Rileys American Pool and Snooker
Hobs Moat Road
Solihull
West Midlands
B92 8JN
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Sunday 23 January 2022
Welcome to 2022!
Report by: Can Ibrahim
The Solihull 9-Ball McDermott Series kicked off on a grizzly Sunday morning this weekend, and 48 participants turned up hoping to start their week with a bang. With cash up for grabs as well as ranking points towards the end of year Grand Final, there was plenty to play for!
Round 1 got off to a high standard start, with Adam Lewis, Daniel Baker and Tashunka Witko Fishonahook notably securing 7-0 wins. Luke Garland survived a tough match against a solid Lee Brooks, winning 7-5, and Shaun Berrisford survived an early hill-hill thriller against Joel Pascua.
Winners Round 1 served up some excitement and good performances too - local player Samer Al Iraqe narrowly lost out hill-hill against Gary Bullocke, and Adam Lewis won his 14th consecutive rack with his second 7-0, this time against GJ Oyangoren. Terry Challenger and Dave Hopkin had a good battle too, with Dave narrowly missing out 7-5.
Elsewhere some of the usual suspects were going about business as usual - Benji Buckley and Tommy Donlon were breezing through the early rounds.
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Meanwhile there was some drama over on table 22 with Luke Hart and Lee Brooks - it was a tensely-fought battle with a fluked nine ball to finish things off, capping off a tough day for Luke Hart. Kellie Williamson survived a hill-hill scare against Crash-Bang-Carter, with a borrowed cue as well - having suffered a broken cue just prior to the tournament.
Shaun Berrisford also had an agonising loss against Ashik Nathwani - 6-4 up and at 6-5 had a straight eight ball practically for the match, with the nine hanging. After missing it Ashik held his nerve to complete a great comeback.
Alan Coton fell to Tommy Donlon in another hill-hill match, running him close in a solid performance from the Chopper, who’s still early into his competitive comeback after the pandemic period.
Into the last sixteen Tom Emes continued a good day’s performance with a 7-4 win over Andy Owen, and Matt Hyden ran Benji Buckley close, succumbing 7-5. Andy Lacey put an end to Ashik’s run winning 7-5, and Kurt Weaver found a gear against Samer Al Iraqe.
Three out of the four quarter finalists went hill-hill, which shows the degree of competitiveness in the UK pool scene at the moment. Tom Emes, Andy Lacey and Adam Lewis all fell to Benji Buckley, Gary Bullocke and Tommy Donlon. In the other quarter-final Luke Garland was in fine form against Kurt Weaver, securing a comfortable 7-1 and a place in the semis.
Luke and Benji faced off on table 18, and Luke was in fine form, not leaving Benji much to get started with, and managed to get over the line comfortably 7-3. Tommy Donlon breezed past Gary Bullocke 7-0 - a harsh ending for Gary after a fine day with a great run.
However, this scoreline proved to be a little hint as to what was to come in the final from the Leicester-based cueist, with the Disher taking the final quite comfortably 7-4.
Commiserations to Luke who’d had another good day’s work, and congratulations to Tommy Donlon, who’s added yet another trophy to his packed cabinet.
See you all in March!
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