UPC 8-ball Championships 2005
Click here for individual player statistics from the weekend's competitions.
The second UPC 8-ball championships were held at McCluskey's Snooker club in Spondon, Derby, on the 18th-20th March. The competition was divided into Championship and Trophy tournaments, for A and B teams respectively, with team and individual tournaments in both.
Team results
Cambridge entered two teams, and following some strong performances in the local pub leagues, everyone was hoping for some good results in the tournament. Neither team disappointed, with both the A and B teams making it to the knockout stages of the competitions. The A team reached the last 12 of the Championship, and the B team made it to the last 8 in the Trophy competition. It is worth noting that both teams only lost to two other sides during the competition, and in both cases it was the same two teams who eventually reached the finals!
A Team
Report by Rob Cork
The A team got their Championship campaign off to the best start possible, opening with an 8-0 whitewash against Middlesex A. While a couple of frames could have gone either way, it was an awesome performance by the Cambridge players, who dominated the match right from the start with some superb potting and confident clearances.
Eager to prove that the first result wasn't a fluke, all the players continued to battle for every frame in their second match as though the tournament depended on it. Particularly impressive was Andy Aspden's first frame of the day - finding himself up against a talented Teesside player, Andy knuckled down and refused to give him a chance at a pot, snookering him for what must have been over a dozen consecutive shots. Finally his perservence was rewarded when his opponent at last missed all of his balls and conceded the foul, and Andy wasted no time in clearing with his two visits. With the rest of the team still enjoying the unstoppable run of form that they had shown in the Middlesex match, the second 8-0 whitewash of the day was soon in the bag.
Unfortunately, the run of form was never going to last forever, and the inevitable downturn coincided with the match against the toughest opponents of the day, Warwick A. While the meeting should have been the closest match of the group, with Cambridge and Warwick clearly a class above their other opponents, the excitement was dulled by the knowledge that both teams had already succeeded in qualifying for the knockout stages with two victories apiece. Some excellent frames by the Warwick team saw them creep into the lead early on as the Cambridge players struggled to remember how to pot and get position. An 8-4 defeat was the final result, with Warwick looking the stronger side throughout the match and thouroughly deserving the win, finishing top of the group.
Moving into the knockout stages, the A team rued their luck in the draw, being pitted against an extremely strong Durham side. Cambridge got off to a strong start, with Christos Chamberlain and Abdur Modoni winning their opening frames to take a 2-0 lead. However, Durham fought back to level the scores at 2-2, before the luck started to turn against the Cambridge side. While attempting a straightforward clearance, Andy Aspden was cruelly denied by the table when he saw his yellow ball veer away from the middle pocket at the last second, having been rolling straight towards the centre of the pocket. Unfortunately, although he had positioned the white perfectly for his next shot, it was also precisely set up for a straight pot on the black, which his opponent quickly potted to take the frame. The next frame saw Rob Cork at the table with two visits and a golden opportunity for a clearance, only for him to snooker himself on the final red. After playing a full-ball swerve, the rest of the team could only watch in dismay as the white came off two knuckles and headed straight into the opposite corner pocket, giving his opponent two visits with which to take the frame. Durham then raced into a 7-3 lead, leaving Cambridge with a mammoth task on their hands, needing all of the final 5 frames. Some tactically astute play and more assured potting saw them reduce the deficit to 7-5, and the comeback looked to be on the cards. Sadly, 5 frames straight against such quality opponents as Durham proved to be too much to ask, and there was nothing Chris Coomber could do to stop his opponent clinching the 13th frame to give Durham the 8-5 victory.
The strength of the Durham side was confirmed later when they took the final 8-5 against none other than Warwick A, the only other team to take any frames off the Cambridge A team throughout the weekend. Overall, the Cambridge players should be strongly encouraged by their performance; the standard of pool was exceptionally high, and the two 8-0 whitewashes clearly showed the incredible depth of talent on the team this year. Everyone will be eagerly anticipating the Varsity match in the first week of May, as this year promises to be an extremely close-fought contest. Oxford have shown they also have a solid squad of players, progressing to the quarter finals this year and enjoying some good individual performances in the singles competition, but if the Cambridge players can produce the sort of form they showed this weekend they know that they will have a great opportunity to end the past few years of Oxford dominance.
Group stage
Cambridge University A 8-0 Middlesex A
Cambridge University A 8-0 Teesside A
Warwick A 8-4 Cambridge University A
Knockout stages
Durham University A 8-5 Cambridge University A
B Team
Group stages
Quarter finals
Player statistics
| A Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team event | Singles event | Overall % won | |||||
| Played | Won | % won | Played | Won | % won | Result | ||
| Rob Cork | 9 | 7 | 78 | 13 | 10 | 77 | Last 16 | 77 |
| Andy Aspden | 5 | 3 | 60 | 8 | 5 | 63 | Last 64 | 62 |
| Scott Danks | 4 | 1 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 63 | Last 64 | 50 |
| Christos Chamberlain | Quarters | |||||||
| Abdur Modoni | ||||||||
| Chris Coomber | Prelim | |||||||
| B Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team event | Singles event | Overall % won | |||||
| Played | Won | % won | Played | Won | % won | Result | ||
| Ryan Anderson | 9 | 7 | 78 | 18 | 10 | 56 | Last 16 | 63 |
| Simon Williams | 35 | 22 | 63 | Runner-up | 63 | |||
| Jon Price | ||||||||
| Alex Pavlaki | ||||||||
| Paddy Snow | 8 | 4 | 50 | Last 32 | ||||
| Andy Cockbill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 63 | Last 32 | 63 |
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