Warwick took 3 teams to the Birmingham 9-ball tournament this year. It comprised of an individual event and a team event.
Individuals
Max had a great performance in the individuals and got himself to the semi finals where he faced eventual tournament winner Callum Browne. Max faced many tough opponents on his way but this one was one too many. Congratulations Max.
Rob and Joe had a good run in the individuals making it to the last 32 and last 16 respectively. Rob also faced the wrath of Callum, while Joe continued his personal tradition of being knocked out by Steff from Exeter.
Teams
All 3 teams followed very different paths. Each have their own story to tell.
Warwick 3rds:
They started strong by a narrow 2-1 won over Birmingham 3rds on their home turf, as Martin sank the final 9 to make his game 4-3. They then faced Aston 1sts who were quickly dispatched by Barri and Will. Next they faced their toughest opponents, Exeter 1st. Martin got them off to a great start by winning 4-1 over Freddie but Exeter showed their class and came back to win 2-1. But one positive came from that match.... Will took 2 frames of the champion, Callum, more than any other Warwick player who played him that weekend.
These results meant the 3rds were in the championship playoffs against Southampton 2nds.... Which they won in crazy fashion thanks to a sweet intentional double by Will and a confident 9 to follow. Sadly there run came to an end after they faced a tough York 1st alumni team in the next round.
Warwick 2nds:
They had a tough start to the weekend facing Oxford 1sts. Joe won his with a narrow 4-3 victory however, the Oxford team showed their talent and took the other 2 games. The next game showed good signs, Joe, Jon and Harrison smashed Exeter 5ths (alumni) to give them a boost in confidence. Then they faced Southampton 3rds, which a closely fought game, all games ending in 4-3. Bad news is, they lost 2 of the final frame deciders resulting in the 2nds finishing 3rd in the group.
This meant they were in the shield playoffs where they faced a strong Sheffield Hallam 2nds. Where they again narrowly missed out on the win as both Jon and Joe went to final frame deciders. HOWEVER, it wasn't all doom and gloom. They were placed into the trophy where they smashed there way to the final and WON! They had to face Birmingham 3rds, Aston 3rds, Southampton 4ths and finally Leeds 1st. Congratulations Warwick 2nds🥇🥇🥇
Warwick 1sts:
They had an interesting group stage. They were against York 1sts alumni team which was a close game but Warwick couldn't stick in there and lost 2-1. They then faced Exeter 3rds which was won 3-0 to Warwick.... but probably shouldn't have after 2 outrages flukes on 9 by myself to win my game 4-2. This win gave us the confidence to beat Leeds 2nds.
The results meant that finished 2nd in the group and were in the championship playoffs. However we couldn't follow our Warwick 3rds after we lost to tournament winners Exeter 1sts, same team that knocked us out last year. This meant we were in the trophy where in the first round we faced a strong Southampton 1sts. A match worthy of a final. Rob got us off to a great start beating Jack 4-3. Max was down in his match against Dan, but Dan couldn't end it.... Max punished his mistakes and came back to win 4-3, as I was 3-2 up against James.
Full of confidence, we then faced Manchester 1sts who we beat 2-0 which got us to the final! The final was a tough encounter against Southampton 2nds. As we beat their first team and our 3rds beat them in the playoffs, we fancied our chances..... However it wasn't to be, after 3 tough matches with Rob and Max's games going down to the final frame. We lost 2-0. We were runners up 🥈🥈🥈
Overall a great fun weekend. Warwick did themselves proud and congratulations to all involved, until next time 🎱