Bill Billingham High Break Trophy!

And the last trophy to be presented for the 2013/14 season was the Bill Billingham High Break Trophy.

This prestigious annual award is for the Wallingford Comrades Player who makes the highest break in any League, Cup or House Tournament.

Following on from yours truly, this years recipient was Nigel Prior of the A Team for his superb 51 break in the League!

Nigel is pictured receiving the Annual trophy & his keepsake replica at the recent A Team End of Season Chinese... waiting patiently for his supper!

Congratulations & very well done VC!

D&DS&BL AGM & Presentation Night

Some photos from the AGM & Presentation Night at Marlborough Club, Tuesday 6th May 2014

Gilbert Shepherd Memorial Shield SnookerTournament 2014

Saturday 3rd May saw the 19th running of our annual all-day snooker tournament marathon(!), the Gilbert Shepherd Memorial Shield.

After a bumper entry of 24, plus reserves & at the revised earlier start time of 9.30am, the organiser Andy Rance was utilising some of those reserves to bolster 2 who weren't able to attend (thanks for stepping in at late notice Dave Greathead & Eric the stand-in Bar Staff!).

Entrants were; Father & Son Chris & Baz 'Sunglasses' Alexander, Gav Twigg, Ian Pearce, Mark Kelly, Neil Tolley, Phil Hall (defending Champion, having travelled all the way up from Devon!), Brian Orton, Rob House, Tom Hamilton-Williams, Pete Billingham, Dave Rowe, Kev 'Cuz' Higgs, Kev Pickworth, Hugh Baker, Lee Woods, Mike Bishop, Luke Wells, Joey Edwards, Don Sirrett, Dave Glaves & organiser Andy Rance (nursing a bad back!).

With the above 24 entrants split into 4 groups of 6, thatmade 60 matches to get through!  With an estimatedaverage of 30 minutes per frame, the group stages were predicted to finish around 6.00pm!  And with a good mixture of League & Non-League players & some good handicapping, there were some close games being decided on the colours (well done Andy!).

As per the usual format, at the conclusion of the round-robin Group Stages, the 1st & 2nd place in each group went through to the knockout stages.  Some groups were very straight forward to work out, yet there were others where several players were tied on either 2 or 3 wins apiece, promoting much debate as to who qualified!

Neil Tolley didn't make the cut (tough break!), but had done enough with his 3 wins from 5 matches to claim the Best Non-League Player trophy, well done Neil!

The Group Stage High Break prize had some decent breaks (Rob AND Pete both made 37's), but it was Cuz who took the cash prize with a tremendous 61!

So to the Knockout Stages that started with the Quarter Finals.  Higgs faced Mike Bishop on table 1, Dave Glaves v Phil Hall on table 2, Rob House v Hugh Baker on table 3 & Dave Rowe v Pete Billingham on table 4.

Kev despatched Mike 2-0, whilst Phil v Dave were having (predictably) a titanic battle which Phil eventually triumphed in.  Rob made a lovely 58 break in his win over Hugh & Pete made a nice 35 in his win over Dave (who didn't leave empty handed as he had the surprise of being voted Players Player of the Season & was presented with the Tanner Trophy at GSMS 'briefing' – see previous Blog posts).

So, the Semi Finals lined up as Pete v Rob on table 1 & Cuz v Phil on table 4.  Both matches followed the same pattern with Cuz & Pete both going 1-0 up & Phil & Rob both fighting back to level at 1-1 (which also coincidentally were the first frames lost by Cuz & Pete all day!).  After battling back to level, Rob forged on as neither coffee nor Red Bull helped Pete through the 'wall'.  Conversely, Cuz fought back to take himself into his first GSMS Final at his first attempt!

In the Final, Cuz continued his solid match-play to take the first frame to lead 1-0.  Rob, in typical 'never give up' style fought back to level the match & take it to a deciding frame!  By this time it was nearly 11.00pm, so you can see why I referred to it earlier as a snooker marathon!  Andy & Pete had been alternating refereeing, but even with a round of coffees from Rob, poor Andy wasn't going to make it through the last frame!  Cuz carried on his Semi Final pattern of going 1-0 up, level at 1-1 & then win the decider.  He played some crucial & telling safety shots & some confident pots to clinch the title despite some spirited opposition from Rob, who had the consolation of picking up the Knockout High Break Prize as well as Runner Up, unlucky Rob.

Congratulations to Cuz on a superb display of consistent match snooker throughout the day to take the GSMS Trophy (ironically putting his mini name shield in place of Rob's last win!  Well, until Dave does the new GSMS surround!).

Huge thanks to Andy Rance for all his organising (& stressing over handicaps!  Don't worry Andy, they were pretty good!).

Thanks to John Beardsley for his immaculate table preparation (& for starting so early to help accommodate our early start!).

And finally, thanks to Oz, Lucy (who is rehabilitating from her recent hernia operation – Get Well soon!) plus stand-in Bar Staff, Eric for all their hard work & for feeding us.

Snooker Review for 2013-14 Season

I'm pleased to report that the Wallingford Comrades Club has enjoyed another successful season in snooker competitions this season.

The annual Gilbert Shepherd Final  was contested between Simon Ellam & Comrades A Team Old Boy & Captain, specially invited guest Phil Hall.  Phil made the long journey up worthwhile eventually triumphing by 2 frames to 1 & with the Final finishing at around 11pm, it really was Last Man Standing!  Nigel Woods won the Best Non League Player trophy bowing out in the semis-a title which he has now relinquished by joining up!

The Tanner Trophy for Player of the Season was proudly received by Tom Williams of the A Team.  He was voted for after his fabulous debut season where he was Runner Up in the League Singles Final, Winner of the League Novice Final & a solid win percentage-including some very important frames, especially in the Jim Taylor semi & final!

We re-instated the annual Greene King tournament this season & it was very well attended (possibly due to the lucrative prize money available from healthy sponsorship from the brewery!).  Best Non-League Player was the veteran Don Sirret (who hasn't missed a GSMS or GK tournament since they were started!).  Losing Semi Finalists were Simon Ellam & Dave Rowe.  After being 1-0 down & needing a snooker on the pink, I eventually consigned Phil Hall to Runner Up by winning the Final 2-1.  I also scooped both High Break Prizes with a 49 & 34.

The latter stages of the house competitions were littered with B Team players.

The Veterans Final was won by the Club Secretary Brian Orton who beat Alan Wells who made the Final in his first season in the Club & C Team.

The Billiards Final was won by Club Snooker Rep (ME!) who beat Rob House in a reverse of last years result.

The Doubles was won for the first time by Simon Ellam & Rob House who beat last years Champions Dave Rowe & Nigel Woods.

The Singles event was an all B Team affair & won by Dave Rowe who retained the Title (this year off a scratch handicap!) by beating his team mate Rob House.

Thank you to the Secretary, Brian Orton for organising all of the house competitions & Russ Hawkswell for the lovely octagonal glass trophies (& for winning one himself as Runner Up in the Darts!).

In the D&DS&B League, Wallingford had a sufficiently interested number of players that we entered a third Team in the combined 2nd & 3rd Division.  Kev Pickworth kindly volunteered at the 11th hour to Captain the newly formed C Team to bolster a diminishing League - we lost Fairmile, Fawley AND Didcot Con A over the summer & are losing Watlington for next season!

The A Team, after giving everyone else a 5 points head start(!), won the Premier Division title back with a week to spare, eventually finishing 9 points ahead of Wantage A.

Our own Nigel Prior took the Premier Division High Break Prize with a lovely 51 break.  This was also the Highest Break by any Wallingford player in competition this season so won him the annual Bill Billingham High Break trophy as well!

After a scintillating start the B Team were 4th in the Premier Division, just below their 1st Divisions Runner Up position of last season.

The newly formed C Team were 4th in Division 3 after a challenging first year. Success doesn't happen overnight lads & as they say 'you only get out what you put in'!  Practice & dedication will reap their rewards!

In the Cups, the A Team played Abingdon Con A in the John Evans Final at Didcot Con & despite some battling performances, most notably Kev 'Cuz' Higgs who went toe-to-toe with Karl Walker (Oxford League & ex-Oracle). Karl started with a 24 & Cuz came back straight away with a lovely 33 break.  It was a black ball game which Karl eventually won & the A Team went down 1-3.

In the Jim Taylor sadly none of our teams made it through the Quarter Finals.

In the Presidents Cup the C Team bowed out before the Quarter Finals.

In Pairs & Individual League Competitions Wallingford entered 41 players across all tournaments, only bettered by Challow who entered 43!

In the Doubles, Dave Rowe & Nigel Woods and Kev Higgs & myself all bowed out at the Semi Finals stage.

In the 2 Man Team, again Dave Rowe & Nigel Woods and Aaron Tame & Tom Hamilton-Williams also all bowed out at the Semi Finals stage.

The League Billiards was won by Tom Hamilton-Williams at his first attempt!  He beat Ricky Delahunt in a thrilling Final after beating Colin Bark in an equally thrilling Semi Final!

In the Novices, our own Dave Rowe beat Phil Hall of Wantage at Wantage 3-0!  Many congratulations to Dave who makes it a 'Double Year' with the Club Singles Title.  With a successful defence of the Novices Title after Tom won last year & Dave won this year, the question is...who will successfully make it a hat-trick of Wallingford wins next season!?

In the Over 50s, Dave Greathead bowed out at the Semi Final stage.

In the Captains Cup, both Andy Rance & myself, following in a familiar fashion, both bowed out in the Semi Finals.

In the Singles, there was to be no successful defence of the title (held by me!) as all Wallingford entrants bowed out before the Semis.

The Comrades will be collecting no less than 4 trophies at this years AGM & Presentation at the Marlborough Club on Tues 6th May!

I would like to thank Andy Rance & Kev Pickworth for all their hard work as Team Captains & ALL the snooker players for their efforts & enthusiasm throughout the year!

The snooker players would like to thank the Club & Committee for investing & maintaining the fabulous facilities, especially the upgrading of the lighting on ALL 4 tables.  Thank you to A Team Stalwart Dave Greathead & his son Peter for putting them up!  I think you'll all agree the snooker room looks fabulous!

The Club has continued investment in the fabulous facilities by reclothing tables 1 & 4 plus maintenance of 2 & 3 & new match balls on table 4.  It is fair to say that this has seen a great return in revenue through increased interest from new & old players & the facilities here are, without doubt the best in the League!

A huge Thank You to John Beardsley for his tireless high quality maintenance of the tables & also to Kev 'Cuz' Higgs who utilised his RefreshPro (check out their website & Facebook page) equipment to clean the layers of ancient dust off the beams!

On the subject of media platforms, I received a FaceBook message from a guest player, Chris Reilly (ex-Wantage) from Swindon who said 'was brilliant having a game last night will definitely be coming over again soon-tables are impeccable'!

The club hosted 3 Semi Finals (Captains, Presidents & 2 Man Team Cups) & 1 Final (Over 50s) & the quality of the tables has been commented on during the season by several players from other clubs who are envious of the excellent facilities here!

Also a huge Thank You to Will Spinner who as you know set up the Wallingford Comrades Club Website.  Will also set up the Snooker Link & a 'technology 4 idiots' e-mail address that makes my job of Club Snooker Reps job sooooo easy!  Thank you Will!

Lastly a huge Thank You to Oz & Lucy & their bar staff for the consistently high quality of the food & their hospitality extended to the away teams-again we have a reputation for our snooker suppers that has been continued to a very high standard.  Thank you.

Don't forget the inaugural Ray Dandridge Memorial Doubles Competition Fun Day on 24th May!  Entries spaces still available on the Snooker Room Notice Board!

Thanks to all you blog readers!  Have a great summer & see you in September when it all starts again!

Comrades Snooker Rep & A Team Captain, Pete Billingham.

Players Player of the Season!

Congratulations to Dave Rowe of the B Team who was voted as this years Wallingford Comrades Club Players Player of the Season!

After very close voting there were 4 main contenders, Alan Wells of the C Team plus Kev 'Cuz' Higgs & Tom Hamilton-Williams (last years winner), both of the A Team.

Dave won the D&DS&BL Novices Trophy at his first attempt, finished top percentage player in the B Team stats & retained the Comrades House Singles Title to receive the prestigious Tanner Trophy!

A sterling season Dave & very well deserved!

Comrades Club Team Stats 16/04/14 (Match 29)

A TEAM	Pl	W	L	Pts for	Av	Pts ag	Av	%	Breaks over 25
Dave Greathead	19	15	4	1046	55	682	36	79	25
Nigel Prior	18	14	4	947	53	583	32	78	51, 25
Jon Hawkins	4	3	1	214	54	158	40	75
Pete Billingham	14	10	4	766	55	459	33	71	27, 33, 26
Aaron Tame	14	10	4	682	49	456	33	71
Kev Higgs	14	9	5	742	53	544	39	64	27, 25, 33
Tom Williams	16	10	6	808	51	541	34	63	34, 35
Nigel Woods	1	1	0	64	64	36	36
A Team lose the John Evans Final to Abingdon Con A on a difficult Didcot Con table. Nigel gives us the ideal start beating Simon James, 58-27. Tom battles v Colin Bark & despite watching a 33 break put in, never says die with a gritty performance that could've been so different but for 2 'bobblers', eventually losing 37-63 to level at 1-1 (although Toms long yellow was 'shot of the night'!). Cue Cuz to face Karl Walker(!) & watch him slot in a 24.  Calm as you like Cuz goes toe-to-toe banging in a sublime 33 to take it to the colours! But for a fluked snooker on the blue (if it ain't bad run for you, then it's good run against you, eh Cuz!?) it went to the black & Karl took second bite to put us 1-2. Sterling performance & the frame of the night! Aaron faced Paul Chester (another Oxford League player), but looking tired after starting his new job & up against a prolific potter, came off second best 12-69 for the 1-3 scoreline. Unlucky mate. Anchorman doesn't get to hit the 20 frames, but finishes top of the Top percentage Players for Comrades Players! Not bad for an old boy with dodgy knees! Proud of your efforts lads & well done on the winning back the Premiership!
B TEAM	Pl	W	L	Pts for	Av	Pts ag	Av	%	Breaks over 20
David Rowe	19	14	5	1027	54	625	33	74	36
Andy Rance	18	10	8	917	51	806	45	56
Pirom Phai	11	6	5	541	49	511	46	55	24
Simon Ellam	16	7	9	733	46	742	46	44
Brian Orton	14	6	8	544	39	656	47	43
Rob House	19	8	11	819	43	863	45	42	39
Dave Glaves	2	0	2	49	25	104	52	0
B Team scores added to last match results. Congratulations to Dave Rowe on a sterling season (again!), ending up top B Team percentage player (2nd only to Dave Glaves last season), hitting the 'Golden 1,000', to go with his Club Singles Title (retained) & his D&DS&BL Novice Title! Well done mate!
C TEAM	Pl	W	L	Pts for	Av	Pts ag	Av	%	Breaks over 17
Alan Wells	16	9	7	796	50	737	46	56	22
Pete Beaumont	11	6	5	509	46	585	53	55	19, 20
Bob Elliott	4	2	2	155	39	229	57	50
Hugh Baker	15	6	9	600	40	716	48	40
Kev Pickworth	14	4	10	630	45	783	56	29
Joey Edwards	11	2	9	340	31	622	57	18	20
Jake Crockett	8	1	7	185	23	383	48	13
Luke Wells	4	0	4	79	20	220	55	0
Chris Strange	4	0	4	77	19	223	56	0
Dan Milles	1	0	1	30	30	72	72
Congratulations to Alan Wells on a close fought 'Top Percentage Player' battle with Pete 'Talisman' Beaumont! An excellent achievement in a competitive first season!