Lindley WMC seal Champions crown
LINDLEY WMC A are Champion of Champions as they beat Golcar Con A 3-2 in the final of Huddersfield snooker’s League Winners Championship at PPG Canalside.
It made up for their disappointment having lost in the Three-man Team Knockout final.
Tony Proctor (owes 19) played the first frame for Lindley against Roger Singleton (41).
Giving away a huge handicap difference of 60 points, Proctor made early inroads with a break of 22.
Proctor had managed to reduce the difference to 26 points and with the help of a further run of 13 and reached the colours only 21 points behind.
He potted yellow and green before Singleton took brown, leaving Proctor needing a snooker 95-63.
While he got this, Singleton eventually got blue and pink to take the frame for Golcar.
Andy Boothroyd (owes 24) played the next frame for Lindley against Jack Kitson (8).
Kitson had some bad luck early on while Boothroyd wasn’t playing up to his usual standard.
With only a couple of reds remaining, Kitson led 61–36.
By the time brown was reached Boothroyd had been unable to gain any ground and trailed by 30 points, and after Kitson potted brown his opponent conceded to give Golcar a two-frame advantage 72-38.
Multi-champion Rob Read (owes 45) then stepped up for Lindley against Mick Crawshaw (21).
Read’s early forcing attempts did not pay off but he made up some ground to be 31 points adrift, before he made two modest runs into the ‘teens’ leaving him only three points behind with two reds remaining.
Crawshaw took the last two reds with a black and was now 12 points in front on the colours.
However, a typical clinical finish from Read took yellow to pink and Lindley put Lindley back in it 88-80.
In the fourth, Oliver Read (21) met Golcar’s Jan Grabowski (27).
Read made his mark early with a run of 16 and then with a number of smaller contributions and no response from Grabowski he led 54–28.
The Golcar player did respond and pulled back to within 12 points before Read applied more pressure with a number of snookers.
Grabowski was unable to escape and Read re-established a healthy lead at 83–46 before running out a 97-46 winner to leave the score 2-2.
Family Read were still in the firing line for Lindley in the decideer, The finalists (from left) the Golcar Con team Mick Crawshaw, Dave McLean, Roger Singleton, Jan Grabowski and Jack Kitson, with referee Pete Gilbert and the Lindley WMC team Andy Boothroyd, Oliver Read, Tony Proctor, Rob Read and Jake Read young Jake Read (21) taking on Dave McClean (8) of Golcar.
Jake increased his handicap advantage to 33–10 early in the frame and the score then moved on to 39–15 with only a couple of reds remaining.
McLean’s contribution up to this point had been seven reds without any colours!
Read increased his lead to 52–15 and, into the colours, McLean was still behind by 24 points on the blue, but he managed to pot it and had the chance to tie the frame, providing he could find a snooker.
However, he had the misfortune to go in-off the pink, after which he conceded the frame and match to Lindley 63-38.