The Gordon Lewis Scratch Billiards Championship

The 2023 Gordon Lewis winner John Mullane

Mullane retains the Gordon Lewis!

John Mullane (115, 78, 108, 42, 56, 47, 61) 609- 485 Danny Zagaroli (89, 49, 67,)

Another explosive final between Southampton's big stars as John Mullane retains his title with some magnificent break building. John took the early initiative with a majestic 115 break and Danny replied soon after with an equally majestic 89, A top of the table 78 soon followed from John with Danny replying yet again with another great display of billiards but broke down on 49 to give John the chance to get to the interval with a handy lead, A second century followed for John as the half way buzzer sounded with the chance to add to it after the short break.

John ends his second century on 108 giving him just over a 100 point lead starting the second period, Danny starts the half well with a great 67 break to narrow the gap to 318-377 but John was in too good form to let the lead slip any further and soon added breaks of 42, 47 and 61 to gain an unassailable lead as the clock ticked down. A fantastic evening of billiards ended with John scoring 609 to 485 and add yet another title to his name.

Thanks to Paul Adams for the commentary.

MAIN SEMI FINAL

Thursday 21st March 7.30 pm at Churchills, Games are 2 sessions of 45min

A superb quality of billiards that produces 3 centuries will surely go down as one of the best in recent memory, helped by the quality of the baize prepared at Churchills Club the first 45 min sessions saw John Mullane stun the room with breaks of 107 and 140 and leave Terry Azor with a mountain to climb heading towards the halfway point, an unfazed Terry however went on to build a strong 57 break by the halfway buzzer. After a brief intermission the second period gave Terry the chance to build on the 57 he was currently on and took little time to pass the 100 mark, a superb effort from Terry saw him reach 152 before breaking down to a well deserved applause and give him real hope of overturning the first half deficit, unfortunately after such a superb effort it was not to be as John added another 80 break to finish the match at 444 -301.

Southampton's No. 1 Danny Zagaroli hit breaks of 92 and 40 to join John in May's 2 hour final after overcoming Jerry Warren by 355-198, Danny took a little while to get going but forged a lead in the first 45 despite Jerry hitting a 40 break to stay in touch, Danny pushed further ahead in the second 45 and fell just 8 points short of adding a 4th century of the evening before adding another 40 later on, Jerry put on another great display in his first time effort in getting to the Gordon Lewis Semi Final and dispatching some great opponents on route but Danny proved a hurdle too far on this occasion.

Thanks to Churchills, Mike Henstredge, Derek Fry and Paul Adams for their great efforts on the night.

CHALLENGE CUP SEMI FINAL AND FINAL

Played on 8th May at Sarisbury Social.

Mark McLean (31) 198-133 Trevor Thorn

Chris Bishop (51, 51, 35, 36u) 237-123 Trevor Thorn (38)

Chris Bishop (31, 36, 66u) 210-199 Mark McLean (41, 41, 31, 32, 37)

Mark McLean got the finals of to a great start and produced some fine billiards as he overcame Trevor Thorn by 65 points and take early advantage in the round robin final, the 31 break being the first of many in a gripping evening.

Trevor Thorn got his next match off to a flyer as he took the initiative with an early 38 break to put the pressure on, a few visits later though Chris Bishop had settled into the match and fired in the first of his two 51 breaks, the second followed soon after to take a commanding lead into the second half, Bishop secured a final game shootout with McLean after a 35 break and a 36 unfinished secured the win.

The final saw both Mark and Chris battle out a remarkable game of billiards with Mark stamping his authority on the game and putting Chris under huge pressure missing only 2 pots in the whole match, in the defence of his title Mark forged an early advantage with a couple of 41 breaks, Chris stayed in touch with a 31 and 36 break but was under huge pressure with Mark making telling contributions virtually every leave, the second half carried on in the same manner with Mark adding a 31, 32 and 37 to leave his opponent with a mountain to climb, but with the scores at 144-199 and 4 minutes remaining on the clock Chris started what was to prove the decisive break, a break that was comprised of a brisk walk between shots as the clock counted down! The top of the mountain was reached with less than a minute remaining and the break rolled on to a 66 unfinished to claim St Denys first silverware for 5 years.

Games are 300 up and to be played 15th January at home players club

Matches Played to 300up OR 80 minutes timed*

*The match is played to 300up but with an 80min timer running, the match ends when the buzzer sounds or 300 points is achieved (whatever happens soonest). However if the buzzer sounds when a player is 90% complete (270 points) then please continue to 300 up.

You may wish to play to 300 regardless of timer as long as this is agreed beforehand