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2021 Rileys Solihull - Cyclop Pool Series Event 1
Rileys American Pool and Snooker
Hobs Moat Road
Solihull
West Midlands
B92 8JN
www.solihull9ball.com - youtube - facebook - twitch - instagram

Saturday 24 July 2021

Danny Orme and Dylan Mitchell
Shock winner as Solihull 9-Ball returns!

Report by: Matt Hawthorn

Seventeen long months after Stewart Colclough claimed the only event of the 2020 GO Customs Pool Series, Solihull 9 Ball returned with the first of three tournaments, scheduled for 2021. Rileys Solihull would again be the venue as a capped field of forty cueists dusted off the cobwebs, all with the incentive of the tidy £400 first prize. Event one of the GO Customs 9 Ball Series would see players compete in our familiar double elimination format, with the final sixteen players competing in a straight knockout to determine the winner.

The action commenced at 11:00am. Despite suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of Kurt Weaver (7-1) in his opening game, Dylan Mitchell progressed steadily through the loss-side as he knocked off debutant Dwayne Yates (7-4) and 2020 Q-School winner Adam Lewis (7-5) to earn himself a last sixteen place. There he was joined by Danny Orme, who sent Chris McDermott (7-5) and Spencer Oliver (7-1) to the left side of the bracket. UK number one, Benji Buckley overcame a 5-2 deficit to see off Kev Simpson en route to the single elimination stage while Solihull locals Luke Garland, Apostolis Harmas, Shane Conroy, Luke Hart and Andy Lacey all advanced with 2-and-0 records. Ashik Nathwani qualified as the final "seed" following victories over Daryl Garland (7-5) and Alan Morgan (7-1).

Many would have been surprised to have seen Kev Simpson, Kurt Weaver, Elliott Sanderson and Stewart Colclough all in the losers qualification round. Simpson proved too much for Weaver (7-3) while Sanderson ended David Casey's involvement (7-2). Stewart Colclough has a history of winning our events via the loser's side of the draw. However, on this occasion, Mehedi Hasssan would take an impressive scalp (7-5) to eliminate one of the pre-tournament favourites.

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Elliott Sanderson with Benji Buckley
Now down to the last sixteen it was a straight knockout. All undefeated players were seeded while those who progressed via the one-loss bracket would be hand-drawn. This produced two repeat matchups as Elliott Sanderson faced off against Andy Lacey while Spencer Oliver had a chance to avenge his earlier reversal to Danny Orme. Unfortunately for Spencer his impressive run came to an end as Orme completed the double (7-3). Andy Lacey's 7-6 victory over Elliott Sanderson, in the winner's qualification round, had been a contender for the result of the day. But, Elliott didn't allow lightning to strike twice. His 7-3 win meant Lacey would leave empty handed on this occasion. Ashik Nathwani brought Samer Stelios's tournament to a premature conclusion (7-5). Luke Garland registered a comfortable 7-3 victory over Mehedi Hassan with Dylan Mitchell eliminating Apostolis Harmas and Benji Buckley cruising past Gary Bullocke by the same score. Shane Conroy dumped Kev Simpson following a hill-hill decider, with Adam Smith also needing all thirteen racks to see off Luke Hart.

In the quarter-finals, undefeated Luke Garland faced off against Dylan Mitchell. Luke had his nose in front for most of this match but Dylan kept with him until the end. At 6-5 down Dylan would clinch the final two racks to reach his first Solihull 9 Ball semi-final. There he would face Danny Orme, who clinched the deciding rack in a tense battle with Shane Conroy. In the bottom half of the draw, Benji Buckley and Elliott Sanderson set up a blockbuster final-four clash as they beat Ashik Nathwani and Adam Smith respectively (both 7-5).

Both semis were also decided by a 7-5 score line as Dylan Mitchell overcame Danny Orme while the latest encounter in the longstanding friendly rivalry between Elliott Sanderson and Benji Buckley saw Elliott emerge victorious. This set up a first-time meeting between Dylan Mitchell and Elliott Sanderson, with the winner taking home the £400 first prize. Contrary to the run of tight matches that preceded the final, this was a blow-out. Dylan Mitchell wrapped up the title with an emphatic result nobody could have predicted. Full credit to Elliott, who graciously conceded that Dylan just didn't miss a shot as he raced to a 7-0 whitewash.

What a fantastic day of pool. It's great to be back and see so many of you supporting Solihull 9 Ball. A huge congratulations to Dylan on his victory, and we hope to see him again at our next event, on 28th August.

Danny Orme and Dylan Mitchell
Solihull 9 Ball would like to thank series sponsor GO Customs for their support over the last two years. We also want to acknowledge Rileys for the generous backing of our events, as well as Lynch's Original Cue Balm, Supreme Shark Rack, Onboard Sportswear and Big Dave Knight (Pro9).

I would also like to acknowledge the excellent contribution of tournament directors Daryl Garland and Andrew Carter. I had to withdraw Friday night due to a positive covid case at home. This left Daryl and Andy the thankless task of managing an event while also trying to compete. On this occasion the decision was made to sacrifice the livestream in order to focus on the smooth running of the tournament. We will be back to full strength for our second event, where we intend to re-implement our live stream.

Good luck to all of you competing in the GB9 Paul Medati Trophy this weekend. We look forward to seeing you all return in August.

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