Leeds Kent get past last 16

Last week’s BUCS 8-ball tournament at Great Yarmouth consisted of a bumper number of entries with 80 teams and approximately 450 individuals. The individual championship dominated the first day’s play, with nine of the ten Leeds entrants progressing to the second round, and five advancing to the final 128. Notable performances from Leeds came from James Benstead (2nds) and Joe Newby (1sts) who battled hard to reach the last 32, with Newby being defeated by 3rd seed and eventual winner Will Jeram (Edge Hill 1sts).

Attention then switched to the team events, with Leeds 2nds drawn in a tough group in the Team Shield event, alongside no. 6 seeds Plymouth 2nds, Gloucestershire 1sts, Medway 1sts and Birmingham 2nds. An emphatic win against last year’s bronze medallists Gloucestershire and a 5-5 draw with Birmingham gave an excellent start but losses to Plymouth and Medway, who went on to the Shield final saw Leeds come third in their group so were unable to progress to the knockout stages of the Shield.

The 1sts, who had been promoted from Shield level to the top, Championship level following their victory in the shield in the 2008-09 season, found themselves in the ‘Group of Death’, consisting of the much-fancied York 1sts, Exeter 1sts, Essex 2nds and LSE 2nds. They began their campaign against an Exeter team who had gained admirers through performances in various events this season. Warren Yabsley was unfortunate to not get a shot in the opening frame, such was the standard. But Leeds were in no mood to fold, and hard-fought victories from John Jackson, Tim Reece and the impressive Lewy Jordan steered the team to an impressive 6-2 victory. With the knowledge that York 1sts, last year’s runners up, would be similarly ruthless, Leeds knew that frame difference could play a pivotal role in the outcome of the group, and were miserly in demolishing Essex 2nds and LSE 2nds 6-0 and 6-1 respectively. The tie of the round saw Leeds pitted against York. In a close, long match, Leeds came from behind, to draw 5-5, meaning that they finished top of the group, ahead of York by virtue of their superior frame difference. This position meant that Leeds avoided other seeds in the last 16 and were pitted against a largely unknown quantity in Kent 1st. Sadly, despite the previous form shown, Leeds were unable to progress, losing out 6-2 to a very impressive Kent team.

The result was disappointing, and such is the nature of the competition, one match that did not live up to the potential of the team was enough to leave them knocked out, and only able to watch as Nottingham 1st ran out Championship winners. However, the overall performances were of high quality, and notably Lewy Jordan maintained a 100% record in the team event.