The Staffordshire County Pool Association Festival of Pool was a roaring success at the weekend (24-26 January) with Staffordshire and England star Gareth Potts taking the honours in the singles event against an on form Craig Reynolds (pictured at his happiest with money in his hand)Apart from the singles competition, two plate competitions and a 3-man competition, there were also several matches involving the Welsh team and the Staffordshire county sides.
The Staffordshire Men's A Team after a dismal start failed to claw back the match losing 24-20 to Wales A. The Staffordshire B Team also failed to get the better of a Wales B side losing 29-19.
Player Played Won
Martin Goddard 8 7
Darren Goddard 8 6
Ryan John 8 6
Steve Brindley 8 5
Thomas Price 8 5
Rob Jackson 8 5
Paul Hawkins 8 5
Jamie Moray 8 4
Glyn Craze 8 3
Paul Clutterbuck 8 3
Craig Reynolds 4 2
Simon Yeats 8 2
There was also a flyer competition which was won by local legend Tim Lawton, who beat Dave Wright 4-3 in the final.
Despite most of the current England team being sent to France for a nonsense tournament the Staffs Open still had a classy field with the likes of Gareth Potts, Welshman Ryan John, Karl Milner and Craig Reynolds all fighting for the first prize. So when the quarter-final stages arrived, it was no surprise to see all these names figuring prominently.
The final was a classy affair with Gareth Potts taking the first two frames, before Craig Reynolds missed a chance to make it 1-2 and Potts duly obliged to make the score 3-0. Potts then demolished the next couple of frames to make the score 5-0 before Reynolds made it 5-1 to keep his flame still alight. Potts was unfazed by this and took the next frame to win the match and championship 6-1.
FRIDAY FLYER (24 Jan 03)
1/4 Finals
D Carr 1 - 4 T Lawton
J Clowes 0 - 4 A Davis
K Lane 1 - 4 G Potts
D Lightfoot 1 - 4 D Wright
Semi-Finals
T Lawton 4 - 2 A Davis
G Potts 2 - 4 D Wright
Final
T Lawton 4 - 3 D Wright
SCPA OPEN (25,26 Jan 03)1/4 Finals
K Milner 6 - 3 R John
G Potts 6 - 4 A Davis
K McGuire 6 - 5 T Lawton
C Reynolds 6 - 5 M Blackshaw
Semi-Finals
K Milner 1 - 6 G Potts
C Reynolds 6 - 3 K McGuire
Final
G Potts 6 - 1 C Reynolds
Gareth Potts (right) accepting his trophy