Peaker hits the heights to secure county crown
HUDDERSFIELD billiards champion Matthew Peaker helped Yorkshire to the English County Championship title for the third time in five years.
Together with Bradford champion and former professional Mark Hirst and Sheffield’s Adam Clarke – who was a late replacement for nonplaying captain and Harrogate champion Steve Crosland – Peaker helped the county claim the crown in Nuneaton.
They beat 2004 champions Derbyshire in the first round, with Peaker beating Jim McCann on the way to a 3-0 victory for Yorkshire.
In the quarter-finals, all three scored over 300 points in the onehour games to take yet another 3-0 win, this time over Cambridgeshire, with Peaker posting four breaks over 50 in his big win over Mark Hill.
Peaker and Clarke then produced their best performance of the day in running out convincing winners over Derek White and Chris Mitchell of Cornwall – who were winners in 2010, 2011 and 2015 – both scoring over 350 points in the hour, and both making two breaks in the 50s and one in the 90s to secure a place in the final.
There they faced Norfolk, who included former two-time English amateur champion and current UK seniors champion Phil Welham and former English Under-19 winners Jamie Edwards and Nathan Mann.
Peaker got off to the perfect start against Welham with a break of 71 on his first visit to the table, and quickly followed it with another break of 48.
The Norfolk man hit back with some quick-fire scoring, which included two breaks in the 60s and three in the 50s to open up a lead which was too much for Peaker to claw back.
But wins for Hirst and Clarke meant a 2-1 win to claim the title for Yorkshire.
In this week’s Open Snooker League, Trevor Liversidge, of Golcar Con B, had breaks of 45, 28 and 28 – but the highest break of the week came from Conrad Norcliffe, of Lower Hopton, with an 81 against Brendon Gilbert, of Broad Oak BC D.
A break of 25 was hit by Kevin Ellis, of Broad Oak BC A, Dan Hennessey, of Top Spot, Glen Wilkinson, of Meltham Lib E, Omar Saeed, of Crosland Moor Con D, and Chris Hill, of Lindley Lib B. Both Karter Gill, of Crosland Moor Con C, and Neil Ewart, of Lower Hopton, had a 26.
Simon Hebert, of Hillhouse and Birkby BC C, and Lee Shaw, of Golcar RBL, hit a 28.
Three players – Steve Mathan, of Berry Brow Lib B, Eric Riley, of Golcar Con B, and Mathew Barrett, of Top Spot – made a 29, while Scott Lawton, of Milnsbridge Lib A, made a 30, while Robert Read, of Lindley Lib B, made a fine 40.
In this week’s billiards matches, there were nine breaks of 25-plus recorded.
Both Scott Lawton, of Milnsbridge Lib, and team-mate, Martin Wood, had a 26, while New Mill B player John Lee hit a 29. Tony O’Hara, of Marsh Lib A, made a 39, Jack Dyson, of Meltham Lib A, had a fine 42, but the highest break of the week came from Peaker, of Brockholes BC, with a 67 – and a further 36 against John Lee of New Mill B.