Hall pockets a Whitley title double

GATESHEAD’S talented youngster Brandon Hall (off -7) became one of only a handful of amateur players to win Whitley Bay Snooker Centre’s one-day handicapped pro-am event in consecutive weeks.

The only other minus player in the 16-strong field was Wallsend’s Gary Wilson (minus 42).

He became a first-round casualty on a re-spotted black in the deciding frame against local cueist Wayne McDonald, who was receiving 63points-a-frame start.

With Wilson out of the running, Hall’s chances of reaching the last two were made a lot easier.

A 3-1 win over Wallsend’s John Slocome (received 35) set Hall up for a second-round clash against Morpeth’s Gerry McDonald who, despite gaining the same start as Slocome, went out 3-2 to put Hall into the semis.

Now having to face the player who had taken out Wilson in his opening match for a place in the final Hall, who was conceding 28 points a frame, was made to battle all the way to the finish line before coming home a narrow 3-2 winner.

In the bottom half of the draw, Boldon’s scratch player Adam Parke progressed to the final after defeating Daniel Mallet (off 28) 3-0, Billy Hunter 3-1 (off level) and John Wear 3-0 (off 21).

With neither player having to give any start, the final turned out to be a close-fought affair, with Hall clinching the decider and the match 3-2 with a well-compiled 62.

The highest break award went to Fenham’s Daniel Lozinski with a run of 68.

North Shields’ Craig Sexton beat Percy Main’s TJ Rendles 2-0 in the final of the plate. ■■THE trip to Preston for the qualifying-round play-offs for the Indian Open Championship proved worthwhile for three of the region’s four challengers.

John Astley set the ball rolling with a 4-0 demolition job on Pickering’s Paul S Davison which included runs of 59 and 50 in the opening two frames.

Elliott Slessor’s 4-2 defeat of Wales’ Matthew Stevens proved one of the major upsets on the day.

The highlight of Gary Wilson’s 4-1 win against Belgium’s Lucas Kleckers came in frame four when he knocked in a 114 without reply.

Sam Craigie was the region’s only casualty after going down 4-2 to Leicester’s Ben Woolaston - but not before he had clocked up a superb second-frame 126 which lasted for most of the first day as the event’s highest break.