[<<] [>>] by Jonathan Powe
5th August 2020 (GC)

Sixteen entrants were split into two blocks of eight, which produced eight quarter-finalists for the Knockout and eight for the Plate. Despite a reasonable forecast, a heavy downpour on Saturday meant that play was stopped soon after lunch and had to be abandoned at 3pm after only four rounds when the courts became flooded and there was no hope of further play. Everyone regathered at 8.30am on Sunday to catch up and we managed to get the knockout underway at 11.30am, although the quarter-finals had to be reduced to single 19-point games.

Stars of the blocks were undoubtedly Jane Tewson (2) who brushed aside Jonathan Powe (-4) 7-2 and beat Steve Leonard (-3) 7-6 on the way to first place in Block A with 5/7 wins, and Gary Brennan (1) who also punched above his weight to take fourth slot in Block B (4/7) and set up a quarter-final clash with Jane.

The key results are shown below. Tom Weston (0) carried off the bottle of wine as the Plate winner for the second year running, beating Ross Bagni (0) in the final.

The Championship Final featured the same players for the third year running - Powe and Stuart M Smith (-3). In the end, Powe prevailed to take the title for the fifth year in a row.

A number of handicaps were changed at close of play on Sunday, notably: Jane Tewson from 2 to 1; Gary Brennan from 1 to 0; and Stuart Smith from -3 to -4.

Results

Plate Final: Tom Weston beat Ross Bagni 10-6

Championship

QF1: Gary Brennan beat Jane Tewson 10-6

QF2: Stuart M Smith beat Les Heard 10-6

QF3: Jonathan Powe beat Lionel Tibble 10-9

QF4: Steve Leonard beat David Kendrick 10-8

5^th/6^th Playoff: Les Heard beat David Kendrick 10-9

SF1: Stuart M Smith beat Gary Brennan 7-2, 7-3

SF2: Jonathan Powe beat Steve Leonard 6-7, 7-4, 7-3

3^rd/4^th Playoff: Steve Leonard beat Gary Brennan 7-2, 6-7, 7-5

Final: Jonathan Powe beat Stuart M Smith 7-4, 7-3

Full results on Croquet Scores.