The Grand Final of the 2011 Open Knockout competition was played this evening at the Spital Vaults, and the eight finalists were Paul Ellis, Richard Evans, Ray Lamb, Paul McLaughlin, John Pritchard, Ted Randles, Pat Wallace and Dave Williams.

After the first round the four highest scorers were Ray Lamb 86 (43+43), Richard Evans 79 (37+42), Dave Williams 77 (31+46) and Ted Randles 67 (34+33).

In the semi-finals, Ray was drawn against Dave and Richard was drawn against Ted.    In semi-final 1, Ray won the toss and chose to go first.   He played well his first stick, scoring 45, but came a little unstuck his second, scoring his only sub-40 stick of the night, 23 for a 68 total.   Dave scored only 22 his first stick, leaving him needing 46 his second, and he missed a difficult 6 and 5 shot his last ball to score 35... 22+35=57.

In the second semi-final, Ted won the toss and played first, but struggled with the break both sticks and came out with 30+26 = 56.     In reply, Richard had the same problem his first stick but still scored 30.   He came unstuck his second stick however, scoring just 5 to give a total of 30+5 = 35.

In the final, Ray won the toss and chose to play first.   He played magnificently both sticks, scoring 47+48 = 95 which, I think, is the highest score recorded in a Final for a long time.   In reply, Ted found the break, scoring 16+6 both sticks, and scoring an excellent 43 his first stick.   This meant he needed 52 just for a draw, and although he played well, he was forced to go for double shots which did not quite work out, and he finished with 43+33 = 76.

Dave Cooper made the presentations, and everyone agreed that Ray had been the outstanding player on the night and was a worthy winner.   Well Done Ray!

Thanks go to Dale Williams and everyone at the Spital Vaults for hosting the event, and also the excellent half-time stew which was much appreciated by everyone.

I'd also like to thank Dave Cooper for organising all the trophies etc and refereeing throughout the competition, and  Ray Lamb, Mike Turner, Mal Coppock and Richard Evans who have all helped with refereeing too.

The competition will be back in 2012.  Watch this space!

                                                                                   Full scores on the night
1. Pat Wallace 9+36=45                           Semi-Finals                                             Final
2. Richard Evans 37+42=79                       Ray Lamb 45+23=68                                Ray Lamb 47+48=95
3. Paul McLaughlin 40+14=54                         Dave Williams 22+35=57                        Ted Randles 43+33=76
4. John Pritchard 34+31=65
5. Dave Williams 31+46=77                       Richard Evans 30+5=35
6. Paul Ellis 41+7=48                                         Ted Randles 30+26=56
7. Ray Lamb 43+43=86
8. Ted Randles 34+33=67
 

2013 Open Knockout | 2012 Open Knockout  |  2011 Open Knockout  |  2010 Open Knockout 
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Bawn Lodge        Blacon Sports & Social Club        City Arms        Cross Foxes        Egerton Arms
Red Lion        Royal Oak        St. Theresa's Club        St. Werburgh’s Club        Spital Vaults
Talbot        Union Vaults        United Services Club