Semi-final shocks in store
DAVE BULLOCK and Miles Plumley have the chance of a first ever semi-final place in the Island Snooker Championship, after surprise wins booked their meeting in the last eight.
Bullock, who is already in the quarter-finals of the Norman Wale, has made the same stage in the straight by defeating number five seed Darren Hughes.
The seldom-used Hot Butts player cruised through the first frame 66-10, but the next two came down to the final colours. After winning on the black, Bullock closed out a 3-0 win 59-50 in the third.
Plumley is on a long unbeaten run in the league’s First Division, but a trip to the Ex-Service saw him play Graham Peel where the Premier player took the opening frame 83-35.
Plumley’s response saw him win the next 47-39, and he never looked back with the next two frames won by over 30 points in both.
A brilliant 76 was the feature of Seb Priaulx’s win against Mark Gauvain, but there’s a tinge of disappointment that the break wasn’t converted into a century.
A missed green with the colours on their spots cost Priaulx the ton, but it set him well on the way to a 3-0 victory.
Priaulx’s reward is a quarter-final match against Martyn Desperques, who registered his fourth century of the season when beating Colin Gilbert. A break of 104 was accompanied by a 58 and 44 in pursuit of a 10th island title.
Desperques’ form extended into the Norman Wale where a break of 70 at the North Legion saw him complete a 2-0 win against Tom Brock, but his next opponent was in an altogether closer match on the adjacent table.
After two clear-cut frames, the third came down to a black ball re-spot, with Andy Paul clinching it to defeat Jamie Le Cheminant.
A round further ahead, a quarter-final spot beckons for Darren Hughes who had a better time than in the straight in defending his handicap title. Breaks of 40 and 35 saw him get the better of Paul Tostevin 2-0, with both frames coming down to the final black.
North Legionnaires completed the Team Straight semi-final line up by beating North Social L-Plates, but it was a very different affair to their last meeting.
On that occasion in the league, the Legionnaires won all eight frames, but the match went to a play-off this time around. Having won 2-0 in regular time to help force the draw, Brock returned to win the extra frame decider against Richard Brache.
The start of the Island Billiards Championship followed the form book with strong favourite Desperques making three 30-plus breaks to beat Dave Gilmour by nearly 100 points, while a tight affair saw Ian Le Maitre beat Gavin Denning 300-292 despite a fine 31 break by the latter.
