Rileys American Pool and Snooker
Hobs Moat Road
Solihull
West Midlands
B92 8JN
www.solihull9ball.com - youtube - facebook - twitch - instagram
Sunday 14 August 2022
Congratulations to Gary Bullocke - Penultimate 9 Ball Pool Series Event Champion
It was the penultimate main event of the season and despite the glorious hot weather from our continued heatwave, 38 dedicated pool players made their way to Solihull for a day of competitive action, high-standard pool and the glorious, welcoming hospitality of Steve, the Riley’s Solihull manager.
The draw threw up some interesting early-round clashes. Anthony Bevan battled through Joe Wall 7-5, and Bash Maqsood got through an early tester in Ryan Helm by the same score. Only one match went hill-hill early on and it was Bash again, this time being on the receiving end of the scoreline against Adam Lewis.
It’s always interesting how there’s usually a high number of local clashes - players used to skirmishing together on a weekly basis meeting for higher stakes in tournament play. Samer ‘The Tony Fry Slayer’ Al Iraqe was too hot for Ryan Coton on the day, Anthony Bevan fell 7-5 to Coton senior, and Jon McAllister edged out Luke Garland in an early battle of the giants. Meanwhile, tour founders Daryl Garland and Andy Carter met over on table 13, with Andy bringing his usual crash-bang style of play to proceedings and Daryl struggling for form. Loser to the tournament desk please!
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The last 16 was comprised of some of the usual faces - Tommy Donlon, John McAllister, Luke Garland, Gary Bullocke - and some fresher ones - Tom Emes was on a good run of form having only conceded five racks so far, Matt Hyden snuck in after a 5-0 win over Kellie Williamson and Bash Maqsood had quietly battled his way through the field.
In a slight upset, Ashik Nathwani pipped Luke Garland 7-6 and David Hine was unfortunate to be on the end of an imperious Jon McAllister, losing 7-1. Tommy Donlon put an end to another good run for Lee Warren, and Tom Emes took a break from the bar to put in a flawless performance against Lee Brooks, beating him 7-1.
Into the quarters, Ashik proved his previous win against Luke Garland was no fluke as he was in great form, dispatching of Tommy Donlon 7-5. Adam Lewis was another one quietly taking care of business, putting an unceremonious end to Tom Emes’s run 7-1. Tour stalwart Benji Buckley was stopped in his tracks by a focused Jon McAllister 7-2, and in a highlight of the day, old friends and battle-buses Alan Coton and Gary Bullocke met in a heavyweight clash of styles on the stream table. It was to be Gary’s swashbuckling power game that edged out Alan’s precision reliability on this occasion, with a couple of uncharacteristic errors from Alan that proved the difference.
The semis were a high-quality affair, with Adam Lewis putting an end to a great run from Ashik Nathwani 7-4, and Gary Bullocke seemingly emboldened after his previous win against Alan Coton, beating Jon McAllister comfortably 7-3.
After some pre-game chit-chat the final was played in great spirits, and fittingly, it came down to one rack. Gary held his nerve and pocketed the final nine ball, the cash for the winner, and an all-important 64 points towards the final end-of-series rankings Well done Gary and see you all at the last one!
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