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Chris Patmore lines up a peel

Despite uninterrupted good weather and relatively easy playing conditions, this year's championship at Eastbourne kept the crowds on tenterhooks until and beyond dusk on the final day - in fact some are due to stay hooked for a while yet. Two (of the impressive selection of) Davids fought hard to win their semi-finals. In the first Peter Trimmer won the first game easily and looked set to win the second, but disaster at rover gave David Harrison-Wood his chance and he won by 2. Much the same happened in the third when Peter sent red off the south boundary after penultimate while setting up at rover for the final peel of his triple, enabling David to steal the match with his own triple. In the other semi-final David Goacher and Ed Duckworth each kept giving or snatching the initiative from the other, as the scores suggest, and David Goacher eventually emerged the victor. This left rather too little time for two players not generally expected to finish a best-of-three final at the trot, so time limits were set to expire with the daylight. The first game reached its time limit with DG for peg and penultimate, DH-W with one clip on 4-back and just beginning a break with the other ball - he proceeded to the peg, peeling his partner through 4-back on the way, and pegged out both peg balls to win +1 on time when DG narrowly missed the last shot. Roles were reversed in the second game with DH-W going round as time was called and DG playing catch up in the last turn to win +1, nearly 50 minutes after time was called!! By now the gloom was gathering and it did not seem fair to decide a championship in the 15 minutes that remained, so I accepted an undertaking from the players to complete the match, at leisure (!), in early October - please be patient.

One of the most exciting games was the first between Pete Trimmer and Dave Kibble. Pete played supershot, which Dave hit but failed to get in front of 1 so left both balls peg high. Pete shot from corner 1 and hit, going to 4-back with a standard three balls together leave. Dave hit and intended a 1-back leave with balls cross-wired at 1, but managed to become snookered from partner when preparing the leave. He attempted a jump but failed, leaving three balls together at 1 and Pete's hoop 1 ball at 6. Pete played his 4-back ball and made a cross-wire at 1 and laid-up in corner 3. Dave hit with his hoop 1 ball and completed a TPO, pegging-out two balls leaving 1 vs. 6. He peeled penult before 5 but only managing a straight rover peel!

From the contact near corner 2, Pete began a 2-ball break. He ran 2-back without a rush and failed to roll up to 3-back so took a long open position. Dave took position at 6. Pete made 3-back to the boundary, shot at the part-wired ball and missed. Dave shot and missed. Pete made 4-back and took off to and stuck in Penult conceding a wiring lift. Dave hit the short lift and miraculously bounced the ball out of the hoop. He made 6 but failed to get in front of 1-back and took open position. There then followed a standoff, with Pete guarding 2-back and Dave Penult. Eventually Dave shot across the lawn and hit, rolled off 3-back but failed position at 4-back. Pete hit and made penult and took a 3-yard position at rover. Dave made 4-back to the boundary and then shot at and made penult by 2 yards to loud cheers from the crowd! Inevitably the subsequent 7-yard roquet was missed. Pete intended to run rover to the ball on the boundary but bounced off giving Dave a 10-yard roquet, which he hit and finished from.

In the plate Chris Patmore (now a veteran of this event making his 10th appearance) played very steadily to win all but one of his games and regain the Sussex Union Cup, which he divided with Don Gaunt in 1997. Overall there were more triples than usual, and by more people. The peeling prize went to David Kibble with 5 triples since none of the attempts to snatch the accolade with a single sextuple came to fruition.

Championship (for the O'Callaghan Gold Cup)

Round 1

T Wilkins beat C Patmore +16 -17(TP) +25(TP)
P Trimmer beat A Gregory +14 +20
R Beijderwellen w.o. J Gibbons (opponent scratched)
P Hort beat D Hopkins +17 +16

Round 2

D Maugham w.o. R Tribe (opponent scratched)
D Harrison-Wood beat L Tibble +26(TP) -14 +12
D Kibble beat T Weston +4(TP) +16(TP)
P Trimmer beat T Wilkins +4(TP) +24
P Hort beat R Beijderwellen +11(TP) +22
E Duckworth beat J C Williams +17(TP) +26(TP)
D Mundy beat P Castell +22 +19
D Goacher beat L Bradforth +10 +26(TP)

Quarter-Finals

D Harrison-Wood beat D Maugham -19(TP) +25 (TP) +17
P Trimmer beat D Kibble -2(TPO) +7(TP) +26(TP)
E Duckworth beat P Hort +7 +8
D Goacher beat D Mundy +16(TP) +25(TP)

Semi-Finals

D Harrison-Wood beat P Trimmer -26 +2 +4(TP)
D Goacher beat E Duckworth +3 -5 +4

Final

D Harrison-Wood beat D Goacher +1(ot)
D Goacher beat D Harrison-Wood +1(ot)
To be concluded elsewhere, soon(ish) - watch this space!

Third Place Play-Off

P Trimmer beat E Duckworth +10

Consolation Swiss (for the Sussex Union Cup)

Winner: 7/10 C PATMORE
6/9 P Hort
5/8 D Maugham, D Mundy
6/10 J Williams
6/11 D Kibble
4/8 L Bradforth, L Tibble, T Weston
4/10 R Beijderwellen
2/5 R Tribe
4/11 T Wilkins
2/9 D Hopkins
1/10 P Castell

Peeling prize: D Kibble