ENGLISH U-19 CHAMPIONSHIPS

Lindum Club, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear

Saturday 20th May 2000

The final of the English U-19 Billiards Championship eventually
took place as part of the EASB “Finals Week-end” at the Lindum
Club, Gateshead, on Saturday 20th May alongside the concluding stages
of various EASB snooker competitions.

The one-hour match brought together Teesside rivals Robin Wilson
and Martin Shutt, both of whom have show significant improvement
this season, and a keen contest was anticipated. A preliminary view of
the match-table however, cast some doubts on the expected fluency of
scoring as it appeared to have significantly undersized pockets. These
doubts seemed justified as early attempts by both players failed with
the ball “rattling” the jaws.

During this period a break of 35 by Martin Shutt established a lead of
40 points before Wilson came to life with a fine break of 65—the
highest of the match. With the difficulties of the table suddenly
disappearing, there followed a golden spell which saw him make runs
of 47, 32, 33 and 32 in rapid succession to lead 222-89 after 30 minutes.
Shutt would have needed to produce something special to have won
from this point, but he continued to play well below his best as Wilson
cruised to a comfortable win, seeming to relax his efforts in the second
part of the match. A stylish break of 61 by Wilson in the final minutes,
and composed mainly of top-of-the-table play, rounded off an
impressive display. Shutt shrugged off what must have been a deeply
disappointing performance and characteristically refused to offer any
excuses for his failure.

The trophies and £50 winner’s prize money were presented by EABA
President, Alf Nolan, who gave his usual entertaining speech. Nolan
reminded his audience of snooker enthusiasts that some of the best-
known snooker professionals had won the under-19 billiards title at the
start of their careers. To emphasise the connection between the two
games he pointed out that the impressive English Amateur Snooker
Trophy, which was on display in the room, was inscribed with his
name—against the date of 1950!