There they stood, Giants of the Green Baize, flexing their muscles, ready to do battle. Gotterdammerung confronts the Group of Death !!
First up, John Morse faced Greg Morgan. As is so often the case, it was the final black ball that decided the match, and it was Greg who potted it.
Next, our 5 times Champion, Jeff Evans, faced Mark Jenkins. A thrilling, fast paced, high scoring frame ensued. So fast paced, indeed, that the marker and ref (moi – LG) found that it was necessary to sprint around the table to replace the colour, back to the scoreboard to record the score, only to find, on turning around that Jeff had already potted the next red and was lining up a colour !!
Early on Jeff made up the handicap and established a useful lead, but Mark steadied the ship with an effective combination of potting and safety play. Ultimately Jeff needed the final pink to win, and had a thin cut to pot it into the middle pocket. He went for it (of course) but failed to make contact. Mark potted pink, and finally, the black to win a notable victory.
Finally, Greg squared up against Mark. This was a very different frame from Mark’s previous frame against Jeff, much more considered, a lot more tactical play, and in the early stages, much less potting, but no less intriguing. As the frame proceeded, however, Mark went into a useful lead and steadily increased it, eventually running out a convincing winner.
The result of all this activity is that Mark and Greg have each won two matches. Mark having beaten Greg, is top of the Group, Greg runner-up. There is one match to play between Mark and John, but the result cannot affect the final positions.
So in the top half of the draw, the quarter final matches will be
- David Thomas v Greg Morgan
- Mark Jenkins v Lawrence Griffiths.
In the bottom half of the draw in Group C, Eiddon and Peter have each won two games. Outstanding matches are Bob Wigley v Eiddon, and Bob v Alan Bevan. If Bob wins both he will be top and Eiddon runner-up. If Eiddon beats Bob he will be top and Peter runner-up. If no further matches are played before the deadline, (Saturday 16th November) Eiddon will be top and Peter runner-up. Paul and Alyson await in the quarter finals.