WEEKLY UPDATE 2 MARCH 2025

Champions Pudsey B had another win this week, defeating Princeville D 4 - 1. Chris Jarvis saved Princeville D's blushes, as a break of 38 enabled him to defeat Dave Howarth for Princeville D's only point. On the other table, rock bottom Princeville B had no such saviour. After Pudsey A's Peter Allan had racked up an impressive 260 to defeat Don Hardcastle by 77, Ralph Allan just held off John Bedford's late charge, to win by 10, and any hopes I had of preventing yet another 5 - 0 defeat, disappeared as a confident John Allan included a break of 41 in a big win

No breaks at Princeville, but Princeville C got back to winning ways with a 4 - 1 victory against Deaf Centre B, who had replaced them in second place last week after their defeat to the champions. Deaf Centre B's defeat this time saw them slip from second to fourth, as Pudsey A's big win meant they secured third place. The tightest match this week was Princeville A's 3 -2 defeat against Deaf Centre A, who were without Ihjaz Hussain, meaning that Brian Robinson was forced into another double session. Peter O'Connell got Deaf Centre A off to a great start, finishing on 257, to defeat Edward Lawson by 71 (Where have these huge scores come from this week?). Brian Robinson picked up another point for the visitors, hanging on to 9 of his 75 start against Trevor Kershaw - but apparently he was flagging in his second appearance against Gareth Kershaw, who had a comfortable 211 - 147 win (another score nicely over 200). The result of all that was that Deaf Centre A had won the match on the night by 16, but Princeville A had claimed the double aggregate having won the reverse fixture by 136 way back in October.

So in this coming week's Play Offs (Tuesday March 4th) Pudsey B will play Deaf Centre B and Princeville C will play Pudsey A, both in the Qualification  Play Offs. In the Elimination Play Off's Princeville A play Princeville D (now switched to Monday 3rd) and Deaf Centre A will play Princeville B (now switched to Monday17th March at Princeville). These fixtures are shown underneath the league table on the League Table page 

Just a reminder that in the event of a Play Off match ending 2 - 2 there will be a 'shoot out' between the two players who have played the third game. In a change to last year, each player will have 3 attempts at the 'spotted up' position, taken alternately, with sudden death if the number of successes  is level. There hasn't been a break over 30 in the Rec 40 to Rec 80 handicap category and so this prize will also carry over to the play offs.

The following week (11 March) sees the start if the individual Snooker Merit and the draw along with the venues can be found on the Individual Merit and Pairs page (I understand that the Deaf Centre will not have reopened in time  for these games)

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary

 WEEKLY UPDATE 23 FEBRUARY 2025 (expanded 24th)

Congratulations to Pudsey B, who were crowned champions this week, after a 4 - 1 win away to second placed Princeville C.

Richard Bowes was back in the Pudsey B team for a 4th appearance of the season, and put them in a virtually unassailable position with a 79 point win against Paul Devitt, actually scoring 246 points in the process and - according to the scorecard - without a break over 30. Things had got off to a sticky start for Pudsey B against their closest challengers, when Keith Tomlinson beat Graham Tudor by 36, to keep the hosts interested in winning the title. However, Richard pretty much secured the aggregate on the night, which ended Princeville C's title hopes, and with Pudsey A by now 2 - 0 down to Princeville A on the other table, their chance had gone as well. Deaf B were 2 - 0 up at home to bottom of the table Princeville B (which eventually became 5 - 0 ) but Dave Howarth now had only to avoid defeat by 44 or more against Graham Bentley to secure the title. As it turned out he won by 14, and in doing so also claimed the double aggregate - but only by 4 points.

In light of that, the other results this week were largely academic. Princeville A, having picked up only 3 points from their previous 4 fixtures, defeated Pudsey A 5 - 0, with Edward Lawson finishing on a massive 242, while Deaf Centre B inflicted another 5 - 0 defeat on bottom of the table Princeville B (their 6th of the season) but alas Deaf Centre B's charge had come too late, having been joint bottom with their opponents going into their 10th December fixture against them. Deaf Centre A inflicted a 4 - 1 defeat on Princeville D, who have been out of sorts recently - Steve Gatenby again being Princeville D's only winner.

All the tables have been updated, along with the Individual Merit and Pairs page - which now includes venues. It's uncertain whether the Deaf Centre repairs will be completed in time for any of these or later rounds, so I have agreed with the Deaf Centre players where their home matches will be played, in order to ensure that if the Deaf Centre is not available, there will be an equal number of games at both Princeville and Pudsey. The Preliminary Round match in the Pairs competition was played on Wednesday at Princeville, where visitors Richard Bowes and Ralph Allan defeated John Bedford and Steve Gatenby 400 - 382. Richard's report on Facebook says that Steve G set off really well, and aided by a break of 23 looked like winning at a canter, but Ralph staged an 'improbable' comeback to narrowly win the first game by 5. Richard comments that John was slow to get going and he failed to make the most of some early chances. Richard got himself 40 in front going into the final street (aided by breaks of 38 and 41), but while John then made some headway, it was Richard who prevailed by 18

After this coming week's final round of fixtures - which are the ones snowed off on 7th January - the Play Offs will start the following week (March 4th). Just a reminder that it will be 1st v 4th, 2nd v 3rd, 5th v 8th and 6th v 7th. Pudsey B, as champions, will be at home and Princeville B will be away as, even with a win this week, they can't get up to 6th for a home fixture. All the other teams are within 5 points of at least one other team, so a win (or loss) can affect their standing in the table. So still plenty to play for, as the Deaf Centre teams visit Princeville, where it will be A v A and C v B and the other two Princeville teams visit Pudsey, where it's A v B and B v D

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary

 WEEKLY UPDATE 15 FEBRUARY 2025

Pudsey B have one hand on the championship trophy, after defeating struggling Princeville A 5 - 0. Their cause was helped this week by their stablemates Pudsey A defeating second placed Princeville C 4 -1. Provided Pudsey B avoid a heavy defeat away to Princeville C this week, they will be almost there. Pudsey A retain a faint hope, but at six and a half points behind and with only 10 points to play for, they will need two big hauls, along with slip ups by those above them. Deaf Centre B at 8 points behind still have a mathematical chance but realistically it's no more than that.

While Pudsey B visit Princeville C on Tuesday, Pudsey A are also at Princeville against Princeville A, meanwhile Deaf Centre B have a 'home ' match at Littlemoor, against bottom of the table Princeville B. Deaf Centre B and Princeville D will also be at Littlemoor, but in terms of the league table, it's more  a case of 'just making up the numbers - although it does provide an opportunity to jockey for position for the end of season play offs

Sid Ash got the league leaders off to a good start with another 200+ score, beating Edward Lawson 223 - 168. Graham Tudor had a narrow 10 point victory over Gareth Kershaw, and while Dave Howarth's report on Facebook says Gareth was 'a bit unlucky in the end', the Princeville view was more that it was Graham who was lucky at the end - but then I guess it's all about perception!!. Dave Howarth got the better of Trevor Kershaw by 15 but the scores of 158-143 illustrate the difficulty of giving a lot of start in a time game, as opposed to a game of 200 up. Nevertheless, a 5 - 0 win for a Pudsey B team who are full of confidence as this critical stage of the season.

On the other table at Pudsey, Princeville C had Brian Haigh deputising for Graham Bentley, but Ralph Allan, who has been in good form of late, picked up a fourth successive win, by 194 - 150. Dave tells us that Peter Allan had a break in the high teens late in his game, which looks to have been decisive, as he only beat Keith Tomlinson by 11. Princeville C's point came in the last game when Paul Devitt beat John Allan by 14

At Princeville it was Steve Gatenby who picked up the only point for the D team, when he beat Graham Lambert by 17. Ian Ford for Deaf Centre B had started well in front of Mick Cockcroft and held onto a good lead for a long period, it was only in the latter stages that Mick pulled points back, losing 143-165 in another game which might have produced a different result had it gone to 200. In the other game in this match, Chris Jarvis looked in a strong position to overcome a 45 point handicap deficit to Jeremy Dixon, but Jeremy did most of the late scoring for a 123-87 win and a 4 - 1 victory for Deaf Centre B

Bottom of the table Princeville B got off to a bad start, as Peter O'Connell racked up 231 in beating Peter Turner by 56, as well as overcoming a 55 handicap deficit - but the boot was on the other foot in the second game, as John Bedford pulled all but 4 of those points back, beating Brian Robinson 189-137. Any hopes of another victory for Princeville B soon disappeared in the third game, as Ihjaz Hussain got off to a good start and despite some later points accumulation I was still 60 behind at the bell.

I've mentioned games going  to 200 a couple of times, and they will do that in the Individual and Pairs competitions, which were drawn this week, ahead of the competitions starting on 11th March. The draws will be on the Merit and Pairs page tomorrow (now done) , and this week I will be discussing with the Deaf Centre players where their home games are likely to be played if the Deaf Centre is still not available

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary

 WEEKLY UPDATE 7 FEBRUARY 2025

No change at the top of the table this week, as the top two - Pudsey B and Princeville C - both picked up 4  - 1 wins. Pudsey A and Deaf Centre B, in third and fourth spots, shared the points,  3 - 2 to Pudsey A, so they both slipped further behind. Pudsey B lead the table with 32 points, Princeville C have 31, Pudsey A have 26.5 and Deaf Centre B 25, so with only 3 rounds of fixtures remaining it will take outstanding run of results for either of them to catch the top two. Princeville C visit Littlemoor this week, but it's to play Pudsey A, the decisive battle could come the following week, when the top two meet at Princeville (this would have been the last match of the season, had it not been for the postponed matches on 7 January which will now be played on 25th February)

Princeville C were off to a great start this week against Princeville D, when in form Graham Bentley thrashed a luckless Mick Cockcroft by 78 points, but the D team took the next game, as Chris Jarvis included a 54 break (the highest of the season so far) in defeating Paul Devitt by 48. A steely performance from C team captain Keith Tomlinson then saw him defeat Steve Gatenby by 13, to secure the aggregate point on the night and the double aggregate by just 2 points, for a 4 - 1 win

Pudsey B's wins were much closer, and Dave Howarth's extensive report on Facebook shows that Sid Ash missed out by just 3 points against Peter O'Connell, in the Deaf A's only success. Graham Tudor got Pudsey's show on the road, with another sizeable win, by 40 against Brian Robinson, before Dave himself edged out Ihjaz Hussain by 2. Aggregate to Pudsey by 39, and an extra point having won the reverse fixture in November. Dave says 'hard luck Ihjaz' (who had lost to him by 2). I recall Chris Jarvis posting something similar last week after beating Ihjaz by 3. Ihjaz's hard luck story can't go on for ever - and next week he is likely be my next opponent!!

The other match at Pudsey saw the A team hold on to third place, with a 3 - 2 win against Deaf Centre B. Again I'm indebted to Dave Howarth for reporting that Ralph Allan made a 27 break close to the finish, to record a 24 point win against Ian Ford. Graham Lambert seems to have been much encouraged by his handicap review over Christmas, and held on to some of his 45 point handicap advantage to beat Peter Allan by 12. Deaf Centre's Jeremy Dixon has suffered only one defeat this season, and that was against John Allan in the reverse fixture, but this time he turned the tables, winning by 11 points - although Dave reports that John thought he had missed some good chances that could have won the game. In a tight finish Pudsey A won by 1 on the night and also took the extra point for a 3 - -2 success.

The other match at Princeville was more about domestic bragging rights than any significant impact on the league table. With the League Chairman away on holiday this week, he and I had played in advance, and aided by 33 break, I secured the first point for Princeville B, with a 10 point win. The game between Gareth Kershaw and John Bedford was close throughout, and with less than a minute remaining, John - 4 points behind - laid a double baulk, leaving both balls in the same area of the table and a very gettable in-off red provided the balls remained undisturbed. Gareth only really needed to hit one to secure the win but narrowly missed both, first coming back down the table and then after hitting the angles, across the table the other way. With 2 points for the miss, John just had time to execute the in off - with the bell sounding as the ball dropped into the pocket for a single point win. Phew. 2 - 0 to the B team. Don Hardcastle was making another appearance for the B team and started 45 in front of Edward Lawson. The early scoring was mostly by Don, but there were plenty of visits for both players and Edward always had a chance of catching up. A few late scores from Don however eventually got him home by 20. So all the points in this match to the B team but the A team's substantial win in the reverse fixture avoided a whitewash

This coming week Princeville C go to Pudsey, but to play the A team, while top of table Pudsey B play Princeville A, whose form has fallen off a cliff since Christmas. At Princeville, Deaf Centre B will hope to keep their title hopes alive against Princeville D, while Deaf Centre A meet bottom of the table Princeville B.

With the Individual and Pairs competitions due to start in a month's time, the draws to be made shortly. Arrangements will be finalised this week, on the League Chairman's return from holiday.

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary

 WEEKLY UPDATE 2ND FEBRUARY 2025

Plenty to report on this week, with 5 matches played and a change at the top of the table.

On Monday, at Princeville, Deaf Centre A visited, to play their match against Princeville D, postponed from 10th December. Playing Monday seemed to suit the home team more than the visitors, although not before Brian Robinson had got the visitors off to a good start, defeating Mick Cockcroft by 48. Peter O'Connell was without a win in his previous 4 games this season and he got nowhere here, as a very steady Steve Gatenby beat him by 72 to put the home team in control. I didn't see the last game but it was clearly a very close fought affair, with Chris Jarvis including a break of 31 to beat Ihjaz Hussain by just 3. When posting the scorecard on Facebook Chris commented 'Well played Ihjaz Hussain ' which I think says it all. So a 3 -1 win for Princeville D

On Tuesday night Deaf Centre A returned to Princeville to play league leaders Princeville C and were much more successful, pulling off a 3 - 2 victory.  Monday nights losers were winners on Tuesday, as Peter O'Connell secured a first win of the season against Keith Tomlinson, while Ihjaz Hussain this time won a close one, beating Paul Devitt by 12. Monday's winner Brian Robinson lost this time, by 54 to Graham Bentley, meaning that Princeville C secured the aggregate point on the night but Deaf Centre A's win in the reverse fixture secured them them the extra point

So leaders Princeville C slipped up, but there was no slip up by second placed Pudsey B, at home to bottom of the table Princeville B. The game between Graham Tudor and John Bedford looked like 'a game of three halves'. Graham soon extended his 20 point handicap advantage to 60 but a run in the 20's followed quickly by another in the late teens saw John not much more than 10 behind with about 15 minutes remaining, but Graham then did most of the scoring in those last 15 minutes and finished 72 ahead. Sid Ash was next up for Pudsey, conceding 50 on handicap to Peter Turner. He was however 10 or more in front with about 10 minutes to go when Peter suddenly found a few scores - but there was no need for any nerves as Sid got home by 7 to put Pudsey B two up. I was pleased with my start against Dave Howarth, getting the initial canon and knocking the red into nice position. The break ended at about 17, but it felt like an encouraging start away from home. Dave however was soon into his stride and striking the balls nicely, to which they responded well. My chances were few and far between (as were the balls for many of my visits) and starting the game 105 in arrears I was soon having to open things up - to disastrous effect. Dave was never threatened and led his side to a comfortable 5 - 0 win and back to the top of the table

On the other table, Monday night's winners Chris Jarvis and Steve Gatenby found it harder going against Pudsey A.  Chris finished 20 behind John Allan, with Steve 43 behind Peter Allan and Mick Cockcroft was even further behind Ralph Allan, to record a second defeat of the week for him, and a 5 - 0 defeat for Princeville C

The other match at Princeville saw Deaf Centre B, who have been the form team over the past 4 matches, playing Princeville A. Jeremy Dixon leads the Players Table and continued his good form with a 72 point win against Trevor Kershaw - who departed for Tenerife the following day!! Gareth Kershaw pulled 30 back against Ian Ford, although it proved to be Princeville A's only point as Edward Lawson was edged out by 8, against Graham Lambert, who has fared better since an increase in handicap over Christmas. So a 4 -1 win for Deaf Centre B which moves them up to third in the table, 4 points behind Princeville C and 5 behind leaders Pudsey B.

This coming week the Deaf Centre have another 'home match' at Pudsey, where it's A v B and B v A. At Princeville it's A v B and D v C

All pages are now up to date, including the scorecards page where Monday nights scorecard is shown under the originally scheduled date of 10 December 2024

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary