon and missing the yellow. Had he got it, it would have been the first tied game of the season.. Next up was Ralph Allan, who started 50 in front of Mick Cockcroft and then a made a break of 37 very early in the game. Flushed with this success he never looked back and won 237-110, to effectively collect not just his point but both aggregate points as well and with it the league title. The last game was another close one, as John Allan, who also had a break of 32, beat Chris Jarvis by only 8. So that's 5 games out of the last 6 for Pudsey A where the winning margin, for either side, has been less than 10. Fine margins - but well done Pudsey A.

The Deaf Centre teams slim hopes of still being able to catch Pudsey A where not helped when both teams lost there first games at Princeville. The A team's Ian Ford coming out second best in a very high scoring game with Edward Lawson, while Peter O'Connell for the B team,  lost by 9 to Dave Bowers, who came out of retirement to make his first league appearance of the season for Princeville C, deputising for Keith Tomlinson who has departed for one of his extended visits to family in Australia. That was as good as it got for the Princeville teams however, as Jeremy Dixon and Brian Robinson picked up all the remaining points for Deaf Centre A, with Edward Lawson putting in a second shift for Princeville A in Gareth Kershaw's absence, and Ihjaz Hussain and Peter Wood picking up all the remaining points for Deaf Centre B, despite Brain Haigh recording his first 30+ break of the season against the latter.

In the other game at Pudsey, Graham Tudor looked nothing like a man who has only recorded two wins all season, as he defeated John Bedford 202- 132. I then managed to make it 1 - 1, when a bit of good fortune at the end allowed me to edge out Dave Howarth 143-139, but Sid Ash then played nicely to take care of a big handicap deficit, in defeating Peter Turner, and this ensured that the four Princeville teams picked up just one point apiece this week.

In the final round of fixtures this coming week (13th February), champions Pudsey A visit Princeville B, while Princeville D entertain Pudsey B. At the Deaf Centre, the A team play Princeville C, while the B team meet Princeville A

On Friday night, Peter Wood and I played our Individual Billiards match postponed from before Christmas, and my good fortune from Tuesday continued in the early part of this game, before a break of 37 took me to 197, and a few visits later I was able to  complete a 200-166 victory. The next round of this competition will be played on 5th March - draw on the Meir and Pairs page. The preliminary round of the Pairs competition will be played on 20th February before the first round of the play offs on 27th - with all eight teams involved

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary

 END OF SEASON PLAY OFFS

The play offs will follow on from the league fixtures, and this year will be played on alternate weeks, with the Merit and Pairs competitions played on the week's in between (See Fixtures and Results page for a list of dates)

The format will be as last year with opponents and venues decided by position in the final league table

QUALIFICATION PLAY OFFS

1st  v  4th

2nd  v 3rd

The winners of these matches will qualify for a home match in the semi finals. The losers will have a home match in the quarter finals

ELIMINATION PLAY OFFS

5th  v  8th

6th  v 7th

The winners of these matches will qualify for the quarter finals, where they will play away to the teams that lost in the Qualification Play offs. The losers - as the title suggests - will be eliminated

The matches will be played in exactly the same format as league fixtures.

There is however one change to last year in that when a match finishes in a 2 - 2 draw, the winners will be decided by a 'shoot out', rather than the team with the highest aggregate going through (which is what happened last year)

SHOOT OUT (when matches end 2 - 2)

This will involve only two players - the ones who have just played the last game (so there is no need for all 6 players to stay until the end).

The two players will take ONE SHOT each at the 'spotted up' position i.e. play from the D, with red on the top spot and opponents ball on the middle spot).

Any score (in-off, pot or cannon) will count for a single point. Players will toss up for order of play. If both players score (1 - 1) or both players miss (0 - 0) the same two players should repeat the process until one player wins the match for his team. The final score (1 - 0, 2 -1, 3-2 etc) should be recorded on the scorecard to identify the winners

If you have any questions please ask secretary, chairman or treasurer before the first matches on 27th February

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary

 WEEKLY UPDATE 4th FEBRUARY 2024

It's now looking as if this year's league title is Pudsey A's to lose, after they moved 7 points clear of the rest, with only two rounds of fixtures still to play. A valuable 5 - 0 win away to their nearest rivals, Deaf Centre B, coupled with a helping hand from Pudsey B - who beat another close challenger Deaf Centre A 4 - 1 - sees them on 37 points, with both Deaf Centre teams on 30, where they are joined by Princeville D, who also  had a 4-1 win against Princeville C

Things certainly seem to have gone Pudsey A's way at the Deaf Centre, as Peter and Ralph Allan won by two points each, before John Allan won by a more comfortable 23. Richard Bowes was back on Pudsey B's team sheet and got them off to a good start, beating Jeremy Dixon by 24 after breaks of 54, 41 and 35. Graham Tudor's poor run of form continued, as he lost to Ian Ford by 10, and so at 1 - 1 there was all to play for. Dave Howarth then beat Brian Robinson by 14 to give the visitors their first 4 - 1 win of the season. (Dave Howarth has posted a more detailed report on both games on our Facebook page). At Princeville Steve Gatenby beat Keith Tomlinson by 14 for the D team and Graham Bentley, for the C team, beat Mick Cockcroft by 27 - so again everything to play for in the last game. That was still the case when I arrived, with a little over 10 minutes still to play, and Paul Devitt and Chris Jarvis more or less level around the 70 mark. Successive runs of 27 and 52 from Chris however, swept up all the remaining points for Princeville D. In the other match at Princeville there were no close games on Tuesday, as Edward Lawson beat Peter Turner by 33, to secure the A team a point, and John Bedford responded with a 48 point win for the B team against Gareth Kershaw. The third game in this one was played on Friday afternoon, as the League Chairman was away on holiday until Thursday and came back looking a bit rusty (his billiards not his complexion!). I looked like having a comfortable win, until he 'found his shooting boots' at the end, to play out time with a nice break of 35 to reduce my margin of victory to 25. (Oh but for the bell!). So 4 - 1 to the B team

This coming week's fixtures see leaders Pudsey A at home to Princeville D, who are joint second, and Deaf Centre A visit Princeville A, with Deaf Centre B visiting now bottom of the table Princeville C. In the other match at Pudsey it's Pudsey B v Princeville B.

Littlemoor visited Princeville in the Pudsey League on Thursday and Ralph Allan kindly agreed to stay on and play Chris Jarvis in this league's Individual Billiards, as Chris is on holiday on the date it is due to be played. Dave Howarth's report on Facebook suggests that Chris played much as Tuesday, taking time to get going and then knocking in breaks of 30 plus and 59, to win 200-150. In the outstanding preliminary round game in this competition I will be playing Peter Wood on Friday evening this week (9th).

I don't know whether I've mentioned this before but Keith Whitham's funeral will be tomorrow Monday 5th February at Shay Grange at 12.45pm

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary