What a great weekend!
It has been a pleasure to captain the Warwick team this weekend. There were some late nights and lack of sleep but that didn't stop us having a good time. As tradition as captain, I'll give a summary of what happened over the weekend.
Day 1
Individuals
Most of the Warwick team had tough draws against strong opposition and got knocked out in the first round. However, myself, Mak and Jonathan made it to last 16, and Nathan made it to the last 32. We all gave it our all but it was a harsh end to the evening as we all got knocked out at the same time.
Teams
Warwick 1sts had a flying start and won all their team games 2-0, bish bash bosh. Knowing we had our toughest opponents the next day we had to stay focused.
Warwick 2nds started well with convincing 2-0 wins over York and Leeds 4, but ended the day with a tight 2-1 loss to eventual championship winners Nottingham.
Warwick 3rds had a tough group. They had Leeds 1st in the first game, Matt lost 0-4 to an on-fire McDermott, while Nathan lost 2-4 to Fenn. They managed to beat Liverpool 2nds, playing really well, with Nathan and Matt winning the games.They got quite unlucky in their third game against Bristol 1sts, losing 2-0.
Day 2
Teams
Warwick 1sts played Liverpool.... It was a close match, one we could have won, however we lost out 2-1. Losing this we knew we would be second in the group.
This meant we played Lancaster 1sts in the quarter final. Knowing the strength of this team we knew we had to give it our all. I played our ex-captain Joe Wall, narrowly winning in a deciding frame. Mak lost as it came down to the deciding frame in a close fought match. Knowing the quality of the Lancaster captain Jon needed to play his best.... But it wasn't to be as we lost 2-1. This relegated us to the trophy.
Here, we played UCL 1sts which we got through to get to the semi final against... You guessed it, Warwick 2nds. In a close match up and the 1sts lost to the 2nds (it's tradition now) as Andy and Harrison won their games to make it 2-1. Congratulations first team for getting this far and how well we all played.
Warwick 2nds had two group games remained to be played. First up was Lancaster 1, who consisted of the two individual finalists (and Joe Wall). Andy and Harrison fought hard but were both beaten to confirm a 2-0 loss. Next up was UCL 2s, who were easily swept aside with a 2-0 victory which confirmed a 3rd place finish and qualification for the trophy quarter-final. Leeds 3 awaited, and quick victories for Harrison and Barri ensured a semi-final position against Warwick 1. A tightly contested 2-1 victory for the 2nds ensured a final against Liverpool 1. Unfortunately, the 2nds couldn't replicate their semi-final form here and lost 2-1, however they can be proud on how they performed all weekend.
Warwick 3rds beat LSE 3rds convincingly, Leon winning 4-0 and Nathan winning 4-1. For the last match in the group, we lost 2-0 to Lancaster 2nds. Nathan lost to snooker coach James Collingwood, and Leon lost the decider while Matt was 3-0 up. This meant they played LSE 1st in the team shield quarter finals, which Matt won 4-0 and Nathan won 4-1. In the semis, they faced a strong Leeds 2nds, in which they lost 2-1, ending their journey in Leeds.
Special mention to Joe Wall for supporting the Warwick teams and letting me win our match.
Overall it was a great weekend of pool and a huge congratulations for the 2nd team for getting the silver medal. I hope all of you enjoyed it as much as I did. Let's smash the next tournament!
