Top three seeds are safely through
THE top three seeds progressed to the next round of the Island Snooker Championship, albeit at different stages of the competition and in different ways.
Martyn Desperques was the first to play himself into the quarter-finals, while Adam Shorto gained a walkover to the last eight.
Defending champion Desperques restricted Dave Gilmour to just three points in the first two frames, with an opening 57 followed in the second by breaks of 40 and 41.
Desperques wasn’t finished there either, closing out his 3-0 win with another break of 40.
Third seed Glenn Le Prevost is a round further back, but was also a 3-0 winner in beating Tom Brock at the North Legion.
Having taken the first frame 58-22, last season’s runner-up grew stronger as the match progressed, finishing it with breaks of 38 and 48.
John Skillett is also through to the quarter-finals, but he was pushed all the way by Kelvin Du Feu.
The Strokers’ player is flying high in the league and came into the match off the back of beating Shorto, which showed as he took the lead twice.
Skillett wasn’t to be denied, though, and having gained parity on each occasion, a 30 break saw him win the decider 61-8.
Adrian Holley will meet Shorto in the last eight having overcome a resolute performance by Division Three’s Matt Strachan 3-1, while way back in the preliminary round, Leigh Savident ended Mark Gauvain’s campaign by the same score.
Just one match was played in the Norman Wale Handicap, but it was a thrilling encounter which came down to a black-ball finish.
Seb Priaulx had taken the lead 79-76 against Miles Davies, but the Third Division player’s 31 levelled the match.
The decider again came down to the final ball, with Davies’ 74-72 victory securing a quarter-final spot.
In the Pairs Handicap, Le Prevost and Shorto maintained the defence of their title with a 2-0 win against Jason Gilroy and Jim Wilson. Le Prevost’s 46 was the difference between the two pairs in the opening frame as they reached yet another semi-final.
The last three sides to make up the quarter-finals of the snooker team handicap have been decided as the Hot Butts, Stonebond and Recalls booked their places.
Wins for Graham Peel and Scott Bradford led to a 6-2 success for the Premier’s Hot Butts against North Social L-Plates, with defending champions Gremlin Breakers lying in wait.
An all-Third Division meeting between Stonebond and Ex-Service Eagles was delicately poised after draws for the opening pairings.
With the next two frames also having been shared, Kate Le Gallez and Danny Hook won the last two for a 5-3 victory.
The halfway stage between Ex-Service Recalls and North Legion Sharks was also finely balanced at 2-2, but the Second Division side eked out the next three frames before Simon Streek’s consolation.
Shaun Sylvester gained the all important two frames to seal the win, making good use of his 21-point advantage to beat Mark Jeffreys.
In the Island Billiards Championship, a repeat of last year’s final will take place at the semis stage after Steve Le Poidevin ended Paul Le Sauvage’s hopes 300-230.
Le Poidevin will face Desperques, who progessed following Miles Plumley’s withdrawal, while Ian Le Maitre and Dave Bullock will contest the other semi.
Le Maitre was a comfortable 300-129 winner against Ross De Carteret, but just 41 points separated former finalist Bullock from Nick Boldison-Smith.
