Scotland Squeeze It at Home Internationals
Scotland won the HIBSF Home Internationals Snooker Championship for the first time in 14 years after one of the tightest ever finishes in the event’s long history.
Amateur teams from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Guernsey travelled to the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds for the 2016 edition of this prestigious championship that started in 1969.
The champion quartet of Michael Collumb, Robert Carlisle, Ross Vallance and Chris Totten pipped Republic of Ireland by just a single frame after both sides ended up on 10 points each having won five out of their six matches.
Scotland began their campaign with a 9-3 victory over Wales B before defeating reigning champions England 8-4. They then bounced back from a 9-3 loss to Northern Ireland by getting the better of the Republic of Ireland 8-4 and Guernsey 11-1.
Going into the final morning of action, both the Scots and the Irish had identical records – and Wales A could also top the table if results went their way. In an outcome of the finest margins, Scotland’s 9-3 win over Wales A eclipsed the ROI’s 8-4 success over England, thus meaning they would get their hands on the iconic Prince of Wales Shield.
Collumb also finished top of the individual stats with 14 frames out of 18, whilst Guernsey’s Martyn Desperques made the highest break of the competition with a 124.
In the Masters division, the Wales A outfit of Darryl James, Gavin Lewis, Elfed Evans and Steven Thomas won the title with 10 points ahead of England A (nine points) and England B (eight points).
Aidan Owens (England A) was the top individual performer with 13 frames out of 15, and he also constructed the highest break with an effort of 101.
Junior Snooker Joy for England and Wales
Teams from England and Wales claimed titles in the subsequent junior categories in Leeds.
England retained the under-21 championship with a perfect record of five wins from five matches.
Consisting of Ashley Carty, Peter Devlin, Nico Elton, Richard Haney, Louis Heathcote and Joe O’Connor, the outfit defeated opposition from the Republic of Ireland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Belgium to top the table.
Belgium’s Kope Vanoppen made the event’s highest break with an effort of 117.
In the under-16 division, the Welsh quartet of Alfie Davies, Dylan Emery, Brad Ferguson and Callum Matthews ousted defending champions England A by a single frame after both teams ended up on eight points.
Emery was the number one ranked player in the individual stats with 13 out of 15 frames won and he also chalked up the highest break, an 82.
For more information and the full results, please visit the Home International Billiards and Snooker Federation website here.
Finished article written on 16th August 2016.
