This weekend saw the English National Finals played out in Sheffield, read on to see who won what…
All results taken from Global Snooker.
English Amateur Championship
The main event proved to be the most dramatic of all as Jimmy Robertson held off a brave fightback from David Craggs to secure a 9-8 victory to become the 2009 English Amateur champion. Early on it looked like it might be more straightforward as Robertson, the winner of the southern section, moved into a 4-0 lead only to see Craggs hit back at him to close to just one behind at 4-3.
The pattern would continue as Jimmy moved 7-4 and 8-6 ahead but David was able to hang in there and without making many big breaks managed to force a deciding frame. Like the match as a whole it proved to be a close affair but ultimately it was to be Robertson’s day and he took it 68-51 to capture the title.
Having already finished at the top of the English rankings and guaranteed a return to the main tour for 2009/10 as a result, this caps off a fantastic season for the man from Sussex. Craggs meanwhile will have to recover quickly because having finished 5th in the English rankings, he will be among the favourites to win next weekend’s play-offs and join Robertson on the main tour.
David Craggs (Northern Winner) 8-9 Jimmy Robertson (Southern Winner)
52(52)-76(56), 51-53(35c), 18-114(108), 38-73, 88(48)-4, 64(37)-51, 72(54)-53(48), 34-60, 1-87(41), 67(55)-46, 9-72(54), 87-22, 67-36, 48-60, 75-68, 68-63(48), 51-68
English Under 19 Championship
The Under-19 Championship went the way of the Liam Highfield who was able to record a comfortable 8-3 victory over Grimsby’s Stuart Carrington. Early on the match was close as the two were locked at 2-2 following the first four frames. From there though it was to be nearly all Highfield as the 18-year-old from Swindon was able to take six of the next seven frames to take the title. Having made his first 147 break earlier on this season, it certainly looks like he will be one to watch during the next few years.
Stuart Carrington 3-8 Liam Highfield
75-28, 43-66(49), 14-65(41), 91(76)-7, 33-67, 0-96(96), 72(51)-34, 31-106(35), 14-79(68), 13-67, 1-68(35)
English Under 16 Championship
Newcastle youngster Sam Craigie has successfully defended his English under-16 Championship with a 6-3 victory over Tom Maxfield. Having seen Tom recover from losing the first two frames to go into a 3-2 lead, it was a good response from Sam to take the next four and take home the title that he won twelve months ago.
Sam Craigie 6-3 Tom Maxfield
71-69, 50(33)-14, 13-65(32), 10-57, 37-70, 65(50)-22, 68(52)-27, 60(54)-43, 64(33)-11
English Under 14 Championship
One man who Maxfield was able to beat on the way to the Under 16’s final was young Oliver Lines but the latter made amends with an excellent victory in the Under-14’s event. Oliver, no doubt encouraged by his dad Peter, was able to get off to a good start by winning the first two frames and in truth never looked back as he moved on to secure a 5-2 win.
Darryl Hill 2-5 Oliver Lines
23-49, 0-87(31), 59-35, 36-73, 69-37, 51(35)-65, 36-62
English Team Championship
The tema event was won by Manchester who represented by a formidable team of Craig Steadman, Chris Norbury and Michael Wild, were able to secure a 5-3 victory over their opponents (Daniel Ward, Lee Payne and Rob James), representing the West Midlands.
West Midlanders 3-5 Manchester
English Club Players Championship
The final of the Club Players tournament proved to be a one-sided affair as Alex Dunkley raced to a 5-0 victory over Mike Faulkner, though looking at the frame scores it appears to have perhaps been a closer match than the scoreline suggests.
Alex Dunkley 5-0 Mike Faulkner
77-31, 48(35)-40, 66-35, 51-38, 98(63)-8
English Masters (Over 40s) Championship
Finally the Masters event was won by Doncaster’s Mark Rowing who having moved into a 3-1 lead early on, was able to maintain his lead and get over the line a 6-4 winner against Colin Norton.
Mark Rowing 6-4 Colin Norton