Strachan British Open Championship

Ashover Training Centre, Nr. Chesterfield

18th-22nd March 1998

There were some tight finishes in the
opening round of 2 hour games, with
Subash Agrawal getting the better of
Mukesh Rehani by 43 points and David
Causier only 66 better than Manoj Kothari.

Arun Agrawal out-pointed Norman Dagley
by 54 and Devendra Joshi beat Clive
Everton by 66. Geet Sethi was given a scare
by B. Bhaskar, winning by only 20.

Alternatively there were comprehensive
victories by Robby Foldvari, Peter
Gilchrist and Chris Shutt. David Sneddon
was awarded 150 points after a late arrival
by Michael Ferreira and went on to beat
him by 284.

Robby Foldvari and Chris Shutt had already made double century
breaks and there were 12 other centuries in the opening round.
This was forerunner to a wealth of breaking making. Overall
there were 68 centuries, 19 doubles and 6 triples the highest
being a 361 by Mike Russell.

The Second Round opened with averages rocketing and breaks
a plenty. Even a 34.7 average saw Bob Close comprehensively
beaten. Rex Williams has a 302 break in a total 394 score but lost
by nearly 300 as Robby made a 321 and two other centuries.

Roxton made four centuries, Geet two, and Peter a triple. Points
flowed from David Causier’s cue, an opening 300 was followed
by 272 and 289 plus a 189 as he scored 1,541 in 2 hours, Dave
Sneddon chipped in with 204 points, and the pair scored in excess
of 14 points every minute.

Chris Shutt’s hope of progress was stopped by Devendra Joshi,
neither player made a century.

The quarter finals moved to a four hour
format and saw the end of the road for
David, Robby, Devendra and Eugene,
David had three centuries but Roxton
equalled them and added a triple.

Geet’s four centuries and two doubles
were too good for Devendra while Eugene
couldn’t live with Mike’s rate of scoring.

The world champion averaged almost 53
points with four centuries, two doubles
and the 361.

Robby held an interval lead over Peter after
breaks of 136 and 225 and added a 205.

Peter averaged 123 points in the 2nd session with 267 and 254
breaks then timed a 65 unfinished to perfection to win by a mere
3 points from the Aussie.

In the Semi-Final, first session, Peter made a 180 and 200 but
trailed Roxton by 134 points after three centuries. From the restart
Peter improved a 23 unfinished to 254 and then dominated the
session with three further centuries Roxton made his total score
more respectable with a 200 unfinished.

Despite a 228 Mike Russell trailed Geet Sethi after the Indian’s
247 and two other centuries. Geet kept a grip on the match to win
overall by 360 points.

The final saw Peter score at consistent levels of 56.1 and 54.4
average to out-point Geet in both sessions. A 340 point midterm
lead came via breaks of 101, 223 and 196.

Four 2nd session centuries ensured overall victory with Geet
improving his scoring level with a 148 and 187 unfinished.