Whitchurch Legends Win Inaugural English League Snooker Championship

Whitchurch Legends defeated Staffordshire & West Midlands Billiards & Snooker Association (SWMBSA) ‘A’ in a deciding frame at the Landywood Snooker Club to become the first winners of the English League Snooker Championship.

The team of Lee Gorton, Robert Dubicki, Michael Dubicki, Lee Stephens, Jack Bradford, Matthew Roberts and Carl Bennett from the Whitchurch & District League came through the two-day finals weekend to make history as the maiden champions of the newest English Partnership for Snooker and Billiards (EPSB) national championship.

Two qualifying events held across April and May saw the field reduced the field from an initial 17 teams to the final eight for the concluding weekend at the Landywood Snooker Club.

The first day and a half saw the teams each face each other in a group phase to determine the knockout stage seedings and it was eventual finalists SWMBSA ‘A’ who came out on top by two points courtesy of a 4-1 victory over Whitchurch Legends in the seventh and final round of group stage contests.

Group Stage Standings

1. SWMBSA ‘A’ (28)
2. Whitchurch Legends (26)
3. Nottingham Snooker (26)
4. Telford (25)
5. Byfleet (21)
6. SWMBSA ‘D’ (17)
7. LBSO Absolute Dream Team (17)
8. SWMBSA ‘C’ (8)

Whitchurch Legends, who had qualified for the finals weekend with a dominant display in May’s qualifier, whitewashed the LBSO Absolute Dream Team from the Leeds Billiards & Snooker Organisation in the quarter-finals stage before booking their place in the title match by overcoming Nottingham Snooker in a final frame decider.

There they would face an in-form SWMBSA ‘A’ team, who defeated fellow Staffordshire & West Midlands League side SWMBSA ‘C’ 3-1 in the last eight before sweeping aside Telford 3-0 to set up a final meeting between the two top-ranked teams in the initial group stage.

The best-of-five frame final was a tense and close-fought affair with the teams sharing the first two frames before Whitchurch Legends moved one away from victory by taking the third.

Whitchurch Legends moved 40 points ahead in frame four and looked on course to take the title, but SWMBSA ‘A’ cueist Bal Sembi hit back with a stunning break of 67 to force a decider.

Former professional Adrian Rosa faced Robert Dubicki in the final frame and it was Dubicki who was able to hold his nerve and get over the line for Whitchurch Legends to complete an historic victory.

Knockout Stage Results

Quarter-Finals

• SWMBSA ‘A’ 3-1 SWMBSA ‘C’
• Telford 3-0 Byfleet
• Nottingham Snooker 3-1 SWMBSA ‘D’
• Whitchurch Legends 3-0 LBSO Absolute Dream Team

Semi-Finals

• SWMBSA ‘A’ 3-0 Telford
• Whitchurch Legends 3-2 Nottingham Snooker

Final

• Whitchurch Legends 3-2 SWMBSA ‘A’

High Break

• 123 – Ash Walker (Nottingham Snooker)

EPSB would like to congratulate the Whitchurch Legends team and thank everyone at the Landywood Snooker Club and all the teams that participated in the inaugural English League Snooker Championship for helping to make the event a success.