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IT WAS a day of remarkably high scoring during which one player made breaks of 140 and 60 - and still lost a best-of-three-frames match.
Cueball Derby witnessed 35 breaks of 40 or more, including two total clearances, from the seven-strong field for the fourth leg of the English Masters Tour Midlands.
But when the dust had settled, it was Wolverhampton wonder Darryn Walker who again took home maximum points.
Walker, who has won all three of the tournaments he has entered this season on the over-40s circuit, had beaten Graham Beardmore 2-1 in the group stages despite the Stoke potter compiling breaks of 44, 46, and 74. The pair met again in a high-quality final.
Beardmore showed no sign of scars - or nerves - in his first appearance in a final this season, winning the opening frame with a 60 before Walker replied with runs of 89 and 70 to move 2-1 ahead. The fourth was a more tense encounter, and although both had chances, it was Walker who edged the frame and match on the pink.
Earlier, in the group stages, Walker had chalked up runs of 72, 60, 48, 48, and 46 in his five victories out of six, including an impressive 3-0 whitewash of title rival Jamie Bodle (Derby).
Beardmore forged an equally clinical path to the final, qualifying for the knockout in third place in the group, having won four of his six matches, and making breaks of 75, 74, 64, 57, 56, 46, 45, 44, 44 and 40 in the 18 frames he played.
His heavy scoring continued in the semi-finals where he faced the tiring Bodle, who could fairly consider making the last-four an achievement in itself, having still been playing in the final of a tournament for ex-pros at 4am that morning in Surrey.
Beardmore had lost in straight frames to Bodle in the group stages but stamped his authority on this match with breaks of 82 and 83 to go 2-0 in front.
Bodle wouldn’t lie down - despite needing to - and put away a battling 47 to reduce the deficit to 2-1. Beardmore had a 51 in the fourth to leave Bodle needing a snooker, which he got. A decider looked unavoidable until he lost position on the brown. A tense safety exchange followed, which Beardmore won.
Other notable performances included Bodle’s 137 total clearance against Hassan Vaizie in the group stage.
Vaizie (Birmingham) himself played a spectacular group match against David Brown (Northampton), making breaks of 60 and 140 - only to somehow lose 2-1.
Walker’s success extends his lead at the top of the rankings to 147 points over second-placed Bodle.
The fifth leg of six is at The Towers Snooker Club, Mansfield, on Sunday, February 28.
Additional reporting by Andrew Barklam
Tim Dunkley
EASB Media Officer South and World Snooker coach
The English Association of Snooker & Billiards is the national governing body for the amateur game in this country. For more information about competitions, rankings lists and results, see www.easb.co.uk.
Cueball Derby witnessed 35 breaks of 40 or more, including two total clearances, from the seven-strong field for the fourth leg of the English Masters Tour Midlands.
But when the dust had settled, it was Wolverhampton wonder Darryn Walker who again took home maximum points.
Walker, who has won all three of the tournaments he has entered this season on the over-40s circuit, had beaten Graham Beardmore 2-1 in the group stages despite the Stoke potter compiling breaks of 44, 46, and 74. The pair met again in a high-quality final.
Beardmore showed no sign of scars - or nerves - in his first appearance in a final this season, winning the opening frame with a 60 before Walker replied with runs of 89 and 70 to move 2-1 ahead. The fourth was a more tense encounter, and although both had chances, it was Walker who edged the frame and match on the pink.
Earlier, in the group stages, Walker had chalked up runs of 72, 60, 48, 48, and 46 in his five victories out of six, including an impressive 3-0 whitewash of title rival Jamie Bodle (Derby).
Beardmore forged an equally clinical path to the final, qualifying for the knockout in third place in the group, having won four of his six matches, and making breaks of 75, 74, 64, 57, 56, 46, 45, 44, 44 and 40 in the 18 frames he played.
His heavy scoring continued in the semi-finals where he faced the tiring Bodle, who could fairly consider making the last-four an achievement in itself, having still been playing in the final of a tournament for ex-pros at 4am that morning in Surrey.
Beardmore had lost in straight frames to Bodle in the group stages but stamped his authority on this match with breaks of 82 and 83 to go 2-0 in front.
Bodle wouldn’t lie down - despite needing to - and put away a battling 47 to reduce the deficit to 2-1. Beardmore had a 51 in the fourth to leave Bodle needing a snooker, which he got. A decider looked unavoidable until he lost position on the brown. A tense safety exchange followed, which Beardmore won.
Other notable performances included Bodle’s 137 total clearance against Hassan Vaizie in the group stage.
Vaizie (Birmingham) himself played a spectacular group match against David Brown (Northampton), making breaks of 60 and 140 - only to somehow lose 2-1.
Walker’s success extends his lead at the top of the rankings to 147 points over second-placed Bodle.
The fifth leg of six is at The Towers Snooker Club, Mansfield, on Sunday, February 28.
Additional reporting by Andrew Barklam
Tim Dunkley
EASB Media Officer South and World Snooker coach
The English Association of Snooker & Billiards is the national governing body for the amateur game in this country. For more information about competitions, rankings lists and results, see www.easb.co.uk.