BPPPA Solihull Open - Two English Pool Players In Final!

Two English Pool Players in Final... Of a BPPPA 9 Ball Tournament!?!?!?

English Pool player Karl Boyes has beaten good friend and fellow English 8 Ball player Phil Harrison in the final of the BPPPA's Solihull Open - a 9 Ball competition! The two friends played their way through a talent packed field of 89 players at the Midlands event, and then faced each other for the title. The match went the long route, the score reaching ten-ten in the race to eleven final, with Harrison to break, he made a ball but his run-out stalled and it was Boyes who potted the vital final nine-ball for the title "BPPPA Solihull Open Champion".

Karl had an unusual draw this weekend. His first round match certainly wouldn't be easy as noticed he would be facing the 2004 UK Snooker Champion and former European Pool Champion. Even more daunting was the fact that his opponent was female, and even more terrifying than that... It was his girlfriend!

Lynette Horsburgh and Karl Boyes have been an item for over a year now, and after travelling all the way to the Midlands, realised the luck of the draw had thrown them against each other! Doing nothing to promote matrimonial harmony, Karl decided to 'take no prisoners' and roared to a strong lead. "At 5-1 up he tried to give me a cuddle... I went, 'hands-off'... When we got up this morning, he said, 'I better not draw you'". Karl eventually won 7-1... And is currently single! (Just kidding).

Lawrenson wins, wins, wins!

The top story of the weekend must be the spectacular rise and rise of BPPPA Junior player Mathew Lawrenson. The British Junior 9 Ball Champion has only recently returned from the Junior European Championships in Kiev, where he won yet more glory, adding the Gold Medal and Trophy for the 14.1 discipline (aka Straight Pool).

Challenging himself against the adults on the main tour must be helping his game, and he has started to provide a few upsets when he plays well. So there were a few keen eyes watching to see if he could qualify again for the last 32 on the Sunday at Solihull.

The draw could have been tougher if it was hand-picked. His final match to qualify was against one of the most seasoned and successful players on the tour, a man who has won more events that I've had hot dinners - Daryl Peach.

It was no suprise to see the majority of the audience routing for the 18 year old in this "David and Goliath" contest. It was a close run thing, until it came to the crunch... With the score at hill-hill, it all came down to the final single game to decide Matthew's fate. Could the youngster control his nerves and manage to keep his cool, or would Daryl's experience prevail.

As it turned out, to the great surprise of many watching, Mathew won the slightly scrappy final frame and once again qualified for the second days play. There was much celebrating from his loyal crowd of supporters and members of his family.

Goodbye to Damian Overton

A tinge of sadness today, as it's the last tournament that Damian Overton will be playing on theses shores. Damian has been threatening to move to the States for a long time and at long last the time is nigh!

His departure will be a great loss to the talent base of the BPPPA and he will be greatly missed by everyone. Damian has always been one of the nicest and most sporting players on the tour, and America's gain is our loss! I'm sure everyone who knows him will join us in wishing him all the best of luck in his new challenge.