Mullane, Mears & Azor Triumph for Hampshire in the County Championships
Congratulations to Hampshire who won the 23/24 EABA county championship 3-0 in the final against Cheshire A.
The team of John Mullane, Ryan Mears and Terry Azor went unbeaten throughout the day winning all 12 games.
In the final Mullane had breaks of 78 and 73 to beat John Hughes 290-138. Mears defeated Achilles 302(50)-148 and Azor completed the clean sweep 254-194 over Matt Jackson.
In the semi finals Hampshire beat Norfolk A 3-0 with wins for Mullane over Mann, Mears over Welham and Azor over Dennis. Cumbria A did well to reach the semi final in the other half of the draw and lost 2-1 to Cheshire with a good win for Mike Griffiths over Chris Achilles.
In the plate final Cambridge A defeated Oxfordshire 2-1. Norman and Gawthrop beat Whiting and Robinson respectively. Terry Colby defeated Mel Oakes in the other match. Terry returning to the scene after 20 years away and being an ex international player.
Full results will be uploaded on the EABA website shortly!
A big thanks to Landywood for hosting us for the championship and we will be returning in 3 weeks time for the Jock McGregor Handicap event.
Robin Smith Triumphs in the Stuart Hamper
Robin Smith held his nerve to come through some close battles and lift the Stuart Hamper Individual Handicap Trophy. After beating team mate Brian Bull in his Semi Final by 1 point it was Churchill's Steve Hulbert who completed the final line up, Steve managed to wipe the Handicap deficit early on but a resilient effort from Rob kept him at bay to claim the Stuart Hamper for the first time and climb 6 places in the Rankings to secure his top 10 spot for another season!
2 Centuries see Mullane to Victory!
Another great final featuring Southampton's elite duo of John Mullane and Danny Zagaroli, the latest edition going to Mullane 609 - 485 over the 2 hour match and hitting 2 centuries on the night as they both produced another masterclass of billiards.
Challenge Cup decided in final seconds!
Chris Bishop lifts the Gordon Lewis Challenge Cup with a last ditch 66 unfinished with just 4 minutes remaining on the clock, it was a high quality finals night all round with 14 30+ breaks over the 3 games with Mark McLean making a masterful attempt to retain his crown.
Season Ending Victory for Totton Duo
Jason Stedman and Tony Aldridge bring the 2023-24 season to a close with a well deserved Jim Watts triumph, the re-arranged finals saw the Totton pair overcome Mark Mclean & Mike Henstredge before defeating Brian Bull & Derek Fry in a close fought final.
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Churchills grab the 3 points needed to secure the title!
Churchills sealed the SDBSA League Title with a 3-3 draw at Curdridge but will need to improve the aggregate score if they wish to complete the team Double in this weeks Usher Final against the same opponents and current holders Curdridge. Chandlers Ford also battled out a 3-3 draw away to Sarisbury displaying some exhibition break building and Hamble won 4-2 at home to Totton Rec, St Denys remain 3rd despite last weeks postponement.
In the Billiards Rankings Danny Zagaroli has cemented 1st place with his 15th league victory with the top 2 facing off in this Thursdays Gordon Lewis Semi Final.
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Semi Final Exhibition Billiards
A night to remember for the SDBSA as two of the leagues giants produce a billiards masterclass in the Gordon Lewis Scratch with John Mullane registering breaks of 107, 140 and 80 to continue on to the Final 444-301 despite Terry Azor producing his dazzling best and replying with a magnificent 152 break himself!
Southampton's No. 1 ranked Danny Zagaroli hit breaks of 92 and 40 to join John in May's final overcoming Jerry Warren (40 break) by 355-198.
Curdridge Retain the Usher Shield
Curdridge halted Churchill's dream of the double after inflicting a rare defeat on this seasons top performers, Trevor Harris, Clive Gamblin and ever reliable Robin Smith scored early for current holders with Steve Hulbert replying for Churchills to leave the tie poised at 753-788 with Jerry Warren and Nick Alford left to decide the honours. Nick needed to reach 165 points to seal the win but with the challengers star performer Jerry getting off to a flying start and soon catching up on the handicap deficit he soon swung the odds into Churchills favour for the first time, Nick though dug in well despite the lack of billiards match time this season to maintain a slim advantage, he soon passed the required total of 165 and went on to win the game by 9 points leaving Clive's men to celebrate victory for the second year running.
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Mullane edges an Epic Final!
John Mullane won yet another Gordon Lewis title in a well fought final against Danny Zagaroli, both had a string of magnificent breaks with John eventually clinching it by a mere 15 points (567-552)
McLean Gets Better and Better!
Mark Mclean goes one better yet again and wins the Challenge Cup on his 3rd attempt. In 2021 he was a losing Semi Finals then in 2022 making the Final but narrowly missing out, and finally in a repeat of the 2022 Final gets his reward with victory over Nick Wood and makes it a great week for Churchills.
Hughes & Lovejoy win for Curchills
Steve Hughes and Dave Lovejoy both star in the Jim Watts Pairs Finals, after making light work of the St Denys duo 200-71 the pair went up against the in-form Clive Gamblin and Robin Smith, the final was a tight tactical affair with both teams staying within just 1 or 2 points of each other, Dave Lovejoy then got a 20 break to edge in front, a slight advantage that they managed until the end in a nervous second half. Gamblin and Smith had earlier beaten Nick Wood & Mark Spridgeon in their semi but even though they eventually missed out on the trophy they provided a champions display all round.
Curdridge's Excellent season earns them the Usher Shield!
Curdridge have been the team to beat all season having won 14 out of their 18 team matches this term, unfortunately missing out on a league title by a few points they were not about to go empty handed in the Usher Shield! they pulled together again to put on one last show of the 22-23 season to claim victory over an excellent Churchills team who themselves would have been worthy champions. Rob Smith has had an extraordinary season and has cemented his spot in the top 10 of the Player Ranking Chart along with teammate and Captain Brian Bull, they sit 5th and 9th respectively and will sit proudly on next seasons wall of fame.
Tony Aldridge gets his hands on the new Stuart Hamper Trophy!
Tony Aldridge has claimed the 2023 Stuart Hamper Individual HC Trophy by a tight 200-197 victory over Chris Christodoulou with both players having chances to finish the game, the two finalists had impressive wins in their Semi Finals as Chris ended with a great 29 unfinished to grab his spot over clubmate Gary Wilton, and Tony had to overcome the serial winner Nick Wood (37 Break), he done just that in a hotly contested match.
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Park Gate win Snooker Summer League
Park Gate beat St Denys 5-3 and finished with six wins out of six to win the 2022 Summer Snooker League. Hamble picked up their first win in the final game, beating Totton Rec 5-3, but still finished bottom.
Steve Allen and Ian Finch are through to the Snooker Handicap Singles Final at Hamble Social. In-form Ian beat his team mate Gary Wilton 3-0 with good breaks of 59 and 52 while Steve overcame Nick Wood 3-1. The final will be played on 18th August at Hamble Social.
Azor cruises to victory in the Channel!
Southampton's Terry Azor has claimed the latest EBSS trophy on his trip to Jersey. After defeating Ryan Mears in the semi-final by 249-83, Azor made no mistakes against the great Aonghus Macanally in the final. It's been an amazing journey in 2022 and Terry has now added this title to his maiden Gordon Lewis win in May. He has also reached the dizzy heights of world No. 21 in this season's campaign.
Left to Right: Chris Malcolm (sponsor), Aonghus Mcanally (R/up), Terry Azor (Winner) and Clive Scott (Organiser)
Allen claims Stuart Hamper title
Steve Allen beat Tony Aldridge in the Stuart Hamper final at Park Gate, with breaks of 43 and 42 along the way
Mullane & Azor win the JW Doubles
John Mullane knocks in a 139 and 86 to defeat Bishop & Carter securing the 2022 doubles title with Terry Azor.
Terry Azor finally gets his hands on the Gordon Lewis Trophy!
Congratulations to Terry on his first ever Gordon Lewis title to end what has been an incredible season for him with his 3rd trophy of 2022. Commiserations to Danny who finished runner up for the second straight season.
Nick Wood's impressive season comes to a close with another trophy, this time the Challenge Cup, as he beats champion Paul Lawrence in the semis and goes on to win the final against Mark McLean
Hamble win 2022 Usher Shield
Hamble pipped holders Park Gate to this year's Usher Shield as they ground their way back from 65 points down after the first two games to win by a nail-biting 7 points.
Castle Club 1973
Top row: 1st ???, 2nd ???, 3rd Chris Holland, 4th Frank Buckley.
Front: 1st Danni, 2nd ???, 3rd Alf Hobbs, 4th Roy Bacon.
Many thanks to Roy Bacon for sending this in and if you can, please help to fill in the blanks and if anyone still has contact with Chris Holland then please could they ask him.
St Denys secure 2nd with 4-2 win as the final games end with players hitting top form
Mick Kunzi and Paul Lawrence grab seasons league best breaks in final game, Kunzi hit his last ball of the season which concluded his 81 unfinished break as Totton finished with a 5-1 win meaning they finish 6th, Steve Allen aided with a 44.
Paul Lawrence carried on from last weeks excellent 90 break to knock in a 75 against world no. 6 Ryan Mears (42 & 35) to inflict Chandlers 2nd defeat of the season, Korbin Lowe replied for Chandlers with his league best break of 56 followed by a 31 and Danny also won for the away side knocking in breaks of 98, 47 & 42
St Denys secured 2nd place against Sarisbury, although it could have been a 4-2 reverse with the final game going to the wire as it stood 2-2, Adie Bridger held his nerve to get St Denys over the line against Chris Collinson (34) and won the aggregate too with 10 points to spare. Chris Bishop also won for the home side with breaks of 36 and 61
Danny Zagaroli shoots up the SDBSA Player Rankings to take 2nd spot with Chris Bishop now 3rd, 2nd is still all to play for as the competition finals fast approach.
Boterhoek & Christodoulou hit the Hat-Trick!!!
Steve and Chris have won their 3rd JW Trophy in 3 years remarkably ensuring Park Gate also take triple honours in the seasons competitions too, after beating Nick Wood & Will Mildenhall in the Semis and Steve Allen & Tony Aldridge in the final they added this trophy to the already accomplished Usher Cup and GL Challenge Cup victories Park Gate have achieved.
Finals Night Pairings were:
Christodoulou & Boterhoek beat Wood & Mildenhall
Allen & Aldridge beat Bishop & Carter
4 worthy Semi Finalists but who Wood you guess went on to Nick the Final?
Yes good guess... Nick Wood started slowly but stepped up though the gears as the evening wore on showing some nice break-building along the way. Terry Azor was impressive in his semi-final but unfortunately could not replicate that form in the final leaving Nick as the deserved victor of his 1st Stuart Hamper title.
2020 Winner Nick Wood in action
Chandlers Ford win the 2019/20 league title
An epic match played out at St Denys with 14 breaks over 30 including two centuries! It was a champions' performance with John Mullane making breaks of 107, 81, 34 and 30 and Ryan Mears compiling breaks of 116, 77, 51, 48, 32 and 31. There was resistance from Andy Carter and Mark Emm but the night and season belonged to Chandlers Ford. Well done all.
Terry Azor wins the British Open Challenge Cup
As with the Challenge Cup in last month's Welsh Open, the British Open Challenge Cup was won by a Chandler's Ford cueist. This time Terry Azor claimed the prize in Carlisle, beating Brighton's David Gillingham in the final. In the main competition, World Number 1 David Causier won yet another title in devastating style, racking up 1152 points in the 90 minute final, which included a 619 break!
Park Gate Win the Usher Cup Final in fine style!
Park Gate are setting the standard as they finish the 2019-20 season in fine form winning 8/9 games in their last 2 outings!
Mullane wins his 7th Gordon Lewis title in impressive style...
John Mullane showed his class once again as he exacted revenge on his club teammate Danny Zagaroli with breaks of 146, 73, 73, to claim back the title Danny won in 2019.
Paul Lawrence wins the inaugural Gordon Lewis Challenge Cup
Semi Finalists from left to right: Paul Lawrence, Korbin Lowe, Andrew Carter & Mark McLean.
Paul Lawrence was a worthy champion of the very first challenge cup beating Mark McLean in his semi final then going on to beat Andrew Carter in the 1hr timed final.
20th October 2021
Eight SDBSA players travelled to Llanelli for the Welsh Open.
Ryan Mears and Terry Azor both qualified for the knockout stages, but both came up against a rampant David Causier, fresh from his English Open win in Reading. Terry met Causier in the last 16, whilst Ryan made the semi-final before his run was ended. Causier went on to beat Rob Hall in the final, just as he did in the English Open a few weeks back.
The SDBSA was well-represented in the Challenge Cup with six players, three of whom made the last four, and not too many eyebrows were raised when John Mullane came out on top.
All in all it was a great weekend, played in tremendous spirit by all the players, regardless of ability. The British Open in Carlisle is the next big World Billiards tournament, on 13th/14th October. We recommend it to anyone who might like to experience the tournament atmosphere for themselves.
28th September 2021
John Mullane, Steve Allen and Mick Kunzi made their World Billiards Debuts at the English Open
Steve Allen had a good weekend reaching the final of the plate competition and Korbin Lowe climbed up to 51 in the World Rankings with a great performance winning his first 2 out of 3 matches including beating world number 17 Phil Davis, somehow missing out on qualification for the last 32 but still a great achievement!
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