Day 1:
An amazing 5 players have made the last 64 (Max, Mak, Jonathan, Clarence and Barri). Commiserations to Joe, Sammy and Matt who were knocked out in the last 128. In total, 18 out 20 won their first matches, a Warwick record!
Best Shot: Mak (double to complete a great clearance) Worst Shot: Dan Ball (dead straight in the jaws, goes in off) Best Jump Shot: Barri (deciding frame in the last 128) Best Loss: Sammy (4-3 to James Leader in a high quality match) Worst Win: Joe (against Surrey, won frames due to dress code and opponent going in off on the black) Best Sweepstake Draw: (Barri gets Tristan and McDermott) Best Caravan: 3! Best Opponents: Cov (4 out of 10 beaten by Warwick players) Best Quote: Max ("There's too much talking") Best Conversation: Max and Matthew Hilborn (in the toilets during Max's timeout, reminiscing over Leeds 9 Ball) Best Bluff: Tom (telling Dan Ball's Lincoln opponent that Dan was our star player) Player of the day: Jonathan (4 match wins, 14/18 frames)
We're feeling confident ahead of the start of the team competition tomorrow morning!
Day 2:
Teams:
The 4th team played Stirling 1st 6-4 to give them a good chance of reaching the shield knockouts. The 3rds drew with Queens 1st and beat Newcastle 2nd 6-3 and are well placed to get out of the group. The 2nds started with a 6-0 loss but recovered to beat Hallam 1st 6-2. The 1st team also started with a 6-0 defeat but beat Edge Hill 6-1.
Individuals:
Jonathan lost in the last 64 to the best Matharu in the competition, but Clarence, Mak, Max and Barri reached the last 32 before being knocked out.
Best Shot: Max (2-0 down to McDermott, Chinese snookered, pots a tough black in front of a raucous Edge Hill crowd) Worst Shot: Dan Hunter (in off v Newcastle, shock) Best Fluke: Mak (on the live stream, off two cushions to pot the last ball and get perfect on the black) Best 6-0 Loss on stream: 2s v Leeds 1s (played well against two time defending champions with 3 England players) Worst 6-0 Loss on stream: 1s v Plymouth (Please don't watch) Best Quote: Kabir ("Punish him", after a Stirling player missed a shot against the 4s) Best Loss: Mak v Mike Vernon (Vernon cocked hat double Mak in a 4-1 win) Worst Win: Matt v Edge Hill (neither player had any interest in winning the frame) Best In-off Break: Clarence (perfect split but goes in off for Sam Parkinson to reverse dish in about 2 minutes) Controversial Moment: Michael (gives away foul snooker, then calls foul as his opponent didn't nominate the cue ball)
Time to focus on the teams as we finish the group stages tomorrow.
Day 3:
4s finished second in their group and then beat City of London and Leeds 3s to reach the quarter finals of the shield. The 3s topped their group so had a bye in the shield but lost to Plymouth 2s in the last 16. The 2s were fourth in their group and beat Sheffield 2 6-2 in the trophy last 16. The 1s got a key draw with Newcastle 1s to set up a last 16 clash with Exeter 1s tomorrow morning.
Best Shot: any shot by Tristan Horton Worst Shot: Dan Ball (Sammy 2.0) Best Clearance: Joel (vs City of London) Best Loss: 2s v Chester 1s (to avoid Birmingham 1s in the last 16) Worst Win: Dan Ball (Leeds player picked up a yellow thinking the frame was over) Best DF: Julian (cushion foul that his opponent couldn't see) Most Warwick Performance: 3s (smash the group stages then lose immediately) Best Quote: Dan Ball (Sean Reynolds: "Do you know who I am?" Dan: "Yes, you're off the undateables") Best Opponent: Lewis Rushforth (lost 3 frames out of 2 against the 4s) Best Showboat: Sammy (cushion first doubled black) Best £70 Purchase: Sahara (Joe's break cue, he still always dry breaks) Best Lag Loss: Clarence (allows Jonathan to break dish v Coventry) Best Combo: Skeggs (black and yellow v Sammy)
A big day ahead tomorrow, amazing to still have 3 teams involved on Sunday!
Day 4:
Sadly all three remaining Warwick teams lost on Sunday morning. The 4s lost 6-3 to Aston 1s in the Shield quarter final and the 2s lost 6-2 from 2-0 up against Nottingham 1s in the Trophy quarter final. Two early dishes from Exeter gave them the momentum to get a 6-1 win over the 1s in the championship last 16.
Best Shot: Clarence (black white and yellow all bunched, gets an immense snooker behind his yellow, winning the frame) Worst Shot: Joe (pots a tough table length black into half a pocket, with his 4 yellows still on the table) Best Clearance: Jonathan (snookered behind two yellows but manages to win in one visit) Throwback Best Quote: Clarence ("I wouldn't expect the 9 Ball winner to be that good at 8 Ball". Tristan wins both BUCS titles) Worst 5 minutes: Every team gets knocked out within 5 minutes
All in all, a very fun weekend with all 4 teams qualifying for the highest knockout stages possible but unfortunately we couldn't get through to the final stages. The 2s and 4s being the highest placed teams of their type is a great achievement showing our strength in depth once again.
